A/N: things left off on a bittersweet ending in the previous chap. will things be righted? and will he get the answers he needs? enjoy!
(also, 2500 views! whew thanks you guys~ srsly that makes me feel good as a writer xD)

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

Chapter 38: Angelus

The girl looked over her shoulder at the direction their leader had gone. "Kori-onee, is Lord Sesshomaru going to be okay? He looked really angry about earlier…" Her innocent brown eyes looked up at her babysitter that sat next to her facing the small fire, warming her palms.

"I think so. Getsu went to go talk with him, so hopefully that works. Y'know how he is; he'll bounce back from this! He's not a strong demon for nothing." Her babysitter assured gently, smiling at her.

She nodded and smiled lightly. "Yeah, you're right!"

She smiled gently, tousling her brown hair affectionately and looking down at the embers of the fire.
He will bounce back from this, won't he? She couldn't help but wonder.

::::::::tTt:::::::::

His ears twitched as he heard her coming forward from behind. "Shouldn't you be helping Kori put Rin to bed?"

She didn't answer, instead shuffling to sit next to his right on the small hillside that looked up at the full moon above them; his ears twitched again when she rested her head on his shoulder.

"You're still angry about earlier; I can smell it a mile away." She finally replied, her voice soft.

He huffed and hunched his shoulders, gold eyes on the millions of stars that dotted the velvet sky. "Can you blame me?"

She shook her head softly. "No, guess I can't." She sighed and pressed her cheek to the soft fur of his stole. "Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot." He mumbled, a term he picked up from her "vocabulary".

She ran her claws through the fur, looking up at his gold eyes. "Don't shoulder this on your own. Even if you think you can because of your strength, at least let me be there to help you carry such a burden. Promise me that, Sesshomaru." She pleaded softly, seeing surprise swim in his stare before it was replaced with something she could only assume was sadness, a side to him she hated to see.

He nodded slightly, looking at her hand and taking it in his, squeezing. "I once promised to protect you and stay at your side, long ago. But I'll take on another promise, so long as you don't leave my side." He replied in the same tone.

She smiled and nodded, leaning up to pull on his collar and kiss him a little gentler than she had earlier in battle.

He released her hand to wrap his arm around her waist and pull her onto him, pressing his mouth to hers hard and growling irritably when she released his mouth to crawl onto his lap and hold him; he perked up in slight surprise that she had chosen to hold onto him instead of be kissed senseless, relaxing and burying his face into her neck as her arms hooked around his neck and her fingers combed through his silver hair.

"I must apologize for what I didn't do, back then." He admitted quietly after several moments of silence, perking her ears.

She opened an eye at his enigmatic words, running her claws through his straight locks idly and glancing at him. "For what?"

"What you said earlier today, that you were in pain because I was grieving the loss of my father… I had no idea you were in that much pain. I felt like a complete fool for not once thinking that my pain was yours as well." Sesshomaru explained.

Getsu blushed slightly and shrugged, pulling back a little to rock on her heels and look into his gold stare. "Don't beat yourself up over that, it's in the past. You survived it didn't you? Just as I survived my own losses regarding my parents." She lowered her gaze to the glints of moonlight bouncing off his armor and smiled softly.

"That's not the point, Getsu." He declared, perking her ears again.

She tilted her head to one side, keeping her arms folded on the back of his neck. "So what is the point, then?"

He exhaled and kissed the crown of her head, bumping his forehead against hers gently as their eyes met again. "The point is that I hurt you, the woman I chose to be my mate and bride, my companion. I never want to hurt you, Getsu, and it's worse than when we almost lost Rin for good to hear that I hurt you like that, so many years ago." He smiled a little when her cheeks flared that shade of reddish pink he loved most, stroking her cheek marred with the violet crescent birthmark.

She looked down and shrugged again. "We both survived it, and we've survived worser things than grieving to get to this point in our lives. I don't blame you for anything bad that's happened, okay? I never have. I love you too much to be so selfish like that." She admitted.

He smiled again at hearing her declaration, kissing her. "I love you too. Even though I had half a right mind to completely forbid you from fighting earlier with that… bastard." He growled under his breath.

Getsu blushed and then chuckled, kissing back as she stroked his cheek. "I know you're still bummed about that. You never could hide your anger very well around me." She reminded gently, seeing him pout.

Sesshomaru growled again, this time in annoyance at his supposedly-perfected blank face skills, making her giggle. "Don't patronize me."

She smiled cheekily, tugging on his collar and kissing him lovingly; he blinked in slight surprise before he smiled and held onto her hips with his arm, kissing her deeply and feeling her arch her back as he ran his claws down her spine to her hips.

"You always had the knack for bewitching me," he grumbled against her lips, letting her pull back again to look at him curiously; he smirked at how cute she looked when she cocked her head like a puppy.

"I did huh?" She wondered, surprised by this newest bit of information; since when was she considered a witch?

He nodded, kissing her again before kissing a trail down her neck. "Even before you were uprooted by Naraku our… "debates" always left me the slightest bit aroused, aside from feeling frustrated with your bull-headed stubbornness." He smiled cheekily when she blushed a darker shade of reddish pink.

She pouted and made to spout a rebuttal when he sank his teeth into her throat, marking her and making her mewl. "Y-you're so not fair, biting me when I was going to respond to that comment." She breathed a scolding.

Sesshomaru chuckled and took a few long torturous seconds to lick her mark clean, making her tremble and dig her claws into his back with a soft growl humming in her chest, before he pulled back to look at her innocently. "I have no idea what you're talking about, darling." He smirked cheekily again as he put emphasis on the petname she often used on him when being playful.

Getsu growled and pushed him onto his back, pinning him with flustered and annoyed eyes bearing down onto his gold stare that didn't seem unperturbed by her pounce. "The fuck you don't." She rebutted, blushing and swallowing a yelp when he cupped one of her breasts, fondling the small mound in his hand.

He looked completely at ease despite the curses and beet-red blush on the face of his mate. "Such foul language," he teased calmly, gold eyes glancing up at her silver stare and looking smug and pleased as he rolled the nipple between his index and middle finger, oblivious to her growls and whimpers.

"S-Sesshomaru…!" She whined his name, sighing when he let go of her breast to then move to the second one, making her yelp and claw into his shoulders on reflex. "S-Sesshomaru, please," she moaned softly.

His inner demon hummed pleasedly inside him at hearing her moan at last. 'Good girl,' it growled.
Yes really, good girl, he mused with another pleased smirk.

The welder blanched at the large chunk "eaten" from the side of his home cut in a curved arc. "M-my home…"

"Great moon…" She deadpanned and slapped her forehead. Was that necessary…? She wondered, throwing a glance over at her mate and making a mental note to whack him later for scaring the shit out of the old sod.

"Did you really think you could escape, Totosai?" He growled, gripping the hilt of Tensaiga out of reflex.

He squinted his eyes in slight suspicion. "No… I was wondering when you'd show up."

You're not going to let that go, are you..? She wondered with a patient sigh.

He huffed.

::::::::sSs:::::::::

"I'll sing one about you instead…!" She chirped.

THWACK.

"Maybe a song about how flat he's going to look when I'm done braining him." Her babysitter cracked her knuckles and folded her arms at her chest, ignoring the large bump swelling on the imp's head.

"See Master Jaken? Kori-onee likes my songs! You're just being a… um, Kori-onee, what was that word you told me the other day?" She asked confusedly.

She sighed. "'Critic', Rin." She replied calmly.

"Yeah that's what it was, a 'critic'!" She smiled brightly.

Her ears twitched as she noticed the boy's head was turned to the side, eyes scanning the forest around them on alert.

"Kohaku, what is it…?" She began to ask before a familiar stink assailed her nose; her eyes widened.

"What's wrong, Kohaku…? Kori-onee?" Rin asked as her babysitter bristled visibly and growled.

Kohaku jumped to his feet. "Run for it, all three of you…!"

"It's been a while, Kohaku." A drawling voice sounded behind him.

Korihime perked up alertly. "Fuck." She hissed.

"Well, Totosai, you've known about this all along, haven't you?" Sesshomaru drawled in a knowing tone.

Totosai seemed brazen today. "Of course I did; after all, I was the one who separated Tensaiga from Tetsusaiga and forged it into a weapon many years ago, Sesshomaru. What're you gonna do about it; kill me?"

"Bad move," Getsu mumbled with another slap to her forehead as he lifted the blade as if he was actually going to do it (which, knowing Sesshomaru and his… patience issues, he most likely would, therein fueling her reason for accompanying him to visit the bold welder that would soon die by his own creation if he didn't shut up now).

"Hold it! Let me take a wild guess, you met Shishinki right? Look here, I don't know what kind of nonsense that troublemaker Shishinki said to you, but you were able to master Meido Zangetsuha, right? Your father was correct in judging that you would be able to do so… you've lived up to his every expectation." He explained quickly.

Well that's comforting, albeit only a little, she mused.

He returned Tensaiga to its scabbard albeit reluctantly, a relief on both his mate and the aged welder, keeping the stern scowl on his fair brow. "Do you honestly believe that I don't know what the next step in the process is, Totosai?"

"Next step?" His eyes squinted again.

If you're not gonna kill him, at least try and be nice, she thought, throwing him a look and knowing that was the most vain thing she could ever hope for in her lifetime. If she knew him, and at this point in time she did, Sesshomaru was anything but "nice" when it came to Totosai.

:::::::::wWw:::::::::

A thundering growl rang out from her as she threw an icy dagger at the hanyou.

He dodged it effortlessly, looking over at her and smirking. "Oh, Princess Korihime. I'm surprised to see you here. Where's that pathetic dog you mated with? Cowering in a hole no doubt?" He sneered, seeing her aura flare as she gripped the handle of another dagger in her hand.

She bristled angrily, blue eyes dangerous. "He's none of your concern anymore, right? Leave Koga out of this." She growled.

"Kori-onee," the girl began softly behind her before she extended her free arm to block any harm from coming to her pup, her brown orbs looking up at the she-wolf's icy glare intended for the vile half-breed present.

"Either way, I'll deal with you later. Kikyo isn't protecting your shard anymore, and this pathetic brat princess can't do anything other than bark, so the shard is mine now." Naraku sneered again, extending his hand to take the shard from the boy's neck.

Kohaku reacted mostly on instinct, severing his hand with his sickle and briefly surprising the hanyou.

"Kohaku, run; go!" Korihime snapped at him, watching tree branches spout from his wrist before she threw the second dagger at him.

He cackled as the branches reached the boy that tripped, preparing to take his shard as the boy flinched.

"No!" She snarled, perking up as sparks flew when the branches made contact with the shard, watching ropes of blue fire race along the branches and consume the hanyou, surprising him as well as herself.

The fire… it's from Kikyo's purity! That was her last wish, wasn't it? To protect the shard! She thought.

"Kohaku, hurry!" Rin exclaimed as Korihime shook her head and spared the flame-encased hanyou one final look before following the boy, leaping onto the saddle and helping him and Rin onto it, grabbing the reins.

"Ah-Un, let's bolt!" Korihime ordered as she snapped the reins.

The dragon groaned a response before they took off into the clear sky.

"Kohaku, are you okay?" Rin asked worriedly, looking at her friend.

He nodded, "I'm fine now. Thanks Korihime, for trying to stall." He replied, looking at the driver.

She shrugged and smiled at him. "You're welcome." She stared ahead into the blue heavens. Kikyo, let's hope your last wish will work just a little bit longer! She thought.

:::::::::rRr:::::::::

"Tetsusaiga has the ability of stealing techniques from its foes; Tensaiga, on the other hand, has no such ability. Both of us know Father's true intention from the beginning was for me to perfect Meido Zangetsuha but only so that Tensaiga could be absorbed back into Tetsusaiga… that's the truth of it, isn't it?" Sesshomaru explained coolly, perking her ears.

He figured all that out? Well I'll be damned, he beat my hypothesis by a hair's breadth, she mused.

"Ah wow, I'm impressed!" Totosai said in mock surprise, ignoring the deadpan expression on the she-wolf's pretty face. "You figured that out all on your own, huh; well, you're exactly right! Are you disappointed?"

"I'd be more disappointed if Tetsusaiga could actually cut me down… but that'll never happen!" He lifted Tensaiga again.

"Whoa there!" He slammed his hammer down, creating a ring of fire around the two daiyokai.

He scowled at the flames, scanning the area beyond them for any sign of the crafty old man.

"Hey, Sesshomaru," the aforementioned sod declared in a sing-song voice that automatically irritated him and got on his remaining nerves. "Why do you think your father set up your swords this way in the first place, huh? Do you really believe he favored InuYasha and left you with the short end of the stick, figuratively-speaking? Either way, your thoughts are too clouded right now to see the truth: as long as you remain so narrowly-focused on the heirloom Tetsusaiga, you will never understand your father's long-term plan!"

She took a step closer to the flames and flicked her left wrist, dousing them instantly and leaving nothing but a ring of smoke in their wake; she looked over at him and winked, smiling; he made a face and sheathed Tensaiga reluctantly.

"Sesshomaru, abandon these attachments; abandon your attachment to the sword as well as your hatred towards InuYasha: once you do, you may very well surpass your father!" Totosai exclaimed, perking her ears.

Getsu tilted her head to one side after soaking in his words. Closure? She wondered.

"We're going." Sesshomaru growled, turning on his heel to walk away.

She bowed slightly to the welder's invisible form. "Thanks for your help, Totosai; see ya!" She smiled a little before following him.

He grumbled when she caught up to him, making her ears twitch.

She sighed and folded her arms behind her head. "You're sulking again." She pointed out.

He blinked and then snorted, cutting his gaze to the side. "I am not sulking." He growled.

Getsu opened one silver eye up at him. "The hell you're not; it's clearly all over your face, love." He shot her a look which she blissfully ignored, making his brow twitch annoyedly, before she exhaled and stopped to look up at him. "Just don't dwell too much on it, okay? For me?" She pleaded, sticking her lower lip out as her eyes turned big and hopeful.

Sesshomaru stared at her cute expression a moment longer before growling and slapping his forehead. "I hate it when you do that…" He groaned as his hand slid down his handsome face, a pout on his lips.

She giggled and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him sweetly. "Get used to it, dearest." She purred and kissed his nose, making him wrinkle it before letting go to hop into the air with ease, hovering infront of him. "C'mon, let's get moving." She declared lightly.

He rolled his eyes and then exhaled, hopping up and making to snatch her waist with his arm before she danced away and floated higher with a grin; he couldn't help but chuckle at her playful demeanor, chasing her until he had his arm wrapped around her waist and his nose buried in her neck.

"Still not fair!" She wheedled, mewling when he bit her teasingly, nuzzling her neck afterward.

"Hush," he crooned, kissing her neck gently before letting go to take her hand and leap higher until they were airborne. "The sooner we get back the better, at least before Kori kills Jaken and turns him into fried toad." He joked.

She laughed at the mental image.

::::::::lLl:::::::::

"What does Naraku intend to do!?" The imp wondered.

"Kohaku, take the reins!" She ordered as she tossed the imp between him and the girl, unloading an arrow from her quiver and aiming it at the oncoming limbs as the arrow soon glowed pink. Here goes nothing! She fired.

The arrow missed, making her swear loudly, before the stinger limbs sailed at them and tried to get at the boy.
"Shit!" She snarled.

"Fly lower!" He barked as the dragon obeyed and flew closer to the ground.

That bastard, he intends to cut his head off and defile the shard! He's not doing it on my watch! She thought, growling as they continued to outfly the limbs; her eyes widened as she caught the scent of hanyou, along with the familiar scent of a priestess. InuYasha! She smiled in relief, steadying her footing on the dragon's back and throwing her head back to release a loud howl of aid.

"Kori-onee, what're you doing?" Rin asked alertly.

"InuYasha's nearby, I can smell his scent." Korihime replied, dodging a stray limb before sending an ice dagger at it, missing. Damn it!

:::::::oOo::::::::

Getsu's eyes widened alertly and she skidded to a halt.

Sesshomaru looked at her curiously, faintly hearing a howl sound in the distance. "What is it?"

She bristled and then growled. "Korihime, she's in trouble. Come on!" She barked, forcing her demonic power to kick in a bit more to give her speed as she flew ahead of him.

He followed quickly until he was at her side again.

Korihime, hang in there; I'm coming! She thought.

"Kohaku," the girl said in worry as her babysitter shielded her from any harm, her brown eyes on her friend.

He cackled. "Are you scared, Kohaku: are you scared that I'll control you again and make you harm that girl?"

She growled angrily and watched his silhouette make its way through the miasma. "Rin, stay behind me. If I tell you to run, run. Okay?" She instructed.

"B-but, Kori-onee!" She began.

"Do as I say, please Rin." She pleaded gently, glaring at the half-breed. I can't let Rin get hurt, I'll never forgive myself if anything happens to her! Aside from the fact that Sesshomaru would send me on a one-way to the underworld in shreds if Rin gets killed, she thought with a low growl in her throat.

"It's alright, Kohaku; you won't have to fear anymore when I'm done with you." Naraku promised coldly.

Korihime aimed an arrow at him, bristling like mad as the boy lifted the blade of his sickle to his neck. "Don't listen to him, Kohaku! I promised Getsu that I would look after you and Rin while they were gone, so don't even think about taking your life! Suicide isn't worth it!" She snapped, baring her teeth at the cackling hanyou.

"How quaint, sticking up for him as if he's your little brother. Where is your delightful sister anyway, Korihime? You know I love watching her fight, dancing in the heat of battle so to speak. She's truly a special girl, having been blessed with your father's ruthless power, and of course a perfect body any man would kill for…" He drawled, grinning malevolently at the thought of consuming the aforementioned daiyokai.

"You will not lay a hand on my sister! Besides, she's taken so stop sniffing around, you pathetic fuck." She thundered coldly, her claws growing.

A loud yowl sounded before Kirara appeared with Sango on her back, a large paw punting the sickle from his hands and sending him sprawling, the same paw keeping the weapon away from the boy.

"Kohaku!" Sango declared in relief.

"Sister, it's you!" Kohaku replied in kind.

Korihime sighed in relief, smiling at the demon slayer. "Geez am I ever glad to see you here." She declared, seeing the woman nod slightly.

"Likewise; thanks for protecting Kohaku, Korihime." Sango replied.

She shrugged. "Wasn't much."

"Sango, why not honor your brother and kill him now so that he may rest in peace?" Naraku drawled, making both females look at him.

"Don't be ridiculous!" She spat.

"Don't you understand, Sango? Death is a way to save your brother from his torment." He reasoned.

She huffed and aimed the arrow again. "Death doesn't get you anywhere, or haven't you realized that? You never died so of course you wouldn't believe such a thing!" She growled.

Onee-chan, please hurry! She thought.

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

"It's a pain in the ass when he wanders off, isn't it?" He snapped.

Both girls deadpanned.
"InuYasha, sit." She sighed.

WHAM. "G-Gack!"

She rolled her eyes, poking at him with her bow. "So blunt; it's a wonder you haven't gained a few concussions with as many sit commands as you get." She mused, hearing him growl curses at her from his face-plant into the ground.

"That reminds me, Kori-chan, why were you guys alone? I thought Getsu-onee and Sesshomaru were with you." The kitsune asked from his spot in her lap, looking up at her blue eyes.

She blinked at his question and then smiled sheepishly, ignoring the two sets of eyes on her. "Well, Sesshomaru was kind of bummed about the whole Tensaiga issue, so he went to pay a visit to Totosai, and Getsu went with him to keep the peace… I mean, you lot have seen this baka-inu's temper, imagine that like five times worse and with the ability to completely mask his emotions from the majority of the world." She explained.

Both girls blinked before shuddering.

"That's scary… It's a wonder you and your sister have travelled with him for so long." Sango offered.

Korihime shrugged innocently as the hanyou sat up and rubbed dirt from his face with a pout, making her giggle. "We're used to it at this point. Besides, Getsu's temper is pretty scary too, and I guess mine is, but I doubt it's as bad as theirs…"

InuYasha snorted derisively. "Bullshit! Yours is fuggin' scary!" He guffawed.

THWACK.

"Such language! There are virgin ears present, and I would appreciate if they were kept virgin for as long as possible, baka-hanyou." She cracked her knuckles, eyes closed serenely to the large bump that swelled on his head.

"See what I mean!? She's worse than Sesshomaru!" He barked.

FWHAM.

"Sheesh, I shoulda stuck around you guys more; I woulda had this one housebroken and well-tempered by now." Korihime declared with a sigh as she rubbed the sole of her boot into the hanyou's head after she'd drop-kicked him with ease, smoke rising from his head where she'd hit him.

Shippo had tears of laughter in his eyes as he was cracking up from seeing his favorite friend being beat on by a girl; Rin giggled; Kohaku sweatdropped at the sight; Kagome and Sango deadpanned.

A/N: hopefully i executed episode 14 well in this chapter.. until next chap see ya!