Finally an update. Sorry it took me so long to get this up even though I said on my other story I'd have an update about two weeks ago I've been busy working and writing my own original story. Original over powers fanfiction. I'll be starting my first year of art college on august 30th.

I think my old laptop is finally dieing. I've mentioned it before for the reason of many of my spelling mistakes. If I don't pay really close attention it turns words like tetsusaiga into testing. The wireless internet has stopped working and it keeps freezing making me have to take out the battery to fix it. So I've been fanfiction deprived for the past few days and have to use my parents laptops but am always disturbed. Oh well I guess that just makes more time to write fanfiction without being distracted by others stories.

Red String of Connection

Photograph

Sango and Miroku decided to bring the rest of the group to the clearing by the well so that they could make breakfast with out waking Kagome and Sesshoumaru. Lord knows the smell of cooking ramen would awake any demon from the dead judging from Inuyasha's response to it.

Maybe also, so that the two would have to spend time alone together trying to find them.

The demon slayer propped the half demon against a tree. The two children found a fallen log to sit on. Luckily they were still too groggy from sleeping that they didn't notice that Inuyasha was unconscious.

"Why are we eating way out here?" Shippo asked as the grown ups built the fire.

'O crap! They're waking up.' Was the shared thought. The monk and demon slayer both sent a glare saying, 'you take care of it.' Sango winning the starring contest in the end.

Miroku shot one last glare at the demon slayer before answering. "Well?… it was such a nice day I thought it would be good for a change to get out of the village and experience a little nature for once."

Sango smacked herself in the forehead thinking about what an idiot excuse that was.

"But we camp in the forest almost every night and spend our days traveling through the country side?" Shippo asked in confusion with a eyebrow raised. Both him and the demon lord's ward shared a look that said 'grown ups were weird.'

Miroku was grasping at straws here so he made a quick escape. "Oh, would you look at that. I think we need more kindling for the fire." And dashed off to look busy at the edge of the clearing. 'Shippo was too observant for his age.' The monk thought.

Sango glared after the monk as she pulled out the ramen cups from Kagome's back pack. She boiled some water and pored a splash of hot water into each cup.

"Let it cool off a couple of minutes before you try and eat it." She waited only a minute before handing the kids each a cup (keeping Miroku's hostage as punishment), trying to distract them with food. It always works with Inuyasha.

Speaking of Inuyasha.

Sango made her way over to the unconscious hanyou and held the cup of ramen under his nose with one hand and a pair of chopsticks in the other. Hoping that it would be enough of a distraction that he wouldn't notice he woke up in a different place than when he went to bed in, or that two very important group members were missing from the equation.

It took less for a minute for the half dog demon's strong sense of smell to kick in and his nose to start twitching. It took maybe two sniffs before Inuyasha grabbed both the cup and chop sticks out of the unsurprised demon slayer's hands and be eating like he was never just unconscious.

Before Sango even started her first cup of ramen Inuyasha had already asked for a second servings and she didn't deny him. Hoping to keep him busy.

Inuyasha was slurping his third cup of ramen when he decided to squeeze onto the log in between the two children. Receiving a glare from Shippo for it. He reached out his cup signaling for the demon slayer to refill it again. "Sorry Inuyasha. I just gave the last of it to Miroku. We are all out." Sango apologized. Inuyasha pouted for a second before an evil grin appeared when a plan formed.

Shippo was eating his ramen when all a sudden it was gone. He starred at his empty hands in confusion for a second before turning to his left to see the culprit.

"Inuyasha give it back!" Inuyasha held the fox kit back with one hand as he gulped the noodles down. "Why do you always pick on the little guy?"

"Here you go kid." Inuyasha said as he handed the fox kit back an empty ramen cup.

Shippo starred hatefully at the smirk the half demon sported. 'Oh you'll get yours Inuyasha. I'll be reacting my revenge very soon.' Little horns could be seen forming.

Sango was getting antsy. Inuyasha had already finished eating and they still weren't here. Any moment now Inuyasha would ask the dreaded question and there whole plan would be ruined when the hanyou dashed back to the hut and tore the two forcefully apart.

"Why are you so far from the village?" Sango was glad her prayers were answered when she heard the demon lords voice. Now Inuyasha had someone else to take his frustration out on.

Everyone was glad to see both the demon lord and miko. They were a sight for sore eyes. Even if Kagome was acting a little eccentric. "Come on be a good doggy and roll over!"

"Just ignore her." Sesshoumaru advised.

"We always do when she's like this. How did she get a sugar rush this early in the morning?" Sesshoumaru just sent the demon slayer a look saying 'what's sugar?'.

Inuyasha was surprised when Shippo dashed off the log yelling like his life depended on it. "Kagome, Kagome!" The miko's good mood quickly disappeared when she saw how distressed her pup was.

Shippo jumped into her arms and made the fake tears come. " Inuyasha stole my ramen, but not only that. A couple days ago he promised Rin and I candy if we did something but now he tells us he doesn't have any."

"Inuyasha! You don't promise children something and not pull through on your end of the bargain. You are going to go to my home and get my mother to bring you to the super market." Kagome yelled.

"What! That's a giant waste of time. We should be out searching for the jewel shards. Why can't you go." Inuyasha refused at first until he actually looked at the miko who was sending the vibes he would be getting many a sittings if he didn't leave soon. "Alright I'm going."

Shippo sent a look of triumph in the hanyou's direction which Sesshoumaru caught. He decided against saying anything. He was in support of anything that tortured his half brother.

Kagome would have gone herself but she didn't think Sesshoumaru would make it through. She didn't want to risk breaking the well. Worst case would be if she made it through but the demon lord didn't but they were still attached making her trapped at the bottom.

Miroku managed to grab onto Inuyasha's sleeve as he was tripping over himself to get out of the miko's presence. He put the disposable camera in his hand. " Give this to Mrs. Higurashi. Tell her to get it developed and send it back with you. She'll know what to do." Then Miroku send the confused half demon on his way.

Shippo slipped away while Sesshoumaru was calming down Kagome, which he was surprisingly good at.

He came to stand by the demon lords ward. "And that's how it's done. Learn from the master." Shippo boasted.

"Wow you were really good. It's like when I fake cry to when I want to pick flowers. It doesn't work with Lord Sesshoumaru but master Jaken always falls for it." Rin suddenly stopped and had a shocked expression on her face. She quickly turned on her heal. "Oh my god. Lord Sesshoumaru, lord Sesshoumaru!"

The demon lord wanted to sigh when he heard his wards cry of distress. Maybe he should have stopped the fox kit earlier. It seemed he was influencing his ward. Sesshoumaru turned his full attention to Rin when she started to franticly tug on the bottom of his pants.

He crouched down to her level. " What is the problem?" He asked to humor her not expecting anything serious.

"Lord Sesshoumaru we left master Jaken and Ah-Un behind." Rin widened her eyes and used the most dramatic voice a child could use like it was the worst thing in the world.

"I forgot about that little toad. I knew there was something missing when you showed up. It was weird how one of my thoughts was that it was too quite with you around." Kagome commented. Thinking about how little the demon lord actually spoke.

"I guess we could go get them. What were you doing when you got tied into this whole thing?" Sango asked.

"I was having tea with my mother." Sesshoumaru really didn't want to think about the conversation they were having at the time. He had decided not to mention his missing servant hoping to put off seeing his mother for as long as possible.

He knew that he would have to go now since Rin had noticed. She had grown really attached to Jaken even though he treated her like dirt most of the time.

"Your mother's still alive?" Kagome asked in surprise. She knew demons lived a really long time, but wow. To her knowledge Inuyasha was already two hundred years old and Sesshoumaru was already fully grown when he was born. How old was he really?

"Yes, of course. She's the current lady of the western lands and is in charge of running the palace. It's the only way I'm able to patrol the lands as thoroughly as I do. She looks maybe a little older than the slayer in human years."

"Sesshoumaru's mother must be really beautiful." Miroku commented out loud to himself.

Sango noticed his eyes glassing over and her hentai senses went off. She smacked the monk on the back of the head. "Stop it."

"Ow. I wasn't imagining Sesshoumaru in a women's kimono." Said demon lord gave Miroku the worst death glare he could manage. Which was pretty dam good when you name means the killing perfection. If looks could kill.

Sesshoumaru turned to the miko when she started to laugh. Sporting the same glassed over expression as the monk before. When Miroku said that it got Kagome's imagination working and it was one damn funny image. Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes and covered the miko's mouth with his hand which just made her laugh harder.

"Lord Sesshoumaru we have to leave now. Jaken could be in danger." Rin tried to get her point across to the hard headed adults who seemed to find this horrible situation, horribly funny.

"I'm sure he'll survive being in my mothers presence alone for a couple days. Now mentally I'm not so sure." Sesshoumaru commented.

"What's your mother like?" Sango asked the question both young women were dieing to know.

"A man eater." Sesshoumaru seriously said. "The rest you can judge for yourself." It was a very cryptic answer the two women thought. Did he mean it literally or figuratively.

"We have to wait for Inuyasha to return before we leave. He should be back soon. How long have we been talking?" Kagome pointed out.

"You shouldn't expect him back so soon." Miroku commented when he thought of the one hour photo developing place the Miko had told him about in her time.

"Oh he'll be running back when he sees what we gave him. Almost flying." Sango whispered so only Miroku could hear. Receiving a raised eye brow from the demon lord.

"I don't think it would be a good idea for the hanyou to come. Maybe just the miko and I should go retrieve my retainer." Sesshoumaru suggested. "My mother isn't very found of Inuyasha since he symbolizes the demise of her mating to our father."

The others knew that no matter what his older brother's reason for him not coming, Inuyasha wouldn't let him go anywhere alone with his Kagome.

"No I think its just better if we wait for Inuyasha to come back and all go together." Sango commented as she made herself comfortable on the ground to sit and wait. They didn't think it would be good idea to set the enraged half demon on the Japanese country side.

Enraged because they left without him and one other reason.

The peaceful clearing was disturbed when a red blur appeared from out of the well and shot to stand in front of the miko. Leaving a trail of candy behind in its wake.

"What is the meaning of this?" Inuyasha demanded as he pushed a photo so far into the Kagome's face all she could make out was blurred shapes.

"I don't know. I can't see hardly anything." Inuyasha pulled the photograph farther away so that she could make out the full picture. He didn't get the response he was hoping for. "Awe, Shippo and Rin are so cute." Kagome gushed as she looked over in the children's direction who were swarming the candy.

Sesshoumaru peeked over the miko's shoulder to see what his brother was raving about.

"Not that! You and Lord Fluffy over here are holding each other. Again." Inuyasha said it like it was the worst possible action. Kagome blushed when she looked back at the demon lord to see his reaction. Which was hard to read but his body language looked a little stiffer than normal.

"There's something written on the back. What's it say?" Sango asked as she tilted her head but she was to far away to make out what the symbols meant.

Kagome had a questionable expression when she turned over the picture only to see her mother's hand writing. She was so glad she didn't read the message out loud.

Dear daughter, I want you to bring back my future son in law so that I can meet the man that's made you so happy. Hope to see you soon.

- Love, Mother

'Did her mother think they were going to get married?' Kagome peeked over the photograph at the demon lord. Strangely, she didn't find that too horrible an idea. Her mind went off in a fantasy of her dream wedding.

"Come on. What's it say?" Kagome was snapped back to reality by Miroku's question.

When did they all get so close? Miroku and Sango were shaking with excitement and hand surrounded Kagome on bother sides so she couldn't escape. The miko clutched the message to her chest and backed up nervously into the demon lords chest.

Kagome really didn't want to reveal to her nosy friends what it said. Son in law still meant the same thing in the past as it did 500 years from now. They would make too big a deal of it.

"Just, my mother, informing me that I have a math exam in two weeks. Nothing interesting." Kagome tried to make an excuse but her friends knew her to well and could read in her body language that she was hiding something.

Kagome thought quick when she saw the suspicious expressions and reached back and tucked the photo into Sesshoumaru's armor. 'Let's see them try to retrieve the photo now.' She thought triumphantly.

Receiving a surprised glance from the demon lord. He kept looking at his chest plate and back to the miko.

Kagome felt like giving off an evil cackle when she saw the nervous expressions her two friends were sending Sesshoumaru. Miroku's hand was twitching the way it usually only experienced when there was a women's bottom he wanted to grab.

She could see the internal warring playing across the monks face as he wrestled with his curiosity and willingness to live. Kagome knew Miroku had admitted defeat when he looked away and too the ground.

Sesshoumaru was just going to let the miko's weird action's go for now and not question her. She had given him the answer and he would look at it later when she wasn't paying attention to him.

After a pregnant pause all around it seems everyone decided to drop the matter for now.

"Time to head out." Kagome commanded as everyone packed up their belongs and started to walk.

"Finally. Back to finding the jewel shards." Inuyasha said in exasperated excitement.

"No. Off to Sesshoumaru's castle to retrieve Jaken from his mother." Kagome corrected the half demon.

Inuyasha was too shocked to hear they were going to see Sesshoumaru's mother to fight the issue. Leaving him speechless. Having to be guided by Sango to keep him going in the right direction.