Chapter 33: The Vanishing
Kagome sat up in her bedding with a sigh, and looked around, noting that the camp was silent, and Sesshoumaru was out of sight.
He must be patrolling the edges of camp... I don't think he feels entirely comfortable with all these new demons here. She sighed again, a melancholy feeling sweeping through her, and she lowered her eyes from the edges of camp, to the fire that still burned steadily.
Why do I feel so sad? she wondered, with a quick shake of her head, she gathered herself and stood up, moving silently towards the edge of the camp bordering a small field.
Once she was a little away from the camp, and t
Chapter 32: Alliances
Izayoi watched her son run towards the west, towards his friends - and towards the two women that had, so far, ruled his life, and decided that it was time to push him to finalize his decision to seek his happiness away from either of them.
Especially as the woman he was truly meant for would enter his life that very day.
And the fireworks on this one are going to be spectacular - I think I'll stick around and watch, she thought, highly amused. The both of them, so stubborn and determined to get their own way...
With that thought in mind, she waited until her son stopped for a breather, and then announced her prese
Chapter 31: The Opening Salvo
Nyoko smiled at the group of monks, then bowed her head, moving slowly, confidently past them towards the cookfires. As far as the people around her were concerned, she was merely another miko that had joined the anti-demon army.
She chuckled inwardly. Oh well, what they don't know won't hurt them... or, wait - maybe it will.
It was convenient for her that after the army had gotten past a certain point in size, Ungai had ordered that everyone take turns cooking - and that all meals be prepared over certain fires at the center of the encampment.
It made it very easy to add her little seasonings - she was ju
Chapter 30: Hatred and Ignorance
Ungai looked out over the small valley and smiled slightly. Once again, he and his growing army had come across a village that had been saved by the same group as the first village. It seemed that the people that traveled with that half-demon were going around doing good deeds...
They must be trying to fool and mislead the people of these lands - make them think that demons and half-demons are not evil. The people here must not understand that halflings, just by existing, are evidence of wrongdoing - no human woman would willingly consort with a demon... meaning that for a half-demon to exist, a demon ha
Chapter 29: Stories, Pranks, and Jokes
Kagome sighed wearily, and wiped an arm across her sweaty forehead. What I wouldn't give for a bath right now, she thought, looking down with annoyance at her blood spattered clothes.
They'd crossed the borders into the western lands several days before, and it had been almost constant battles since. They had managed to save several villages, however, which was some consolation, but Kagome was becoming exhausted; they'd had almost no rest since arriving in the west.
On top of that, the fire elemental had chosen to stay with their group rather than heading south, and while he was a good warrior, an
Chapter 28: Battle Cry
Sesshoumaru watched as Kagome fell into an exhausted sleep later that night, rolled comfortably in her bedding, then lifted his gaze to the night sky, and lost himself in his thoughts.
He was content - for the first time in his long life, he was perfectly happy right where he was. He didn't feel the need to be anywhere else - except maybe closer to his miko.
'Soon. It is almost time. We will clear our lands, and then...'
Firmly, he turned his thoughts away from that path - he needed to stay focused, and away from that part of things for now.
Instead, he considered his brother.
Earlier, after returning from the
Chapter 27: First Meetings
Kagura eyed the so-called sorceress with a bit of disbelief. This was the woman that was supposed to be so powerful?! She looked to be no more than a normal human female - save for her eyes, which... come to think of it, didn't really look like normal human eyes.
But still!
Nyoko watched the wind demoness watch her with a great deal of amusement. She got this particular reaction a lot, if the truth were to be known, and she usually derived much pleasure (and laughter) from it.
"So, you mean to tell me that you are Nyoko, and you're a sorceress?" Kagura was highly suspicious of this woman - perhaps she was j
Chapter 25: Fooling the Wind
Sesshoumaru was not a happy demon Lord.
They had arrived back at the village several hours ago, and Kagome was doing everything in her power to avoid him - and he had no idea why. She was upset about something, but no one knew what.
And she wasn't saying.
With an irritated growl, he stared after her as she moved off with the other women, then turned his thoughts to something else. Something he could deal with at this moment: Inuyasha.
His brother was also practicing avoidance, though it appeared that he was trying to avoid everyone. That would not do, because they were going to have it out. There was no
Chapter 24: Deception
Inuyasha stared out over the meadow, face frozen, shocked.
'Did she just... say... what I think she said? How...?'
"What do you mean, who would I choose?" he finally managed to question, voice still wavering with uncertainty.
"That has been the basis for all your misfortune so far, has it not, my Inuyasha?"
His eyes dropped into his lap as he heard her words. 'Yeah... sure. I feel caught between the two of them - and it's still the same... I think, if I'm honest with myself...'
"I think I always will be, mother. I really don't know as I'm capable of making a choice between the two." He shook his head, a frus