Steel Fang, Wild Iris

Prologue:

Naraku had been defeated... everyone should have been excitedly celebrating... but instead, a state of shock and disbelief had come over the group. The battle had been a long and hard one, with many close calls, countless near fatal injuries... and one brief fleeting moment when the brutal cruelity of the battle threatened to steal away the life of the young miko Kagome. It had been far too close for comfort for one silver haired hanyou to accept, and the blinding fury of one male wolf demon. Never before in their lives were their attacks so perfectly timed, working together like a well oiled machine. They moved across the battle field, attacking the loathsome demon Naraku together, and never once paid attention to how fluidly they were in fact working together. Kagome had summoned what little strength she could, struggling as she prepared her last arrow, praying to Kami it would hit her mark. She'd cried out to Inuyasha in warning, the hanyou roughly pushing the wolf demon out of the way before joining his own attack with the priestess's sacred arrow.

And Naraku was obliterated before their very eyes.

The jewel had been completed, tarnished by Naraku, and then purified in the blinding light of Kagome's sacred arrow, and shattered again by the force of the arrow striking it. The shards flew off once more, the sky above sparkling in a dazzling sight, as the occupants below, though weary and tired from the long battle, gasped in shock... and some muttered curses. Except for the hanyou... who roared angrily in disbelief about having to start over again.

The battle now over, they were able to assess the full extent of the damage, and see to the injuried. Sesshoumaru had arrived late to the battle, and was one of the first to leave from it. He'd hesitated only after bearing the sobbing of his human ward... his face emotionless and impassive as ever as he drew the Tenseiga in a sweeping arc over the pale and broken body of the young taijiya boy Sango had been crying over. When his eyes slowly opened, the daiyoukai turned, saying nothing as he began to walk away. Rin ceased her crying, wrapping her arms around the confused and slightly surprised young boy, promising to see him again, before trotting off after her lord.

"I can't believe this! What the hell are we supposed to do now?! I am NOT traveling all over the fucking continent again to track down those damn shards all over again!" The hanyou roared angrily, the Tetsusaiga already back in it's sheath. "Damn demons can KEEP them this time!"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried, albeit weakly. "Just because Naraku is gone, doesn't mean that we can just leave the shards out there. It's too dangerous... we have to find them." The black haired woman tried reasoning with him as she got to her feet, but the hanyou wouldn't have any part of it.

"Wait a minute... you mean after all that... after Kagome was nearly KILLED by that bastard... the shards are all gone? Again?!" Sango asked in shock, looking up from her little brother. "All our hard work... we have to go through it all over again? What about all those demons we faced? What about all those youkai we killed to gather the shards? Excluding present company of course..." The brunnette said as she noticed the glare being sent her way by one black haired, blue eyed wolf demon.

"Well... at least my Kazanna is gone... but then, I don't know how much use I'd be in helping find the shards this time. But I'll definately lend my services." Miroku said with a slight frown. The female demon slayer shook her head, shakedly rising to her feet as her gaze lifted skyward.

"Just like that..... all our hard work... wasted..." Sango sighed in disbelief.

"Not wasted... look at everything we accomplished." Kagome said with a smile. "Naraku is gone... Kouga's pack has been avenged... Miroku's curse has been lifted... and Kohaku is alive again..." The dark haired miko said softly. "I'd say everything worked out like it was supposed to.. maybe even for the better... come on guys... so we have to collect the jewel shards again... the important thing is... Naraku is gone!"

"Hai... and Kikyou has been avenged." The hanyou said with a sigh. "Fine.... fine... but it'd better not take HALF as long this time!" He gave in with a growl.

"Damn it... I gave up my shards to Kagome... just to have them scatter off? I should have just kept them." Kouga muttered crossing his arms over his chest as he scowled in frustration.

"Baka! If you hadn't given Kagome the shards... Naraku would have ripped them out of your scrawny legs like he did to Kohaku! Kagome practically saved your life!" Inuyasha said with a low and angry growl. The black haired wolf demon whirled around, baring his fangs as he slid his legs back into a defensive stance.

"You wanna finish what we stared, half breed? I don't need my shards to wipe the floor with your ugly face!" Kouga challenged.

"Guys, enough... we should be celebrating... not... fighting..." Kagome said as she swayed slightly, suddenly feeling dizzy. The two males seemed to be rocked into alertness, each jumping to her side, but the hanyou was the first to catch her before she would have fallen. "I'm sorry... the fight just took a lot of out me... that's all." She apologized.

"Kagome... it's not just that... you're hurt too... I'm taking you back to Kaede's... dumb wench... you would have keep pushing yourself, wouldn't you?" Inuyasha asked, scooping the young woman up into his arms. Surprisingly, the male wolf demon didn't protest, but that didn't stop the glare that eminated from his steely blue eyes on the golden eyed hanyou.

"Be careful with her, mutt." He snapped.

"Kouga... you're welcome to come back with us..." Kagome said with a smile, but the male wolf demon shook his head as he returned the kind gesture.

"No... I have somewhere else I need to be. I'll come back for you Kagome... to make sure you're ok... and to make sure Inukuro doesn't try anything while I'm gone." He warned, nodding his head at the blinking girl. "Take care." He said with a wave, before dashing off in his trademark whirlwind. Even without the shards in his legs, he was still fast... but he missed the familar boost of energy and power he'd always been accustomed to. Maybe he would look for some shards himself... to put back in his leg... He shrugged the thought out of his mind as he raced away. He was a proud wolf demon... he didn't need them anymore... not if Naraku was gone... besides... he had managed just fine before without the shards. And besides.... he thought with a smirk... he had the Goraishi now. Who needed shards compared to that?!

"And there he goes... I wonder where he's going this time." Miroku wondered out loud as they watched the wolf demon run off.

"Who knows? Do you think he'll look for jewel shards of his own to put back in his legs?" Sango asked, glancing at Kagome and Inuyasha.

"Probably... pathetic wolf can't fight decently without the help of the shards anyhow." Inuyasha muttered, earning himself a glare from the girl in his arms.

"Inuyasha..."

"What? You wouldn't dare 'sit' me when I'm holding you, wench. Let's just get back to Kaede's." He muttered.

"Well... at least with the shards scattered like that again.... we'll need Kagome still." Miroku pointed out with a smile. "I guess that means you'll be staying with us for a while longer, Kagome?" The black haired monk asked as Kagome smiled and nodded.

"Yep."

"Good... and don't think you're gonna keep wandering off to your time to take those stupid tests of yours.... That's what made it take so long to find the shards in the first place." The hanyou remarked as they headed back to the old woman's village.

"INUYASHA!" A female voice cried as they headed off into the forest, followed by a loud smack.

"HEY! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" The hanyou's voice roared.

"BECAUSE I CAN'T SIT YOU!" She cried, as a loud 'omf' and crash was heard at the same time.

"Oww.... ooops...." She giggled.

"Stupid wench...."