A/N: Sorry, I know I've kept you waiting, but here it is. I have to just knuckle down and get back in the habit, I suppose, and thank you for sticking with me.

/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\

Well, after some catching up Inuyasha returned back through the village and up to the place where his brother was, and sat there with him again. This time he had brought food, many canteens and skeins of water, and even some of Miroku's very strong shochu-the only alcohol in the whole village that could get Sesshoumaru drunk if he had enough of it. Inuyasha smirked and silently made gestures to bribe the Mage with two skiens of this shochu to pass around between him and his Ninjas-not near enough to get them Drunk, definitely enough to enjoy the warmth-while he handed Sesshoumaru the third and fourth, which was enough to get the dog, well, Almost Tipsy. He'd made sure not to forget fresh bandages and two blankets for Shippou, knowing full well even if he pointed out there were two, his brother wouldn't use one if snow fell on his face. He also brought an oil-lamp, a thick sheaf of rice paper, a few sticks of writing charcoal, an inkwell and calligraphy brush, and a washing cup for the brush; two bowls, two plates, two sets of chopsticks, two spoons, two cups, and handed over one of two pouches he had of full sets of proper Shougi stones, the other being for his use. All of these were inspected with just the slightest hint of some kind of highly suppressed, hard to define, very faint sensation of emotion in the Mage's gaze as he passed these things, one by one, looking them over and making sure nothing was suspicious, or illusory, or concealed any weapon, or was written upon with any spell or seal of any kind...

"So, you say this is the strongest shochu on this side of Nihon," the Mage took a whiff, and his nose wrinkled, but then took a sip, and his eyes lit up, "say, that isn't bad after all." He passed it silently to the nearest Ninja, who tried it and passed it around, and they all had similar reactions, oohing and aahing and sort of smacking their lips so to speak, although some had beaks, and those rather went clack than smack, but in essence it was all the same gesture anyways, and they liked it.

Wise to the subtle body language his brother sent him, Sesshoumaru made swift work of drinking his two skiens of shochu; it made him tipsy alright, but not so bad, not Drunk. But it was enough that he could easily make them believe he was drunk if he wanted to act it out...yet he felt, really, that what Inuyasha wanted, was to remove the option of them pilfering those two...so he could fetch them More.

More, of course, would be Miroku's Second Batch. He and Sango made that Together. It was a great and wonderful shochu. It really was.

Sesshoumaru hiccupped and smiled at Inuyasha, having finished the second skien.

"You're the best *hic* little brother ever," he swooned just a little fuzzily, and Inuyasha chuckled and flicked his ears.

"I try, big brother. I try."

"Say, hanyou," the Mage began after the second swiftly went around and they had all had just a bit, just enough, and peering down at the dog who had already finished his two and looked mighty pleased with the effect, "do you have more of that shochu?"

"More?" Inuyasha blinked, "well, I didn't Bring more with me. I'd have to go Get some. But uh, yeah, sure. More. How much more? You want like one more or like, you know, one or two for each of you? I mean the last thing I want to do," he huffed, "is have you have me running back and forth a dozen times, you know? Like you already know you just make a poke at my brother and I'll run it but let's not be embarrassing, okay?"

The Mage actually cracked a grin at him when he finished speaking.

"Well, a dignified way to admit the situation you're in. Yes, bring as much as you can find. We will take turns, half of us drinking and the other half taking post. We can't be irresponsible, after all. But we'll divide the alcohol beforehand, to be fair," he nodded. "We are all the thirsty kind of birds, you know. You'd be wise to not assume that getting drunk makes us weaker," he added sharply.

"No, if anything, I'd think you might get meaner. I'm not stupid. You have my sword and my brother and my friend, and now you wanna drink? I mean hell, you might even get me to kiss you under these kind of ransoms. But like...don't."

The Mage actually laughed at that and shooed Inuyasha off with a succession of interesting amused squawks and Bird Noises.

"Funny puppy brother," Sesshoumaru smiled, then hiccupped, "he's so Silly. Silly Inuyasha."

"It worked, Rin, you were right!" Inuyasha hissed in glee, and then, grinning, "they want as much as I can bring. How much do we have, guys?"

"Miroku has five barrels ready," Kohaku smirked, "and if you take two, give them the slightly older one first, to get them full drunk, and pop the second one after, which will have the slow release poison in it. They shouldn't notice these scents under the spices of the brew."

"Got it," Inuyasha grinned and picked up the older barrel, and Kohaku swiftly uncorked the second barrel, dropped the three poison tablets into the shochu, and corked it again, and Inuyasha hefted that one onto his other shoulder, and his carrying capacity thusly full, he made haste to return to the phoenixes with the booze.

So of course they each got out from their own small personal packs their own mugs and began to drink heavily, the Mage himself and six of the Ninjas taking turn at the keg before the next shift would drink...

They got halfway through the keg and it became the end of two hours, and the other six, as agreed, gave the cutoff warning so the first ones could sober up before they got too carried away; and for another hour they rested, and the other six finished off the first keg...

Of course Inuyasha had brought another two skiens slung over his shoulder, presumably for him or his brother, but he didn't touch them just yet or pass them over; nobody seemed curious enough to think about it twice.

Now the second keg was opened after the second shift had gotten well and wobbly, and the first had sobered a little, but not fully-and they, being birds and not dogs, being drunk already and noses dull with alcohol, quite enjoying themselves, fully missed the very subtle change in the two barrels.

"Here, these are for Shippou," Inuyasha extended in a gesture that almost looked like supplication, as if asking permission, "when he wakes."

"S-shurre," the Mage sniffed the two skiens, smelled the same alcohol, and passed them right on through.

"Sesshoumaru...I'm sorry I can't just stay here the whole time, but you know, I know, Tetsusaiga will call if anything happens. I will keep coming back a lot of course, but I still have to-"

"Go, go," Sesshoumaru smiled fuzzily at him, hiccupping, "Nothing *hic* else for you to do here, little bro-*hic*-brother."

Ah, the antidote must be in one of those two skiens.

What about the second one?

Perhaps more of the same? Or just alcohol? I haven't the nose of a dog, and it was passed too swiftly for me to catch it all.

The same, brother, even though my nose was closer.

Lord Sesshoumaru will know all the scents within and what to do with each.

Yes, indeed he will, his nose is of the most acute keenness.

Inuyasha's performances are flawless.

The Mage doesn't know him very well, fortunately. Some enemies would not be fooled, but he hasn't studied these two for very long.

Their spies must not have been spying for too long before they heard of this plan they had made.

Less than a year probably.

Yes, I agree.

How long has Zusaku been seeking the Key?

Actively? Oh, I'm not sure. I first heard rumors of that perhaps one or two years ago?

Only two years? That's just enough time for him to have gathered his information and position his entire kingdom as he has done over this same amount of time.

So he's been planning this for two years?

Maybe not This, but Something.

I suppose, brother, we shall find out when he returns.

I suppose we shall, brother, for it seems Lord Sesshoumaru wishes to see what he is scheming upon his return.

Do you think that's really wise, brother, to go lax and let him go unhindered?

Well, what other options are there? To follow him would be madness without any of their weapons usable by anyone else.

True. And who else could be strong enough to go where and Phoenix can go in the Nether, unless also tied to death?

It would be insanity for any but the strongest of youkai, those who could be equal or greater in power compared to Zusaku himself.

Couldn't Lady Mud Nose go after him?

I don't know if that's wise. He could easily manipulate her with threats of harming her son, Lord Sesshoumaru.

Well, wouldn't that work on anyone who was his friend?

No. There are some who would call his bluff. Zusaku wants Sesshoumaru alive at the end. He said as much.

Ah, this is true.

Would Zusaku actually be bluffing, though?

That, I'm not really sure. He may not bluff at all.

He seemed rather serious when he was breaking Shippou's bones.

Indeed, brother. We must not forget that.

Indeed, brother. He will regret doing that.

.

Inuyasha returned to the village with a growing feeling of unease. Something just felt wrong, but he couldn't quite place it.

Pausing as Rikichi looked at him curiously, Inuyasha stopped, his ears flicking down, his voice quiet.

"Rikichi...I think..."

"I felt it too, Inuyasha, shortly after you went back up there. I told the rest of the men to get all the women and children and elders to safety. They're going to the back cave past the right fork of the trail you took to the old village you've all posted at. Kaede and Rin and Kohaku went with them to protect them and create a spiritual barrier around the entrance. I stayed back to make sure you knew about it."

"Thanks, Rikichi."

"I don't know what this feeling is, Inuyasha," Rikichi mumbled, "but it's...bad. Kaede and Rin and Kohaku weren't so sure of what it was, but I insisted. So they listened anyways."

"Yeah. Be safe and don't get yourself caught up in a fight," Inuyasha said softly, "you should join them all too."

"Planned on it, I'm brave, not stupid," Rikichi nodded as he stood, his knapsack already on his back ready to go, "Inuyasha, you better go and join the other youkai in planning what to do next. Something tells me...call me crazy, but something tells me things are about to get really bad really soon."

"Yeah," Inuyasha agreed with ears flattened, "I got that too."

"You take care of yourself," Rikichi admonished meaningfully, and Inuyasha walked with him until the fork in the path, where Rikichi went to the right, and Inuyasha to the left, both equally lost in turbulent thoughts that had no form. But quiet and away from the rustle and feel of all the others, tuned into nothing but their own feelings, they two sensed a foreboding they could not define, and it was upsetting.

Returning to the youkai camp slowly, Inuyasha could never have expected the series of events that would soon unfold...

.

"These remaining eight pearls," Lady Mud Nose said as they all gathered, "I think I know whom among us they will speak to now," and she then began to pass them out, giving a purple one to Shiori, a cyan one to Ai, a black one to Royoukan, a magenta one to Kagura, an orange one to Koryuu, the thunder dragon who also could use fire, a blue one to Suijin, a brown one to the three monkeys, remarking it was meant for them to share it's powers, which they concurred, and finally, the last one, a grey pearl, went to Jinchuu, the seven-tailed and strongest of those of the Fox tribe who were present.

For Royoukan, his black pearl went into his forehead as it had for the Panthers, and he grew in size and power briefly as he had when bespelled by Naraku, but was not made more aggressive, and was in full control of his faculties, and smiled with a wide toothy grin. Finding that he could still adjust himself to his typical size and look when he did not invoke it's powers pleased him greatly, for at heart he was a gentle forest guardian, born of Hell but from the spirits of wrongfully poached animals. For Koryuu, much the same effect took place, and he grew from large domestic dog body size, to a body size almost that of Battlecat, and with proportionately elongated neck and tail, he was now a proper-sized Dragon after all, and looked rather pleased with himself. Jinchuu, whose black coat absorbed the grey pearl into a third eye position as well, grinned mischievously as he felt his tails and fangs grow longer, eyes gleaming. He, of the four, was the one who chose to be most anthropomorphic, rather than appearing mostly human with fox tails, he appeared mostly fox, but walked upright and wore light material, dark black clothes that matched his fur, a loose pair of pants, bare-chested under his vest, and fingerless gloves on his hands inscribed with runes that made it easier to conjure his magics into perfect form. Kagura, for her part, felt the pearl move into her chest and sink to sit next to her heart, and it was the same for Shiori and Ai. For Gon, Bun, and Ken, the pearl glowed and split into three smaller pearls, and each felt their portion sink into the tips of their tails, where they coiled their most secret powers. Suijin's pearl went into her palm of her favored hand for battle, pulsing to synchronize it's energy with the Trident of Amakoi as well as the Water Goddess herself.

"Now about these flowers and fruits," Toutousai said slowly, "I don't think they're supposed to be part of what I craft with the wood. Here."

He plucked them gently off and set them on the table next to the jug of Yakurodokusen, and his Kaenhanma seemed to throb in his hand; he smiled and want outside, the others not needing an explanation to know that the branch, relieved of it's fruits and flowers, had finally spoken to him about what it wanted to become, and he was going to craft it into what it would be.

"So let's test something," Shiori turned to Jaken after a few moments, smiling, "my new powers against your staff?"

"Well, we shall see," Jaken grinned and she put up a barrier and he tried to pierce it; again and again he used the Staff of Dragons, but she was able to repel it after repeated attempts, and finally Shunran tried also to dispel it, and then Jinchuu, the black seven-tail, and none of them could succeed. Now Lady Mud Nose tried her hand at it, and though the girl clearly strained against the might of the Ice Sorceress and had to redouble her efforts to sustain it, still her barrier would not break, and the Queen of the Moon Dogs smiled at her.

"Now, Batgirl," she grinned, "you are indeed an expert on Crafting barriers. How do you suppose the Mage created the one bound to them?"

"Hmm," she pondered, frowning, "well among the bat tribe, they would do so with blood magic, but I'm sure there's other ways also."

"If you have a fang or claw, you can do it too," Shunran added, "as long as it's still got a touch of their power, you can use it in a lot of different binding and barrier spells."

"Hmm, indeed," Lady Mud Nose nodded thoughtfully, "but do you suppose he's carrying it with him?"

"If it's blood magic, it would have been spent in the soul-sear," Shiori shook her head, "so there would be no object to destroy."

"If it's a fang or claw, it might be possible to weaken the link if it's destroyed, but it won't always sever it if the Mage is strong enough to bridge the connection himself, or if it's used with more advanced techniques," Shunran huffed, "and it seems he's strong enough."

"So is there indeed no solution to remove it after all?" Miroku frowned, trying hard to think, "I mean, isn't there some kind of...unlinking spell you can use or something?"

"Would that it were that easy," Lady Mud Nose huffed, brow creased in deep thought.

.

Sesshoumaru waited patiently for Shippou to stir again, and when he did, gave the fox a sip of the strong shochu...the one with the strong antidote in it, that would cleanse his struggling system of the taijiya poison that had taken hold while he was weakened by injury and magic.

"Miroku's...shochu," Shippou almost coughed it up, but managed to keep it down, himself not noticing the antidote, but enjoying the comfort of the fuzz that took the edge off the pain. "Thanks...Sesshou...maru."

"Here," Sesshoumaru poured a cup of warm broth for the fox, mindful that his jaw was still healing terribly slowly and chewing would likely be difficult for him, "I didn't have any spices for it, but there was some salt," he added, as if almost apologizing.

With Mokomoko-sama behind his back, Shippou managed to sit up, and groaning a bit at the stiffness and pain, he held the cup in both hands with just a bit of a tremble as he slowly lifted it to his lips and sipped it.

"Tastes good to me," Shippou smiled, and his stomach growled, and he blushed a bit, "uh, but I-"

"There's more, but you need another day or two to heal at this rate before your jaw is set right. If you go chewing up solid food right now, it might knot the side of your face and give you permanent difficulty," Sesshoumaru said softly, "but, there's some saffron rice with beans if you want to try that, it shouldn't require much chewing."

Shippou looked ravenous, and Sesshoumaru gave him all that he'd prepared, and the fox ate it all up hungrily, and seemed a little better as he settled afterwards, accepting more of the shochu and some water after he'd finished his meal.

"So uh..." Shippou blinked around at their obvious woeful predicament, now having been awake long enough to fully absorb what appeared to be going on, "we're..."

"Being held hostage against Zusaku's safe passage to and from from the Nether," Sesshoumaru explained.

"And everyone else is..."

"Unable to destroy the barrier, which is linked to our lives and souls, and draws upon our energy to sustain itself. It won't break until we are dead, or the mage who cast it releases it."

"And he got to the Nether..."

"Inuyasha opened the Meidou after returning to his hanyou form. Zusaku gave him no alternative. He returns to chat and bring me these things, so that Zusaku's Mage need not figure out how to keep his valuable prisoners from starving to death. But you know, he has to tend his kids. He's away doing that now, I suppose."

Shippou didn't miss that. He knew better, the kids would have plenty of babysitters-oh, yes, he knew better.

"So he gave up on trying to use Tetsusaiga against this barrier?"

"Didn't even try. Nobody felt it was a lie when Zusaku said it drained our lives to sustain it's force. Tetsusaiga is sealed, waiting for Zusaku to signal his Mage," Sesshoumaru gestured, and the kitsune saw it, and his face fell a bit.

"Oh. So we're really..."

"Here, have some more shochu," Sesshoumaru's face softened as the fox refused to continue that sentence.

"Okay," Shippou agreed, taking a long swig of it and letting out a sigh after that, "man, I feel like I got hit by a..."

"An angry taiyoukai?"

"Yeah," Shippou winced.

"You did."

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry."

"You? Why?"

"If it hadn't been for me-"

"If you go doing that," Shippou warned with as much fierceness as he could muster in his voice, "I'll have no choice but to shut you up. I don't wanna hear you blaming yourself, Sesshoumaru."

"Even if it's true?"

"Especially if it's true."

Sesshoumaru paused at that remark.

"You are a good friend, Shippou, to not want me to blame myself. But when it is truly my fault-"

"When it's truly your fault," Shippou interrupted again, his voice even more persistent, "I'll let you feel guilty for it. But not this one."

"You promise?"

"I promise it's not this one."

"No, do you promise, if it really is my fault, you will let me feel guilty for it?"

"Definitely," Shippou agreed, and Sesshoumaru gave him a small smile.

"Okay. I can live with that."

"You better. I'll be mad as hell if you make me fetch you out of the Nether because you die on me."

"Hah! I've no intention of opening the door for Death when he knocks."

"Good. Keep it that way," Shippou coughed slightly, but his smile crept slightly wider, "you still owe me, after all."

"Oh, that's right. Bets, bets," Sesshoumaru agreed softly, but then, with a pause and a frown, "Shippou, you moved too much, your side-"

"Shit," Shippou hissed, feeling the blood seeping from the stitch he'd pulled, putting his hand over it...

But then, slowly, he looked over himself again.

It hadn't yet dawned on him that the extent of the injuries meant that someone had cared for him-or to be more precise, it hadn't dawned on him to wonder Who had cared for him in what manner. But now that he really took a long hard look at himself, and all the bandages on his body, and all the stitches of his wounds, and all the bloody rags washed out but still stained off to the side, and the way these little flecks and specks and smears and smudges of blood were on Sesshoumaru's hands and sleeves and a little bit of red dusted his bangs...

"You...you-"

"Shhh, warriors don't talk about these things," Sesshoumaru said, and added with a smile, "Taiyoukai Kitsune."

"But you...Sesshoumaru, I-"

"No, you'll start, and so will I. It's nothing you wouldn't have done for me. That's all there is to say," Sesshoumaru insisted, and at last Shippou understood, that if they got into those emotions Right Now, they'd both melt in front of their foes...so he nodded, and held back his intense emotional reaction until the urge passed, and felt himself grow drowsy again in the meantime...

"I feel like I slept for days, why am I so tired?" Shippou yawned despite his lamentation.

"You're not done healing, by far. Being awake right now won't help you either. Rest, Shippou. Fall back into a deep sleep like you were before, and let your senses grow dull to the pain and recuperate. It will be better for you than staying awake for nothing."

"It's the Falling Asleep that's the problem," Shippou sighed as he leaned back, the Mokomoko-sama urging him to fall into a comfortable cushion of soft fur and warmth.

Now, he'd barely been coherent enough to retain a wisp of consciousness before, and had pretty much forgotten what he'd heard during the few seconds he had woken up here and there. But what he heard next not only shocked Shippou once, but twice, for as he heard it, he recalled it from before...

Sesshoumaru had quietly begun to sing. As he did, Shippou's mind snapped into focus with a few seconds of the memory grasped from before, with the other song he'd sang. It was a different melody this time, an old lullaby to the kitsune, something he'd heard his parents humming some handful of times before...though because of the content, Sesshoumaru was the last person he expected to hear singing it.

Well, screw that, Sesshoumaru was the last person he expected to hear singing At All.

"Odoma iya iya, naku ko no mori nya. Naku to iwarete uramareru, naku to iwarete uramareru...Nenne shita ko no Kawaii sa, muzo sa. Okite naku ko no tsura niku sa, okite naku ko no tsura niku sa..."

"You...sang to me before," Shippou breathed, feeling a few tears well up in his eyes despite himself.

"Do you find it so strange, Shippou, that I should lend my voice to soothe your ears?" Sesshoumaru asked him very gently.

Shippou wasn't really sure how to respond to that, but a small smile formed on his face as he blinked away tears just one more time.

"You have a good singing voice. It is very soothing, Sesshoumaru."

And Sesshoumaru smiled and gave him one of those Looks, and it was a look beyond words, and after a short pause, he started to sing again, another old lullaby, and Shippou closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, and felt himself sinking into the Mokomoko-sama, and felt his mind drifting swiftly into an easier, more recuperative sleep than before, a deep sleep, but also a meditative one, his mind working through the few things he now knew about the predicament they were in, and the way Sesshoumaru was acting...

Mokomoko-sama lends it's own powers once again.

Does Lord Sesshoumaru know that it does this?

Subconsciously, for sure. This is why he always holds it for his own comfort.

Surely, but do you think he thinks about it?

I don't know. The leech absorbs the properties and surrenders bodily control to a host in exchange for blood, but I'm not sure what he feels.

Once he said he'd feel it's hunger as his own, a shared sensation, as if his other arm were thirsting before feeding on his arm.

True, I've seen him flinch as if when it were struck he felt the pain himself, now that you recall it to mind.

Doesn't it store reserves of jyaki for him to use later?

If he so wishes it to, yes.

Do you think...

But how could we tell him that idea?

Oh, I don't know. That's a good question.

Hmm. We'll have to think about that.

And if we did, wouldn't it be obvious to the Mage?

Perhaps not, brother. Lord Sesshoumaru knows us, and is very intelligent.

But how do we convey what we mean to?

Well, that's harder to tell.

We must postulate.

We must speculate.

We must meditate.

We must not blink.

We must put our heads together.

We must put our hearts in sync.

We must become as one, and as one we must now think, they both finished the chant, and their heads swayed slightly in unison for a brief moment, and their two separate heartbeats began to pulse as one.

This, of course, went unnoticed by any others, for was mostly an internal harmonizing technique; and Ah and Un became Ah-Un, and Friends, then became the Dragon, the Hatchling, and finally, the Egg, and was whole in mind, and reached a higher meditation, and thought as We/I, which had a word in Dragon Tongue that couldn't be written in human words, which meant, literally, 'all heads in unison', for having many thinking heads of course was common for some lineages of dragons, and there was of course a Dragon Word for when they were all perfectly balanced.

Images came to Ah-Un in this state of attunement, and they paid attention carefully, patiently, waiting for a long time before the pull of their question, answered and then some, quieted; and they resumed their usual heartbeats, and they smiled at each other as Ah and Un were again Un and Ah.

Ah, I see now.

Me too, Un.

Lifting himself to all fours, Ah-Un chuffed and shook both manes, stretching out each limb in turn. The Mage eyed him briefly for a moment, but seeing nothing but a simple loyal beast of burden, thought nothing of it but the pawings of a restless war-beast, and paid no heed after a few moments.

After having wasted a few minutes just stretching and pacing lazily the edge of the barrier, feigning the testing ways of a creature who didn't quite understand why they couldn't reach their Master, Ah-Un chuffed and snorted and bobbed first one head, then the other, giving Lord Sesshoumaru a smile that to any other youkai, would look like just a curious gaze from a perplexed beast.

Sesshoumaru, expert at keeping a blank face, watched raptly as Ah-Un began to prepare himself to deliver a message that was surely going to be difficult to discern. He couldn't play charades this time; not with the Mage overhearing anything he said. But he would play along the way the dragon clearly wanted, and after a moment, he snorted lightly.

"Silly beast. You can't come into this barrier. Even if you could, you wouldn't want to be in here," he huffed darkly, "you'd be under the same spell as I, old war friend."

Ah-Un chuffed as if insisting otherwise; a natural understanding, after all, between beast and rider would have made that tone unmistakable.

"Well, I would never question your loyalty," Sesshoumaru smiled as if responding to that noise, and Ah-Un chuffed again, and he sighed.

Now Ah-Un looked with both heads, each to one side very slightly, furtively, just enough; Sesshoumaru was keen enough to see this, but the Mage had already stopped paying attention.

Ah, whose mouth was often open, closed his mouth. Un, whose mouth was often closed, opened his.

Okay, Sesshoumaru thought, something that is normal is supposed to be reversed. Something you would usually do, do the opposite.

Ah shook his mane and flipped it almost roguishly, as if...flirting?

Sesshoumaru frowned.

Un stretched out his neck and twisted it just so and laid his mane along his brother's neck, and for a brief moment, Sesshoumaru almost-but it was right there beyond his reach, until Ah brushed his chin against Un's mane.

Touching Mokomoko-sama briefly, Sesshoumaru watched Ah nod slightly and Un untwist his neck from around his brother's.

Something the opposite of what I usually do with Mokomoko-sama. What?

Sesshoumaru's confusion would have only been apparent to those who knew him well, but nobody knew him better than Ah-Un.

Ah opened his mouth again, and Un closed his again, and then Un tossed his head and briefly pointed his nose at the sky, and Ah bent his neck and snuffed at the ground, as if to graze.

Un's power from the sky, and Ah's power to ground it. The Mokomoko-sama. Doing the opposite of...

Sesshoumaru almost, almost had it...

Ah looked at Un. Un looked at Ah. They sniffed at the barrier, and flicked one tail against it, and a tiny fleck of red just barely touched Shippou's skin, the transition of the damage from the barrier to the fox's body.

And Sesshoumaru finally understood.

If I use Mokomoko-sama to store as much jyaki as it can hold...

The fluffy symbiote began to grow longer, and Ah-Un laid himself down again, now more between the Mage and Sesshoumaru than before, to hide the motions of swift expansion, disguise the shifting enlarging mass of the Mokomoko-sama while it absorbed more energy. It didn't change so much in appearance as it did in mass, growing over three times as large as before, which Sesshoumaru disguised himself somewhat by wrapping it up more in it's own folds to just make it seem a little fluffier, and pressed it close to itself to condense it's mass a bit.

Ah-Un was right, and he could feel it. Though he wasn't sure exactly why, he knew the dragon knew something and he wasn't about to question that wisdom. Satisfied with that, he decided it was time he took a short nap, propping up with a bit of the fur himself as he dozed off...

.

"So, when do we make a move already?" Kouga finally asked, "my wolves are getting a little restless, they say the prey is already scarce in the local woods, they have to hunt further away to feed everyone. It has been a few days, you know. Not that I'm in a hurry but, do we have some kind of plan or something yet?"

"Well," Shiori began thoughtfully, "we still don't know how to Undo the barrier around Lord Sesshoumaru...but perhaps that isn't strictly necessary. Chokyuukai, you said your tiaras won't work on powerful mages...but what about Ninjas?"

"Oh I love where you're going with this," Jinchuu's eyes gleamed, "oh, I'm adopting you, Batgirl."

"I don't need adopted, but thank you anyways," she giggled, and he chuckled at her as she continued, "so, how about it, Chokyuukai?"

"I should have no problem using them on Ninjas," Chokyuukai puffed up proudly, pleased with himself as usual.

"Gon, Bun, Ken, you three might have to get the Mage to fall for some of your tricks, especially like that binding stone you demonstrated. If he does manage to break the spell, though, be wary he might aim it at the barrier out of spite if he can explode it like Lady Moon-Dog did, so choose your tricks carefully, lest anything goes unexpectedly sideways," she added as a word of caution. "Shouga, do you think you might be able to possess him if he becomes weakened enough?"

"Well," Shouga frowned, "even if he is a strong magic user, if he is sufficiently distracted or weakened, I should be able to possess him anyways. If he's not focused on resistance he will succumb easily. However, the problem with that is, if I don't know how to weild his spells myself, I won't know how to use his powers to undo them either. I can keep him from casting more, or at least fight him for control of his own mind, but my control alone won't allow us to undo this barrier either."

"No," Shiori smiled, "but it Will give us our own hostages. And if Zusaku wants to return from the Nether, he'll have to trade us."

"Are any of these Ninjas, perhaps...females?" Chokyuukai blurted.

Miroku started to chuckle. Sango started to protest. Kagome cut her off before the third word, calloused in her quest for vengeance. After a few moments, Sango agreed with her. A few other reactions rippled around the room, but Lady Mud Nose was the first to make an actual reply.

"I didn't notice, but if you find a pretty one, you can keep her for a wife for all I care," she shrugged absently, "as payment for your services of course, Boar."

"Why, thank you, m'Lady," he grinned and lifted his tusks, then bowed his head with a flourish.

"I'm not saying it," Hachi sighed, and Miroku giggled again.

"If Shouga can't control the Mage, though," Shunran began quietly, her tone serious enough to draw their attention and make the others all quiet as well while they listened to her, "what will he do to Lord Sesshoumaru and the fox while under his barrier and out of our reach, to punish us for making a fool of his guards?"

"Nothing, if he knows what's good for him," Lady Mud Nose said icily, but Shunran, knowing that was a Motherly Reflex Reaction, politely acknowledged her with the perfectly tailored remark.

"Lady Moon-Dog, I didn't ask what would Behoove him, I asked what he Would Do. Any fool who dares to mess with your family, knowing of the reputation of the Moon-Dog Clan, is already brushing the edge of sanity. So now we have to assume, he's not going to do what would be best for him, he's going to do what's best for His Lord. And what do you think That is? No, he'd squeeze the life out of your son, or close off airflow until they began to suffocate, or even use his own attacks on it to demonstrate it's damage absorption hurting the fox until he was closer to death than even before. We really need to have some contingency plans in case that doesn't work how we want," she said.

"I hate to just Agree with her, but she's right," Souten sighed, "the one thing you have to learn as a mage, is that any kind of magic, can fail when you least expect it. The last thing we'd need is for that Mage to get angry and kill Shippou just to prove a point to us."

"So what's the backup plan?" Hachi asked, looking around the room, "how do we...hey, Moumou," he interrupted himself, watching her eyes blink rapidly in succession, "hey girl, what's going on?"

And suddenly, the sacred cow mooed loudly, and stomped one hoof, and a projection shot from her three eyes and into the space above the center of the table they were all gathered around, showing the vision to the whole room in a way that reminded Kagome of a holographic projection depiction on a sci-fi movie...

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Zusaku watched from a distance as the Soryuuha blasted apart the Meidou Cauldron, searing a rift of blue lightning into the sky above.

"How could any sword made from the fangs of a mere youkai...No, that ougi...it's not from Toukijin, it's from Sesshoumaru himself," the phoenix then frowned, before he slowly realized, "No, wait, not Quite Sesshoumaru. That dragon...Seiryuu. Seiryuu, the Blue. That must be why they say his father's fang brings back the dead. He carries the soul of Seiryuu on his person within that fang..."

And flying closer to the island, high above, he found the discarded comb box, and it gleamed in his eye, and he picked it up, and there was a reaction of delight as he responded to a voice they could not hear through the vision.

"You say you have a Key which unlocks greater powers than those you once contained? In the Nether?" Zusaku glanced to the side, frowning at the destroyed Cauldron, "well, obviously we can't use that again. Alright Box, I'll take you with me. I'm a Phoenix, you see, and we travel the line of the Veil already, we reincarnate ourselves from our own ash. I'm sure I'll find a way to take you to the Nether long enough to get what you need...oh, I forget, objects don't form on the other side, only the form and the spirit and the ash. I'll have to find out if there's other ways to get You back into the Nether," he smiled, speeding off the crippled island with the box.

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"Well, we already deduced that much, but the confirmation was good to have," Lady Mud Nose snorted, but Moumou mooed again, insistent, and she replayed another flash, this time focusing on only the box, only the inscription on the inside of it.

Koko ni iru kyoka ga nai kagiri, sugu ni shuppatsu shimasu. Kono basho wa watashi dake no monodesu. Ai to yasashi-sa o motte iru hito dake ga sore ni te o oku koto ga yurusa remasu.
[Unless you have permission to be here; leave at once. This place belongs to me alone. Only those who possess love and tenderness shall be allowed to place their hands on it.]

"How could he have spoken to the Box if it was only meant for the kind-hearted, like Lady Kanade? From what you all say he's pretty mean," Ai asked, and in truth she spoke the question none of the others had caught on to just yet until she said it.

"Uhm..." Kagome raised an eyebrow, "that's a very, very good question."

"Indeed it is," Lady Mud Nose frowned, "this bears more investigation after all..."

"Well, do we know the difference in meaning?" Shunran asked.

"What do you mean by that?" Sango peered over at her.

"The first time you knew about it you saw it outside the Cauldron used it to solve the riddle of opening the gate. But if it's also engraved inside the Box, which was from the Gate, then it holds a deeper meaning. A double or triple meaning. Layers of meaning like the layers of the Nether itself from which it was born. So, what else could it Mean? Besides symbolizing the youkai and humans working together to open the big door on the side of the Cauldron, what else can you think of?"

"Well, that would depend on what this Place is, if not the location of the Cauldron Gate," Kagura paused, "maybe the Nether itself? But I don't know if that really makes sense either. The Nether hosts all kinds of souls, not all kind-hearted ones either."

"Heaven?" Momiji offered meekly, and the others paused to consider that thought.

"Okay, if it's Heaven," Kai, the six-tailed fox thought out loud slowly, "then what he unlocks in the Box would give him a way to get there?"

"The Essence of the Inverse..." Lady Mud Nose frowned, "the Very Top of the Very Middle...oh, of course, I should have Known!" she scowled at herself darkly, her furrowed brow giving them all pause for concern, "yes, of course, it was right there all along. He seeks the path that opens the Heavenly Meidou, so that he may gain eternal immunity to all forms of death and become a true immortal, a Celestial..."

A silence fell upon them all as that realization settled uncomfortably in their midst.

"Then we'll have to stop him before he can do that," Ai piped up suddenly, and smiling, "don't worry, I'm a Lucky Koi Fish, I'll douse him with my water magic until his fires stay out for good!"

"Ai, you are a rare light of purity," Lady Mud Nose sighed, her relief as slight as her smile, but it was still just barely there.

"Don't worry, Lady Moon-Dog," Ai said with unabashed confidence, "we'll save your son and Shippou too, I promise! Nobody is as bad as a big mean bully, and he won't even know what hit him by the time we're all done teaching that bird a lesson!"

A little wave of hurrahs went through the room to cheer her exuberance, and they all felt a bit better, but beneath that valiant attempt to boost their morale, many exchanged troubled glances...they weren't out of the woods just yet.

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