General Zargon: I am so sorry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I really meant to update sooner, but my muse dried up, and I got distracted by other projects, so please forgive me!! –Bows to readers- I'll try to update sooner, but I can't guarantee anything.

Ryuuketsu: The author really is sorry for the long wait, and he hopes that the readers will restrain themselves from coming after him with pitchforks and torches.

General Zargon: Eep! –Runs away in terror-

Ryuuketsu: The author does not own Inuyasha, however; he does own the multitude of OC's to be found in this fic. Enjoy the long-awaited chapter. –Bows before going off to find the author-

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…Until Dasios growled before saying harshly, "Be quick, dragon, for if you don't Inferno will surely have your head," Yazi paled at the mention of the most vicious General in the Lord of the North's service. Inferno's take-no-prisoners attitude had made him legendary among the demons and humans of the Northern Lands. Those that crossed him never lived to tell the tale. He was incredibly vicious and answered to no one but Lord Raidon, and the Lord of the North's children.

Yazi gulped before taking a deep breath and then speaking; "As you know, I had just been appointed as caretaker for Lady Kagome when I learned of a plot to kidnap the children and use them for leverage to make the Lord give up his throne-" he was cut off by Dasios.

"Why didn't you tell the Lord of this when you learned of it?" the Black Dog's eyes were narrowed in suspicion.

Knowing that Dasios had every right to be suspicious, Yazi sighed before saying, "Since I had just been appointed caretaker, I didn't have enough authority to voice my concerns to Lord Raidon and be taken seriously, so to keep Lady Kagome and Lord Souta safe I stole them away in the dead of night. I had heard rumors of the Bone-Eaters Well, and I had hoped that I might get them to safety until the problem had been taken care off, but I had underestimated the plotter's spies, and before I could jump into the well with the children, we were ambushed," his sharp eyes noticed how Dasios clutched Kagome tighter to himself at that, but he continued speaking nonetheless, "Needless to say, there was a fight, and I only just managed to keep Lady Kagome and Lord Souta from being hurt. After I managed to immobilize the last of the ambushers, I knew that there was no way I would be able to delay things any longer, so I had Lady Kagome and Lord Souta drink a potion that would take away their demonic powers until the day when they became eighteen years of age.

After making sure that they were not harmed by drinking such a potion at such a young age, I placed the items I had gathered from the Lord of the North's castle at the bottom of the well, and then I placed Lady Kagome and Lord Souta on top of the trunk I had prepared, and after the well activated and transported us to the future, I myself transformed into my smaller form and drank a potion that would turn me into a statue until the day when Lady Kagome and Lord Souta awakened me. I did this because I knew that the family that lived on the grounds of the shrine we had arrived at were very kind people, and that they would care for Lady Kagome and Lord Souta when I could not." He was saddened by the fact that he had missed so much of his wards lives, but he knew that it was for the best. He continued after taking a moment to collect himself, "However, I never expected that Lady Kagome would travel through the well before I was woken up, but I was pleased to discover that Lord Souta had stayed at the shrine and had not risked traveling through the well with Lady Kagome." He finished his tale and waited patiently for Dasios to reveal whether or not he believed his story or not.

Dasios stayed quiet for a few long moments, seemingly thinking as he held the unconscious Kagome against his chest. Unknown to Yazi, Dasios' thoughts were whirling as he took in what Yazi was saying. It sounded farfetched, but he knew for a fact that there had been a plot to overthrow the Lord of the North at the time that Lady Kagome and Lord Souta had been kidnapped. Lord Raidon had been enraged beyond belief when it had happened, Dasios remembered, and he had grown even more grief-stricken when he learned that Yazi, Lady Kagome's newly appointed caretaker, had also vanished. None of them had wanted to believe it, but after questioning several of those that had been involved in the plot, they had learned that Yazi had been seen fleeing the castle with two bundles in his arms. He also recalled that Lord Raidon had wept openly, something that had previously been thought impossible, when it had been reported that they had been unable to locate the missing children. Dasios snapped out his memories and looked down at the young woman held in his arms once more, just to reassure himself that his childhood friend was actually there.

The Black Dog looked back at Yazi with narrowed eyes before saying softly, "I believe you, dragon," Yazi breathed a sigh of relief, only to suck his breath back in when Dasios continued, "But whether or not Lord Raidon does remains to be seen…" the emerald-haired man gulped, something that Dasios, vengefully, found amusing. The Black Dog might have laughed at the dragon, except that just then, a very familiar scent washed over him, and, judging by how pale Yazi had suddenly become, the dragon had smelled it too. It was the scent of Inferno, the most vicious General in the Northern Lord's service. Dasios immediately looked up, scanning the skies for the dragon that Inferno would surely be riding, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Yazi doing the same. The wary look on the dragon's face almost made Dasios laugh, but before he could, a large Chinese-style dragon suddenly swooped down from the clouds, forcing both Dasios and Yazi to jump back.

Dasios squeezed his eyes shut to guard the against the dust stirred up by the dragon's landing, and by the time he managed to open them and register what he was seeing, he would have burst out laughing if the situation weren't so serious. Yazi had apparently had the foresight to start running before the bright red Chinese-style dragon had landed, so he had a bit of a lead over the enraged ruby-haired man chasing him and shouting obscenities at the fleeing Yazi. Dasios shifted his grip on the still unconscious Kagome (he was relieved that she was still a deep sleeper) and called out to Inferno when he was sure that his voice was steady, "Inferno! I would think you would be more concerned about Lady Kagome than skinning Yazi alive!" his call managed to cause Inferno to stop in his tracks before the General turned slowly around to look over at Dasios.

Inferno's blood red gaze drifted down to take in the sight of Dasios holding Kagome securely in his arms, and then before either Dasios or Yazi had time to blink, the dragon General was in front of Dasios and leaning down to examine the unconscious woman in the Black Dog's arms. Neither Yazi nor Dasios dared to breathe as Inferno looked over Kagome, and it was only when the General's face softened slightly that they both exhaled in relief. Of course, that didn't stop Dasios from stiffening up when Inferno turned his fiery gaze on him and demanded, "What happened? And why is that worthless lizard still alive?" he glared at Yazi when he said the last part, leaving no doubt who exactly the 'worthless lizard' was.

Yazi shifted nervously, obviously prepared to run for his life if things took a turn for the worst, though he stayed where he was as Dasios took pity on him and told Inferno quietly, "It is a long story, one that I think everyone should be present to hear. Suffice to say, I found Lady Kagome in her transformed state, and Yazi appeared after she changed back to her human form because of exhaustion. Apparently, Yazi had a very good reason for taking Lady Kagome and Lord Souta away." Dasios and Inferno looked over at Yazi who nodded vigorously, obviously relieved that the Black Dog had spoken in his defense. At least, he was relieved until he saw the murderous look in the ruby-haired man's blood red eyes.

Inferno snarled at the other dragon before saying roughly, "Come, I will let Lord Raidon decide whether he lives or not, but know this: his explanation better be very, very good." He looked back at Kagome and his expression immediately changed from murderous to gentle and happy. He looked up at Dasios and nodded curtly as he motioned towards the waiting dragon before he began walking over to it. Yazi took the hint, disappearing in a swirl of emerald fire before he emerged again in dragon form, his body the same size as the dragon that Inferno and Dasios, holding Kagome, now sat on. The emerald dragon mentally said a heartfelt prayer to the gods that he managed to survive his upcoming meeting with the Lord of the North before he followed the Chinese-looking dragon into the air and towards the Northern Lands.

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General Zargon: I am sooooooo sorry that I haven't updated this story in forever, but I got distracted by other projects! –Grovels- please forgive me!!!!

Ryuuketsu: The author fully intends to finish this story, but only after he finishes with his current projects, so please be patient while he works everything out. Also, the author is planning on doing some serious rewrites on some of his old stories, so it might be awhile before this story gets updated again, though it won't be as long as the previous wait.

General Zargon: Again, I sincerely apologize for the long wait, but now I'm active in story writing again, so I'll most definitely be finishing my stories!

Ryuuketsu: R&R

General Zargon: Yeah, R&R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!