Blue moon and Red Fire

Chapter 21: All together now

“Unn...” Souta groaned half mumbling, sloppily reaching his hands behind him and pushing himself up right. Blindly he reached his arms up above his head, stretching tensely, and yawning deeply. His ears focused on a single sound, listening to every instance of the noise that had awakened him, he turned his head towards it and pried his eyes open. “Houjo?”

He found Houjo standing near the entrance of the Den, every so often he paced back and forth between sides. The older boy looked back over his shoulder. “Oh, your awake.” He said, then his face flashed with a realization, then an apologetic look came onto his expression. “I'm sorry, did I wake you?”

Souta didn't respond immediately, he scratched his head and looked around. Ginta and Hakkaku were in some corner by the burned out fire, still asleep. Though he saw no signs of Kouga or Inuyasha, he hadn't seen a trace of either one of them since last night, so it didn't surprise him much. “Hey...where's Inuyasha and Kouga?” He asked, his voice low and half grumbling with sleep.

“I don't know.” Houjo shook his head disappointedly, his voice was curt, holding faint anxiousness that seemed fitting with his form and movements.

Souta wiped his eyes with his arm and yawned again, he finally realized why Houjo seem so...he wanted to say uneasy, or nervous, but now that he thought about it, he seemed worried. The boy climbed out of Houjo's sleeping bag, sloppily grabbing on to the wall and pulling himself to his feet. “You know, they didn't come back last night either.” Souta said, meaning his words to reassure Houjo, implying that they turned up eventually yesterday, so they would today.

“I know...” Houjo sighed, he wasn't reassured though. Yes, they had been gone last night also, but today was different. Ginta and Hakkaku were back, and Kouga had obviously been worried about them, so why would he just leave them...all of them in fact alone. Besides that, Inuyasha and Kouga weren't on particularly friendly terms, the only times he'd seen them actually civil towards each other were those times that strange monster attacked. They worked together quite well then...so what could they possibly be doing together now?

Souta averted his eyes disappointedly and sighed inwardly, Houjo sure was worried over this. He personally didn't think much of it, but Houjo, Houjo was older and smarter and...maybe Houjo was right, should be concerned about this? A doubt that had lurked in the recesses of his conscious for longer then he wanted to admit rose up and swelled in his chest oppressingly, something he'd always feared whether he realized it or not. Souta looked up at Houjo, his eyes new with uncertainty. “You think they...left?” Uncertainty quickly spelled out a growing fear.

Houjo paused, something in him stiffened at those words, like they had confirmed something he didn't want to believe. Houjo looked over his shoulder and finally shook his head. “Nah, of course not, they wouldn't try that again.” Even as he spoke them Houjo could feel a doubt he couldn't quench at the absurdity of his words. The wouldn't try that again, he could almost laugh at himself for saying that out loud. Of course they would, and the way Kouga had been acting few things could convince him the wolf was capable otherwise. Houjo quickly realized that he'd stalled in thought longer then he had intended, he didn't want to make Souta worry.

He shook his head and smiled, sure he was worried, sure he felt a nauseous sinking in his stomach and his throat going dry, but he pushed it all aside “I should start making breakfast.”

! - ! - !
! - ! - !

With the fire reignited and breakfast prepared and eaten, Souta and Houjo sat across from each other on the ground, resting around in curiosity and half impatient waiting. Souta poked at the root of the flame with a small piece of kindling, holding a childish fixation with the fire that now insisted on always making, hoping to improve his skills. There was a sense of pride that came with knowing that he had created something that held such use and power, when he created it the sight of an object burning in *his * fire held an extra, enticing fascination. It was silent, all but crackling of the flame, a sound Souta's curious captivation yearned to hear louder until it was a demeaning roar, an anxious desire to see the red and orange tent of light glow brighter until it was a flare the eyes couldn't stand to see, to fill the air with thick, black smoke until his nose burned, to watch the destructive of an object burn, to watch something large be consumed in the heat. It was just an in articulate child's admiration of the flame, it gave him so many new senses of things he needed. The esteem of knowing he could create something that had use, that held such power ....

“No way.” Souta shook his head, poking a small twig in the belly of the flame, watching it roll over and incinerate. “They wouldn't.”

“Nah, they wouldn't.” Houjo agreed, he crossed his legs, resting his elbows in his knees and holding his head in his hands.

“Yeah, they wouldn't try it again...” Souta shook his head again, as if needing to reconfirm something. He continued to prod at the flames, watching them consume the small stick he used almost as if in a daze,.his mind was now elsewhere, lost in thought. “Not a chance.”

“...” Houjo sat idle, feeling as if he was wasting time. Generally when he got this feeling now, a youthful urge to train came, he could make better use of his time that way. But the urge didn't come this time, only the broad, indefinite sense that he was losing a race he didn't know he was suppose to be running. His heart seemed to be running the race, it pounded in Houjo's chest, hard, every time he thought of Kouga and Inuyasha...and what they could possibly be doing. He watched Souta continue to prod at the flame, at first thinking that the boy was bored, restless, but on second thought he realized that Souta was just as impatient as he was.

'?' A quick glimpse of something slid into the corner of Souta's eyes, something so bare that he couldn't tell if it actually existed but it made him notice enough to turn his head and look. He shuttered when he saw a form, a man, a Youkai, but he barely had time to comprehend the form since it quickly walk past and Souta was no longer able to see him, like he hadn't been there at all. He shuttered slightly and turned his eyes back to the flame silently. He was long used to that type of sight, but having them occur with such clarity and frequency made Souta nervous. As always he ignored it, it was similar to when he pulled the covers over his head, shut his eyes, averted his thoughts and hoped whatever it was would just disappear. 'What's with this place...'

He'd learned to deal with this quite well actually, he wasn't outrightly or deeply afraid, in fact most times he didn't have fear, just an uneasy discomfort. It was easier when someone else was around, he could even mistake it for not being afraid at all during those times, and he was proud of himself to that effect, like he'd accomplished an unspoken goal in life. At times when someone else was with him he felt like he could reach out and grab one of those ghost...Was he calling them ghost now? Was he establishing them as what he had subtly suspected they were all along? Maybe he was... Other times he was afraid, not as strongly as the fears of nightmares or doing some terrifying act, nothing that inhibited him. But he did at times, when he was alone, avoided the places where he had saw such things, like his bed room when it was dark, or the basement, and oddly enough he seldom entered the kitchen by himself, especially when everything was silent or dark. It, for lake of a better word, creped him out.

Souta lifted his head and looked over towards where Ginta and Hakkaku lay still sleeping, did they always sleep like that? No, they looked pretty rough, like they had collapsed where they were on arrival, they had to be pretty tired. And hurt, Souta took a keen awareness of the dried traces of blood and half open wounds, they must have had a tough time with that monster... Souta's face dimmed into one that could come when someone was watching bleak hope fading away.“They wouldn't would they?” He asked timidly, the uncertain fear in his voice.

“Huh?” Houjo looked up curiously, being drawn out of his own thought.

“They wouldn't just try and leave us here again would they?” Souta's words held a fear to them, a fear of a compilation of things. Fear of being left behind because he was saw as only a burden, fear of that strange creature, fear when he looked at Ginta and Hakkaku and speculated what must have happened, fear that far worse could happen to Kouga and Inuyasha. Fear that he'd be left all alone and he'd have to confront the creature by himself. “They wouldn't do that to us...they couldn't, could they?”

Houjo opened his mouth, intending to speak comforting words to Souta, but nothing came, and he just looked away silently. “...We're not even sure they're gone, we could just be getting ahead of ourselves.” Houjo said hopefully.

Yeah, that's right! Souta felt his heart jump, becoming excited, haven been given another chance, another hope he could cling to. “Yeah. They're probably are still here. “ Souta said anxiously, quickly standing to his feet. “Why don't we just go look for them them?”

Houjo slowly stood up, dusting himself of and nodding. He felt a little ashamed of himself, getting so worked up over this, he couldn't help but feel worried though...

! - ! - !
! - ! - !

They searched, their feelings of doubt and uneasiness becoming stronger and stronger with each place they checked and came up with nothing. Though a large part of Houjo had suspected that they would come up with nothing anyway.

Souta let his back fall against the wall of the Den and his body sink to the ground, he felt like he hadn't quite grasped what this meant now that Kouga and Inuyasha were not here. It wasn't simply that he'd been left behind because he was more of a hindrance then an asset, he felt like he should bee feeling something greater then the depressing blow of being left here... “They're...gone.”

Houjo slipped his hands into his pockets, looking down at Souta with an inward sigh, he wanted to tell Souta not to feel bad, to give him some words that would comfort him. But he had nothing to say, what could he say? He didn't know where they went, the had no idea where to follow, it was as simple as that. He was starting to worry already, he started to feel anxious for the both of them. Strangely enough, he didn't feel as bad as he did last time he was faced with this, even though this time Kouga had actually succeeded in leaving him. Houjo's thought fixed themselves on Souta, barely thinking of himself enough to feel bad about it all. What could he possibly say?

Souta felt tears coming to his eyes, shallow tears with no sobs, tears that seemed to lack a reason, he quickly wiped them away with his arm. “What are we suppose to do now?”

That, Houjo had thought of. “Honestly...” They were lost. They didn't know there way around this world, they knew little about it as it was, they weren't strong enough protect themselves against many of the dangers that lurked, including that monster. “I don't know.” Kouga was protective, Houjo knew that well, so there was no way in hell he would leave both of them completely alone. He'd most likely entrusted them to Ginta and Hakkaku, since they were better off with them, who knew everything about this place, then by themselves. Yeah, they were definitely gone.

“We can't just let them go like that.” Souta said, his voice growing shaky as he wiped more tears from his eyes, anger forming behind his tears. He started to gain a deeper realization of why he was crying now, the thought of Inuyasha leaving him and never coming back, the thought of what could happen to them, he was so weak and useless he couldn't do anything about it. In that thought grew a strong hate of that creature, for the first time he began to hate it for making him feel this fear, for hurting him, for hurting Inuyasha, Kouga and Houjo, for causing everything that lead up to this. His fist clinched at his side and calm tears now burned in his eyes, his jaw was so tight his teeth ached and he cried out in a loud angry sob “Why is this happening!” He half screamed , he understood it now, all that this entailed. He hated that thing! He was so useless against it, just a burden...

“Souta...” Houjo sought desperately for something, words that would somehow cease Souta's tormented feelings and give him enough strength to go through anything else that might come. But there were none, the only thing that could have made him feel better was concrete knowledge about Kouga and Inuyasha, which he didn't have. “It's gonna be alright, don't worry.”

“That thing...” Souta grunted with hate making his voice quake and his shoulder's tremble, he dropped his head, his eyes narrowed harshly at the ground. “Why'd they have to go after that thing! It's gonna...it's gonna-” '?' Souta's voice quickly died away when Houjo knelt before him, looking him strait in the eyes with a steady, level expression.

“No, it wont.” Houjo said, his voice soft and soothing. “They're strong, they'll manage.” Then he smiled with that same friendly smile he always had, “Besides, they're both so stubborn, when they really wanna do something I don't think anything could stop them.”

Souta stared up at him, almost as if in awe, completely frozen between one surge of emotion and another. That smile, when Houjo smiled at him like that he couldn't help but admire him more then ever. He could only hope he'd grow up to be anywhere as strong and smart as Houjo, when the older boy said it, when he looked at him in such a manner, he started to believe it somewhat. “H-Houjo...” Souta cringed, more tears filling his eyes and blurring his vision. Finally he threw his arms around Houjo's neck and hugged him tightly, crying into his shoulder as hard as his smaller body would allow.

Houjo wrapped his arms around Souta and rubbed his back gently, “It's ok...” He cooed softly, wishing more then ever he could say something to make him feel better. He held him soothingly for a longer time then he'd thought, listening to Souta cries, feeling the boy's arms clinching him as if he'd fall if he didn't hold on tightly.

“I'm sorry...” Souta whimpered miserably, feeling weaker then he'd ever felt in his life right now. He was a hindrance, just something that would get in the way, something everyone only needed to protect. But no, it couldn't happen like this now, he'd come so far, he'd jumped down that well head first towards that monster so that he could go with Inuyasha, his mate. He couldn't be left behind now, he couldn't let Inuyasha think he was that weak, maybe...maybe if he did, Inuyasha would...

“It's alright, I'm kinda afraid oto.” Houjo said comfortingly, though that was an understatement to say the least. Even still, he couldn't think of anything else but making Souta feel better.

“Really?” Souta asked shyly, and it did make him feel a little better.

Houjo nodded. “Yeah, but you'll have to be strong, it'll work out. Ok?”

“Yeah.” Souta pulled back almost abruptly, quickly he wiped his eyes with his sleeve, straitened his face and nodded. “I wanna...We have to find them.” Souta said surely.

Houjo was silent, thinking for a moment of how dangerous this could be, how bad this could turn out. His stomach sank even farther, he thought he'd be sick. They had no way of finding Inuyasha and Kouga, no highly developed sense of smell to find a trail, no notable tracking skills, nothing. But...they had to find away to try, Souta would lose it if he didn't, and Houjo didn't think he could take the worry. So he decided to himself, that he would, and he'd protect Souta with everything he had. He'd never really understood the emphases that Kouga put on 'his mate', he started too now.

He came to his own conclusion that his had to be what it meant to be one's mate, a devotion to literary follow Kouga to the ends of the earth, to risk his life to go after him. There had to be something deeper to this, what he felt...this was love, wasn't it? Houjo hadn't know exactly what they had, what he felt towards Kouga, but there was something deeper, certain things Kouga made him feel that no one else could draw from him. He hadn't known exactly what it all was before, but it hadn't been this. Not until now, he liked Kouga, a lot, but this...this had to be what love felt like. “Alright...” They didn't know anything about this place, anything about what they were up against, they were weak. He wanted to protect Souta, but he couldn't just leave him behind, because himself was weak enough to be left behind, there was no use in trying to make him stay. He figured that he and Souta could find their way together.

Souta straitened his face and fixed the most serious expression he could gather, standing as rigid and stiff as his body would allow. He wiped away the stray tears remaining in his eyes and sniffled, he was afraid, he was terrified even, but his mind didn't perceive it fully, an attribute looming in the background. The fear acknowledge itself in every thought he made, feeling it's influence in every idea, every action, but it didn't inhibit him, he was too focused on Inuyasha, on a much greater fear. “How are we suppose to find them?”

“Well, we could ask them.” Houjo glanced over Souta's head to where Ginta and Hakkaku slept.

Houjo and Souta didn't have much luck in awakening the two. Houjo rolled Ginta off of his stomach and laid him on his back, resting one hand on Ginta's chest and the other on his forehead. “Geez....he's burning up..” Houjo studied him curiously, feeling hot sweat against his palm, hearing Ginta deep, audible breaths, much harder then they should have been for a person sleeping. “What about Hakkaku?”

“No...” Souta shook his head, he wasn't strong enough to pry Hakkaku out of the ball he'd curled himself tightly into. “He's cold.” Souta was almost amazed at how cold Hakkaku was, his skin was dull, almost lifeless, goosebumps formed along the wolf's arm, the firm body shivered with every other breath. Dispite that, Souta could see the wetness of cold sweat glistening on his forehead.

Houjo reached over and touched Hakkaku's shoulder, “Oh man, he's freezing. Souta, go get my sleeping bag. Oh, and a wet towel with cold water.” Houjo instructed, and Souta hastily got up to comply. He went back to Ginta, shaking him softly, slapping his cheeks. “Ginta...Ginta...wake up....Ginta...” After awhile, having almost given up, Ginta made a moaning sound and opened his eyes to a squint.

“H-huh?” Ginta blinked softly, staring up at Houjo.

“Ginta, are you alright?” Houjo asked, even though he was dying for information about Kouga, he was to concerned not to ask.

Ginta smiled weakly at him, his expression clouded with sleepiness. “Yeah, I'm ok.” He said instinctively, a response he'd groomed himself to produce ever Kouga had developed his anger...it was so embedded in him that he said it without a second thought of whether he was or wasn't.

“Your burning up... Your not ok, you have a fever.” Houjo wiped the sweat from Ginta's forehead with his arm, wishing he could do more.

“Heh, it's nothing.” Ginta said dismissively. He looked up into Houjo's eyes, deep with such worry, tense and ready to react to any wish he could device. Yes, he could see why Kouga would pick him as a mate, someone like him didn't posses any real strength or special powers but he was special in his own way. “Probably just a cold or something.”

Houjo's expression dimmed and he looked away, maybe he was worrying to much but he doubted it was something so small. Though he probably was wrong, he couldn't help but feel a tense, almost exaggerative worry swell up in his chest. He always had this problem, he worried a lot, it was like the mind of a child spouting monsters out of the dark. “I'm sorry to wake you but I need to ask you a question.” Houjo said. “Kouga and Inuyasha, where did they go?”

Ginta blinked and looked up at Houjo questioningly, a bare notion in his mind came that he shouldn't disclose this information, that Kouga didn't tell them for a very obvious reason, but it drifted away...everything was slowly receding from him. The edge of his vision blurred with a white cloudiness and the sight of the back ground and Houjo was slowly becoming exaggerated... “I don't know...Kouga told us...to look after you two.”:

Houjo looked at him queerly, surprised more by the way Ginta had said it then what he actually said. 'Ginta...' Maybe he was just sleepy? He looked as if he was about to fall sleep again... He looked sick and hurt, and tired, Houjo decided that if he did he wouldn't wake him. “Do you know where he went?”

“Nah, but he was acting kinda funny... I think went after that demon with Inuyasha...”

Houjo just stared at him silently for a moment, it didn't surprise him or strike him with any force, he head already know it without trying to acknowledge it so that he could hold on to some hope that he was just overreacting. “Yeah...”

“Houjo.” Souta came to a quick stop behind Houjo, a sleeping bag under one arm and holding a towel dripping wet with cold water. “Find out anything?”

“They're gone. They went after it. Last night I think.” Houjo relayed silently, watching Ginta pass out before his eyes.

“We're going after them right?” Souta asked, as if Houjo would somehow change his mind about going after them, Souta didn't think he had the courage to step one foot out of the den without Houjo by his side

Houjo laid the towel gently over Ginta's forehead and began slipping Hakkaku in to the sleeping bag, who he had to admit was either heavier then he had thought who he was weaker then he wanted to be. “Yeah, we're still going.” Houjo stood to his feet, looking over the two of them worriedly. He decided to leave behind what was left over from breakfast, just in case they were hungry when they woke up. By the time he was done, Souta was already outside and halfway down the base of the mountain. 'Anxious isn't he...It's too bad we don't know which way they went.' Houjo sighed to himself.

He carefully packed what remained of what he brought along into his book bag, picking up Kouga's sword and his bike on the way out. 'Here goes nothing...”

! - ! - !

It wasn't until Souta reached bottom of the mountain, where the hard, stony ground trailed off into the soft ground of the valley. That he realized he had no idea where he was going. He came to a quick stop where he was and looked around, as if he'd find some clue in his surroundings. “...” He felt...lost, aimless. “What...am I suppose to do now?”

“I dunno.”

“Whaaa!”' A chill of fear shuttered along Souta's body and the boy flinched, stumbling and nearly falling as he turned in fright towards the familiar yet completely foreign. “You!” Souta quickly regained his footing and rubbed his eyes furiously with his arm before looking up again, just to make sure he was seeing what he was seeing. Before him stood the same small Youkai pup that he'd met the other day.

He couldn't get use to this, it seem strange, unnatural, unreal for him to see this boy so close, so real, so tangible. He was used to seeing figures pass by in the dark, in the corner of his eyes, too quickly to be plausible, or it would just disappear quickly, he'd seen it all in ways he could deny to himself it's existence. But this boy, he was dangerous, he came right up to him, he talked to him, he didn't disappear, with this boy he couldn't doubt, he had no safety, this boy took away every way to deny or ignore what he was seeing. He had no denial to retreat behind, no cover to pull over his head.

The boy stood there simply, looking around absentmindedly as if he was observing everything around him for the first time. “ Hi Souta.”

“W-What are you doing here?” Souta's voice trembled and stumbled, he couldn't believe this. He'd almost thought that the boy had been a dream of some kind, but here he was again.

The boy laughed, “Don't you remember? I live here.” He said, his tail wagging softly behind him. “You wanna play?”

Souta just stared at him speechlessly, his mouth open wide... “I...I can't.” Though a part of him didn't believe this boy was real, and he was terrified, he couldn't bring himself to just bluntly say no and run away. Truthfully he wasn't afraid of the boy, he was afraid of what seeing him meant, and he was afraid of himself for seeing him.

“Aw.” The boy looked up at him disappointedly, and Souta got the notion that this must be what he looked like when he asked Kagome for things that he really wanted. “Why not, your not doing anything right now?”

The thought of Inuyasha and Kouga came burning back into his mind, burning with a new energy, like a fire.“I'm looking for someone.” He said hastily.

The boy looked at him questioningly, for the first time Souta's voice came with such sureness and bluntness that it surprised him a little. Then he laughed again, finding amusement in Souta's voice that never seemed to be normal. “Who?”

“Kouga and Inuyasha.” Souta wasn't sure if he knew who Inuyasha was, but he was sure he knew who Kouga was. He had to. “Do you know where they went? Which way?”

“Kouga?” The boy looked upward thoughtfully. “He...Oh yeah! He went that way!” The boy pointed toward the west, along the lake and a distant patch of green that had to be trees. “Toward that energy.”

“Energy?” Souta rubbed the back of his head. “What energy?”

“Don't you feel it?”

“Feel what?”

“I dunno, it's...something...don't you feel it?”

Souta stared in the direction the boy had pointed out to him, his jaw clinched, his hands clinched at his side, his mind silent in questioning. For the first time...for the first since he could remember his mind was quiet, completely quiet, when he listened to this boy he didn't hear the jumbled clutter of thoughts and voices.... He stood there, hoping maybe that he could hear something, see something anything.... '?' Wait...there was... something, a tingling...across his skin, like static electricity was all around him...it was stronger in that direction, like heat from the sun's rays. He knew it now, this was the feeling he felt when he was sensing the Shikon Jewel shards. “Yeah...I do...”

“Souta?”

Souta flinched, almost jumping when he heard Houjo's voice sound behind him. “Houjo!” He quickly turned around in startlement.

Houjo came to a slow stop at his side, resting on his bike. “Were you...talking to someone?” He asked uneasily, in the pretty obvious chance that he hadn't been, Houjo didn't want to make a big deal out of it and alienate the boy, making this more awkward then it was starting to be right now. But...he looked like he was talking to himself, pretty deeply at that. Was he alright?

“I...uh...” He wanted to tell Houjo yes, he really did, he didn't want Houjo to think of him differently, to look at him differently, to think he was strange. But telling him yes would mean he'd after to explain what had been happening as long as he could remember, he would have to explain so many experiences, lay out everything he'd thought and felt. He didn't feel as if he could do th at right now, he couldn't. “No.” He shook his head, his eyes shifting around nervously. “Just thinking out loud.”

“Oh.” Houjo simply shrugged acceptingly, it was odd though.

“They went that way.” Souta said surely, pointing towards the west beyond the lake.

“How do you know?”

“That monster...I can kinda feel which way that monster is, and if it's that way then Kouga and Inuyasha have to be.”
Houjo looked at him questioningly for a moment, then nodded. Souta seemed anxious to get there, hasty, but he wasn't afraid. He seemed to have forgotten his fear in a childish manner just as when they fought the seemingly endless creature last at the boy's home. Houjo felt a bit proud of him, someone as nervous, anxious and fearful as Souta could just push past is fears when he was worried or scared enough to do so. Houjo wished that he could do like that, but unlike Souta, to put it simply, he thought to much. Houjo couldn't stop thinking about it all, and everything new was just added to the old and he had more to think and eventually worry about. All of this was becoming overwhelming...

Souta quickly climbed up and planted himself on the handle bars, quite fearlessly Houjo observed. “Alright, let's go.”

! - ! - !
! - ! - !

“What the hell!” Inuyasha growled with a deep, fierce, dangerous sound. He lifted his Tetsusaiga from where it hung limply in his grip at his side. His eyes darted around the wooded area, locking on every enemy before he dared to make another movement. “Where the hell are these things coming from?”

“For goodness sake, pay attention Inuyasha.” Kouga shouted, he landed on his feet after retreating to a safe distance, crouching, ready to spring into another attack. “Look at um'.” Kouga's eyes narrowed, fixed on the enemy in front of him, which he had to admit was an odd enemy to be fighting like this. It was a bear, a normal, common black bear, and half a heard of adult buck. “It doesn't take a genus to figure out there's something wrong with this picture.”

Inuyasha looked back at Kouga with a harsh, annoyed glare, “I can see that dumbass!” he shouted.

Kouga smirked to himself, finding sudden amusement at Inuyasha's never failing anger. “Look closer, I'm sure even you can see what's different about um'” These weren't demons, they were animals in fact they had no reason to be so concerned with Inuyasha and Kouga. What was different about them, aside from the fact they were working together, were the familiar pink, fleshy, wet tentacles planted neatly in a line of 4 along their backs, along their spines.

“You think...” Inuyasha looked around in a questioning awe at the number of strange animals circling them, waiting... Just like that monster did, it always hid and waited....”That things controlling them? But how did it...Dammit.” Inuyasha clinched his jaw and tightened his grip around the hilt of sword, his body taunt and ready. He started to feel nervous, fearful even.

“Houjo's right, this thing is getting smarter and smarter.” Kouga realized.

“So it's trying to wear us down?”

“Either that or we must be getting close.

“Or both.”

Inuyasha and Kouga looked towards each other, their eyes meeting for only a second yet the glance was heavy with substance. They nodded gesturelessly and moved.

! - ! - !
! - ! - !

Houjo stomped his foot down and his bike came to a harsh, sliding stop, Souta clinched the handlebars tightly and stumbled off as soon as all momentum had been relinquished. Souta quickly moved forward to keep from losing his balance while Houjo lurched over the handlebars weakly, painting heavily.

“Oh man...” Souta's face contorted in a disappointed fearing as he made his way slowly toward the edge of the path. A cliff, a large cliff, like the earth was divided, farther down towards the direction of the lake he could see a substantial river ceasing into a waterfall, emptying into another river at the bottom of a drop larger then Souta cared to think about. Souta lifted his head, there had to be at lest a 20 foot gap to the other side, which was elevated at lest 10 feet higher then the side they stood on. “No bridge either.” Souta scrambled nervously back from the edge, he was starting to get a little dizzy just looking at it, but actually it was from the thought of falling that made him feel in such a way.

Houjo wiped the first traces of sweat from his forehead and raised his head, staring forward ominously. Taking in deep, hard breaths. 'I bet Inuyasha and Kouga had no problem.. ' He sighed hopelessly to himself, he hadn't anticipated this...

Souta fell back into a sitting position on to the ground and looked back at Houjo. “So what do we do now?”

Houjo folded his arms on the handles and rested his head on his arms, looking around silently for a moment, then up at the land that seemed impossible to reach. “Hey Souta, do you know where we're going? I mean do you have any idea where we're headed?”

Souta looked up thoughtfully at the sky, remembering his last not so successful visit to this world. That monster had dragged him to some...”It's a...field, a big open field. It took me there..” Souta said, his voice retreating timidly when he thought about what had happened and his helplessness in it all.

“Hn.” Houjo felt a little better knowing their only lead wasn't completely blind. The older boy climbed off of his bike and set it carefully aside, always looking around himself curiously. “I guess we'll have to find some way across then...”

“Got any ideas?” Souta asked hopefully, he didn't trust himself to develop any plans, his mind wasn't as open or as quickly comprehending as Houjo's.

They were in a forest, a pretty thick forest no doubt since it was relatively near a lake... Houjo nodded. “How good are you at climbing trees?”

“Alright I guess.” Souta shrugged.

“Good, I need you to gather some vines, as many long ones as you can.” Houjo said, he knelt down and picked up Kouga's sheaved sword, slowly drawing it out and holding it up to the patchy sunlight that shined through the covering leaves.

“Ok...” Souta looked up at the sword questioningly. “What are you gonna do?”

Houjo began wondering off, looking along cliff's edge with the same curious expression on his face. “I'm gonna find a good tree.”

Souta nodded and began going about his own task, he quickly found that Houjo hadn't entrusted him with one too hard, he needed only to look up to find what he was looking for. “Alright!” He felt a bit excited, knowing this was something he could do, and do well enough. He relished the opportunity to contribute, to help Houjo and himself. Souta came to the first and nearest tree, quickly realizing to his first problem... He was short, and the trees were tall. “...Oh man...” Souta stood there, staring upward with reverence to the height difference.

'There's no way I'll be able to get up there...' He thought to himself. 'I'm way too small....' For a moment he sulked in the stagnate feelings of hopelessness, completely disappointed. It wasn't his fault right? He was small, there was nothing he could do about that, and he couldn't do anything about the trees either... Then he paused. He could just imagine what Inuyasha would say to him right now, he probably hit him for thinking like this. 'I have to find away to do this...I have to...'

If only he had a rope, then he could tie a rock around it and hoist himself up to the branches. He wouldn't even torment himself with wishing for a ladder, that would just be too improvable...

'Hey wait!' Souta's face flared with inspiration, why couldn't he make a ladder? All he need was something to serve as rungs! And he had such a thing! Souta grinned wildly to himself as he bolted back towards Houjo's bike where he'd left his own back pack, and his crossbow. He gathered five arrows and stood a few feet away from the tree, lifting the weapon readily. 'This should work...'

As always, his small hands began to tremble as soon as he attempted to hold his arms still. He clinched one eye shut and his fingers tightened, and his aim became a little better for only a fleeting second. “Oh man...” finally he gathered as much of himself as he figured he'd be able too and fired the first shot, then reloaded and fired the other four in as quick a succession as he was able. In the end he had a nearly completely strait way up the tree. Souta smiled to himself, feeling proud of himself to having a good idea, and for not simply giving up as he was so inclined to doing.

! - ! - !
! - ! - !

Kouga crouched down slowly, his tail deathly still, his back against a tree, his body obscured by shadows. He clinched his jaw shut tightly and slowed his tired breathes to bare, silent, slow exhales. His eyes immediately shot about 20 feet through the trees to where Inuyasha sat in a similar position, he could smell the Hanyou's blood from here, and was thankful his enemies, or enemy more accurately, couldn't.

This...onslaught had been going on for hours, leaving no doubt the strange monster was what was controlling these animals coming after them. It had seemed every single creature big enough to cause a threat to both Kouga and Inuyasha had been driven at them, they had to have fought hundreds by now. As easy as they were, the numbers were starting to take their tolls on the two.

As soon as Kouga was still, his body became re aware of the throbbing bruises and stinging cuts that covered him. His muscles ached with fatigue and the barest traces of pain to come if this activity level continued was starting to show it self.

Inuyasha tilted his head and his eyes roamed towards Kouga, a pricing pain shot through his entire form from every muscle in his body, so strongly that it seemed to cover over every other painful spot. He knew what was happening, he knew Houjo was right about how this demon, what ever it was, getting smarter and smarter. He knew how quickly their situation was going south. But oddly enough all he could think of was Souta. '...I sorry...'

He never had such a thing happen to him, he was in the middle of a fight for his life, a fight broader then any attack he'd ever been in the middle of, against numbers only limited by area's demographic. And the only part of his mind that was calm and rational was focused on Souta. 'I didn't want to leave like this, really. And I...' Why now? When he should have been focusing all of his mind on just staying alive. Why was he so calmly thinking of Souta, like this all wasn't happening. 'I'm just glad you...your not in the middle of this.' He'd heard of things like this, people embodied this line of thinking when they were dying, but he wasn't dying, and he didn't plan on it! 'Your safe...'

Inuyasha lifted his sword and swallowed hard, golden eyes fixed on Kouga's blue ones with silent understanding. He nodded and stood, lifting the Tetsusaiga readily. “We must be close.” He called out, giving away his position, he had to start fighting again sometime. “We can push through these weaklings!”

“Damn right!” Kouga pushed off the ground and lept into the air with all of his speed.

! - ! - !
! - ! - !

Souta had to admit, these vines weren't as strong as he had always thought they were, but they certainly were long. The boy sat on the ground with his legs crossed, always near the edge almost as if he was trying to remind himself as he went about the task of winding four or so of the vines together. Tying them into a knot after a point so it all wouldn't unravel. He let out a satisfied breath with his body half entangled in makeshift rope, this was more then enough to span the gap.

Souta quickly wound it all up into a sloppy mass and ran off toward the direction Houjo had gone, he smiled to himself, feeling proud of his accomplishments, anxious to show the older boy what he'd done. It wasn't too long before he found Houjo, slashing through a halfway severed tree.

Houjo drew the sword back over his shoulder and slashed it forward with all of his strength, the blade sliding cleanly into a cut that spanned halfway through the tree's trunk. He felt clear, fulfilled even, even though this was a menial task he felt the same way he did when he trained, when he fought with this sword. Completely sure, without doubt, not in the least bit lost.

“Houjo, will this work?” Souta asked, holding up his work.

'?' Houjo paused from his task and looked back, then he lent down and studied it closely. Even in this he could see the same disorganized order that was so embedded in who Souta was, there were flaws in it, as in parts being too lose, but there were also parts of meticulous neatness, like in the knots and even the vines he used, they were completely undamaged and had a fair amount of strength. Houjo smiled and ruffled Souta's hair. “This is great. Think you know what to do with it?”

Souta smiled, gaining a validation he sought in just about every thing he did, and it felt good. “Yeah, I think so.” Souta had figured it out half way through, another thing he was proud of himself for. Souta withdrew a single arrow he'd carried with him and began tying the rope tightly around it. “This, right?”

Houjo nodded. “That's exactly right.” Houjo thrust the sword into the ground and planted his back against the half severed tree, hoping he'd made it through enough so that he wouldn't have to spend another 30 minutes cutting. '1...2...3!' With all of his strength he began pushing, his face cringed with the strain and his feet slid every so often from lack of traction. Soon enough, though, he heard the crackle of wood breaking and he felt the resistance against his back loosen until the tree was sent tumbling towards the edge. The canopy crashed down on to the other side, much to Houjo's relief.

Souta tied an end of the rope to a tree, and lifted the crossbow in aiming, the other end of it tied to the loaded arrow. This time his target was easy to hit, simply another tree on the other side. He watched in suspense as the arrow soared, dragging the rope with it, and embedded itself right on target in the center of a large tree. Acting more so as support with the fallen tree then anything else. Souta gave the line a few tugs, growing sharper with each tug, and then nodded surely. “It's good.”

Houjo wiped away a drop of sweat from his forehead and let out a breath of relief. “Then let's go.”

! - ! - !
! - ! - !

“This is fucking insane.” Kouga growled, his breath heavy with a rhythmic pants, running side by side with Inuyasha through the thinning trees. “That damn thing.” He thought of it with a rage now, his body half covered in blood now, some of it his own, much of it not. He wasn't simply infuriated by the torrent of fights he'd been put through, not just because that unknown demon had taken host to so many animals that there had to be significant damage to a few native populations. He was angry it had taken so long.

They left last night, and the trip wasn't exactly a long one for the likes of them. But it was well into the day and they were just now arriving. Why had a what should have been a short, maybe an hour trip taken so long? Because every step of the way they were held up by enemies. At first they had bothered to fight them only because they were so close to the den, the danger there was obvious. Then they had stopped to fight them because there were so many they didn't have a choice.

It didn't seem real to Inuyasha, they'd been fighting those animals for so long that it had almost seemed like that was all they'd come across. He'd put so much of himself this tedious and deadly tasks that a part of him had been numbed to their true goal. It had taken so long that some numbing portion of his mind had begun to believe he would never reach this place. “I bet their awake by now...” He half mumbled, speaking to himself more then anything else.

“...?” Kouga glanced over at Inuyasha, feeling the soft ground of the forest harden beneath his feet as they progressed forward. Then he looked away, staring forward absentmindedly, his mind wrapped in thought, his eyes seeing with seeing at all. “Of course they're awake, Houjo never sleeps in.” A thoughtful expression came on to his face, then his eyes dimmed to an uncertain worry. “What do you think they're doing right about now?”

Inuyasha paused, looking away timidly. “Probably realizing we're not there.”

“Think they'll...you think they'll try and find us?” Kouga asked. He couldn't explain how guilty he felt, it was like a weight in his stomach, like something was tearing him apart inside. Why? Why did he have to leave him? He felt like he was leaving behind a part of himself, like a man staring regretfully at the stump of a cut off arm or leg.

Inuyasha shook his head, no, Souta would wait, he wouldn't just run off after them. That wasn't Souta, Souta would wait, Souta would be afraid to just run out aimlessly in this world, and with all the resistance they found, he was glad for it. “No...” Not for a while at lest.

Inuyasha and Kouga both came to a quick stop, the ground was now hard and desolate underneath their feet, a far cry from the forest. Kouga's eyes widened in a shocked horror, staring outward with a complete awe. “What the hell...”

“This...this wasn't...this shouldn't be here...” Inuyasha stammered, feeling the same startlement as Kouga. But he didn't have much time to be surprised, the ground erupted behind them in a cloud of dust and the familiar pink appendages shot through. Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. “Doesn't matter, let's do it!.”

! - ! - !
! - ! - !

“It's getting kinda dark...” Souta said admiringly, he looked up through the web of dark branches to the sky, it's entire celestial body soaked in orange and gold from the setting sun.

Houjo keeled over the handlebars, his arms folded over them and his head resting lazily on his arms. His body rose and sank with each every heaving breath he took, his body was weak with fatigue and slowly regaining strength... Houjo started outward through the shadowy trees to the great expanses of the sky, admiring the clouds tainted with gold, black and pink that were scattered about, and the great, golden sun drifting below the horizon as smoothly as if sinking into water. His eyes watched with silent admiration at the sight, wondering how it was possible for Souta's mind drifted only to the darkness, not to the entire picture of things. For Houjo, the darkness did nothing more then complement the light, made him appreciated it more. The older boy dug into his backpack and smiled to himself as he found his camera, quickly lining up a shot and taking a picture. “Yeah...” He said, feeling the almost painful dryness in his throat, his breathing began to ease and he slowly regained himself. Houjo carefully returned the camera to it's place. “It's getting pretty dark...Should we...keep going?” Houjo asked, he was tired and smart enough to know they shouldn't go on at night, but he was worried and feeling lost enough to do it. He could go either way, so he left it in Souta's hands.

Souta wasn't tired, though he wasn't really doing any work. He felt restless and uneasy, anxious, he didn't want to stop, he couldn't stop, as long as he was moving towards something, knowing he was getting closer and closer to the feeling where he knew Inuyasha was going. He'd be fine, he wouldn't have to think about how worried he was, how much fear he held, the resentment like nothing else he'd ever had before, he would have to think of anything but his destination. “Yeah.” Souta nodded, he rested his arms behind his head and looked around, waiting patiently for Houjo. “Somethings weird about this place...”

Houjo only shook his head, things had been increasingly 'off' for a while. As they progressed it was becoming increasingly obvious as to where Kouga and Inuyasha had passed by. The broken and damaged trees, the claw and scar marks, the blood, a few dead bodies, Houjo wasn't much...Houjo wasn't a tracker at all, but this wasn't hard to follow. 'What happened here? Did they just kill everything in their path?' Houjo was more curious then ever, which quickly amounted to more worry.

'?'

Both of them flinched when they heard a sound behind him. Houjo and Souta both looked back quickly and found themselves staring at what appeared to be a demon, though was more similar to a large bear with four pink tentacles attached to it's back like cords. It was covered in blood, not it's own, most likely it could have been anything since so much was dead around them.

A jolt shot through Souta's body, a cold chill, his skin itched with new forming sweat and he froze with fear. His body jerked in a hard flinch when the beast roared and scrapped it's claws against a tree, his entire body began to tremble. His mind shouted danger, but his body was stuck and his mind was so set on fear that it couldn't even tell his limbs to move.

Souta had froze, but Houjo reacted in the completely opposite way, where Souta stalled, Houjo was pushed into anxious and hasty movement. Houjo jumped off of his bike and instinctively reached for Kouga's sword, his heart was pounding so hard he feared it would explode. “Souta!” Some reason was forced into him, he managed to tell himself to place himself in front of the boy defensively. “Souta! Run!” He shouted, clinching the sword for his life as the Bear stomped toward them through the veil of golden sunlight draping over the forest.

“H-Houjo!” Souta swallowed hard and staggered backwards, though just as soon as he was about to turn and run he felt a sinking feeling weighing in his chest. He felt weak, like he was nothing more then a burden again, only this time it could really cost Houjo. “N-No!” Souta shifted course, instead running to his discarded cross bow and planted himself where he was, staring with wide eyes at the enemy storming at them. His entire body shook and his mouth went dry, he was so afraid he felt a little disoriented, but he managed to stay rooted right where he was.

Houjo was afraid, but in him lay a faint excitement almost buried by the fear, but there none the less. Even now an inquiring came about him, not of the enemy, but rather himself, what was this feeling? This anticipation? “Souta, stay back!” The strange bear was dangerously close to him now, it lifted it's mighty paw and swiped at him with it's substantial strength. Houjo's heart jumped and he quickly stepped back, just narrowly avoiding the blow, but the sword was nearly torn out of his hands. Houjo was knocked slightly off balance, his arms knocked to the side in an attempt to hold on to his weapon, 'Now!' but just as soon he slashed it back over his shoulder and swiped the tip of the blade across the bear's face, drawing blood and a loud, pained roar from the creature.

Houjo felt less afraid then, more sure of himself as he always felt with this sword, in fact, he'd never felt so sure any time in his life then he did right now.

Souta didn't fair as well, he felt mainly fear, but a desire to be strong and brave just strong enough to stand in the face of that fear, with Houjo's presence beside him of course. 'Man that thing is scary!' Souta lifted the cross bow and nearly began firing blindly, but the thought of all the training he did made him pause before just shooting. He shut one eye and attempted to aim, but his arms trembled and his fingers were slippery with cold sweat, his hands shook much worse then usual. 'Come on!' For that small moment he felt more frustrated with himself then afraid, childishly forgetting one emotion for another as he often did. 'Come on!' Souta finally got used to the shaking and timed his aim according to it, his reflexes were more quick then he had realized they were. Souta pulled the trigger and fired the first arrow.

The projectile streamed through the air, past Houjo, and strait into the bear's chest with a spurt of blood. “Rrraaaaaaa---” The large creature was taken back, falling a back a step and giving Houjo just enough time to move out of the way of another one of it's powerful swipes. It bellowed out a cry that made Souta flinch even from where he was.

'Kouga...' Houjo thought, drawing the sword to his side and thrusting it forward into the bear's stomach with all of his strength. ' This...must be what he feels when he fights.' Houjo quickly pulled the sword back, his body was tense with an energy that made him want to move, made him anticipating of the next move against him and ready, wanting, need to react. Houjo was sure of it now, he was at lest a little excited at it all, a frightened thrill someone might feel when jumping out of a plane at mile in the sky. “!!” He clinched tightly and let out a pained, startled sound, laking the speed and reflexes to evade another blow, the bear's paw slammed into his head and his body was thrown to the side, crashing hard, sliding painfully along the ground until his back crashed into a tree.

This was what he'd been anticipating, this pain, from the first second he stood ready and waiting for it, even feeling subconsciously in the same place as that excitement that this fight would not be real without it. It wouldn't be a challenge, it wouldn't be worth while if he hadn't felt it and now knew for a fact his enemy was strong and dangerous. “Unnga....” He watched in dizzy horror as the bear went right for Souta, the strange tentacles dragging along the ground behind it's back. 'My...head...'

Souta nearly froze again, but it was hard to freeze when he was already in motion. “!!” His first instinct was to dart backwards, away, but the bear roared and he flinched, in one, quick, startled motion, Souta yelled in fright, lifting the cross bow and firing a half blind shot. He jumped again when he heard the Bear roar in pain, the arrow embedded itself in it's stomach, blood streaming down around it. “Whaaa...!” Souta saw what he'd done, and also saw the fearful creature was coming towards him, and found it oddly easier to move now. He staggered backwards with short, shaking legs, and with trembling hands he lifted his cross bow as the bear drew back it's formidable claw. 'Come on!!' He shut one eye and aimed with a panicked quickness, then fired, and much to his surprise the arrow launched it self directly into it's forehead. '?' Souta watched in an anxious, worried, surprised wonder as the bear staggered backwards a few steps, almost losing it's balance. But just as soon it regained it self, growling dangerously, and stumbled with sloppy steps at Souta, much faster then before. “Ahhh!”

“Souta!” Houjo firmed his stance behind the bear, his face dangerously concentrated, his mind racing with frantic, rational, thoughts. He held the sword sideways, holding it with a different grip. In a flash the golden sunlight shined brightly on his sword, reflecting a clear, golden line on to the bear's back, the reflection was bright enough to blind Souta With everything he had focused on that line, Houjo bolted forward with all of his speed, clinching his jaw silently as he slashed the blade precisely across the bright line. Followed unexpectedly by a sizzling streak of electricity that tore across the bear's body, streaking over it's form in bright flashes of blueish white. He severed the tentacles in it's back and cut deep into it's flesh with a thick stream of electrified blood. '?' Houjo watched questioningly as the seemingly demonic bear crashed to the ground in front of Souta, feeling the small heat of the jewel shard glowing at his neck. 'It...happened again? This jewel shard, what is it?'

Souta clinched his chest and fell back to the ground, staring half horrified at the bear as if it would spring back to life and maul him. “Is it...dead?”

Houjo, quite fearlessly as Souta saw it, walked over to the fallen animal and kicked it once, cautiously. Then he knelt down and checked much more closely then Souta would have ever thought of getting. “Yeah, it's dead.”

A nervous, anxious fear was released in Souta, building in him his small form so strongly that it forced it self out in an unexpected way. He laughed, half nervously, but he laughed none the less. “Are you ok?” Souta asked, stifling his laughter as he pointed to the side of Houjo's head. “Your bleeding.”
Houjo lifted his hand to the spot, and instantly his hand was coated in blood, that ran perfusely down the side of his neck As soon as he realized it was there, a strong, throbbing pain came from the wound. “Oh...Heh, I forgot about that.” It was strange, he was so focused on the fight that he didn't even realize the wound, he'd forgotten about the pain too, something he could honestly say had never happened to him before. Only after it was over did he fully realize how strongly he was tied into that fight, thinking of nothing else then what his next move would be and how to survive. He felt...satisfied in a way, because of this pain, with out if the fight wouldn't have seemed as real as it did now, some part of him had anticipated, hoped for the pain even. Maybe he'd liked the danger a little bit, during the fight that was, any other time he wouldn't have at all, but still... 'Maybe this is why Inuyasha and Kouga fight so much...'

Souta on the other hand, had no such thoughts, no such feelings. His mind dwelled simply on the fear that he had even now, it was dead and he was still afraid of it, afraid to get near it. He dropped his head and stared down at the crossbow in his hands, 'I'm such a coward...after all of that training, and I was too afraid to move.' He thought to himself. 'Why am I so afraid! Haven't I got at lest a little stronger?'

“Souta?” Houjo looked curiously over the boy's expression, he couldn't understand why he seemed so sad? “What's wrong?” Houjo planted the sword into the ground and sat down beside Souta, wiping away the blood washing down the side of his face with his wrist.

“...” Souta was silent, too ashamed to even mention it to Houjo. But eventually his desire to stop holding it in, to give up and tell and explain it all, won out. “I can't believe I just stood there...” He said timidly, looking away.

“Huh?” Houjo again couldn't believe that Souta's mind drifted first to the dark, was that the first thing he thought of when he thought of what just happened? Sure it was dangerous and terrifying, but once it was all done, it was kinda...amazing, how they worked together and beat it with minimal damage.“Souta?”

“It was coming after us and I just froze there!” Souta clamped his hands over his face and shook his head, loathing himself and his fears and weakness right now. “I was shaking so much I could hardly aim.”

“Really?” Houjo leaned down and attempted to get a peak at Souta's face. “Scared or not, you did great.” He said, rubbing Souta's back soothingly.

“...” Souta sat there in a timid silence, the part of him constantly seeking validation, craving that very response wanted to accept it, but he still felt ashamed and guilty about how much fear he had. “...”

Houjo smiled and laughed softly. “I was afraid too. I was just as afraid as you were.”

Souta looked up at him questioningly. “No way...” He said in utter disbelief. “You were right there, you didn't freeze or anything, you just fought it.”

“You weren't so bad yourself.” Houjo complemented. “Your aim was pretty good too, I would have never gotten that far without you.” He smiled at Souta, ruffling his hair softly. “Your were pretty brave back there.”

Brave? That wasn't the word Souta would have used. Now Houjo, Houjo had been the brave one. Houjo had stood and fought that thing fearlessly, he didn't hesitate or anything. He even finished it off! It was dead and he was still afraid of it, but Houjo, Houjo walked right up to it. Souta looked up at Houjo with an absolute admiration and reverence, he was so much stronger... “Me? You were amazing!” He rubbed the back of his head nervously and looked away shyly. “I wasn't...”

“You know, being brave just is going through with something even when your afraid, it doesn't mean your fearless.” Houjo explained. He stared upward at they sky forlornly, admiring the deep orange and golden sun that pointed a picture in the sky. 'Kouga would love this.' “You were great.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Houjo held on to the hilt of his sword and climbed to his feet. “Ready to go?”

Souta nodded. “Yeah!”

! - ! - !
! - ! - !
“No way....” Souta lept off of Houjo's bike and ran forward, his eyes wide and his mouth open in a startled surprised. He didn't know what he could say to this.

“How could this be...here?” Houjo slowly climbed off of his bike and set it aside, he clinched Kouga's sheath sword tightly as he emerged from the trees of the forest and the soft ground, to a surprisingly hard, desolated...desert. The moist top soil was all but gone, leaving hard rock and clay, it was dead dry and cracked. Far off, where the land dropped off, he could see waves and mounds of sand. “This doesn't make sense.” This didn't feel right, the air was hot from the desert, but moist, like the forest...

“It wasn't here!” Souta shook his head as if trying to make himself sure again. “There was this big, huge field...” He didn't understand, why was this here, this couldn't be here, this didn't make sense.

Houjo, though taking note of Souta's reaction and being surprised himself, was more curious then anything. That interest became a fearful one when he looked closer, the ground was patched and torn up in places, as if a fight had taken place... “Maybe this is it.”

“It's gotta be...” Souta could feel it strongly now, his skin tingled and there was a ringing in his ears, he sensed the Shikon jewel shards so strongly that he couldn't doubt it if he tried. He felt it...all around him, but more strongly ahead.

'?' Houjo was really confused now, he saw a tree. “Tree?”: Houjo ran over to the tree sitting in the desolated land, silently he began climbing it.

“Houjo? What are you doing?” Souta asked.

Houjo climbed out on to one off the large branches, observing it carefully. He took notice of the distance between when the branch spanned out into more branches in one area and when it spanned out in the next. Also that half of the leaves were still somewhat green.“Hmm...It looks like it was a good season last year, this tree's still alive...” He was really curious now, how could a desert just spawn up from a field?

Houjo and Souta looked at each other, feeling a vague sense of dread, of a danger they felt like they should have comprehended but hadn't.

“Hey? Do you hear something?” Souta asked.

Houjo was silent,trying to distinguish one sound for another, “Yeah...I do.”

Souta turned and bolted toward the sound, closer and closer toward the sense that had lead him here, closer to where the sands were across the horizon. His heart jumped and for a moment he forgot all of his fears, maybe...maybe...

He and Houjo quickly came to the source.

They found Kouga, kneeling weakly on the ground, covered blood seeping out more lacerations and wounds then they could count. His legs trembled with from the pain and fatigue and his breathing was ragged and harsh, every so often his faltered, wobbling off balance and nearly falling on his face and passing out.

“K-Kouga!”

Kouga flinched at the sound of the voice, which was enough to send him off of his fragile balance and his weak body stumbling to the ground. “!!” 'N-no...not here...' He looked up with blurring vision, and would have thought he was hallucinating had he not see Houjo and heard his pounding heartbeat. “N....No....No!”

'!!'

Inuyasha's body came tumbling from the sky seemingly from nowhere, the bloody Hanyou came sliding to a weak stop near Kouga, leaving a streaking trail of blood in his wake. He was completely unconscious though, half dead by the look of it. “Inuyasha...” Souta's voice failed him, for a moment he couldn't even force himself to move, his body was overwhelmed by fear... fear for Inuyasha, fear of what had done this.

Houjo knelt down above Kouga, his mind scrambling for anything he could do, he was so preoccupied with Kouga's condition that he barely notice that the ground began shaking. “Kouga! What...what happened to you!?” He could have kicked himself for asking such a stupid question he knew what happened to Kouga, that monster did. But...where was it? “Kouga!” He couldn't even find the words, he was speechless, he didn't know what to say, that wasn't obvious that is. “You didn't you have to-”

“Houjo....S-Souta...” Kouga spat weakly, his voice sputtering and half choking from his own blood. “Get...Get out of here...go...go now!” He forced out in a watery cough. It was worth it, that was all he could think of right now. He felt like he he'd accomplished something, he and Inuyasha had hacked and slashed there way through so much of the demon he doubt what was left of it could do enough harm to Houjo and Souta to be concerned with. Down there...below the cliff lay more severed appendages buried in the sand the he could count. As much damage as they had done, there was still danger in this place, where that monster could come from anywhere...”Forget about us...just leave...right now!”

“I'm not gonna leave you Kouga.” Houjo said, his voice oddly calm, though more elevated then normal. Houjo wrapped his arms around Kouga's waist and pulled, dragging him onto his feet, though with more trouble then he'd have liked to have had. He tensed when he felt Kouga's blood seeping over him... “I'm not leaving either of you!”

Kouga planted his hands on Houjo's shoulders and pushed him away, stumbling back and losing his balance again from the quaking ground. “Go...now!”

Souta lifted his eyes from Inuyasha and looked around... “Wha...What is that?!” He could feel it, that sense, amplified and exaggerated by fear, the mixture came over him so strongly that his heart jumped and his vision burred for a split second. The ringing in his ear became so loud it should have been deafening, but some how he could still hear everything clearly.

With...something other then his own power, something other then his own strength, Kouga pushed Houjo to the ground and ran with, staggering, stumbling, faltering steps to Souta. “Get of out here!” He grabbed Souta by the collar of his shirt and threw him away, threw him toward Houjo. “Go!” And immediately afterwords he his legs buckled and gave way to the weight of his own body, falling to his knees beside Inuyasha, collapsing under the now bucking earth. He was so weak, his arms felt like dead weight he had no bearing over, everything was lifeless, like they weren't his.

Then all at once everything erupted in a cloud of dust and sand, the ground beneath Inuyasha and Kouga caved...more like was severed.

“No!!” Houjo and Souta watched in horror as the ground cracked and fractured and finally fell through. “Kouga! Inuyasha!” The two of them raced toward them, but quickly reached the newly redefined edge of the cliff.

“No, No, no...” Souta dropped to his knees and peered out over the edge, looking around frantically for any sign of the two, but all he saw were the sands, the hot sands spanning out as far as the eye could see. Though what he saw directly below him horrified him even more. “Oh man, what is that!?”

“It's....” Houjo almost couldn't believe it, the sands at the base of the cliff swirled around in a massive whirl pool, drawing anything in it's reach toward the center. Most importantly he saw the last of the chunk of land Inuyasha and Kouga had been on draw in and disappearing “It's...quicksand.” 'Oh...oh....no...' Houjo just stared in disbelief, so close...he'd been so close...and now they were gone, just like that.

“So they're... in that?” Souta asked. His voice on the verge of breaking.

“Yeah...looks that way...”

“We have to go down there!” Souta have screamed, forgetting his marginal fear of heights, forgetting how dizzy he got the last time he looked over a cliff's edge, forgetting his strong fear of the monster that did this, he just had to get to them, to help them. Though he quickly remembered the disorientedness that came when he looked down a great length.

Houjo quickly grabbed him and pulled him back roughly, knowing what his next, rash move was about to be. “Souta...calm down.” He said. “We cant just climb down there.” He doubted Souta would make it even if he could.

“Why not!?”

“Look...” Houjo seemed to be the only one to notice that wall of rock separating them was unnaturally smooth, and dripping with sand, as if it was slowly crumbling, maybe it was. “Besides, what would we do when we got down there? We couldn't just jump in.”

“...” Souta just stared at him, searching for words, for some way, for something that translated even loosely to hope. He looked back down, feeling tears burning at his eyes and his hands trembling as they clinched the ground and balled into tight fist. “So...what do we do?” He asked desperately.

So there they were, alone..

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Alright, this chapter was a bit long, but I had to set it all up. The next chapter, or two, I have a lot to fit in to it, will be...let's just say interesting. Much better then just about any other chapter I've written thus far, and after words the story moves back into the present for a while, where more interesting stuff happens. So keep reading!

~SDI!