InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Unexpected Circumstances ❯ Elemental Challenge ( Chapter 25 )

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*-*-*-* CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: ELEMENTAL CHALLENGE *-*-*-*

 

 

Kagome groaned as once again her pillow decided to hit back when she tried fluffing it. She was just trying to get comfortable! Her back ached, her head was pounding, her arm was sore, and to make matters worse, she really had to pee. She groaned in pain again as the place she was resting jostled her harshly and she cracked an eye open to try and figure out what all the fuss was about.

 

“This is the worst bed ever,” she grumbled still half asleep.

 

The man carrying her stopped and told his companions that she was waking up. He unceremoniously dropped her like a rag doll on the ground and the men circled around her, preparing for her inevitable tirade. Kagome groaned while sitting up and looked up trying to get her eyes to focus on the blurry objects around her. She hiccupped and fell back onto the ground and the guys laughed heartily.

 

“Little thing is drunk! She can barely remain sitting up,” one of the men scoffed. The man who was carrying her rolled his shoulders to stretch after hauling her for the past couple miles. Another one brought out his bottle of sake that had been held securely in his pouch and took a nice long drink. This wasn't the first job like this they had had. They were paid fairly well for their services and had even developed a nice routine together.

 

However, unlike their previous jobs, this one seemed to put them all on edge. They could feel an ominous cloud hanging over their journey, and all were ready to continue on with their task. Ever little bump in the night made the hair on the backs of their necks stand on end. Something was watching them.

 

“How long are we gonna run? Let's just kill her and get it over with,” a younger one said while looking around the dark forest nervously. He hated it out here and if it wasn't for the prospect of getting back a rather large amount of money he would have bolted a long time ago. His discontent for the current situation was making the other men nervous and they all stood straight up and cast their eyes upon the surrounding darkness, trying desperately to see something in the dead of night.

 

A soft moan made them jump, but they all relaxed marginally when they realized it was only coming from the small woman on the ground. The man who had carried her walked over to her prone form and kicked her none-to-gently in the side. She groaned again and slowly opened her eyes.

 

“Who…where am I?” she asked groggily. “Where's Sesshoumaru?”

 

The man knelt down next to her and grabbed her by the hair to pull her head back. She protested loudly to the abuse, but he paid no heed to her yelp. “I don't know who this -maru person is, but it don't matter anymore.” He stood up while keeping a tight hold on her hair, making her cry out once more in pain. She came to rest on her knees and she grabbed at the man's wrist trying to get out of his grip.

 

“Let me go!”

 

The man laughed and gave her head a good shake to demonstrate to her that he had a tight hold that he was not going to release. Kagome dug her fingernails as far as she could into his hand, forcing him to let go of her hair when he felt her break skin. “Fuck! Damn bitch made me bleed!”

 

The three other men laughed as they watched their comrade nurse his wound, but did not lose sight of their captive as she tried to crawl her way away from them. One of them shook his head and walked towards her, kicking her hands out from under her making her fall to the ground.

 

“And just where do you think you're going?” he mocked. Kagome spit dirt out of her mouth and looked back at him with an icy glare.

 

She swung her leg at his ankles in one rapid movement and sent him crashing down on his back. She sprung to her feet and thought to run, but before she could take a single step her wrist was captured and she was hauled back into a hard chest.

 

“We were gonna make this as quick and painless as possible, but if you keep giving us trouble you're gonna soon beg us for death,” the third man whispered in her ear causing unpleasant shivers to course over her.

 

Kagome could feel the lack of strength she held in her muscles, but couldn't remember why she felt so drained. She wanted to fight back and show these guys that it was a stupid idea to mess with her, but she couldn't summon the strength to do so. She squirmed a bit in the guy's hold, but he tightened his grip and threw an arm around her neck.

 

“Quit movin'. We could just tie you to a tree and let the goblins get you, or perhaps you'd prefer being torn limb from limb by a demon?”

 

“Natsuo?” the younger of them said in a shaky voice. The man holding her sighed and then turned to look behind him.

 

“What?” he snapped.

 

“Th-there's not really goblins in this forest…is there?

 

Kagome heard the guy holding her mumble something under his breath before he turned them both around to face the young one. “Don't worry Toshi, we'll just use her as a sacrifice in case the big bad goblins decide to come get you.”

 

The three men laughed at their young comrade's expense, but a chill in the wind brought them all to silence. Their eyes all darted around in the dark and Kagome could feel fear creeping into her own skin. Something was out there and it was powerful.

 

A rustle in the bushes had them all on guard and they turned towards the sound instinctively. Their eyes widened in fear as bright glowing red orbs locked onto theirs. “Wh-what the fuck is that?!”

 

Quicker than the eye could see, the men were cut down where they stood, not even given a second's chance to defend themselves. Kagome clambered to her feet and stared in awe at the being before her.

 

His long two-toned hair swayed around him in the breeze and his skin seemed to glow underneath the light of the moon. His tall stature loomed over Kagome and she felt a blush rise to her cheeks at the intensity in his eyes. He seemed to be studying her and Kagome shifted on her feet, willing herself to not get lost in those dark eyes.

 

“Th-thank you for saving me,” she said quietly. When he said nothing in return, she gulped and began to back away. “Well, um…goodbye.”

 

“Your name,” he said in a deep, rich voice. Kagome could feel tingles working their way down her spine at the sound of the deep timber. She couldn't breathe; something about him was wrong, very wrong. “Kagome is it not?”

 

Her eyes widened. “How do you know my name?” she asked sternly. “Who are you?”

 

He took a closer step forward but Kagome couldn't move. She looked down at her feet and noticed vines clung to her ankles, holding her firmly in place. Her head shot back up when she noticed his feet were in her view and she gasped at his proximity. Grabbing her chin gently, he turned her head from side to side in order to take a closer look.

 

“You can address me as Hukio,” he said finally. “Tell me priestess; why is it that Naraku had such a difficult time killing you? You do not seem so special to me; is there something I am missing?” He leaned his head in towards her and took in a deep breath of her scent at her neck. Kagome blushed brightly and bit her lip, reminding herself that this guy was a stranger and extremely powerful. She couldn't lose focus.

 

“Hm. Interesting.”

 

Kagome waited for him to elaborate, but he said nothing more. “Let me go,” she said weakly. He stood back up to his full height and gifted her with a fanged smirk that could have stopped traffic.

 

“Dare I ask priestess; where is your entourage?”

 

Kagome opened and closed her mouth a few times. She couldn't read this demon's aura very well and was having a hard time assessing if he was a friend or enemy. He hadn't really done anything to make her believe he was against her, but the mention of Naraku had her on edge. “What do you want?” she asked him bluntly.

 

Hukio smirked once more and absently studied his fingernails. In the blink of an eye he had reached out and grabbed Kagome by the neck, lifting her off the ground. She gagged a bit from the grip he had and fought to loosen his hold. He shook her hard, making her legs flail about under her as her feet were no longer touching the ground.

 

“I want power, priestess. I want to see the world tremble in fear before me; I want omnipotence, and I want to show the world that I had the power to succeed where my creator could not. Starting with you.” His grip tightened a fraction more before he froze, his eyes narrowing to mere slits as he looked to his side.

 

“I see one of you has finally made it. Just in time for you to see me break her neck.”

 

 

*-*-*-*

 

 

“Abducted?! Well where the fuck is she?!” Inuyasha screamed furiously.

 

Sango glared at the half-demon and pursed her lips. “If we knew that, don't you think we'd be going after her?”

 

Inuyasha crossed his arms and snarled. “Keh! Let's go get her before she gets into even more trouble.” He turned to where his half-brother had been, but swung his head around in search for him when he saw that he wasn't there. He rolled his eyes when he found Sesshoumaru holding that guy, Takahiro, by the neck. “Bastard,” he mumbled under his breath. Not caring what Sesshoumaru was doing, Inuyasha took off into the forest to try and track Kagome's scent.

 

Sesshoumaru stared the cretin down and brought his face close to his. Takahiro shook with fear as he watched a bit of red tinge in the demon's eyes. “Tell me,” Sesshoumaru said in a deep, nearly guttural voice. “Why is it that I smell her blood on you?”

 

Takahiro gulped down the lump in his throat and could feel himself shaking from his head to his toes. “I-I-I don't kn-know what you're t-talking about.” Sesshoumaru squeezed the man's windpipes even harder, making him desperately gasp for air.

 

“I can sense your lie,” the demon lord said while watching the man's eyes. It was just and instant, but Takahiro flicked his eyes downward towards his left and Sesshoumaru grinned evilly. “Hn,” he said as he reached into Takahiro's pocket.

 

The village man paled as the dagger Naraku had given him was revealed to the demon lord. He watched as Sesshoumaru took a tentative sniff of the object and then once again locked eyes with him. The promise of pain that he saw there made him nearly wet himself in fear.

 

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip you apart,” Sesshoumaru growled dangerously. He knew he didn't like the man from the first moment he saw him. The guy was just too secretive and had mood swings to rival even Kagome's own. He had always been a good judge of character and this time was no different. The man was a conniving dirtbag, not deserving of life.

 

“Puh…please,” Takahiro squeaked.

 

“You dare beg me for salvation after what you have done?”

 

“I-I was tricked! I…please, I never wanted to hurt her…”

 

Sesshoumaru turned towards the monk and demon slayer and tossed Takahiro at them, making him land on the ground painfully. “I will deal with him when I return. For now, watch him and make sure he does not run away.”

 

Miroku and Sango nodded obediently and lifted Takahiro by the arms so that he was once again on his feet. Sesshoumaru sneered at Takahiro once more before he turned away and took off in search of Kagome.

 

As soon as the demon lord was out of sight, Takahiro began struggling in Sango and Miroku's hold, trying desperately to get out. “Please have mercy on me, when he comes back he will kill me! Let me go!” he wailed pitifully.

 

Sango flexed his arm in a way that made him cry out in pain and stop his struggles. She smirked when Miroku looked over at her in shock, having never seen her use such a method before. He turned back to Takahiro and told him pointedly, “Trust me, if you run he will find you, and when he does, you'll be wishing for death.”

 

Takahiro stopped trying to get free from them and hung his head low. “I'm already dead.”

 

Sango and Miroku shared a look before they led Takahiro to one of the small huts for confinement while the villagers looked on at the mess left by the two brawling demons. The demon lord had been indifferent to their small village, but had never destroyed it before tonight. The half-demon that came into the village a couple days ago had been very nice and seemed calm enough, but after this display, none of them would so readily welcome them into their village.

 

However, although they were put off by the two demons that decided to use their town square as their own personal fighting grounds, most of them were genuinely worried about the young priestess that had come to be a recognized part of their village. The elder priestess, Megumi, was standing at the edge of the village, looking towards where she could feel Kagome's aura and chanting silent prayers for her student and friend. The girl had taught these villagers many things in just the short amount of time she had been there, and she could only hope that her demon lord friend would get to her in time.

 

 

*-*-*-*

 

 

“You reek of Naraku. I take it you're one of his minions?” a gruff voice sounded from the shadows of the tree line.

 

Hukio turned his head to face the intruder, hatred seeping from his pours. “That fool was not my master!” he yelled at the figure submerging from the trees. Hukio focused his attention on the fur clad wolf, giving Kagome time to calm herself just enough so she could focus on her power and scorch the demon's hands that held her. He screamed in pain and released her just before Kouga dashed at him and landed a hard kick to his back that sent him flying into a tree.

 

Kouga turned to Kagome who was slowly rising to her feet and helped her up. “Are you okay? And where to fuck is dog breath?!”

 

“I'm right here ya mangy wolf! Get your hands offa Kagome!”

 

“You're lucky I was here or that freak-show would have killed her! Just where the hell were you?!”

 

Kagome wearily watched the two of them bicker back and forth, but kept her eyes stealthily on the demon that had held her at his mercy. When she saw subtle movements come from the downed demon Kagome decided to get their attention again.

 

“Hey guys…”

 

That didn't work, they were still bickering like hens. Kagome saw Hukio sit upright and put a hand to his head.

 

“Um, guys?”

 

Hukio stood up and glared dangerously at the three of them. Kagome watched as he closed his eyes and she could feel the ground beneath their feet begin to move.

 

“Guys!”

 

The two of them finally stopped arguing to turn to Kagome, a bit upset that they had been interrupted during their spat. “What?!” they both snapped at her.

 

Kagome glared at them but her eyes soon widened when the small movements of the ground became even more pronounced, sending them all flailing about trying to keep their upright balance.

 

“What the hell is goin' on?!” Inuyasha screamed.

 

He looked over at Kagome to make sure she was okay and saw her staring wide-eyed at something over in the distance. He turned his attention that way to find a glowing figure being raised up into the air by vines protruding from the earth below him. With a wave of the demon's hands, the ground split beneath their feet. Inuyasha and Kouga barely had time to jump out of the way before they were swallowed up by the earth, but Kagome wasn't so lucky.

 

She screamed as she could no longer touch the ground and she plummeted feet first into the opened maw of the ground. She desperately reached up with her hands to try and find anything to grab onto, but there was nothing within reach.

 

“Kagome!” Kouga and Inuyasha yelled simultaneously when they saw her fall into the earth. Their muscles twitched in anticipation of the sprint they were about to make in order to save her, but a large gust of wind knocked them off their feet before they could make a move.

 

Inuyasha pulled out his sword and dug it into the ground to try and stop his forced retreat, paying no mind to what happened to Kouga, just knowing that he had to somehow get to his friend. He could no longer hear her screaming over the strong howling of the wind and he grew desperate. The strong wind that was forcing him to walk nearly horizontally stopped suddenly and sent him face first into the dirt. The demon responsible laughed in amusement as Inuyasha spit dirt out of his mouth, growling at his predicament.

 

“Just who…the fuck…are you?” the half-demon asked between spitting.

 

The demon atop the growing vines smirked down at him, loving the fact that he got to announce himself reverently. “I am Hukio: a commander of the elements, the elder and the stronger sibling of three others, and soon to be deliverer of your death. I am-”

 

“Running your mouth entirely too much for this Sesshoumaru's liking,” the demon lord interrupted.

 

Inuyasha looked up to see Kagome resting comfortably in his half-brother's arms with her arms slung around his neck. He scowled at their intimate position, but silently thanked Sesshoumaru for saving Kagome when he couldn't. He just couldn't get used to seeing Kagome being so close to the demon that has tormented him for most of his life. With a snarl, Inuyasha righted himself and deftly pulled his sword out of the ground and pointed it at Hukio.

 

“I don't know who you are,” Hukio began, “but no one interrupts me without facing the consequences.”

 

Inuyasha snorted and looked over to Sesshoumaru. “He sounds like you. I don't know if I can handle two stuck up jackasses.”

 

Sesshoumaru ignored his half-brother's comment, but Kagome sent a scowl Inuyasha's way for being so rude. He pinned his ears to his head, but then crossed his arms and turned away from her, muttering a `feh' as he did so. Kouga stumbled into the clearing looking a little worse for wear, and shot Kagome and Sesshoumaru a confused look before turning to Inuyasha.

 

“Good thing your brother was here, can't count on you now can I?” Kouga said while sneering at the half-demon.

 

“Half-brother. And you're one to talk ya mangy wolf! Just where the hell were you?!”

 

Kouga pursed his lips and stayed silent. He wasn't about to tell them that his foot had been caught in a tree branch and he was hanging upside down, trying his hardest to get out. Inuyasha gave a fanged grin and slung his sword over his shoulder in victory. “I knew, it! You can barely take care of yourself, let alone anyone else!”

 

A look of annoyance flashed over Hukio's face; they were ignoring him as if he were nothing! They would soon come to know their mistake. He stretched his arms out and spread his fingers wide. “Enough!” he shouted, gaining everyone's attention again. “You fools will regret the day you met me!”

 

“Too late for that,” Kagome mumbled.

 

They could feel the wind starting up again and braced themselves for another onslaught. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at his opponent. `A commander of the elements, is he?' he thought snidely. Setting Kagome down gently and placing her behind his back, Sesshoumaru flexed his claws and took aim, sending out his whip towards the demon that dared to hurt his priestess.

 

Hukio's concentration wavered as he saw a bright green light headed for him and barely had time to dodge Sesshoumaru's attack. He narrowed his eyes and Kagome swore she saw fire burning in them, making her clutch the back of Sesshoumaru's shirt a little tighter. It wasn't that she was not ready for fighting, it was just that she could feel the alcohol still in her system, making her unsteady on her feet, and the cut on her arm was throbbing fiercely.

 

Kagome wavered lightly on her feet, but righted herself before anyone noticed. She looked over to Inuyasha and Kouga, trying to see if they were still doing okay. They were both concentrating intently on Hukio, waiting for him to make the next move. She could feel Sesshoumaru's muscles under his shirt bunch and she knew he was getting ready to pounce. She wanted to help! She wanted to shove her foot so far up that demon's ass for putting his hands on her. She wanted to show Inuyasha and Kouga just how much she had learned over her time spent in the village and what a positive influence Sesshoumaru has been on her.

 

Sesshoumaru looked back at her for a brief moment. He could feel the readiness in her spirit; she wanted to fight. However, he also saw her fatigue and could smell blood on her. As much as he wanted her to be able to test her newfound strengths, there was no way he was letting her do that under such circumstances.

 

“Stay,” he commanded before he took off towards Hukio like a flash of lightning. Kagome was about to chase after him, but found that she could not move her feet. She looked down to make sure nothing was holding her in place and was even more confused when she saw nothing hindering her.

 

“What the…?”

 

“Kagome, move!” Inuyasha screamed from a distance.

 

Kagome snapped her neck up and her eyes widened when she saw a ball of fire coming straight for her. She braced herself for the impact and the excruciating pain that was to come, but someone scooped her up instead, barely missing the fireball.

 

Kagome looked up into the face of her savior and Kouga looked down at her with worry in his eyes. “Are you okay? Why didn't you move?!”

 

“I…couldn't,” she said quietly.

 

“Just try and be careful okay; can't have anything bad happen to my woman,” the wolf demon said as he sat her down further away from battle ground. “Don't worry about anything, just stay here and I'll take care of that freak show.” He took off in a whirlwind, leaving behind a frustrated priestess.

 

Kagome tried once again to move her feet, but couldn't. “Looks like I don't have much of a choice but to stay here,” she grumbled. She couldn't figure out why her feet decided to disobey her recently, but something like this could get her into trouble, as it had already proved.

 

She looked to where the guys were fighting, hoping that this one would go down easily. Her hopes were dwindling when she saw Inuyasha being tossed around like a rag doll in mini-tornado, all the while cursing obscenities and trying to find a way out of the twister.

 

Kouga just rejoined the fray and he aimed a kick at Hukio, coming down upon him at an alarming rate. Kouga's foot was about to make contact with Hukio's head when a few thorny vines grasped his ankle and neck, rendering him immobile. The thorns pierced his skin and drew blood, but Kouga refused to cry out and instead growled threateningly.

 

Hukio smiled evilly at the two he had subdued. He then turned his gaze to the dog demon in white. “You're turn.”

 

“Hn.”

 

The two of them stood at a face-off, each waiting for the other to take the first move. Sesshoumaru was waiting for the most opportune time to strike, for that single moment when his opponent did not have his full attention on him.

 

Hukio smirked at the demon in front of him. This one was strong. He could feel the power radiating off of him and it excited him to think that he could show off his own strengths on one such as he. All he had to do was find a weakness; just one weakness to throw him off.

 

“The half-demon is your brother, is he not?”

 

Sesshoumaru said nothing, but continued to stare uncaringly.

 

Hukio `hmm-ed' and nodded his head a bit. The half-demon was obviously not a soft spot for the demon. He could take a guess that the wolf meant even less to him, which only left the girl to try.

 

“It's a good thing the wolf came when he did; killing humans is frightfully boring and that one over there was mere second away from having her neck snapped.”

 

It was a subtle movement; so unnoticeable that if Hukio were not staring so intently at Sesshoumaru, he may not have caught it. Through their standoff, no movement was made whatsoever, but at the mention of the girl in mortal peril, the dog demon blinked once. Just once, but it was enough for Hukio to know that it had gotten to him. Now, what to do with this information.

 

Sesshoumaru continued to wait for his cue, his patience being tested while he did so. He thought to just attack, but gave himself a couple more moments to see if he would make the mistake of losing concentration. His patience paid off when Hukio's eyes flickered to Kagome.

Without a second thought Sesshoumaru charged, Tokijin raised and aimed straight for Hukio's heart. With his concentration lost, the small tornado trapping Inuyasha and the vines holding Kouga disappeared, dropping them carelessly to the ground. They both quickly got to their feet and observed the two demons fighting.

 

Hukio had formed a spear made somehow of ice and rock, and it was doing an impressive job of holding up to Tokijin's power. Their blades clashed together, causing ear-piercing clangs to sound throughout the clearing. Both were fairly matched in strength, but Sesshoumaru had the upper hand in speed. Hukio was having a hard time keeping up with the demon lord, resulting in a few deep cuts on his arms. He swung his makeshift swords at Sesshoumaru, and the demon lord leapt back, dodging the blade easily.

 

Hukio used his dominant power and once again called out vines and weeds from the ground to grow up and around Sesshoumaru who began cutting them down effortlessly. Inuyasha cracked his knuckles in anticipation; now it was his turn to get some payback on the elemental bastard.

 

Inuyasha raised his sword and brought it down quickly, a call of “Windscar!” signaling his attack. Hukio looked at Inuyasha with wide eyes. He shot into the air, riding the wind currents and just missing being torn to shreds by the half-demon's attempt.

 

“Fools! Don't think you have seen the last of me; I shall return when it is more of a fair fight!” he screamed as he sent one last wave of fire towards the group. None cared to go after him, knowing that they would soon see him again and that the coward was obviously afraid of them to have retreated.

 

Sesshoumaru stood his ground as the fire rushed towards him. He glared at the object menacingly, and while he liked to think that it was his glare that made the thing puff out like a snuffed candle, he knew it was merely because the demon in control of it was out of range for his concentration to hold it together.

 

“Pathetic,” he stated dryly. With one last disgusted snarl, Sesshoumaru turned towards Kagome only to find the stupid wolf hanging all over her and his half-brother yelling at said wolf demon to get his filthy paws off of where they don't belong. To this, Sesshoumaru silently agreed.

 

He stayed away from the three of them, choosing instead to lean quietly against a tree and watch from a distance. He would not run to her like some love-struck pup, he was above that. He didn't have to like it, but if she chose to converse with those two idiots, then he would not stop her; so long as they kept it clean. Heads would roll if the wolf suddenly channeled the lecherous monk.

 

Kagome shook her head in tired amusement; choosing to write off her feet not moving the couple times as an effect of alcohol mixed with the cut on her arm in which she knew was more than just a mere scrape. She looked at her two arguing friends and the looked around the clearing for Sesshoumaru, seeing him propped against a tree and staring directly at her. She blushed and walked towards him, unnoticed by the two who were still bickering.

 

She walked until she was so close she had to tilt her head back to look at him. She graced him with a sheepish smile and then wrapped her arms around his torso. His back stiffened at first, but then he relaxed and leaned down to take a small whiff of her hair. He would never admit how worried he was when he found out she was missing, but she knew; otherwise he would have never come for her.

 

“Thank you for coming for me and saving me. I would probably be somewhere in the middle of the earth right now if it wasn't for you.”

 

His breath fanned her skin as he brought his lips close to her ear. “You are to never drink again,” he whispered to her. He then lowered his head and took a deep breath of her at her neck, causing her to shiver and get small goose bumps up and down her arms. Her arms tightened around him and she then got a devious smirk on her face.

 

Kagome lowered her hands and did something she had been longing to do for quite some time. Her hands rested on Sesshoumaru's backside and she gave a firm squeeze to his muscled cheeks. He growled low and brought his lips back up to her ear. “You play a dangerous game, woman.” She giggled and was about to respond, but was interrupted.

 

“Ah hell, would you two not do that around me?!” Inuyasha yelled out.

 

Kouga was stuck gaping like a fish out of water and pointing. He clenched his fist the, ready to stake his claim when Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes dangerously. “Do not,” he warned the furious wolf.

 

“Just who the hell do you think you're talking to, pretty boy?! I saw her first and-”

 

“Kouga please don't,” Kagome stated strongly. She looked at him with pleading eyes and Kouga ground his teeth together.

 

“This is what you want?” the wolf demon asked her.

 

Kagome nodded her head assuredly and Kouga deflated a little before he puffed his chest out again, his pride making him get over his rejection fast. “Well, just keep me in mind when you realize he's not as good as you thought he was.”

 

Kagome smiled, but Inuyasha scowled. He was hoping to watch Sesshoumaru and Kouga fight…and maybe kill each other; that would solve his problems. They small group watched as Kouga took off once again, leaving nothing but a trail of dust in his wake.

 

Sesshoumaru raised himself from the tree and Kagome loosened her hold around him. He looked down at her and brushed a piece of hair out of her face, making her blush prettily and making Inuyasha snort in disgust. “Come, I have business to attend to in the village as well as a mess the half-breed and I need to clean up.”

 

Kagome looked at him questioningly, but knew she would not get an answer out of him until they reached the village. Inuyasha jumped into the lead, refusing to follow behind them and Kagome fell in step beside Sesshoumaru, grateful for the fact that she would finally get to pee. All were lost in their own thoughts as they walked back to camp in silence, the day taking its toll on their tired muscles and minds.