A small light filtered through the cracks in the old temple ceiling, as the sun rose, so did he. Onigumo sat up, the mottled sunlight dancing on his bare skin like a kaleidoscope as he took in his surroundings, and remembered where he was. That's right, Kikyo and got waylaid by a thunderstorm, and her horse got spooked and ran off. He rubbed his eyes, and looked over to see his travelling companion, only to see that she was gone, as was her and his clothing, and his horse. His heart jumped up into his throat a moment, as he considered the many possibilities as to why. One, she's robbed me and left me for dead. Two, she's gone to town to fetch her supplies, or three, she's outside waiting for me...?

Onigumo frowned, hoping that the latter option was the most likely. Kikyo seemed too kind a soul to leave him like that, but being a bandit, he'd had his fair share of shady travelling companions, that would no sooner take the clothes off your back, than wait for you to wake.

He stood, looking down at himself in nary but his black fundoshi, he surely hoped that Kikyo had the decency to at least leave him his clothes. He looked down at the floor, where he saw the blackened remains of the fire, and his sword lying across the warped floorboards. He picked it up and unsheathed it, walking cautiously out to the entryway where the door had long ago fallen off.

Onigumo blinked when he saw what he did, Kikyo was there right in the clearing, dressed and ready to go, combing through her long, black hair as she sat atop a horse. Her horse, he realized. It must have come back sometime during the night. She didn't notice him until he stepped forward, and the wooden board creaked under his foot.

Kikyo smirked, He looks like a wild man, with his hair all a mess, in nothing but a loin cloth with his sword drawn at me as if I were a looter! She laughed softly, catching his ear.

"Hey, what's so funny? What did you do with my clothes?" He muttered, sheathing the sword. Kikyo stopped her combing to deftly wrap up her hair, holding the comb in her mouth as she tied the ribbon. He waited until she was done, feeling impatient as she plucked fretfully at her side pieces of hair to make them lay properly. Onigumo cleared his throat, and Kikyo at last paid him mind once again. She gestured towards a tree, and as Onigumo followed her gaze, he saw his robes and underclothes draped over a branch, where as he walked over to finger the fabric, he noticed it was crisp from air drying, and warm from the sunlight.

"Our clothes got muddy, so I washed them earlier this morning. Dress and we can be on our way, we've already wasted too much time. Kaede will worry about me." She said, putting away her comb, and taking out a tiny jar, from which she took a mint leaf and chewed it to freshen her breath. Onigumo blinked, almost dazedly, then shook his head, processing what she'd said.

"Thank you, Kikyo, but you really didn't have to. I go weeks without washing my robes, in fact; I can't remember the last time I washed them. I normally just buy new ones when the old ones get dirty." He said, as he shrugged them on. Kikyo snorted from behind him, Must be nice, how convenient that must be!

Onigumo pulled his robe shut and tied it, then slid his sheath into the waist belt.

"I see your mare returned," He said, then walked over to his own horse, getting on.

"I suppose she got over her fear and found her way," She said with a small smile, rubbing the brown and white horse's ear. "She could have really injured me, and I think she knows it. I woke up to a furry face in my own, licking my cheek." Kikyo chuckled, and Onigumo smiled as they made their way down the grassy trail, the long, overhanging blades of grass by the horses hooves still dripping with dew.

"She must really love her master. You seem like the kind of woman who takes good care of things." He said, recalling all the little things he had witnessed Kikyo do, from caring for the people of the village, to tending to her horse, caring for herself, then lastly, even himself, something he could barely believe he was worthy of.

Kikyo lowered her gaze to the reins and rode astride him, not answering a moment. Then she spoke, and he felt a small twinge of regret for the way he'd chosen his words.

"Yes, I take care of things. I suppose that's the way it is, whether you're a miko, or an ordinary woman, the weight will always fall upon someone's shoulders." She said, and glanced at him quickly before looking away.

Onigumo neglected to respond a moment, pondering how he would respond to such a thing. He watched as each step the horse made, caused her to jostle just slightly in the seat. Where an ordinary woman would jiggle salaciously, she did not.

He gulped, then looked away, remembering how he'd seen a peek of the linen wrap that bound her breasts, and resolving that must be why, it was a necissary modesty for her to have as a priestess. He felt wrong for staring in the hope she would not be so tightly bound.

"...If you were an ordinary woman, I'm sure you could easily find a suitor that would care for your needs. You could stay at home and care for the multiple children I'm sure he would give you, and live comfortably on whatever wages he earned, as a... what, farmer?" He said, and froze stiff when Kikyo burst out, laughing at him. She looked back at him with a coy smirk, and his face reddened with embarrassment.

"You think so, eh? Do you think I seriously desire such a meager existence, is a woman to you only good for bearing children? Perhaps I desire to travel the world, healing others, helping others, what kind of man would be so patient as to wait for a woman like that to return home?" She intoned slyly, and his face reddened darker.

"A true husband would give her whatever she desired, whenever, and not bind her to one place." He said, then his cheeks drained of blood at last as he felt triumphant in his answer. Kikyo hummed thoughtfully, then moved her shoulders in a shrug.

"Too bad. I'm only a priestess, and there is no such man, at least not that I can see." She said, not looking back at him for fear he'd see her reddened cheeks as she considered his words.

A man that would give her whatever she desired, whenever...? Does he mean...?! He would take a woman in the woods just like that, anywhere? She blushed from her cheeks to her chest, and lifted one hand to fiddle with the sacred jewel tucked safely in the secrecy of her bosom, as she took a deep breath.

Onigumo is just speaking hypothetically. He was playing a riddle game with me, that's all. He couldn't possibly mean...Kikyo shook her head once, then gripped the reins.

"Let's speed up the pace." She said in brief; before taking off from him, and letting the woods rush by. Onigumo paused in place a moment, then smirked, and shook the reins. Either he was hallucinating, or Kikyo was playing coy with him...? Two could play that game.

~•o•O•o•~

"Rrrr." InuYasha grumbled, sniffing the floor of the old temple. He didn't like what he smelled, apparently Kikyo and that bandit had spent the night here, after he'd gotten antsy last night when she didn't return, he decided to go after her. It wasn't that hard to sniff out their trail, it was especially easy when her horse had come just trotting back into town, and walked up to the front door! InuYasha led the horse back, then ducked away as not to be conspicuous. He was very suspicious, after seeing Kikyo washing their clothes in the river. She let Onigumo see her in her underclothes, but not him?!

"Feh. Perverted bandit, that's what he is!" He grumbled, snorting out the scent of mildew and ash. Thankfully, he hadn't smelled blood. The scent of Kikyo's blood on the floorboards would mean perhaps she'd given her purity away. He sighed, and felt relieved that there was no such scent. Surely, a scent like that would be enough to send him into a demonic rage... Something he wasn't exactly intending on doing, but if it came to pass, Onigumo would be torn to shreds. InuYasha smirked, and stood, brushing the dirt off his palms.

When it comes to fighting, he's got nothing on me!

InuYasha thought, feeling confident, then hopped through an opening in the roof and perched there a moment, and leaped off into the grass, a flash of silver and golden eyes in the heavy green foliage.

~•o•O•o•~

"Wait." Kikyo paused, her horse coming to a stop instantly as she jerked the reins.

"What is it?" Onigumo asked, and pulled his horse to a sudden halt with his surprise.

"Shh!" Kikyo hissed, then looked over her shoulder, slowly removing an arrow from her quiver as she raised her bow.

"Demons." She whispered, then loosed an arrow. The arrow flew past him so quickly and with such a powerful aura, Onigumo jerked back, pulling his katana from its sheath as he looked around quickly.

There was a flapping of wings, a harsh cry, then a thud in the distance as the arrow hit, and an odd resonating sound as the faint lilac light sparkled, and fluttered faintly through the trees as she shot a crow demon. His horse backed up, nervous, and Onigumo hopped down, Kikyo following quickly, before they stood back to back, and watched as the demons slowly encroached on them.

"What do they want?" Onigumo murmured, and Kikyo shook her head.

She knew what they wanted, what they sensed. The sacred jewel hidden carefully in her robes.

"The jewel, you have it, yess? Give it to uss... " A demon hissed, then came out of the undergrowth, and Onigumo stiffened at seeing the salamander beast that dragged a distended belly across the grass, its green eyes rolling dementedly as its long tongue lolled out the side of its drooling mouth.

"What? A jewel? What's wrong with it?" Onigumo insisted, and Kikyo nudged him with her elbow, before loosing another arrow, and striking the salamander directly in the skull, the beast seemed to pop upon impact, into nothing but blood spray as the purple luminescence blasted out in a radiating sphere of light. Onigumo marvelled at it; he'd heard of priestesses that could grant miracles, cure ailments, but he'd never head of one that could slay demons in such a dazzling way.

"That yokai was sick from hunger, grown delirious from the aura I give off." She said quickly, before spearing another demon in the trees. Onigumo tensed, sensing something by his feet, he looked down and saw a rat demon about to leap at him, and slashed it in midair, with a loud squeal as he cut cleanly through its vital organs.

"Your aura?"

"I have returned this area back to as it should be, these temple grounds were once a holy place, but the priests here had fallen ill from the demonic aura that they were too weak to purify. The woods around here became rampant with yokai, feeding off any villagers that seeked out the shrine. That's why this temple was abandoned, long ago, once the demons had possessed the priests, and it became a feeding ground for the yokai in the woods. That temple has been here longer than I have been alive, perhaps even as early as the Kamakura period," She said quickly, before firing three more arrows in rapid succession. Kikyo sighed, and turned around, feeling satisfied that all the yokai were eliminated. Onigumo tensed, and stepped forward, his katana held out before him at the ready.

"Lady Kikyo, do not move." He said sternly, and she froze in place, only turning her face just slightly before her eyes widened, and she gasped as she felt a slice of cool air across her back. Onigumo's blade cut through the air, and there was a terrifying squelching sound as the steel struck through the object with a crunch, and then thudded on the ground; squashing the squirming demon beneath the weight of his sword. Kikyo turned around quickly, though her body felt like every hair had stood up on end with disgust, having a yokai crawling across her back, and she hadn't even sensed it.

There was a sizzling sound as it's acidic blood bubbled out onto the grass, then an inhuman, gutteral hiss as the red scorpion demon struggled beneath his blade where it's body was crushed, the deadly stinger dripping with venom, stabbing at the air threateningly. Kikyo hesitated to shoot, and instead, she pulled a sutra from her sleeve, and flung it at the yokai, quickly stunning it instantly.

"Why did you do that?" Onigumo gasped, then watched in wonder as Kikyo reached for her saddle bag, and pulled out a small vial, before squatting down, catching the drops of venom in her glass bottle.

"I need to extract the venom before killing it. Scorpion Yokai anti-venom is very highly sought after; seeing as many are too frightened to fetch it themselves. I may as well take it while I have the chance." She said. The venom sizzled as it hit the cool glass, then once she was satisfied it was full, she corked the bottle, and removed the sutra.

"Oh, right. Very wise choice." Onigumo answered, observing as the scorpion dissolved instantly, and his blade came free easily now, dislodged from it's hard exoskeleton. He wiped it on the grass before sheathing it, then looked to Kikyo nervously as she went to put away the venom.

"...Kikyo, that demon was on your back. Did it sting you?" He asked tensely, and she shook her head once, looking back over her shoulder. "I don't think so, but if it did, there may be numbing agents in the toxin." Onigumo observed her, and noted how there was a clean slice in her haori, which revealed the creamy, smooth skin of her back.

"Let me look." He said, and she turned her face away, and allowed him. The slice had cut her linen wrap off, and now her skin prickled with the exposed feeling as Onigumo parted the slit in her robe.

He traced one finger across her back, searching for the indent of a stinger. Kikyo held her breath for what seemed like an eternity before he pulled away, and patted her shoulders.

"Your free of harm, my lady." He said, and they both sighed from the parting in relief. "Oh, and... Here. Until we get to town, then, I'll buy you a new robe." He said, placing his own outer robe on her shoulders for modesty.

"Fine. Thank you." Kikyo nodded quickly, not wishing to discuss the situation any further, she pulled it around her chest and tapped the horse with her sandal, sending it into a light jog, as the trees became sparser, and the dirt road could be seen once again. Onigumo followed behind her, the light white nagajuban he wore clinging to his back with a nervous sweat.

That was very close, if I hadn't killed it in time, it would have stung her in the back, not a second later.

~•o•O•o•~

InuYasha waited for the couple to leave the clearing before hopping down off an overhanging branch, and sniffing around where the two had been standing. He clenched his fist in anger, he just couldn't believe that Kikyo had let her guard down with that man, and allowed the demon to latch onto her back! He'd almost revealed his position at that moment, but thankfully, Onigumo surprised him with how quick he was to attack the demon. He also impressed InuYasha by treating Kikyo with respect; something he hadn't expected when he saw the way the man eyed just a few inches of her exposed back as if it were gold or something.

"Feh. I saw Kikyo bathing, I've seen more of er' than him! I don't get what's so special about a woman's back, though." He muttered, and scratched behind one ear with his foot, becoming distracted for a moment.

There was a rustling in the brush; then a rumbling, purring sound that startled InuYasha into action. He stood quickly, readying his claws as something barely discernible moved in the shadows, its black and white markings concealing it to anyone without eyes as sharp as an Inu-Yokai's. He spat, and crinkled his nose at the intruder.

"Come on out, you don't think I can smell you? You reek!" He sneered. The shadow chuckled, then spoke.

"The woman... you admire her. But the other, he's the one who protected her." She spoke in a small, reedy voice, then revealed herself. InuYasha's eyes widened as a female yokai came out before him, her azure, needle-pointed eyes meeting his own golden ones as she peeked out from a side-swept mane of white hair with black streaks. InuYasha growled and firmed his stance as she slinked forward in a snake-like slithering walk, her thick tail moving behind her back as her black, fur coated body moved with a sleek sheen as she approached him.

"Why not mate with your own kind, like me for example...?" She tittered, flipping her hair out of her eye with one hand. InuYasha growled back, "As if! I'm not some stinkin' skunk demon, I may be hanyou, but my blood is purer than a foul creature like you." He retorted back, and she clicked her tongue at him in dissatisfaction, then surged forth, her claws and fangs out. InuYasha lept right at her in response, and slashed her across the chest.

"Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!" He said, and watched as she fell back in a spray of blood, and collapsed to the ground in a jumble of twisted limbs. He snickered, then walked over and squashed the remains of the lowly skunk yokai as his bare foot deflated her. A green mist oozed out, then rose and surrounded him. InuYasha coughed, then began to hack profusely at the strong scent of it's putrid musk.

Keh! Shouldn't have squashed it! He thought briefly, before becoming light headed from the heavy odor, and passing out face first in the grass.

~•o•O•o•~

"Hey! You can't do that!"

"Heheh, you don't have your precious priestess to protect you now, do you?"

"No! No, stop!"

Kaede tossed and turned in her sleep, whimpering, then rolled off of her futon with a heavy thud, and hit her head on the wood floor like she did almost everyday. But what was different, was that this time, she didn't hear the soft laughter of her sister Kikyo. Kaede groaned, squeezing her eyes shut, as light washed over her and blinded her.

"Give up all your goods, or suffer the consequences!" A voice startled her, and she groaned.

This has to be a nightmare, it has to be... I just won't wake up, that's it... I'll wait for sister Kikyo to wake me up...

"I said, give em' up, girl!" The voice insisted once again, then Kaede yelped out in agony as she felt a searing pain in her skull. She screamed and lashed around the bed in pain, as the bandit twisted his sword in her eye.

"Now, ya see. It ain't some figment of your imagination." He chuckled, and Kaede at last managed to open one eye, and froze in terror at the sight before her. Her teeth chattered, as she felt the heat of blood leaking down her face, and reached for her robe, patting until she found the pouch of coins from Kikyo.

"H-here... This is all I have, p-promise..." She managed to whisper, and the man snatched the bag from her, removing his sword, then slashing it across her cheek with a cruel laugh.

"Aahhh!" She screamed, and cringed backwards from him into the fetal position, curling up on the floor, sobbing. The shadow in the hot sunlight at last left, a small trail of blood drops landing on the wood floor, the door swinging behind him as he retreated. Kaede could only sob, as she heard the terrified cries of the villagers all around her, and tried to hide the best she could.

Kikyo... InuYasha... where are you?!

~•o•O•o•~

"Ah, hello Lady Kikyo, how were thy travels? You arrived later than I had hoped, and with a travelling companion, none the less," The woman in the apothecary shop said, as Kikyo handed her the satchel of dried herbs, and she picked through it with a keen eye.

"Hello, yes, unfortunately we were waylaid by a storm. This is my escort, Onigumo-sama." She responded, and the woman looked to him inquisitively before nodding to him in greeting. Kikyo reached into her pocket, and set the vial of scorpion venom down.

"How much for this scorpion yokai venom?" She said, and the woman gasped as she eyed it, then carefully picked it up, and held it towards the light. She swirled it around, then opened the bottle, and tested it by sticking a blade of grass into the liquid. It immediately dissolved, and she closed it quickly.

"¥2,673 Yen." She answered quickly, and Kikyo nodded. Onigumo's brows raised, impressed; and he walked closer, inspecting all the wares displayed on the counter and shelves around him, humming with interest.

"...Are you a priest, sir?" The shopkeeper asked, assuming that any man travelling with a miko must be.

"No, I have no such attachments. I'm like what you'd call a ronin, though I serve no daimyo." He said, and the woman's hands went to her blushing cheeks. Kikyo looked to him with a reproachful gaze, then shook her head.

"I-I didn't know you kept such company!" She stuttered, and Kikyo dismissed her surprise with a soft laugh.

"He's no hero, come now, Nasuki, I'll take my usual." Kikyo said, and passed her a stack of coins. Nasuki nodded eagerly, and went to gather the various tinctures that Kikyo required. Onigumo tilted his head curiously, intrigued how Kikyo was both the supplier of this woman's goods, and one of her best customers. A tactic, that as he mused over, he realized was quite keen of Kikyo. By keeping the shop stocked at all times, she ensured she would always have what she needed, without the hassle of making the medicine herself.

Onigumo smirked at Kikyo, and watched as Kikyo took back her change that was twice as much as she'd came with.

"Thank you, Nasuki! I'll see you in a few weeks." Kikyo waved goodbye, and they left the shop. Onigumo waited for Kikyo to finish putting away her goods to speak, then tilted his head towards the shop where linens hung from the front entrance; advertising that it was a clothing shop. Kikyo looked, and hesitated a moment, before following him. She pushed through the silky cloth curtain, and clasped her hands before her, clutching the lilac-hued robe he'd given her closed as he strolled directly in, and walked as if on a mission. Kikyo's cheeks flared, she had never been in such an extravagant kimono shop. All her clothing were hand-sewn.

"Hello, good sir. You look in need of a new robe, and the lady?" The well-dressed shopkeeper said, and Onigumo nodded, "Yes, I'll need a new set, but the lady will need a fitting for a summer yukata."

Kikyo gasped and placed her fingers over her mouth. A yukata?! She'd never worn something so flimsy, so light, yet... so pretty! It wasn't in her wardrobe as a miko, but as she looked around, she saw that was pretty much her only option, or a long kimono, which she would have preferred, if it weren't so sweltering hot today.

"Well, come in, miss. We'll get your measurements, go on through the back room and a lady will be waiting." He said, and Kikyo quivered, before nodding her head quickly. She felt like each step towards the back room was a mile, as she walked towards the curtain, and entered.

Onigumo smiled as Kikyo hurried away, then turned to the shopkeeper and grinned. "What's your finest material...?"

Kikyo entered the back room, and was greeted by an elderly woman. She removed Onigumo's over robe, and the old woman waited as she removed her nagajuban, then began measuring her. Kikyo closed her eyes, and waited as she felt the string the woman used as a guide to wrap around her hips, her bust, then along her inseam.

The elderly woman turned away, leaving Kikyo in her robe as she waited.

"Now, young lady. Let's talk about replacing those... ugly old underwear." Kikyo's eyes widened, and she looked down at what the old woman was holding.

"W-What's wrong with what I have on...?" She said, covering her chest for modesty, the linen wrap sagging in the back where it had been cut.

"Well, a linen wrap just isn't practical these days, there's more comfortable, attractive items that flatter a lady's chest, not crush it down." She said, and held out the strange, white object.

"What is it?" Kikyo said, puzzled.

"This will hold your bosom in place better. Let's see if it fits now, dear." The sweet elderly woman said, and Kikyo paused, taking the item of clothing; feeling it between her fingers. It was thin, yet would cover her suitably where she needed it... but perhaps she was unsuited for such an item...?

"I... have no need, I'm a miko." Kikyo said, and tried to hand it back to her. The lady giggled, and placed it back firmly in her hands and patted them.

"Nonsense, all women should feel supported, no matter their station."

Kikyo mused on this, feeling it between her fingers. It was nothing particularly fancy, only a white, rectangular piece of cotton, with straps that would tie around her shoulders and back for support. It would match the white fundoshi she wore, as well as perhaps be more suitable for her fighting needs, after all.

"Ok, I suppose you're right."

Kikyo said, and handed it back to the woman, allowing her to instruct her on how it wear it.

~•o•O•o•~

The day was growing longer, and the heat more oppressive as InuYasha at last woke from where he'd passed out. He got up on his hands and knees, shaking twigs out of his hair.

Damn it! I'm behind, they've had to already been to town now! He grumbled, and got to his feet, shaking grass off of himself. He picked up on Kikyo's scent, and began to follow her trail, and the bandit Onigumo's. He'd been down this trail many times, whenever Kikyo would make her journey every few months to buy medicine, he would commonly go with her. Normally, he didn't enter the town with her, though. It was bad enough he got gawked at in her home village, he didn't want to have to go through that all over again, and he supposed maybe Kikyo felt embarrassed having a hanyou traveling with her; the very thing she was protecting the jewel against. InuYasha sneered, as he lept over hills and pistoned off of tree branches to increase his speed.

Maybe it's best I don't follow them, if she's having such a grand old time, her and that disgusting bandit.

"InuYasha! Lord InuYasha!" a tiny little voice cried from far off in the distance, and his ear pricked, turning towards the sound. InuYasha paused, and looked out the woods, and towards the source of the sound, which was back the way he came.

"Help! The bandits are attacking the village!" Kaede cried, and InuYasha turned around and ran towards the sound, he leaped as quickly as he could, becoming just a flash of red and silver as he hurried back to Kaede. When he got there, he was startled by the strong scent of blood, and the bandage wrapped around Kaede's face, concealing her right eye. She hung nearly sideways off her horse, which was panting and pawing at the earth as if anxious.

"Kaede! What happened?!" He shouted, and caught the little girl, hefting her up in his arms. His face showed his worry, his brows creasing in the center as Kaede looked up at him, blinking her one eye weakly.

"Onigumo's men... they dug up their swords, and now they're ransacking the town, taking women, k-killing everyone..." She said meekly, then made a tired sob, and grasped the robe of the fire rat as InuYasha held her tightly and growled.

"They'll pay for that, they'll all pay!" He snarled, then slapped the horse on the backside back to town, and took off faster than any horse, holding Kaede tightly in his arms as he hurried back, his heart racing frantically in his chest; both with his fear, and his animosity that increased tenfold now for Onigumo.

~•o•O•o•~