A/N: okay well as promised, here's the Band of Seven arc! enjoy~

disclaimer: i don't own InuYasha; my OCs belong to me.

Chapter 26: Shattering Stars: Gasoline

"Honestly, Rin, you can be so dense sometimes, you foolish human…"

THWACK.

"Quit berating my pup otherwise I'm gonna feed you to the next demon that crosses our path." She slung her long bow back onto her shoulder after beating the imp with it rather harshly, blue eyes closed.

Her sister rolled her eyes patiently and her ears twitched as she caught whiff of that boy's scent. That boy… Kohaku! She thought, looking up at her companion. "Sesshomaru," she began quietly, tugging on his sleeve.

"I know, I smelled it too." He replied quietly.

She frowned slightly.

::::::::xXx::::::::

Apparently living with Sesshomaru long enough had made her immune to poison.

"Kagome!" She declared, slipping past his towering form over the worthless little poison master to help the girl up, looking at the girl's comrades. "Are you alright?" She asked.

"Getsu," the priestess next to her declared weakly as her friends nodded slightly.

"Tell me, is InuYasha here?" Her mate asked the apparent opposition he had used his poison claws on.

The man turned a beady eye up at the powerful daiyokai. "W-who are you?" He returned.

"I was about to ask you the same thing." He drawled.

He glared up at him, "you tried to kill me and you don't even know me!?" He grabbed a box full of toxins and scurried out of the hut.

"Stay here." He instructed his mate, seeing her nod, before he followed him out. "You felt the pain of my Poison Claws and yet you were still able to move." He declared lowly.

She moved to stand by the doorway, refraining from leaving the hut for the sake of the paralyzed humans still inside.

The man laughed sheepishly, "take this; taste my poison!" He tossed the contents of the jars out at him.

He simply stood there when the dust cleared, his gold eyes narrowed in annoyance, moving closer to end his life.

She huffed at his pathetic form, her lip curling. How weak; just what kind of man is he? His scent was different than a normal human's, and he's paler than Sesshomaru… as pale as death. Her eyes sharpened. Is he a resurrected corpse?

But who could resurrect a pathetic and vile creature such as him…?

"I told you to stay inside." Sesshomaru declared once he had vanquished the pathetic thing, looking at her over his shoulder.

Getsu shrugged. "I was just curious…"

"Kagome!"

Both daiyokai looked to see InuYasha rushing forward to the scene, skidding to a halt at seeing them there.

"Sesshomaru…?" He seemed to put his interrogation aside and hurried to his friends' aid; he looked at their state and growled, looking back at his brother. "What did you do to them!?"

"No, Sesshomaru saved us… he didn't do anything." Kagome declared weakly, lifting her head.

The she-wolf shared a brief look with her mate before she walked forward.

"Getsu, what're you…?" InuYasha began to snap at her before he watched her palms glow a soft lilac color and she placed them on the girl's shoulders from behind, healing her of the paralysis.

Kagome's eyes widened slightly at the feeling of heat rushing over her before a swift coolness overcame the warmth; she looked up at her "nurse", meeting her calm silver eyes. "Getsu," she began.

Getsu smiled kindly, shrugging. "You're welcome." She replied, moving away to tend to Sango next, and then Miroku, before she only stroked the fur of Kirara's back with her fingers.

All three of them seemed cured of the poison's effects, looking at the silver-eyed daiyokai in something akin to confusion and awe.

She smiled when the twin-tailed neko mewed and licked her cheek in thanks, letting her retreat to her companions as she straightened and turned her back on them, pausing short of the hanyou's surprised face and shrugging innocently, looking to her mate. "Let's go." She walked out of the hut and out into the daylight of the afternoon, sliding her arms into the folds of her kimono sleeves as she went.

He wordlessly sidled up to her side several minutes later once she was deeper into the forest, looking down at her. "You didn't need to revive them like that; they're humans, after all."

She shrugged. "It felt like the right thing to do; if I don't use these powers for how they were originally intended to be used, then why should I have them?"

Sesshomaru frowned and lifted his hand to stroke her cheek softly, slightly surprising her. "You know I don't want you to overexert yourself." He reminded.

Getsu quieted and looked away, glancing up at him. "I know, but I want to help. What kind of daiyokai would I be if I didn't want to help those that need it?" She challenged, stopping by a tree to look up at him with stubborn silver orbs.

He quieted and then sighed softly, stepping closer to pull her into an embrace; she blushed and lowered her gaze, wrapping her arms around his waist. "That day your home was destroyed, you looked helpless to do anything except run. You are my mate and I don't want to see you look like that ever again… I don't want to lose you, Getsu."

His claws dug into the fabric of her obi as his gold eyes narrowed in revulsion at seeing her die.

She fell silent and nodded, resting her cheek against his chest.

"I don't want to lose you either, Sesshomaru. That's why we've come this far, though; to kill Naraku. He took everything from me and he almost took you too, and that's the very reason I want to keep going. I want to end this and restore my clan's honor, to restore my father's honor." She replied quietly, closing her eyes against the memories that tried to bring back pain.

Sesshomaru exhaled again, squeezing her tighter to his chest as a growl of thinning patience rumbled in his throat. "You stubborn, reckless princess."

Getsu smiled dryly, nuzzling his neck. "Such manners, milord," she teased quietly.

He shook his head softly and pulled back a little to kiss her forehead. "Don't patronize me." He grumbled.

She smiled cheekily. "I have no idea what you're talking about." She chuckled as he pouted sorely.

A vein twitched on her brow.
Her sister sighed patiently.

THWACK.
"Idiot frog!" She barked, tapping the bottom tip of her long bow on the ground in annoyance.

Leave it to Jaken of all people to misplace a simple human child, the older of the two females mused with a sweatdrop, watching a large bump swell on the imp's head.

But then again, it's not like she could really blame him, either; the purified air of this mountain was starting to piss her off; her sister disliked it entirely mostly on account of the air putting a damper on her demonic powers, therein setting her in a bad mood.

Being a daiyokai, it didn't have the exact same effect on her as it did her sister, but she wasn't exactly immune to it either; she was once again silently thankful for her regenerative healing abilities that seemed to keep the purified atmosphere at bay and from completely diminishing her demonic power.

She just wanted to get rid of Naraku and then get the hell away from Mt. Hakurei as soon and far as possible.

"You mustn't go in there, Master! You'll be instantly purified!" The imp's outburst jerked her from her thoughts, making her look to see her mate walking closer to the barrier.

"Sesshomaru," her sister began alertly, perking her ears as the silhouette of the girl in the fog stirred her attention away; she beamed. "Rin!"

"Lord Sesshomaru, Kori-onee!" The girl seemed relieved, hurrying closer to her companions.

Sesshomaru was almost the figurative image of a father, "Kohaku was in there, wasn't he; beyond the barrier?" He asked, his tone scolding and curious.

Rin hesitated to answer, looking up as Korihime ruffled her hair gently, meeting her blue eyes.

"Be honest, Rin; you can't hide from the master's keen nose!" Jaken piped up before getting his head stomped on by the older of the two females' foot.

"The truth is, Kohaku helped me escape: there was a cave full of demons in there." She answered after what seemed like mental deliberating, looking down bashfully.

"'Demons'?" Getsu and Sesshomaru repeated quietly in chorus.

Rin nodded. "Kohaku protected me from the demons," she paused when he looked at the mountain with hard gold eyes; she looked up at the blue-haired female with almost desperate eyes. "Kori-onee, you're not going to kill Kohaku are you? You and Getsu-onee and Lord Sesshomaru don't intend to kill him, do you?" She blurted out, slightly surprising her babysitter.

Korihime paused and looked beyond her at the fog around them. "Rin…"

"No, we're not." Getsu answered, coming forward to stoop down and meet her eye-to-eye; she smiled warmly, running her claws through her brown hair. "We're not gonna kill him; we've just been following his scent to find Naraku, that's all. Besides, he's your friend right? I won't bring harm to someone who's your friend, Rin. Count on it." She met her brown orbs with determined silver orbs, a kindness flashing in her eyes that made her out to be more like her mother than an older sister.

Rin nodded again, seeming relieved at having her fears pacified. "Thank you, Getsu-onee!" She embraced her, hugging her neck with her small arms.

Getsu smiled again and squeezed lightly before letting her go, tousling her hair affectionately. "No problem."

Sesshomaru looked between both females and he inwardly smiled at the exchange in affection that passed; they really were like a family, now that he thought about it. Getsu was like a mother to both Korihime and Rin, the former of the two younger females like the younger sister and the latter of the two like the youngest, the pup of their pack.

And Jaken… well, he was just the vassal.

::::::::xXx::::::::

Her ears perked alertly; she looked up from sniffing the air, her eyes sharpening.

That scent... I smell wolf.

"Kori-onee," she looked up at the sound of the child's voice, looking to see she had a look of concern on her young face. "Where're you going?"

"You smelled it too, didn't you?" She turned her gaze on her sister and brother-in-law.

Her sister nodded. "It's not our fight, Kori." She mused.

"He isn't our priority at the moment; and besides, I also smell gunpowder. It would be foolish to try and aid him." He chimed with a trademark frown.

She shook her head and looked away. "Regardless, Koga is the clan head of the Eastern Wolf Tribe, our cousin clan. If he dies then what hope is there for our kind surviving?" She declared, seeming stubborn.

Getsu widened her eyes slightly before she looked at the mountain, exhaling sharply after a long moment. "Now you're talking like Papa." She met her surprised blue stare and smiled, nodding. "Don't get yourself killed trying to save his ass." She instructed.

Korihime nodded, smiling back, before she stooped to embrace the girl tight and ruffle her hair. "I'll be back." She promised, smiling lightly at her before letting go and nodding to her brother-in-law. "If anything happens to her or my sister I'm gonna kick your ass for it." She saw him smirk slightly at her vow, trotting away until she disappeared into the fog.

"Will Kori-onee be okay out there by herself?" Rin asked both daiyokai, worry in her brown eyes.

Getsu sighed and tousled her hair gently, looking off in the direction her sister went. "'Course she will; Kori's too stubborn to let something trivial do her in. Besides, she promised you she'd come back and if it's one thing I know, she keeps her promises." She smiled down at her.

Another explosion went off.

"Head's up!" A blur of blue knocked the brown-clad wolf demon out of the way of yet another explosion and behind a rock outcropping.

"Oi, who the hell're…? Korihime?" His blue eyes widened in surprise at seeing her soft blue eyes scowling at him.

She pushed his head down, poking her head above the taller rock to look at the barrier shielding the unseen enemy. "Great to see you too, wolf boy." She greeted.

Koga pulled her down behind the rock, looking at her sharply. "Idiot, what're you doing here? I didn't think you guys were hunting down the Band of Seven too." He asked, seeing a look of confusion cross her pale face.

"'Band of Seven'? Never heard of them, but then again that might explain the poison freak Sesshomaru killed a few days ago. Getsu said he smelled like a corpse." Korihime declared thoughtfully.

He huffed. "So you guys ran into one of them." He guessed.

She nodded, stealing a glance up at the rock they hid behind. "How many of them are there? I know there's one that's causing the explosions, but I can't see shit with that damn barrier in the way."

"There's five of them in total but it's just two of them here. The one firing is named Genkotsu and the one that's pulling the strings is Renkotsu." Koga informed grimly, shooting a look around the outcropping and growling, before he looked at her. "Kori, you shouldn't be here; they're after the shards in my legs and arm and I don't want you to get caught in the middle of this."
His blue eyes were hard but at the same time they held worry.

Korihime blinked and looked away, a slight blush staining her cheeks. "I came to help, you idiot wolf. Just because I'm a princess of the Western Wolf Clan doesn't mean I can't fight." Her blue eyes were sharp, reminiscent of her sister's stubborn gaze.

He growled again and shoved her head back down, gripping her shoulders in both hands and slightly surprising her again. "That's the whole damn reason I don't want you here! Ya shouldn't waste your life away trying to help me keep my shards, Korihime. I don't want you to." He stated with a grimace on his face.

She widened her eyes and looked down, keeping her eyes on the brown fur on his right shoulder. "Koga," she began quietly.

Was he saying that he was willing to protect her? But that didn't make sense! "Koga, I came to protect you, dummy. Not the other way around!" She barked, glaring into his blue stare.

Koga groaned and then exhaled, glaring into her hard blue orbs. "You're the princess, here, so it'd be stupid for you to get yourself killed when you have someone like me here to keep that from happening. Besides, your sister would roast me alive if I let you die." He stated, his hardened stare softening when he finished talking, a wry smirk on his lips.

Korihime closed her eyes and exhaled, gripping his muscled arms tightly. "You'd better not die anytime soon, okay?" She growled.

He flashed that trademark confident smirk of his, releasing her shoulders to stroke her cheek lightly. "You got it, Princess." He winked, releasing her to poke his head from above the outcropping.

She blushed again and huffed, looking away.

Did Koga still like her after all? Even though she'd kicked his ass a while back in that village?

:::::::xXx::::::::

"KOGA!" Both of his packmates cried.

She sprinted forward into the oncoming fray.

His blue eyes looked up at the dropping explosives coming from the sky before seeing the wolf princess running to his side, his eyes widening. "No, stay back! Korihime!" He snarled.

You may want to protect me, but that doesn't mean I can't do the same for you! She thought, lifting her long bow high overhead and slamming an arrowhead into the ground at her feet.

A thick dome of pink ice that looked to be at least ten inches thick formed quickly over both wolf demons.

Koga looked around him in awe at the dome, seeing the explosives bounce off the barrier's surface and drop, destroying the ground around their feet and making it tremble. "Kori," he looked at the she-wolf.

Korihime panted slightly, looking at him and smiling. "A princess of the Western Wolf Clan doesn't have room in her vocabulary for the term 'weak'." She stated softly, keeping her hold on the top of the arrow and bottom of her bow tight.

His blue eyes glanced from her aura that had spiked and now formed into a soft pink glow emanating from her body to the smoke that was slowly clearing from the attack caused by the two dead mercenaries. "Are you alright, otherwise?" He asked, his tone quiet and even concerned.

She nodded, looking past the smoke clearing and narrowing her eyes; the barrier hadn't taken much out of her energy, thank God, but still… being so close to this damn purified air was starting to make her sick.

Both of them perked up as the two mercenaries were coming out of the barrier's safety; she dropped her own barrier, placing the arrow in her bow and holding it at her side.

"Kori, stay behind me." He ordered quietly, perking her ears.

She nodded, smiling slightly. "Right."

Koga, I know we're not mates or even bonded, but still… Even if we come from different clans, we're still pack, aren't we? She wondered, scowling from the bald mercenary to the war-machine one, bristling.

He lashed out at the bald one, missing the spot where the man's shard was; she slipped the arrow back in her quiver, huffing.

"Renkotsu…" The machine ground out, surprising the wolf demons.

It can talk?

Koga leaped to stand infront of it as it cursed him.

"Genkotsu, what're you…?" The bald one asked warily.

It aimed two cannon heads at the wolf demon standing infront of it.

"Koga!" She barked as it fired, perking up as it seemed to backfire instead, smoke flying. How did Koga stop it from hitting him? She wondered.
The machine still whirred, surprising both wolf demons.

"It's still moving?" Koga balked.
Her eyes widened as it whirred again and creaked before showing off the rest –and from what she could guess, the entirety of—its arsenal of cannons and guns. "Shit."

It fired.

"KOGA!" She shrieked, gritting her teeth and sprinting for the machine.

Even through the blasts going on around him, he still heard her voice. "KORI, NO!" He shouted.

"FROSTBITTEN FANG!" Two of the cannon heads were severed, backfiring on each other as a blur of blue leaped onto the other half of the machine and slammed the sharp end of a dagger down on other two cannons, the same reaction occurring with the destroyed weapons.

Genkotsu whirred angrily and tried to hit her with one of the cannon heads before she latched onto it and landed on its head, dagger in hand.
"Leave him be!" She stabbed the frozen dagger onto its forehead.

Sparks flew when the blade connected, electrocuting her and making her yelp before she was knocked off and was sent flying.

He caught her from crashing into the barrier, looking down at the frizz-haired female in his arms. "Korihime! Say something," he barked, holding her to his chest.

She grimaced and opened an eye, meeting his worried and relieved blue stare; she smirked wryly. "We're still pack, right?" She wondered softly.

Koga quieted and smirked gently, nodding before cradling her closer. "Damn right we are." He growled, relieved and angered that she had been so reckless.

Korihime winced slightly and held onto his neck. "Kind of squeezing the life outta me," she mumbled into his pelt.

He eased his tight grip, looking sheepish. "Sorry."

She shook her head, looking over at the injured Renkotsu and catching a glint of light coming from his throat. "The shard, it's in his throat." She muttered.

He nodded, setting her down on a low boulder. "Stay here." He urged quietly.

She nodded back and smiled. "Kick some ass."

He huffed and smirked at her, turning back to the battle to end it before it could harm her again.

Her ears perked; she sniffed the air and her eyes sharpened before she growled under her breath.

He looked at her, stirred from his thoughts. "What is it?"

She scowled at the mountain, looking at him. "Korihime, I can smell her blood… And Koga's." She answered quietly so as not to perturb the child.

His own eyes sharpened and he looked away. "If she's with that wolf, she'll be all right; you know as well as I." He mused.

Getsu nodded slightly and exhaled, her hands at her sides balling into fists at being left unnerved by that scent. Korihime, please be okay, she thought.

The stink of the walking dead assailed her nose and his as own.

"They're coming." Sesshomaru declared lowly, surprising the imp, before he flew off to 'greet' the would-be ambushers, Tokijin drawn.

A string of blade-shaped lights flew at him before he deflected them with ease, sending them reeling back to a broadsword being wielded by a man wearing a lilac kosode and scarf, brown hair and blue eye makeup with red lipstick.

"Are you one of Naraku's followers?" He demanded.

The man chuckled, resting his broadsword against his shoulder leisurely. "So you noticed, huh? How very perceptive of you." He purred.

A narrow arc of purple energy screamed at the stranger as he side-stepped it effortlessly, baffling the transvestite.

"No wonder I smelled rotting flesh. Apparently Naraku doesn't know when to let rotting things just lay in their graves." She drawled stonily, flicking her wrist and dropping her katana-wielding arm to her side, as she stepped forward to stand at her mate's side out of loyalty.

A/N: action-packed, wasn't it? xD

what'll happen now: will Koga defeat Genkotsu? and if so, is he doing it just to keep his shards..? or is he doing it to protect Korihime..? and who is the stranger with the broadsword? why is he after Sesshomaru?

**"Gasoline" is copyright to the song "Gasoline" by Porcelain and the Tramps

until next chap, see ya! and please review. later!