Visions of Destiny by Demon Kaizoku

Decline

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Legend:

"Quotes" - Speech.

Bold - "Miscellaneous Youkai Speech."

Italic - Thoughts.

Bold/Italic - Flashback/Dream.

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Okaasan - Mother.

Otouto - Little Brother.

Otousan - Father.

Ojiisan – Grandfather.

Tanuki – Racoon.

Kaze no Kizu - Wind Scar.

Kongousouha - Diamond Spear Blast.

Jyaki - Evil Aura.

Kappa - Water Demon.

Nintoujou - Staff of the Heads.

Youki - Demonic Aura.

Chichiue - Father: Polite.

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Disclaimer: I do not own the anime or manga of Inuyasha. It belongs to Rumiko Takahashi!

Two wooden doors slid open.

She looked through the darkness, her caramel eyes stopping at the old well. One hand moved to tuck a strand of hair behind one ear, while the other moved to adjust the yellow sling of her camping bag around her shoulder. After doing so, she started down the frail steps to the well.

Hearing a distant voice call out, Kagome stopped. She turned to see a middle-aged woman with short black hair standing at the entrance. With a warm smile on her face, the woman walked down to Kagome.

"You do have everything, right?"

"Yes, Mama."

"Even the packages of ramen? The ones your friend Inuyasha loves?"

She sighed. Heaven forbid for those flavored noodles. How nice it would be if Inuyasha could go without them for at least a good week or two.

Kagome turned to leave, but her eyes caught something she didn't see a second ago. She spotted a plastic bag her okaasan was holding against her chest. Kagome turned to look over at her with curiosity in her eyes.

"Before you leave, I have something for you."

She handed Kagome the bag she once held. Kagome blinked, slowly digging her hand in with suspicion. She brought out what looked to be a thin, white case. She opened it. Her eyes widened in both shock and surprise before she turned to look back at her okaasan.

"Happy birthday, Kagome."

Kagome moved over to give her okaasan a hug. How could she have possibly forgotten her own birthday? I guess exams at school didn't help her any.

"Arigatou, Mama; I'll put it on right now."

She pulled out a silver-chained necklace with a blue gem embedded in the middle. Closing the clasps together around her neck, she turned to smile at her okaasan.

"I'll do my best to return as soon as I can."

"Honey, there's no need to worry over me. Take your time and help your friends."

Kagome nodded and continued down to the well. She sat herself upon the lip of the well and turned to wave at her okaasan. After her goodbye, she jumped in. Once the bright, engulfing light passed through her, Kagome arrived at the other side.

My name is Higurashi, Kagome. I was once your average teenager celebrating her 15th birthday. I had friends, good scores, and an all out wonderful life. This soon changed when my otouto Souta went off to feed Buyo. He was off searching for our neko in a small shrine, which had an abandoned well this whole time! He ran to get me, after being spooked off by an eerie presence. To calm him down, I searched the whole room and ended up finding Buyo. I brought the neko in my arms and told him that there was nothing to be afraid of.

Boy was I wrong...

The wooden planks that closed the opening of the well by a seal were destroyed. A centipede youkai had come out from the well, sensing the Shikon no Tama inside of my body. I was dragged back down into the well with it. That was when I realized I arrived in the Warring State Period. I didn't believe any of this at first. Me, go through a well with a strange looking centipede and find my well as a portal to another era? It took me some time before I was convinced. While in that time, I met Inuyasha, a hanyou that was pinned against an old tree by an arrow. Once I removed the arrow that was shot by my so-called ancestor Kikyou, was when the quest I least expected to happen would actually happen.

While on our search for the jewel fragments, we bumped into a few new faces on the way. All of them ended up becoming our new companions and helped us out on our adventures.

First, we bumped into a cute, yet mischievous kitsune name Shippou. Shippou wasn't on great terms with us, so it was only natural that Inuyasha wasn't making things any better. When things didn't seem to get any worse, a duo of youkai by the names of Hiten and Manten appeared. We found Shippou's otousan killed, skinned, and worn around Manten's wide waist. These youkai were known as the Thunder Brothers. While Manten died in battle, Hiten went into a state of anger and attacked Inuyasha. Soon after, Hiten too was finally taken care of. At first, Inuyasha was afraid and thought both Shippou and I had died at this point. I couldn't really blame him; a bright blue aura surrounded us as if we were like spirits. However, it turned out that Shippou's otousan was protecting us. Nevertheless, Inuyasha's facial expression priceless.

Not too long after, we met the one and only lecherous houshi Miroku. Like Shippou, Miroku and Inuyasha weren't on friendly terms. His special ability was soon revealed: Kazaana, a rip in the palm of his hand he received from his otousan. The Kazaana had begun with his ojiisan's generation, no thanks to Naraku for cursing the rest of Miroku's family line. It's a powerful gale of wind that can suck just about anything into its void. The more the Kazaana is used, slowly, the bigger it'll get. If the Kazaana were to get any bigger, Miroku's chances of getting sucked in would increase. Like Inuyasha, Miroku is also after Naraku. Naraku was the one who caused the rip in the palm of his hand to even exist. This was one thing that made Inuyasha and Miroku more agreeable to one another. Of course, he scarred me enough as it is by asking me to bear his child and groping at my ass!

We also met a friend of his: a tanuki named Hachi. He also helped us on our adventures when we needed it.

Lastly, we met a girl a year or two older name Sango, with her neko-like companion Kirara. Her family was once a huge line of taijiya. She wields a massive bone boomerang called Hiraikotsu as her weapon. She once had a sibling like I, which was one thing we both could relate to when we barely knew one another. She had an otouto she cared for, Kohaku.

Sango's family and comrades were off on a mission for one in need, but the tables turned on them and it was all a trap. Everyone around her she knew was annihilated. Kohaku, the otouto she cared for and loved stabbed her with his sickle, under possession from the intruder around the castle. Once the possession on Kohaku was broken, was also the day he died; or so we thought. It turned out that Naraku had Kohaku under his control with a jewel shard and erased all of his memories. Kohaku didn't even remember Sango, which pained her to no end.

Another one of us was added onto our team of vengeance towards Naraku.

It has been a good, long two years since I first met Inuyasha and the others. I just turned seventeen this morning. Today is also the day of the two-year anniversary of my arrival in this time period.

"Hey, I'm back!"

Kagome yelled from in the well. No response came. She found this strange, but shrugged her concern away. She climbed up the vines that grew from in the well.

No one was at the well waiting for her. Not even a certain hanyou who usually leaned against it in agitation. Maybe they all were back at the village, plotting their next move for the shikon shards that awaited them. Still, the fact that Inuyasha wasn't at the well waiting for her made Kagome worry a little. It just wasn't like him to not be there.

As she brought herself out from the well, Kagome's head shot up by a familiar presence.

I sense jewel fragments nearby. They're coming from in the village. The village!?

Kagome quickly made her way through the forest and into the village as fast as her legs could take her.

That's why no one was at the well; they must be at the village fighting off a youkai! Why didn't Inuyasha come through my time and tell me?

When she arrived at the village, yells and high-pitched cries were heard throughout the whole location. Kagome didn't have her bow or any of arrows with her. She had misplaced them before returning home.

She looked around desperately for signs of anything like her weapon nearby. She spotted a bow and three simple-made arrows leaning against the wall of a hut. She ran over and snatched them, hoping whoever owned them could find a way to forgive her.

She continued running, searching for where the source of destruction was held. She was soon answered by an enormous explosion from the distance.

She turned and ran off into that direction.

Don't worry, I'm on my way!

Clouds of shattered earth from the outskirts of the village started fading in the withering winds. Homes at the village borders were left deserted and generally destroyed.

Inuyasha jumped back from the destruction he inflicted, landing beside the others. The moment that his ears picked up an irritable hiss, low curses began to spill from his mouth while his hands tightly grasped onto Tessaiga's hilt.

"Damnit, the Kaze no Kizu has no effect!"

Standing next to him and closest was Miroku, whose eyes didn't leave the battlefield from in front of him.

"Do you think this youkai has a jewel fragment?"

"Probably."

Another hiss came. Both allies turned, their eyes searching the location for any traces of the youkai. Everything from all around them remained quiet and still, with the exception of their breaths silently echoing.

The hazy dust in the air from the Kaze No Kizu's damage soon diminished, revealing their enemy.

A snake youkai stood before them, perhaps ranging taller than the tallest of trees. Its scales were a glossy green, with a pair of slit crimson eyes. The youkai gave off an amused chuckle.

"Try all you may, hanyou, nothing will affect me."

Inuyasha gave the snake a cold glare.

"Watch me, you bastard..."

The snake bellowed in laughter.

At this time, Inuyasha was preparing for another attack. No one berated him and got away with it. He couldn't go and try to penetrate its scales with the blade alone. He tried that already. That was one thing he figured without Kagome's help. He knew the snake must've had at least one shard that increased its defense. If there were more shards that increased its ability, he wasn't sure.

I haven't tried that, yet. I need to figure out if this youkai has emitted a barrier or not. Kongousouha isn't needed for an ordinary youkai, so this should be enough...

Inuyasha's hands braced tighter on Tessaiga's hilt. The blade began to change into a red hue. Sango, who sat on Kirara with Shippou, blinked curiously, while her arm was stretched to her back holding the Hiraikotsu. She turned to the houshi she knew.

"The youkai has a barrier?"

Miroku turned to look back at Sango.

"We don't know yet, I at least don't. I'd have to guess Inuyasha's risking to find out."

Sango turned back to watch Inuyasha, seeing the Tessaiga's energy form with more power.

Why the snake youkai just remained to watch, no one knew. They either assumed it was stubborn, or letting Inuyasha give all he's got. Snake youkai were notorious for being thick-headed with both pride and cockiness; or so Sango told them.

"Ooh, now what is the hanyou giving me?"

The snake egotistically chuckled as Inuyasha brought the Tessaiga back, jumping above the snake.

"Take this!"

He shot out his weaker barrier attack. The snake laughed and easily twisted away with agility.

"Hell! He doesn't even need a barrier; he's fast enough to dodge as it is!"

"I've already told you once and I'll only tell you once more, nothing affects me!"

Inuyasha again glared at the youkai, letting a low growl rumble from down in his throat. The snake's eyes lowered at them.

"I grow impatient, how about I stir things up a little?"

The snake pulled its head back, its mouth starting to stretch in size. Inuyasha watched the snake's actions with one of his odd glances. Over to the side Sango's eyes widened in sudden realization by the action it gave.

"It's about to spit acid!"

She shouted. Miroku turned. He quickly ran over to Sango, who was already starting to lift off with Kirara. Sango's hand stretched out, grabbing his. She pulled Miroku up and had him sit behind her while Shippou remained on Kirara's head.

"Inuyasha, hop on!"

Miroku shouted. Kirara headed out to Inuyasha.

"A little acid isn't going to hurt me!"

"Inuyasha, don't underestimate it! Snake youkai can spit out lots of acid. It could probably drown the village with all of its acid combined!"

Sango shouted back. Inuyasha began to pale, turning back to the snake.

The snake shot out thick amounts of purple-colored acid towards Inuyasha. He dodged by jumping and landing on the snake's massive back. The ground where Inuyasha once stood was being eaten alive by the acid. Feeling something on its back, the snake lashed its tail out at him. Inuyasha dodged all of the tail's bombardments, causing the snake to hit itself.

"Get off of me!"

The youkai shouted, trying to shake him off, but to no avail. With Sango, Miroku looked down at the eventful sight.

"Sango, is there anything else we should know about a snake youkai?"

"Not really..."

"Miroku-sama, Sango-chan!"

Both turned to see Kagome run towards them from below. Before Kagome approached the odor and substance of the acid, Kirara flew down to her. Kagome hopped on as Kirara descended back up.

"What did I miss?"

"We believe the youkai may have at least one jewel shard. It has strengthened in defense, causing Inuyasha's Kaze no Kizu to not be effective against it. He even tried to see if the youkai had the barrier, but it's just too fast!"

Kagome turned to look out, scanning the youkai's whole body for any jewel shards. She turned back soon after.

"It has four shards."

"No wonder we weren't having much success with it."

Sango mumbled to herself.

"Kagome-sama, what should we do? If Inuyasha can't penetrate the scales or even catch up with the youkai's speed, how can we defeat it?"

The plotting had only begun for everyone. Kagome started thinking and continued doing so some more, until something interesting finally popped into her head.

"I think I've got it! Shippou, you're going to be a huge part of this."

"N-nani?"

Shippou stuttered. Kagome beckoned the kitsune to move closer to her. Once he did, she began whispering into his ear, causing the little kit to jolt away.

"No! There's no way you're getting me to do that!"

"Please Shippou? I've brought more candy with me. I'll let you have as much as you like this time."

Shippou turned back to look at her, his eyes brightening up more at the magical words that rung in his ears.

"Really?"

Kagome nodded. Shippou soon gave in to her bribery. She knew his greatest weakness and had to use it against him. He sighed.

"There better be lots of candy."

Taking one of his illusion leaves out, Shippou jumped off of Kirara. While Shippou was on his way to the battlefield, Kagome turned back to the remaining Sango and Miroku.

"While Shippou distracts it, I'll get Inuyasha to come up here and listen to the rest of my plan."

Shippou landed on the back of the snake next to Inuyasha. He slowly started placing the leaf on the top of his head.

"What the hell?"

Inuyasha muttered to himself. Shippou turned to glare at the hanyou's recent questioning comment.

"Say another word and you'll get it."

Inuyasha blinked in confusion. Was Shippou actually going to do something for once? His ears slowly began twitching, picking up a familiar voice from behind him.

Kagome?

Sure enough, the reincarnation of Kikyou was sitting on the back of Kirara with the houshi and taijya. He jumped off of the snake, leaving Shippou behind and jumped up onto Kirara's back.

"What's Shippou doing?"

Kagome chuckled.

"You'll see. In the meantime, I found four shards on the top of the youkai's head."

Inuyasha turned, giving himself his own satisfied smirk. He was prepared to head back to the snake again, but was stopped by Kagome's hand on his shoulder.

"Wait, Inuyasha. I already have a plan in mind. That's why Shippou's down there; he's planning on distracting the youkai. While the youkai's speed decreases by distraction, I want you to go down and slash where the shards are. If my theory is right, the spot where the shards are lodged in should be its weakest and most tender spot."

Inuyasha scoffed.

"Whatever you say, but I don't see why you need the kit to distract it."

POOF!

Everyone including Kirara turned, staring at Shippou in disbelief. Shippou stood as tall and long as the snake youkai. As a matter of fact, Shippou had turned into a gigantic snake! Not that it was the main reason for them all to hold back their laughter right then. Shippou was always known to have a trademark whenever he transformed into any illusion.

Like the ribbon of his that resided on the top of his head.

They all couldn't hold it for another second more and began to laugh, tears coming out from their eyes. A vein appeared on Shippou's head and turned to hiss loudly at them.

"Shut up, right now!"

Kagome, the first to stop her cries of laughter noticed the youkai slither quickly behind him.

"Shippou, behind you!"

Shippou's oval-shaped head turned and shrieked at the snake that was coming towards him. Instantly, as if without thinking, Shippou wrapped his whole torso around the snake in a tight bind. Since Shippou had immovable lids, he couldn't blink, so he turned his head. He looked over at the binded snake in disbelief. Was he actually stopping the snake?

The snake hissed loudly.

"Let go of me!"

"Now, Inuyasha!"

"I'm on it!"

Inuyasha jumped off of Kirara, bringing Tessaiga out. Whirls of wind circled the blade. Shippou, who now formed into his pink balloon shape quickly floated off for dear life.

The snake looked up and froze like a deer caught in the headlights.

"KAZE NO KIZU!"

Three lines extended out to the snake from the blade, slaughtering its entire head in the process. Kagome held her body, shivering at the sound of the youkai's last, sickening hiss. All four shards flew from the explosion and fell to the ground.

"Kagome, purify the shards!"

The horrific scene of blood and decease before her was soon forgotten. Kirara landed on the ground, allowing Kagome to jump off. She rushed to the shards and picked them up. The once tainted shards, were now back to its light rosy shade.

Once the snake's jyaki disappeared, Inuyasha walked over to the snake's headless body and gave it a hard kick. Sango and Miroku soon followed once getting off of Kirara. Kirara surrounded herself in flames and returned back into her smaller form and also decided to pad over with the others. Kagome placed the shards in the bottle that she also had around her neck and walked over to them.

They were all looking down and laughing at Shippou. Miroku was waving his hand aimlessly, while Sango was patting Shippou on the head teasingly. Inuyasha was laughing at him, saying how ridiculous he looked and how he was actually useful to them all for once. She smiled.

It's good to be ba-

Shrills interrupted her track of thought. Shippou stood below her with a big lump on his head.

"Kagome, Inuyasha hit me!"

Yes, it was definitely great to be back from her final exams at school.

Her eyes slowly began to shut and her mouth started to open.

Inuyasha's eyes began twitching at her familiar actions and turned, trying to escape from the miko.

"Osuwari."

Inuyasha was greeted with open arms by the indented ground below him.

"Jaken-sama, look at what Rin has!"

Bell flowers, buttercups, dandelions, and even posies were mixed up in Rin's new bouquet. Jaken looked at the flowers in disgust and gave Rin a cold scowl. Noticing that Jaken wasn't in one of his good moods, Rin decided to go over and ask Sesshoumaru.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, do you think they're pretty?"

Sesshoumaru stopped to look down at the child who held the colorful flowers. He proved to not show any warmth or care in his amber eyes. After a small glance, he turned back and continued walking on.

"They're quite lovely, Rin."

Rin beamed in happiness. In fact, she was so happy with Sesshoumaru's comment that she started running in circles around the pack animal AhUn, and Jaken, making them both dizzy.

"Sesshoumaru-sama loves them!"

Our kappa youkai's eyes began to spin in circles. He gave his head a nice shake, before crossing his arms around the Nintoujou.

"Rin, stop this nonsense, now!"

Jaken spoke sternly, nearly stumbling on his own feet. Rin stopped to blink at the youkai for a moment, before she grinned at him and ignored his demand.

"Rin doesn't want to!"

She giggled. Sesshoumaru turned from looking forward to down at the child.

"Rin, it would be best to leave AhUn alone..."

Rin immediately stopped and obeyed Sesshoumaru's wish. She turned from apologizing to AhUn and ran back to Sesshoumaru's side.

Jaken shook his head. Of course she listened to anything Sesshoumaru-sama said to her. Wait, did he only say AhUn? Oh, the agony from Jaken's heart!

After a few moments of more travel, Sesshoumaru came to a halt. Not noticing his stop in pace, Rin bumped into him while Jaken and AhUn stopped not too far behind. Jaken waddled over to Sesshoumaru, his eyes moving up to look at him.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, is something troubling you?"

Not bothering to show any sign of a response, Sesshoumaru turned to walk off into another direction. Both companions looked at each other in confusion.

"Wait, Sesshoumaru-sama, where are you going?"

"Jaken, watch over Rin while I am gone."

Sesshoumaru turned away from his company and started off deeper into the forest. It wasn't that he was moving far away from the others for their safety, but the fact he sensed a huge amount of youki further down the location. It seemed powerful, like Naraku, yet it wasn't him. This one seemed to be of a different rank. It was like the aura was so incredibly potent with power that Sesshoumaru had no other choice but to go to it. His youkai blood screamed out in excitement, causing him to dash through the woods. It had been ages since he last fought against a strong opponent.

Sesshoumaru came to a stop. His eyes began scanning throughout the scenery from left to the right.

I know you're out there...

Birds from above in the trees flew off into the sky. Sesshoumaru turned to one side, searching each section of the forest one by one. He unconsciously laid his hand around Toukijin's hilt, hearing the sound of a twig snap.

Something from in the darkness jumped out from behind.

He turned to feel his blade clash against a thinner blade. The silhouette from in the shadows smirked in amusement.

"I did not think you could go so low as to attack from behind."

Sesshoumaru calmly spoke. The contours of the mouth in front of Sesshoumaru formed into a grin.

"I must say, when we last dueled, you barely managed to block my first attack."

Sesshoumaru did not bother retorting back to his unseen adversary. He pushed Toukijin forward to his opponent's blade. This didn't even make it budge. The lean sword was stronger than Sesshoumaru had anticipated. This was no ordinary sword that of a human's. Such power he sensed from the weapon alone! Sesshoumaru looked up at it in his calm and stoic manner. No one had ever been able to withstand Toukijin's evil jyaki with such ease that it made its energy look dull. It was obvious that this being was neither human nor hanyou, but that of a powerful youkai.

The silhouette kept straight and poise, holding its sword in place underneath Toukijin with one arm. Sesshoumaru's eyes slowly began to change red; his force on the other's increasing. He remained in his decent matter as best as he could, keeping his blood from boiling in impatience.

His challenger, the only opponent with a worthy amount of youki since his last battle with Naraku wasn't giving him any effort at all!

The opponent pulled its sword back, allowing Toukijin to have the upper hand. With stealth, Sesshoumaru's contender pulled its blade away, dodged Toukijin's fallen force, and flipped over to land behind him.

Picking up the sound of metal slashing through the air, Sesshoumaru twisted around and clashed back with the other blade. The same voice from a moment ago spoke again with diverseness.

"It seems that we aren't getting anywhere with this, are we?"

After saying that, it disappeared and reappeared many feet away from Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru didn't hesitate charging forth to it.

With the shadows in the forestry casting off into a different direction by the sun, the outline of Sesshoumaru's competitor slowly began to reveal. However, there was something he was still able to see, even from within the darkness.

Those ice-blue eyes.

Its hand tightened around the blade's hilt, pulling the sword back. The pale blue gem that sheltered in between the top of the blade's hilt started to faintly glow. The silver blade began pulsing.

Sesshoumaru noticed this and it caught his interest. This warrior proved itself that it was a youkai by the presence of its youki alone. This youkai was without a doubt the one to ever stand the longest against him.

The blade started to glow an iridescent blue. The sword was slowly brought back to one side of the figure after it moved one foot behind the other. With not another moment wasted, its arm swung back out horizontally, sending out a gigantic blast of energy.

Sesshoumaru's lips pursed. He took off into the sky, easily dodging the bright blast. He looked back down at the blast's damage and simply smirked.

Not only where he once stood, but for many miles behind was covered in thick ice.

I thought so...

He landed back on the ground, his boots balanced on the ice.

"This battle is over."

He stated, returning Toukijin back into its sheath. The rival leaned its back against the nearest tree and crossed its arms to its chest.

"You still remember me?"

Sesshoumaru turned to one side and looked at the youkai with distaste.

"You seek something that deals with me..."

The youkai began to laugh.

"You always knew me too well, Sesshoumaru-sama."

Sesshoumaru remained in place, waiting for the youkai to continue.

"I have a favor to ask of you."

Sesshoumaru's golden orbs lowered in disapproval.

"Since when did you ever order this Sesshoumaru around?"

"Oh no, I'm not ordering you around at all," The youkai assured him. "I'm merely asking you a favor. It's something I cannot do myself, so I've decided to ask an old friend of mine for help."

This youkai was drifting near its last breath. Fortunately, Sesshoumaru had better control over his emotions, so he refrained from showing any irritation.

"You and I am no such thing. I do not have what you call friends."

"Okay, how about a comrade?"

"You were never a comrade of mine; you were my chichiue's."

"One that was once scion to the West is now the Lord of those lands. I am automatically your comrade for the upcoming battles. Your otousan-sama only wished for this to be."

"This would be expected of chichiue.."

"You'll take my favor then?"

"Perhaps I may, perhaps not. It all depends on whatever it is that you ask of me."

"Sesshoumaru-sama, this isn't the time for games. I really need you to do this. It proves to be important."

"Does this Sesshoumaru recieve anything in return for doing this for you?"

The youkai chuckled dryly. Its arms started to slowly uncross from the tight firm around the chest.

"Of course I would reward you, but it's such an easy task for you, so you only receive my gratitude."

Sesshoumaru sneered. If he recalled, this mission was proven to be something important to this youkai. He jumped off the ice he once stood on and walked off. Behind him, the youkai gave a small, chaotic smirk.

Sesshoumaru traversed through the southern part of the forest, where the exits back to Rin and Jaken were.

The same silence from once before lingered in the air.

Sesshoumaru turned, and jumped again. The same blast of energy shot out at him, leaving parts of trees and land now iced.

Something flitted from behind. He turned, only to be slashed on his side. The side of his armor had completely shattered into many pieces. Blood seeped through his white kimono from the fresh wound.

Sesshoumaru brought Toukijin back out, unaware that something flitted from above. Sesshoumaru quickly looked up and brought his sword up. Its blade clashed once again with his. A low growl escaped from his opponent's throat. The friction the sword pushed onto Toukijin was getting much more forceful than from a moment ago. Had Sesshoumaru just been toyed with this whole time?

Just when Sesshoumaru was about to growl back in disgust, the force on Toukijin was getting to be too much. The youkai grinned and pushed his sword forward.

"It seems you're at a disadvantage with only one arm."

"Nani?"

With just a little more force, the Toukijin flew out from his hand. Sesshoumaru mentally cursed at this and turned to only receive a smirk from the youkai, before he was given a roundhouse kick that sent him down with his sword. After the painful crash to the ground, Sesshoumaru stood back up and seemingly disappeared to only reappear by Toukijin.

The figure materialized between Toukijin and himself before he had the chance of getting his sword. It was faster than him, by a whole lot. If this youkai was once with his chichiue, how could he expect it to be weak? Sesshoumaru knew he still had a ways to go before even being able to compare to his chichiue's power. This youkai was definitely as powerful as him, the one that was once the Lord of the Western Lands before himself.

Claws came into view, as did the figure that just slashed him at the front of his armor. The armor guarding his chest was cracked and nearly shattered in the process. After carelessly looking down at it, blue eyes were seen in front of him. The youkai's calloused hand pushed Sesshoumaru back against a tree and appeared before him, its sword inches from his neck. The sword pinched some of his skin, causing a thin line of blood to fall.

"You think I depend on my ice abilities alone? Now, Sesshoumaru-sama, I suppose you shall be taking my favor into consideration?"

Sesshoumaru again cursed. Right now, he felt as weak as that cursed hanyou Inuyasha! How was it possible that he had gotten so careless? Was the youkai that much more powerful compared to him? He probably wouldn't get killed, being the Lord of the West, but that didn't mean he wouldn't still get beaten to a bloody pulp.

"Well?"

Sesshoumaru couldn't believe he didn't spot the youkai immediately the few times before. Then again, the youkai's rank in both power and speed compared to his abilities were indeed greater.

"What is it that you want someone like me to do?"

The youkai smirked.

"Find me the woman, the one many call Kagome."