Sorry about the long wait but I know I wanted to leave a special surprise for everyone before New Year's (Kind of messed that up big time): Five chapters in one update! Hope they entertain you for awhile so I can start on the next ones. I hope to see you soon again.

Chapter 21

Unknown Location…

Birds chirped as the sound of footsteps got closer to the magnificent and beautiful Japanese building. Snow fell and as the footsteps got closer the snow beneath their feet sounded even heavier. Once they reached the building they waited outside until a voice inside let them through. Hours passed before anyone was seen from inside the building and they were clearly not very pleased when they finally reappeared. The taller of the two yelled at the top of his lungs and made dozens of birds fly away from the sound. The second just walked away as she tried to find a place to sit and think over what they both just heard. She walked through the snowy town and smiled at everyone she passed by, which wasn't very much because it was early morning. The birds that her brother scared off returned but with more friends. They passed her and a few minutes later a scream for help and mercy was heard. The young woman giggled and walked towards a bench she spotted. She sat down and noticed a large tree behind her. She smiled when she heard the birds come back and land near her booted feet. The birds chirped and she reached down and picked one up. The others looked at the two carefully but were interested on what the woman would do to their friend. She looked at the small bird and smiled at the beautiful colors Kami had given it. The bird's feathers gave a bright and beautiful glow because of the Sun's rays and chirped in her gloved hand. She looked around the area and once she was sure no one was paying her any attention she lifted her mask and rubbed her cheek with the small bird's body. The bird started to cue at her actions and also rubbed its own head with hers. Footsteps were heard and the birds on the ground flew away. The young woman slid her mask back down and let the bird in her hand fly away. She watched the birds fly away until her brother had finally revealed himself. He sat down next to her and was staring at her intently. Minutes passed until she finally turned to see her brother's tiger mask.

"What?" She asked as she looked at him through her mask. He shook his head and looked off into space. She looked at him and then looked at the coat he was wearing. She giggled and looked away from her brother. Her giggle turned into a gentle laugh as he said the same thing she did a few seconds ago. He looked at himself and huffed. "It's not my fault these stup-" an angry chirp interrupted him. He looked around him and chose his next words carefully. "It's not my fault these birds had full stomach's and friends nearby." She looked at the birds as they started to come back but slower and more careful this time. "You did yell and scare them. They only did what they thought was necessary." A chirp agreed with her answer. The man blew a raspberry at the birds and got up from the bench as quickly as he could and ran like a shot into town as birds chased him. She laughed and watched as the same bird that she looked at flew around her and finally landed on her leg. She smiled and started to talk to the bird once she lifted her mask.

"A year…a full year until we can return, can you believe that? I mean Karakuto had no right in yelling so early in the morning but …ugh I just wish Kami would have given us less time to wait…I mean seriously with the future changing and Gakuto missing the people on Earth won't have much of a chance." The bird chirped, causing the woman to smile. "I guess you have a point. Kagome Higurashi did beat Gakuto and she has training in demon, ninja, and even mystic. But-" she was interrupted by the bird again and this time with a more forceful chirp. The woman looked at the bird carefully and then tried to look at it more closely. She raised the bird and turned it this way and that. After a few minutes of awkward staring the woman finally let out a sigh and smiled at the bird. "You're a very smart bird you know that?" she said, which the bird chirped twice to, causing her to giggle. "Yes, yes, and beautiful too, how can I even forget?" She giggled for a few more minutes until she let out a long sigh and looked up at the falling snow, the bird watching just as intently as her on her shoulder.

"Serikuna!" they heard off in the distance. Serikuna smiled and started to pet the small bird on her shoulder. A few minutes passed until they heard another scream, louder this time. Serikuna sighed and slid her mask down and grabbing the bird softly from her shoulder, which made no movements, and placed it on the bench. "Sorry birdie but my sorry excuse of a brother has need of my assistance. Don't worry though I won't hurt anyone…badly." She smirked and started to sprint towards her brothers yells for help. The bird chirped and started to glow as soon as the beautiful mystic left. Soon the glow took shape of a figure. The figure stood and started to walk into the Japanese building.

"Serikuna, I do what I do because it is what is necessary. Please don't take it the wrong way. A year will go by like you won't even know it." Before the figure went into the building, they smiled and looked at the spot were Serikuna was sitting. "Guess I'm the only one alive that knows what she looks like underneath that mask. 124 points to Kami, five points to mystics, oh yeah I'm on a role!" the figure said before they disappeared into the building.

Konoha….

The ANBU headquarters was quiet this time of night considering their line of work. Two ANBU members stood outside the compound and watched as the occasional night walkers of the village went on their nightly duties. An occasional drunk and overly cocky villager passed as the night went on. They had been on watch for almost four hours straight and they still weren't showing any sign of fatigue as they stood like stone statues.

They detected the presence of the individual before it was made but were surprised when no one showed up where they were supposed to. They look at one another and nodded. One headed near the alarm of the facility while the other walked with a drawn kunai at the location. The one near the alarm stood near it with his hand hovering over the alarm and watched his partner walk towards the location. A few minutes passed and a black orb appeared on the location. The ANBU members tensed and watched the orb intently as it grew in size. Soon three figures were able to be seen inside. The alarm went of before the ANBU even had a chance to realize who was inside. Everyone inside the compound woke up and started to prepare for a village invasion ordeal. Everyone suited up and followed their respected captain's towards the front gate. Hundreds of people nearby woke up and added Junin to the fray. When the orb appeared to finally dissipate and the figures able to be seen clearly the area around was covered by thousands of watchful and intent eyes. A large wolf, known to them as Shadow, carried Kagome on his back and had an unconscious Kabuto in his sharp teeth by the neck, drawing blood. The trio was covered with sweat, burn marks, blood, cuts, and other things that one would expect from heavy fighting. Shadow growled and looked around.

"When she said she was getting us somewhere safe she wasn't kidding!" Shadow grinned. He looked at Kagome's face on his shoulder and smiled but still looking like a grin to everyone. "You did great Kagome. You did great…" His vision started to go out and back again. He looked at the people around him who had started to get closer. Out of instinct for protection of his charge he growled and started to unknowingly bite down harder onto Kabuto's neck. Shadow would have bit his neck clean off if it wasn't for the appearance of people he knew. He nodded when they got closer and dropped Kabuto onto the ground. As soon as he hit the ground, ANBU members picked him up and headed towards the compound to stick him in prison. A female ANBU he knew got closer and started to pat him on the head. His head started swimming and he fell on the floor. Kagome rolled off his back and he instantly grabbed her with his paws when she landed on the floor beside him. He held her close even as her friends tried to pull them apart. He growled once but then fell silent as fatigue and the poison finally took over his body. He fell unconscious and loosened his protective grip around her waist.

"What a strange dog…" one of the Junin stated. Soon he regretted it when Shadow growled even though unconscious and everyone fell silent. When everyone looked at each other's faces they laughed at the Junin that made the comment and carried both Kagome and Shadow to the infirmary and vet respectively. It took Rin and a fellow ANBU member from her group less time to carry Kagome to the hospital than it took the four Junin and small ANBU escort to carry Shadow to the veterinarian. Surprisingly though, it took less time for Shadow to heal than Kagome, which would come to their knowledge later. Little conversation occurred between Rin and the ANBU member as they wished to head towards the hospital as soon as possible and knew that none of them knew why Kagome was like this. Three minutes later the hospital doors burst open and the ANBU member and Rin walked in with an unconscious Kagome on their shoulders. This surprised many people as to why Kagome was able to hold on to anything, even while unconscious. They came to the conclusion that she had been holding onto something or someone for a while and her body got molded into the hold. Rin and her companion looked around the Hospital and were surprised to see it mostly dark and empty. The ANBU member looked around suspiciously and heard something nearby. He looked towards the end of the hall on his right and saw something that made his blood run cold. He pushed Kagome and Rin away and had barely any time to prepare himself as something big tried to eat him whole. Rin looked at Kagome and saw that she had still not awakened. She looked at the giant thing that her teammate was currently fighting off. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked at the giant snake that had somehow was able to squeeze its body into the halls of the hospital and still open its mouth to try and eat her teammate, who was currently in the creatures mouth and using his body to keep the snake's mouth from closing and killing him. She was about to help when he yelled at her.

"Don't! Whoever sent this thing to kill us is probably still here! Get yourselves out of here!" Rin looked defiantly at him and then turned towards her mother. Her face softened and looked back at her friend and nodded. She picked Kagome up and was about to move when she heard something behind her. At first she thought it was another snake because she heard a hiss. But then the hiss turned into a wicked and frightful laugh. Her blood turned into ice as she turned around and saw the shadow of someone with long hair approach her location from the other end of the hall. The person's footsteps echoed with each step in the entire hospital and Rin froze where she stood. The ANBU saw this and started to yell at her.

"Run! Run Damnit! Go!" But all Rin could hear was the evil laugh and footsteps that kept getting closer. She was awakened from her fear when her mother groaned and uttered one word. "Run…" Rin didn't need anymore encouragement as she started to run up the stairs as fast as she could. Behind her she heard the battle continue. She kept on running even though she heard talking and yelling a couple floor's below her. She screamed when she bumped into someone and noticed that she had just given her location to whoever was on the first floor hunting them. She looked at the person she bumped into and almost screamed again when she noticed the white eyes and bloody mess that used to be a doctor. She looked at the body and then her eyes followed a bloody trail that had hand prints and smudges on the wall. The blood trail kept going up the stairs and she noticed she was on the 5th floor. She could no longer see the blood trail because the stairs that led to the 6th floor obscured her vision. She heard more talking below and started to run back up the stairs.

"What the hell is happening!?" Rin hissed as she kept going up. She stopped when she heard something that made her blood turn to ice again. A scream pierced the hospital that was followed by a loud crunch. Rin started to sob and held her hand to her mouth to stop the sobs from being heard, not succeeding and increasing her dismay. She had not moved when the noise of talking was heard. She didn't even move when she heard the slithering and loud crashes as the giant snake headed up the stairs. She only moved when she felt a tightening around her neck and shoulders as Kagome uttered another small sentence. "Keep moving…" Rin nodded and pulled herself together. She started to run up the stairs even faster and noticed that the crashes and slithering got quieter and farther away until she could no longer here them.

She panted and looked to her right. She first saw her mother's head and mask-less face. Behind her mother's head was a big blue number that read 42 out of 50 on the wall. Her grip on Kagome got firmer and she started to move up the stairs when a loud crash behind her caused her to falter and almost fall over the rail. She looked behind her and noticed the giant snake had taken a new way of going up the stairs: going right through them vertically. Rin started to run up as the snake hissed and barley missed her and Kagome as she ran up the next corner of the stairs and rammed its head right through the wall of the 43rd floor. Rin ran up the 45th floor as she heard the snake get out of the hole it created and started to chase her again.

Rin looked to her right and saw the big blue number 48 out of 50. Her heart skipped a beat as she heard the snake catch up and hiss right at her heels. As she kept running she had gotten the bright idea of turning around to look at the snake's current location.

She screamed and, thankfully but also fearful and horrified, tripped on someone's blood on the stairs and nearly got her head eaten whole as the snake opened its mouth and surged forward, passing the women and rammed into another wall. Rin moved towards the wall and saw that her way to the roof was blocked by the snake's body. She noticed the snake stir again and start to move out of the whole. She though quickly and daringly ran and slid with Kagome between the hole and underneath the snake's jaw. She stood up in the 49th floor and ran as she looked back and noticed that the snake looked around bewildered. She gave a yelp and small scream as the snake stuck its head again into the 49th floor and turned its head. It spotted her immediately and hissed with its mouth open. Rin thought that she would just die of fear as she saw the snake's large bloody fangs and dark throat. It reminded her of a back hole; everything gets gobbled up, nothing comes out.

She fully turned around and through a paper bomb at the snake. The snake hissed and recoiled as the explosion rocked the floor and blew out some nearby windows. The floor turned dark and the emergency lights and sprinklers turned on. Smoke had obscured the hall and gave Rin a much needed break. She felt around the wall for something and grasped a doorknob. She quickly shut the door behind her and turned around. She noticed that the room also had its emergency lights and sprinklers going. She heard a loud, frustrated screech as the snake started to look for her frantically. Rin looked around the room and noticed another set of doors in the room. She headed towards the nearest set and opened the doors. She saw another operating room with blood and severed body parts from both sexes and almost threw up. She closed the door and headed toward the other door. She was about to open it when a loud crash was heard nearby. She began to get scared as she heard more crashes and more frustrated hisses get closer. She opened the door and noticed a walk-in closet with hundreds of healing implements and hospital utensils. She placed Kagome on a nearby wall and stood up. She looked at Kagome's wounds and then around at the contents. She picked up a few of them and looked carefully at a crate with a dozen bottles tightly sealed. Rin picked up one of the bottles with clear liquid and placed it in her pack without a second thought at to what she picked up. Rin grabbed a few more bottles when a crash next door caused her to look at the door and thought quickly. She closed the door to the small pharmacy with Kagome and herself inside. Silence was the only thing Rin could hear as she stood in the darkness. She felt around the room and grabbed onto one of Kagome's shoulders. She started to pick her up when a crash and a hiss burst into the room. She stood still and held her breath. She turned to Kagome who had shallow breathing but barely audible.

"I have to get her out of here!" Rin thought as she heard the snake hiss and head towards her door. Fear started to rise as the noise of the slithering got closer and closer to her door. She closed her eyes tight and prayed to Kami for a miracle. Kami must have heard her prayers that day because the snake slammed it head into the other operating room. She was only given seconds as she burst through the door and ran towards the destroyed door that led into the room. The snake pulled its head out and snapped at the spot that Rin used to be only seconds ago. To Rin's horror she noticed the snake's body was not even halfway in the room and was blocking her path. She thought quickly as she kept running towards the blocked doorway. She pulled out a paper bomb and blew open the wall to her left. She jumped through and almost jumped 49 floors down if she didn't catch herself on the rail. She jumped of the rail and ran up the stairs. She reached the top as the snake had finally got out of the 49th floor. Rin's legs burned as she looked around and noticed two doors again. She ran as fast as she could when she noticed a red sign near one of the doors that read 'Roof Access'. She burst through the door and welcomed the cold night air. Her relief was short lived as the snake burst through the door and caught her off guard. Kagome fell from Rin's grip and rolled away.

Rin screamed and yelled curses as one of the snake's fangs caught her on the left shoulder and went through all the way through her armpit. She cried as she turned with watery eyes at the fang. The fang had gone through her left shoulder, through her armpit and the tip of the fang ended at her hip level. She screamed with pain as the snake started to shake its massive head. The snake threw Rin onto the floor hard and hissed happily as she rolled into a bloody heap. Rin watched as the snake came closer and started to wrap itself around her. As the snake started to squeeze her life away her eyes caught a small movement to near the door. Kagome was crawling towards Rin's pack and rummage through it. She pulled out two of the bottles Rin picked up in the mini-pharmacy and looked at them. She shook her head with a weak laugh and stood up on wobbly legs. She looked at her adopted daughter and then at the snake, who had yet to take notice of Kagome as it was more interested in its current meal. Kagome changed that as she yelled defiantly at it.

"HEY LIZARD BREATH! Yeah you! Let her go now!" Kagome yelled as she stood weakly on two legs. The snake looked at Kagome and screeched as it dropped Rin and lunged at Kagome with its fangs ready to kill and mouth open to gulp down. Kagome threw as hard as she could the bottles at the snake and watched as one broke into pieces on the snake's left eye and one into its waiting mouth. A sharp hiss and burning sound was heard as the snake thrashed on the roof and slammed its head around as its entire left side of its face and bottom jaw melted away. Its thrashing stopped as the remaining head of the snake landed on the roof of the hospital with a thud.

Kagome fell to her knees and started to crawl towards Rin. As they both reached each other they checked each other for any other injuries. When they found none, they smiled at each other and lay beside one another. Rin laid her head on Kagome's chest and looked at the stars and moon above with Kagome. Rin started to fall asleep to Kagome's beating heart when she heard Kagome giggle. Rin turned her head towards Kagome's face and gave her a questioning look. "What's so funny?" Rin asked. Kagome giggled a bit more and asked Rin a question in return. "What did you plan on doing with those bottles?" Rin blushed with embarrassment as she looked away from her mother's eyes. "I thought it was medical alcohol…I was going to pour it onto your wounds but…" Kagome finished her sentence for her. "But you didn't read the label carefully and didn't notice that it was actually sulfuric acid?" they laughed at that and each groaned as they felt sharp pains in their exhausted bodies. "Good thing you didn't pour it on then huh?" Kagome joked. Rin smiled and looked at the snake's remains.

"What should we do with the giant snake?" Rin asked Kagome. Kagome started to run her hand through Rin's black, sweaty, and bloody hair as she also looked at the snake. "I was planning on quitting the ninja business and go into boot making." Rin looked at Kagome with a bewildered look and laughed as she saw the grin on Kagome's face. They laughed through the night as they made jokes about the ordeal and other things. Most of the laughing was followed by pain but for the two on the roof it was worth it; it was the only way they knew they were still alive.