Inuyasha growled as he continued to struggle beneath the small statue the kitsune brat had thrown at him. His wrists were getting sore from the continued pulling, but the rock refused to budge.

"That damn woman!" He grumbled, "When I get ahold of her, she'll pay for leaving me like this!" He looked over in the direction she had run off in, his ear flicking in irritation. She had run up wind, and for quite some time, he had been able to scent her on the spring breeze.

But that scent had faded, growing weaker. Kagome was a long ways off, and it was making her husband quite uneasy. If what that little brat Shippo had said was even a little bit true, then she was running into danger. Danger only exasperated by that Kami forsaken jewel on her neck.

A crow screeched above him, making him look up to see a small speck falling towards him. It landed on his nose, and he scrunched up his face as the tiny creature bit into his flesh and started sucking his blood.

"Lord Inuyasha, I'm so glad to have found you!" Myoga cried as he pulled away.

"You wouldn't have had to come looking for me if you didn't run off every time the smallest trace of danger made an appearance, you little coward!" The inu-hanyo growled, crossing his eyes so he could look at his father's retainer.

"Runaway?" the flea asked, hoping back onto the head of the small Jizo statue. "Why Master, I was simply allowing you and Lady Kagome some alone time in the wake of your battle. I had seen the way you two were eyeing one another during your fight with that horrible sorceress and figured you two were best left in privacy." Inuyasha began to turn red, growling under his breath.

"Do you really think I'm gonna believe a word of that?" He snapped and the flea looked down at the statue he sat upon.

"Where is Lady Kagome?" He asks and his master huffed, shifting his feet a little as he rested on his haunches.

"Damn wench ran off after a kitsune child who told some sob story to her," he grumbled and Myoga suddenly looked up at him in horror.

"By herself?!" he gasps, "Lady Kagome is but a mortal woman and there are powerful demon clans that are not exactly your and Lord Sesshomaru's allies! How could you let her off with the Shikon no Tama alone?!" Inuyasha grew redder and narrowed his eyes at the flea.

"I didn't let her run off!" He snarled and Myoga jumped back a little, his little insect legs sliding on a piece of rice paper, and he looked down again to see a spell scroll. Reading the characters, he then looked back up at the hanyo lord.

"Master, are you by chance," he swallowed nervously, knowing well the dog-eared yokai's temper, "stuck?" An ear twitched as the last of Inuyasha's patience broke.

"Why the hell else would I still be fucking sitting here, you filthy little dog sucker?" He snapped, "So peel the damn scroll off and release me from that little carrot-top's trick!" Myoga jumped off the rice paper and tried to tug on it from the corner. He ended up flipping over and falling onto the earth below.

"I'm afraid it's quite stuck, My Lord," he grumbles and Inuyasha growled again.

"Curse you, old man!" He growled, "Try harder! I ain't got time for this!'

"Uh, yes of course," the flea replied nervously as he hopped back onto the statue and tried once again to pull free the spell scroll.

Circling above, a small, goofy looking bird with a blue ribbon spotted where the red-clothed, hanyo prince still struggled against the sealed statue. He swallowed nervously, his talons adjusting their grip on the princess' quiver.

This was not going to be easy.

However, the transformed kitsune thought back to the blue grey eyes that had looked at him so kindly, and her sad smile as she gripped his hand and placed her treasure with him. The Princess of Musashi trusted him to find Inuyasha and lead him to the Thunder Brothers so she could be saved.

Shippo refused to be the one to let her down.

"For Lady Kagome!" the fox child declared as he swooped down onto the ground, popping back into his true form.

Inuyasha quickly turned his head in the kitsune's direction, "Finally showed back up, did ya?" he growled, "Well, you've had your laugh now take this damn thing off my hands so I can teach you a lesson!"

The fox child stood still, his green eyes large and frightened. His thick, rabbit-like tail shuddered and Inuyasha turned his head as he scented something, someone, who he couldn't see.

Shippo had his arms wrapped around a leather tube. A beaded quiver filled with delicately crafted, white fletched arrows. A very familiar quiver, with a few drops of blood smeared on the soft cowhide.

He felt his pulled back ears turn forward, dread filling his chest.

"Where's Kagome?" He asked, "I know she went after you. Those are her arrows." The fox cub ignored the dog-eared man's questions, but sucking up all his strength, he stepped forward, towards the hanyo lord.

"I'll free you on one condition," He says, "You have to promise not to hit me again." Inuyasha narrowed his golden eyes at the child, not wanting to play around.

"What happened to Kagome!" He growled and Shippo flinched a little but shook his head.

"I'll tell you after you promise," He says, "That's the deal!"

"You conniving little..." He growled as Myoga hopped up and down on the Jizo Statue.

"Master, now is not the time for petty pride!" He pleaded, but Inuyasha rolled his eyes, having already come to terms with the consequences should he not agree.

"Fine," He grumbled, "I promise not to strike you. Just get this damn thing off my hands!"

Carefully setting the princess' weapon on the ground, Shippo hoped forward and grabbed onto the scroll, easily peeling it away and causing the statue to flip away and shrink back into a toy. As soon as he had placed it into his shirt, he felt the impact of the larger yokai's fist on top of his head, knocking him to the ground.

"Hey! You promised!" the kitsune wailed but Inuyasha just glared at him.

"You deserved it for that stupid little trick of yours," Inuyasha grumbles, flexing his claws. "Now tell me what happened to Kagome. And don't lie. You've already more than pressed your luck with me, you little runt."

Shippo rubbed the knot on his head and stepped back over to the set aside quiver. Pulling the arrows out of their place, he reached around inside until he felt the cold surface of princess' treasure and pulled it out.

"She was captured by the Thunder Brothers," He said nervously.

"The Thunder Brothers?" Inuyasha asked. He had only been half listening to the kitsune's story before, "You mean the ones that murdered those samurai and your father? I thought it was just some story to trick us."

"He speaks of Hiten and Mantan!" Myoga pipes up, "The slaughtering of the kitsune lord, Shippo's father I presume, is the danger I came to tell you and Lady Kagome about."

"The fat and dumb one caught me, but Lady Kagome shot him with her arrow!" the fox child said quietly, still not facing Inuyasha, "Then he turned on both of us, and sent a fierce blast of lightening in our direction. We tried to run but we weren't fast enough. Lady Kagome got hurt and-" He stopped his story as a clawed hand gripped the back of his furred vest and lifted him up, Inuyasha glared at him, fire raging in his golden eyes as he held the boy nose to nose with him.

"So what, you turned tail and left her there?" He snarled, "You reek of your shame!"

"No, I didn't want to leave her, but she gave me this and told me to come find you," Shippo growled holding out the glittering Shikon no Tama. "Besides, why is my trouble to save her? She's your woman. If you hadn't fallen for the easiest trick a kitsune has, you would have been there to protect your bitch."

Inuyasha growled and threw the child to the ground, making him let out a little shriek, the Shikon no Tama rolling across the ground and stopping beside the discarded quiver.

"She ain't my-" He quickly turned his back to the fox child. "She ain't my woman or my bitch. She's just my wife." He stuck his arms inside the large sleeves of his suikan and looked at the mountains on the horizon.

"What's the difference?" the child asked, rubbing his sore head. The hanyo prince felt his cheeks grow red and he just angrily flicked an ear.

"My Lord, is right now really the time for such technicality?" Myoga asked, jumping up onto the red clothed shoulder of his lord. "The jewel may have been saved due to the princess' quick thinking, but the fact remains that an enemy demon clan has kidnapped your wife. Will you forsake her-ahhh!" The flea was suddenly flicked away like the offending nuisance he was, falling into the hands of the kitsune child.

"Hey! My father taught me to respect my elders!" Shippo said as he cradled the old flea. As he was reminded of his recently deceased sire, the little boy let out a sniffle, causing a white furred ear to flicker in his direction, "Inuyasha, I'm really worried about Kagome. My father died and was turned into a fur coat by the Thunder Brothers. She stayed behind so I could escape. I know she's just a mortal, but I really don't want her to get devoured like the samurai in the meadow."

Inuyasha had already decided that much, that he had to go into battle outnumbered and get Kagome back. It wasn't as though he could just leave her behind in any good conscience, the yokai half of him snarling and pacing in the back of his mind as he thought of all the horrible things that could have already happened to her.

Sure, the Shikon Jewel was safe, pure, and untainted from being in the hands of a fool hardy child. But he sure as hell wasn't going to roll over on his back and let a child and an old man know of the weakness he had for the mortal woman he called his wife and nothing more.

A golden eye glimpsed the child from over his shoulder. "I suppose I could be persuaded to go and prove why I'm the Lord of Musashi and get the wench back," He says, "if you apologize for that little trick you pulled while you were asking for help earlier." He saw the fox child frown and smirked turning his nose up.

Shippo panicked for a moment, shocked how such a kind woman as Lady Kagome could be mated to a selfish jerk. "What do you mean I have to-"

"I'm not finished," the prince said, "I'll think about going to get her IF you apologize and promise to fix me a hot bath tonight!"

"What am I, a servant?" Shippo cried out, ready to start in on another tirade with the boastful half demon who would dare treat him as a lowly servant. He was the son of a clan lord for kami's sake! "Why you-"

"Shippo, you'd better give the master what he wants," Myoga interjects, "He can be quite stubborn when he's offended by petty things, and we can't be wasting time where Princess Kagome's life is in jeopardy every moment we spend arguing."

Shippo looked up at the white-haired half demon, with his upturned nose and scrunched face. He really did look so prideful to sit and wait for such a stupid apology. Thinking back to the beautiful young woman who had pleaded with him to run away and find Inuyasha, the child took pause as his biting remark back to the hanyo. 

She clearly trusted her husband with this, so he would have to grin and bear it. Kneeling down, he bowed low to the ground.

"I apologize for my indiscretion, Great Lord Inuyasha!" He grumbled into the dirt, "Please allow me to serve you and aid in recapture of her Noble Ladyship of Musashi and lead you to our dreaded, shared enemy."

"Yeah, yeah, don't lay it on too thick," Inuyasha grumbles, leaning over to pick up the jewel the child had cast aside between his claws, briefly glaring at the cursed thing in disgust, before stuffing it back into Kagome's quiver with her arrows. Slinging it over his shoulder, he glanced back at the kitsune, "What the hell are you doing on the ground? Get your tail up and point the way like you said you would."

The fox cub got up, staring at the hanyo. That had been way to easy. It was almost as though he had already decided on his own to go forward with rescuing Kagome, but in his own turnabout way was trying to find a way to ask for his help in finding the hidden lair. After all, her scent was already nearly lost on the warm breeze flowing through the meadow and would be tiresome and wasteful to try to track when her very life was on the line.

A difficult problem easily remedied with someone who had been much closer to the Thunder Brothers' lair.

Shippo shook his head as he noticed the impatient amber eyes glaring at him and jumped to his paws. He scurried forward and hopped up, climbing the red fire rat fur, and perching himself on the hanyo's shoulder. His small, clawed hand pointed towards the mountains and swirling clouds.

"Their home is built into the base of the rumbling mountains," he says, his fluffy tail puffing in determination, "They had to have taken Lady Kagome there."

"I agree!" Myoga says, "Hiten and Mantan are known to transport their female victims to the mountains before the women disappear."

"Then that's where we're headed," Inuyasha growls, leaping forward and starting to run, "No one takes something from me and lives to tell about it."

"Just hold on Kagome," Inuyasha thought as he narrowed his eyes on the mountain, "Just hold on until I get there, and I'll make them pay for anything they even tried against you."

*****

The mortal woman woke up as she felt a pounding in her temples, aching painfully from the concussion she had suffered in the lightning blast that hit her. She felt bare wood under her, smooth and warm from her own body heat, pressing and sticking to her bare skin.

"I really don't want to make a habit of waking up naked in a strange place, but twice! Really?" Kagome thought in her haze, her eyes still closed in pain. She moved her head a little, feeling part of her hair pulling at the dried blood of a shallow wound across her back. "That's right. My bow snapped when I fell. It must have cut me with the splintered part of the wood."

Her fingers reached back, and she winced further as she felt the sting of the splintered pieces still lodged in her flesh. However, as she fumbled around, she found the edge of a course piece of cloth and pulled it closer, draping it around herself.

The princess blinked open her stormy blue yes, squinting a little against the harsh fire light. She was in some kind of kitchen, smelling heavily of herbs and spices. The bubbling of a large cauldron seemed to echo around in her throbbing head, and she carefully tucked the tattered fabric, a glorified grain sack, around her body.

"Oh, you're awake," She heard an oddly familiar, goofy sounding voice pipe up. She turned her head to see a large, pale demon kneeling in front of the cauldron. He wore wide armor of black and red, tied with purple sashes and blue shoulder plates. Around his waist, worn like a kind of kilt, was a brand of flame colored fur and the earlier events of the day, or at least she hoped it had only been a day, started to return to her.

The kitsune child, Shippo, and the storm yokai that had attacked when she ran after him. She had been captured by the strange, reptile like creature, one of the Thunder Brothers.

"Where am I?' She asked and the beady-eyed demon turned to look at her. His long, egg shaped head shown in the fire light, bald save for one coarse looking hair in the middle of his forehead. The rest was held in a small, warriors' braid, tied together from a small patch at the nape of his neck.

"You were fibbing little vixen," He chuckles.

"About what?" Kagome asks.

"You didn't have the Shikon no Tama," He grumbled, "I stripped you of those filthy garments, and still there was no jewel to speak of. In fact, you wore no jewelry at all.

"I never claimed to," She says pointedly crossing her arms over her chest.

"Then tell me, Miko-Sama, why did the little fox brat call you Lady Kagome?" He asks and she narrows her eyes at him.

"Because it's my name," She says, slightly offended to be called a shrine maiden. Sure, she had the ability to mutilate and use reiki, but she was a married woman, even if it was only in name.

"But you are not the one who holds the Shikon Jewel," He says, clearly a little annoyed. "It is no mater. A lovely maiden like you will still be of some use, I suppose." He turned back to his strong-smelling cauldron, stirring at it with a wooden paddle.

"Use?" Kagome asked, "Used for what?"

"Why, for my hair potion, you naughty little woman," He chuckled, "After you stuck me with that pesky little arrow of yours, I lost my already dwindling hair. So I have been forced to pull out one of my mother's family recipes. Everyone knows the boiled flesh of a mortal maiden does wonders for hair growth when rubbed on the scalp."

"You want to boil me and rub me on your head?!" she says, "I think I'd rather be eaten!" The large lumbering yokai gets up, holding a finger to his wide maw as he approached the young woman.

"Stop all your caterwauling or Brother Hiten will grant your wish!" He says and Kagome turned her head as she felt a large, even stronger aura rapidly approaching.

The door flew off its hinges, causing Kagome to flinch and the large oaf of a thunder yokai bowed his head as his brother entered. Hiten, or who the mortal princess could very easily assume was Hiten, looked nothing like his brother. He was tall and slender, almost an even match in height and weight to Inuyasha. His hair was in a braid like the reptilian demon, however, his was sleek and full, reaching his knees, and deep, bronze colored skin. His armor was the same as his brother's, save the fact that his was shinier, with a deep blue breastplate and orange shoulders.

"At least this one looks a little more human," She thought, "Maybe he can be reasoned with diplomatically."

Under his arm was a beautiful demoness, her black hair full and curlier than any Kagome had ever seen before. She opened her lined eyes to reveal red, with deep purple irises, almost cat like in appearance if she was being honest with herself.

Then Kagome realized maybe she was thinking of the wrong kind of creature as she realized what the woman wore.

It was pretty much what the princess would consider undergarments. Her top was a strip of wide, golden-scaled snakeskin, wrapped around her breasts. A green serpent encircled her shoulders, it's tongue occasionally flickering out as its beady eyes looked about. The rest of her was covered in a long, black wrap skirt that set low on her hips, tied loosely with a sash, contrasting with her pale, milk colored skin. She wore golden jewelry in her ears and the ornaments of a high-ranking courtesan in a small bun a top her head.

"Mantan, what is all this ruckus about?" Hiten asked and the large yokai bowed his head.

"Brother Hiten, I am sorry to have disturbed you, I was simply preparing one of Mother's recipes," Mantan replied and the yokai woman scoffed, crossing her arms loosely around herself.

"That thing is your brother?" She asked, a thin, forked tongue flicking out between her fangs after she had closed her red lips.

"Who's the woman?" the elder brother asked, ignoring his concubine's question. The other man got up, holding out his arm in almost a defensive manner.

"She's mine! I found her first!" he cried and Hiten just chuckled, tightening his grip on the woman beside him.

"I wouldn't dream of it, dear little brother," He chuckled, "Especially when I have this little vixen to keep me company." The yokai woman let out a little, tsk kind of sound, her tongue flicking again. "Say, did you happen to locate that little scrap of fur that escaped earlier like you were supposed to? You know how I despise survivors to a raid."

Mantan suddenly looked very nervous, rubbing his pudgy hands together, and his elder brother gritted his teeth, showing small, pointed fangs among his human looking teeth, his arm dropping from the woman's shoulder, "Well, you see brother-"

"You let him escape!" Hiten yelled, his eyes flashing red. His arm swung out and a blast of energy flew from his hand, through the yokai woman's face. Her eyes were wide for a moment, before her face was gone, replaced with a large hole.

The snake yokai's body turned ashen and she fell back, onto the floor with a dull thud. Kagome fought a small whimper try to fight itself from her throat, but she quickly swallowed it back. She had seen Inuyasha fight and kill before, but his actions were always with honor. This was simply a display of brute force that caused terror in her soul that he was her current keeper.

"No Brother, I was simply-" Mantan started, sweat covering his rounded, bald head as he tried to placate the elder brother's rage.

"You were too distracted by a mortal wench to simply follow orders and kill the brat!" Hiten finished, the coldness in his voice making Kagome tremble.

"You misunderstand, I was under the impression that she was the Lady of Musashi since she aided in the escape of the kitsune!" the dopy reptile yokai replied, "He knew her name to be Kagome, which is what the decree the Inu no Taisho sent out called the Shikon Princess. I thought to recover the treasure you sought Dear Brother, but unfortunately, this filthy maiden was just some priestess in the meadow who took pity on the child, and not the mortal bitch of the tainted on-. "

"I am not a Priestess," She snaps, both men suddenly turning towards her, "And I will thank you not to talk about me as though I'm not here. It's very rude." She crossed her arms around her chest and stood up.

"Then who are you, using arrows to maim me, you little wench?" Mantan asks and she summed up her years learning to hold herself under the pressure of mortal lords who came to visit her grandfather. She poised herself on the table like a throne and looked down her nose at the elder of the two brothers, knowing her focus must be on addressing the most powerful man in the room.

"I am as the kitsune cub called me," She says, "Higurashi Kagome, Princess of the Shikon no Tama and wife of Inuyasha, Second Son of Toga Inu no Taisho and Lord of Musashi. How else would the child know my name."

"You lie!" Mantan cries out, "You have no jewel, no jewelry at all in fact, anywhere on your person, and your kimono was stained rags of cotton."

"Now what kind of fool would I be to wander the countryside full of yokai that are not aligned with my husband with such a powerful item on my person?" she says, still keeping her eyes on the more humanoid brother.

"Yes, but why were you by yourself?" Hiten asks and she chuckles, trying her best to play coy to the brother who was clearly starting to fall under the spell of the etiquette the princess was brought up to have.

Rule number one of such tactics, tell enough of the truth that the lies fall in line without even a stutter.

"What your brother says is true," she says. "I have reiki, I use a priestess' weapon though I do not consider myself a miko. Mischievous yokai fall under the jurisdiction of the joint court my husband leads. Reports of an oni sorceress who was causing trouble near Edo came to the castle. She was hardly trouble worth sending a troop, let alone my Lord Husband after. He saw it fit for me since I am able to see through such weak glamour as the one of this sorceress. I took care of it last night and was traveling back on foot due to my horse being slain when I came across your brother trying to attack the young kitsune. Being of the yokai I now serve, I saw it fit to try to intervene on the child's behalf."

"But if you weren't dressed was a princess, how did the brat know your name, My Lady," The commanding, bronze skinned elder pressed, sarcastically saying the title at the end as though he was only buying her story so much. Though she was trembling inside from the predatory look in the storm yokai's eyes, Kagome's slender fingers waved him off as though his pressure didn't bother her in the slightest.

"His father was Lord of the Azure Flame Clan," She states, "He attended my wedding and recognized my scent. I was the only mortal woman there after all and while his nose is not as sensitive as a dog demon's, surely he could recognize me from our short meeting."

"She's lying!" Mantan quickly spoke up, "Don't fall for her lies, Brother! She bares no mark of an inu-yokai bitch and she's still a maiden. I checked myself before I started mother's recipe!" Kagome felt her cheeks heat up as the oaf revealed such a thing, her legs crossed uncomfortably as she learned of the fact that not only had the strange yokai stripped her but looked and possibly even touched her there.

She watched as Hiten's eyebrow raised at his brother's comment, looking at the young woman with renewed interest. He'd found a chink in her fool proof story's armor. Now was the time for rule number two of the courtesan's social dance.

Bluff, bluff, and bluff some more, throwing in a giggle or two for good measure.

"What do you know of my husband, Inuyasha of Musashi, the brave, strong, handsome yokai warrior prince?" She asks, doing her best to keep her rapid heartbeat in check and not let her increasing fear show. Her voice sounded sickly sweet, even to her own ears.

"Strong?" Hiten chuckles, "Everyone knows that the second son of the Inu-Yokai, this Inuyasha, is merely a half-blooded, half-mortal bastard."

"A hanyo, yes," She says, trying to ignore the insulting way someone who she considered precious to her was described by this stranger, "But even as such, he's still part of quite a strong family line. The Inu no Taisho's bloodline is not something to sneeze at, even in someone borne of a mortal woman." Flicking her legs, she swung them down and stood up, still holding the stained table cover to her bare body. "Tell me, do you know how old Inuyasha is?"

"Why would I care about that?" Hiten scoffs, turning his back to her and she chuckles. He may act uninterested but considering he hadn't immediately ordered her death for his brother's potion, he was at least a little curious about where she was going with her story.

"Because, he will have completed his 200th winter this year and have more access to Lord Toga's blood than ever before," She says," He's holding off our coupling until then to ensure our first born will be able to inherit that immense power as well as my own. Thus, I'm still a maid."

"What nonsense, don't tell me you believe such drabble from this wench Brother!" Mantan asks and she turns up her nose at his remarks.

"Why else would he have waited three years to wed me?" Kagome says, smugly putting everything she had into her lie. "I was of mortal childbearing age back then, when Lord Sesshomaru approached my grandfather with the contract."

"Brother don't-" Mantan tries to start up again, but Hiten just laughs, turning back to the princess.

"It makes sense," He says smiling, "You said it yourself that the fox brat knew her name, and it would be just like a tainted half-breed dog to fall in love with a weak mortal wench and come up with such a scheme to make the most of weak, mostly mortal offspring." He starts walking towards her and she takes a step back, bumping into the table.

"It seems that you did me a favor by bringing me this mortal wench, Mantan. The keeper of the jewel, an untouched maiden the half-breed has yet to mate with, will make quite the replacement for my dear Gōrudensukēru(*)." He glances over at the corpse of the yokai woman he had struck and Kagome swallows nervously.

"Wait!" Mantan cries out, "She's mine! You said so! She needs to be a maiden, or the hair potion won't work!" The mortal princess gripped her chest.

"Neither of you will touch me if you want the Shikon no Tama!' She says and both men turn to her. "You want that more than to sire tainted, hanyo offspring anyway, right? Well if either of you harm me, you will never see it."

The Thunder Brother's turned back to one another, as though they were thinking about what she had said. Their mission was power. Women meant little and were easily replaceable.

"In exchange for me, unharmed or tainted by you in any way," Kagome says, praying Inuyasha would be on his way soon, "I will see to it that the jewel is delivered to you."

"How do we know you won't just be leading us into a trap?" Hiten asks and she crosses her arms around her chest.

"Inuyasha was waiting for me in a nearby village, with the jewel under his guard," She replies, "He'll come looking for me and have no choice but to carry the jewel with him."

"No reinforcements? Even a half-demon wouldn't be so foolish," Mantan says, pleading with his brother. Kagome starts laughing and they look to her again.

"He's desperately in love with me, his cherished mortal wife," She says, "He has human blood in his veins and human men are anything but rational when it comes to their loves. To get me, he will not hesitate to hand you anything and everything you desire, including the Shikon Jewel if I am returned untarnished and unharmed. That's the deal and I will not alter it." Hiten steps back over to her and grabs her chin in a harsh hand, squeezing her jaw.

Kagome's blue eyes glared up at him, daring him to call her bluff. It may be wishful thinking on her part, hoping that Inuyasha loved her, but she had every faith that even if he didn't, he would come for her. The jewel wouldn't even be glimpsed by this horrible, evil yokai. She had witnessed her husband fight and knew that this yokai and his brother would never live for what they had done to their fox clan allies nor her.

"If I find you are lying," The elder brother growls, "You will share a fate worse than Gōrudensukēru. And I greatly doubt you'd enjoy being turned into a faceless doll for mine and my brother's pleasures."

"He'd do it to. My life means no more to him than that of a mosquito," the mortal woman thought as she kept her eyes trained on his face, "I would be a fool to expect any less from wretches who would chase after a child just to ensure that no one survived a battle." Hiten chuckles and lets her chin go, turning back to his brother.

"As long as we are in agreement," he says, walking over the dead woman's body, her snake companion slithering in and out of the hole in her face. He gripped the fabric of her wrap skirt and chest binding, tearing them away and causing the fragile corpse to turn to ash. As the golden hairpins once in Gōrudensukēru's hair were revealed, he grabbed those as well and threw them at his brother,

"Get her highness dressed as the dog bait that she is. If she tries anything funny, feel free to harvest her for your potion," the elder brother says and Kagome clutches the rough cloth tighter, "Though I have a feeling she won't. It seems the bitch cares a great deal for her half-dog. And I'd hate to have to dirty my hands with such unworthy blood to get what I want."

"Yes, Brother!" Mantan says eagerly, "I will not allow the pesky vixen out of my sight."

"Just make it quick," his brother replied, "I have a feeling that our dear Lord of Musashi will be arriving quite soon. I want to give him a proper greeting." Smirking, he kicked through the dust that was once his lover and disappeared into the darkness of the thunder castle.

Turning to her, the large reptilian creature stepped forward and she quickly stepped back, bumping into the table, "What are you doing?" Mantan simply tilted his head as he looked at the young.

"Dressing you, as Brother Hiten instructed," he replied, and Kagome shivered at the thought of having to don the dead woman's kimono.

But she knew that upon Inuyasha reaching this place, she would likely have to find a way to help him fight, to make sure that the battle was not two against one. And if she had to choose between fighting in a table cover or the late snake yokai's courtesans' garb, the later was much more practical.

"I can dress myself, thank you," She says, holding out her hand.

"But Brother Hiten told me-," He started, and she takes a step forward, her hand still outstretched.

"Please, just allow me the common courtesy of dressing myself," She says softly, hoping that using a gentle voice might break him. "He just told you to get me dressed. Allow me to do so in privacy, without your eyes on me. I am a noble lady after all."

"I said I would not let you out of my sight," Mantan states simply and Kagome carefully lays her hand on his cold, pale-scaled fist that held the clothing. A red blush started to appear on his cheeks, and she knew she had him on the hook.

"I only ask that you turn your back," She says, "You don't need to leave your post guarding me."

"Very well," He says, and she felt his hands release their grip on the silk and snakeskin, along with handing her the golden chopsticks to pin up her hair. Turning around, her crossed his large, pudgy arms and Kagome let the stained white cloth fall away so she could begin dressing in the less than modest clothing.

"Please Inuyasha," She thought, a tear running down her cheek, "Come quickly. I don't know how much longer I can keep up this charade."

*****

"You sure it's this way, runt?" Inuyasha asked as he started having to leap from stone peak to stone peak, the clouds swirling above him making the air feel tense and his skin itch as though there were a rising storm on the air.

"Of course I'm sure!" Shippo called out, tensing a little as he hung onto the dog-eared man for dear life against the jolts of his landings, "Why would I go to the trouble of leading you on a wild goose chase when my father's honor hangs in the balance. I need to defeat them." Inuyasha stopped a moment and raised an eyebrow at the fox child.

"You?" He asks and Shippo's green eyes looked up at him sheepishly.

"Well, with a little help from you of course," the child replies before looking around, "Why'd you stop?" Inuyasha turns his head towards the mountain, flicking his ear at the sound of thunder.

"I still haven't caught her scent," he growls, and Myoga climbs down a long strand of silvery white hair.

"That's to be expected," he says, "They are storm yokai and Shippo said that Mantan took her in a rain cloud after all."

"A half demon's nose prob'ly ain't strong enough," the kitsune mumbles under his breath.

"What was that?!" Inuyasha growls, snapping his golden gaze back to the fox cub who tried to shrink a.

"My Lord, we really do not have time for this!" the flea demon pleaded, "Lady Kagome is in the custody of the Thunder Brothers after all."

"She's probably fine," the hanyo prince grumbles, though it was more to try and settle the great white beast stalking and growling in the recesses of his mind, "She's too stubborn to get killed so easily."

"We can only hope, Master," Myoga replies, "But it is well known that pretty, young maidens are not kept long after they have outlive their usefulness to the Thunder Clan. They are quite quickly devoured."

"Oh no! Lady Kagome!" Shippo starts crying and the inu-hanyo just looks at him at him.

"Knock it off!" He snaps, "Didn't you hear him? He said pretty maidens."

"Yeah, she is pretty," the child says matter of factly, "And kind and brave and smart. Can you only see half as well too?"

"They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I will say she does constitute as appealing as far as mortals go-" The old flea starts and Inuyasha felt the snarling dog in his head growling his own opinions as well, making him snap.

"I'm going alright now shut the hell up and let me focus!" He snaps right before an ear twitched and he jumped back, tumbling to the ground in his haste as a bolt of lightning turned the stone spire he had been perched upon to rubble.

Shippo crawled off his shoulder and blinked up at the hanyo as he lifted his head, ears pressed against his head as he glimpsed the man hovering above them, holding a sparking pike in his hands. His red eyes gleamed at them and Inuyasha glanced at the kit, whose tail quivered in fear.

"Lord Inuyasha, that is Hiten, the elder of the brothers," Myoga cried, and he shrugged Kagome's quiver off his shoulder and discarding it, as well as its hidden treasure in the child's direction. He stood up, his eyes narrowing at the thunder demon.

"You dodged my lightning," the attacker calls, resting his pike on his armored shoulder, "Your senses are pretty sharp for a half demon."

"That's pretty sneaky of you to attack from behind," Inuyasha yells up to him, "What's the matter? Scared of me or somethin'?"

"Hardly," Hiten chuckles, "Not when I have something you want back." He looks over his shoulder. "Mantan!"

From closer to the imposing mountain that rose behind the floating man, a great storm cloud emerged out of the others. It was controlled by a large egg-shaped man who chuckled, rubbing his pudgy hands over something.

"Aye, Brother?" the large creature replied to the other demon, making Inuyasha kind of tilt his head.

"Show the dog prince your quarry," Hiten says and the hanyo tensed as he finally caught the faintest whiff of familiar tears.

"Aye, Brother!" Mantan said, reaching into the cloud and yanking the young, dark haired mortal woman up and into her husband's vision.

Kagome let out a small cry as the yokai gripped harshly to her bare arms and pulled her from the floor of his cloudlike craft. His claws dug into the splinters littering her back, but she felt an odd calm wash over her as she felt the heartbeat like pulse of Inuyasha's youki, wrapping her like a warm fur blanket. Mantan grabbed her neck and made her look down, seeing said hanyo standing on the scorched ground below with the small kitsune standing next to him, the strap of her quiver in his hands.

"Inuyasha!" she called out in relief to her answered prayers.

"Kagome!" He called back. "Thank the Kami. She's alive and I don't smell very much blood, so they must not have hurt her further."

"Ha! So I see her tale was the truth after all," Hiten stated clearly smug about something, "She is the mortal wench that guards the Shikon Jewel, who was married off to the lowly bastard son of a long dead mutt and disgraced hime." Inuyasha's eyes darkened, and he glared at the smart mouthed yokai who was mocking them.

"What did you just call me?" He growled and Kagome could see the way his fists were clenching, his fingers itching to pull out the sword. But he couldn't, not without risking her life. She felt like such a fool as she was held by the back of the neck.

"I'll make it simple half demon," the Thunder Clan leader said, holding his pike in front of himself at rest, almost in a peaceful manner. "I have something you want back, and you have something I seek. Hand over the jewel and we will return your beloved unharmed!"

Thunder clapped in the clouds above and Inuyasha felt his cheeks turn red. He turned her gaze to where Kagome was being held by the stupid egg-shaped demon. She was looking around, trying not to meet his eye.

"My, beloved?" Inuyasha asks, tilting his head a little at the woman as she continued to avoid his gaze, "Let me get this straight, you told them I was some hapless dimwit in love with you?" She looked over at him, just begging him to play along and not be so stubborn.

"Now darling, this is no time to be shy!" She calls out, and he just stands there shaking his head at her idiocy. That was what she came up with. To use the Jewel of Four Souls as a bargaining chip?

"Did you really think I'd give the damn Shikon Jewel up for you?" he asks, and she glares down at him, her eyes widening as she recognized the telltale aura of the jewel coming from inside her quiver. "How stupid do you think I am?"

"Not stupid enough to actually bring it with you!" She snapped back, making him narrows his eyes at her.

"Would you rather I'd wasted my time tracking down someone else to hold onto it? I told you I ain't got time to waste for your little antics!" the hanyo yelled back up at her, the danger forgotten for a moment.

"So what you were just gonna abandon me?" She asks and he pulls his ears back to look at her.

"I didn't say that!" He snaps back, feeling his ears grow hot. "But I sure as hell ain't gonna-"

"I hate to interrupt," Hiten chuckles and Inuyasha looks over at him, amber eyes blazing in anger, "But whatever the wench lied about, she was truthful about one thing. You do have the Jewel with you. And I will be taking it, with or without your compliance. Prepare to die, half-breed!"

The small pulleys by his feet spewed flames and he flew forward, weapon aimed for Inuyasha's chest.

~~~~~

Index

Gōrudensukēru- Literally Golden Scaled (According to Google Translate so please forgive me if it's not quite right). Hiten's lady friend never had a name in the manga or anime, but I needed something to call her, so figured my idea for her outfit and being a snake yokai (Since she was literally only wearing a snake in her original iteration), golden scales would make sense.