A/N: First off, I want to start off my saying I'm really sorry I've been MIA for so long. Life has really been putting me through the ringer lately. I haven't been able to find time to write, much less be inspired enough to write. Here is the next update. I hope (crossing my fingers) that I can find more time soon to write the next chapter but I can't promise anything. I hope you like this next installment! Thanks so much for your support and for reading!

Sesshomaru pushed back another wave of guards with the energy that came from a quick sweep of his sword. The group of guards that had been rushing towards him were sent flying in all directions, their bodies quickly turning into small wooden dolls. Dolls that he had seen far too much of. With an impatient sigh he twisted his wrist and tossed a few other guards aside. The guards were no match for his power, or for any of his companions. The fighting had been one-sided since the start, but the sheer number of guards standing in front of the castle had been wasting a lot of their time.

None of the guards were human or demon either. Wooden puppets would fall to the ground once the guards were "killed" and Naraku had practically stationed an entire army of them at the front gates. Sesshomaru was quickly getting bored with having to deal with such weak opponents when the one he wanted was sitting patiently inside the walls of the castle, waiting for them.

His father and stepmother had made their way to intercept the right side of the army, but he hadn't seen an decrease in their numbers since then. With another fast swipe of his sword he easily cleared a yard of guards. He fought his way past a few more groups of approaching puppets, but noted that the lines of them never seemed to end. Just how long was Naraku expecting to keep them occupied with such a menial task?

Just as he was about to make a slash at one of the guards that had gotten far closer than the others, a brightly lit arrow impaled the puppet. It quickly fell to the ground in a heep of purple smoke before Naraku's familiar wooden doll sat in its place. Sesshomaru turned his head slightly to spot Shippo standing with his bow drawn. He was still in his mate's disguise, and he was vaguely impressed at how he had even gotten her stance right.

As if able to hear his silent praise, Shippo smiled broadly at him before he gave him a very uncharacteristic thumbs up.

"Saved you, didn't I?" he smirked, and Sesshomaru found it difficult to hear his mate's voice when he knew the demon before him was not her. He did not like that he had to be apart from his mate, but he agreed that it would be too predictable to stay together. Naraku would be expecting that, which would explain the sheer number of guards he had set up for them to fight.

"Are you fatiguing...mate?" Sesshomaru held in his need to grimace at having to act "in character" when he knew very well that he was talking to Shippo. His true mate would make it up to him later, but for now he needed to play the part in case Naraku had any spies watching them. Any hints that Shippo wasn't Kagome would ruin the entire illusion.

"Nope!" Shippo winked back, "I've never felt better! Can't wait to beat up more of Naraku's puppets,"

"Don't strain yourself," he warned, and had meant it. He wasn't sure how strenous staying in another form would be for Shippo. He didn't want the fox demon transforming back into his form too soon, or his mate's life would be in jeopardy.

"Don't worry about me, Sesshomaru," Shippo assured him, and Sesshomaru found that he could even portray Kagome's care-free intonation perfectly, "we didn't train all this time for nothing," he added in a murmur, and Sesshomaru quickly picked up on the hidden message.

While Shippo had grown considerably since he had first been taken into his care, he still tended to view the kitsune as a child. Even now his mind refused to believe that the kitsune had grown into a confident adolescent when he had been a sniveling mess only centuries before.

"True," Sesshomaru agreed. Shippo smiled back before he gave Sesshomaru a curt nod and quickly turned to intercept a puppet that had tried to take him off guard. Sesshomaru did the same and blocked an attack that had been meant for the back of Shippo's head.

"Sesshomaru!" A familiar voice cried out, and he paused at the sound but did not relax his battle stance. While the voice was familiar, it did not comfort him. The source of that voice revealed herself a moment later as the wind sorceress appeared from within the mass of puppets.

"You have to keep moving past these men," she informed him urgently before she waved the open fan in her hand and a group of puppets suddenly turned on the others and they began disassembling their comrades.

"Why should I trust you?" he asked back before he raised his sword and sent another wave of energy at a group of men who had foolishly tried to sneak up on him. All the while never taking his eyes off of Kagura.

"Because I want Naraku dead as much as you do," she answered sharply as she manipulated her fan to force more puppets to turn on the others, "and if you keep fighting these men you'll never move past the front gates. There are a few real puppets here, but the majority of them are merely an illusion created by Naraku's barrier. You'll just keep killing men until you tire yourself out,"

"And what if this is a trap simply to keep more men alive to come after us later?" he asked, his voice soft but the venom within it clear to the sorceress' ears. She gave him a stubborn look before she sighed slightly.

"Such a stubborn man," she huffed under her breath, "you have to keep going because Rin is inside, and I don't know how long Naraku intends to keep her alive," she added before she paused when her eyes fell on Shippo a few feet away from them.

"Why are you here? I thought I told you to go into the castle!" the wind sorceress hissed, and Shippo jumped slightly at her tone before he hastily looked around at everything but her.

"I – uh – figured I should check on Sesshomaru first. I was worried that he might be in over his head," Shippo laughed before he shuddered when Sesshomaru sent him a less-than-pleased stare while trying to remain discreet about it. Kagura didn't seem to notice because she simply crossed her arms and shut her eyes impatiently.

"I knew you were an idiot," she muttered under her breath, "no matter. You need to get going if you except to save Rin before Naraku gets bored with her,"

Sesshomaru paused at her words, and looked around at the puppets steadily surrounding them. When he focused his gaze he noticed that many of them became transparent to his eyes. A few remained solid, but there were only two or three compared to a couple hundred.

"You see them now, don't you?" Kagura asked, following his gaze before she inclined her head towards the castle, "hurry after your daughter, Sesshomaru. She needs your help. I will take care of the rest here,"

"How can I trust your word? After all, you are connected to Naraku,"

"Like I said, I want Naraku dead as much as you do. I believe that you and your mate can defeat him once and for all. If I have to sacrifice myself for that cause, then so be it. I can accept that," she replied confidently.

Sesshomaru hesitated as he weighed her words. Although she was on the side of the enemy, she had told him about Naraku's trick. If she had wanted him to stay away from Naraku, then she would have let him continue on fighting imaginary foes forever.

"I will leave this to you," he answered, signaling to the guards still surrounding them, and she smiled slightly.

"Hurry now, you don't have much time," she replied hastily. Sesshomaru glanced over to Shippo and the fox demon nodded confidently in return. He nodded once before he jumped over a group of guards and pushed ahead, Shippo not far behind. Father, there has been a change of plans, he sent his father the telepathic message, the men here are simply illusions meant to keep us busy. Make your way through them with Izayoi.

Understood, his father answered back a second later. Sesshomaru continued towards the castle entrance without looking back. He did not see Kagura falter and then fall to the ground. Or see her grab her chest painfully as she struggled to breathe. He did not see her look at him longingly as she let out her last breath before her eyes closed.

Kikyo had just finished carving her sixth arrow when she felt a presence appear a few feet away from her. She paused in putting her arrow into the quiver around her shoulder as she remained still. She waited for something to happen for a few seconds before she stood from her kneeling position on the ground.

"Show yourself," she demanded when she could still feel the presence nearby, but could not see the creator. The aura did not feel particularly dangerous, but it unnerved her nonetheless.

"You do not need to fear me. I will not hurt you, I want to help," a voice replied from behind Kikyo. The priestess whirled on her heel just in time to catch the sight of a glowing girl standing a few feet away from her.

The girl looked to be no older than sixteen or seventeen, but the sad look in her eyes made her appear far older. A pure white aura surrounded the girl, and when she took a step forward Kikyo noticed the white wings on her back flutter slightly.

"An angel?" Kikyo questioned as the girl faltered slightly before she nodded her head.

"More a ghost than angel, but you can call me an angel if you like. I like the sound of it," she giggled, and Kikyo found that even her laughter sounded sad. Her tough exterior cracked at the painful sound, and she felt a clenching pain in her chest. Kikyo lowered her gaze, finding the girl's aura so bright that it hurt her eyes.

"What is an angel doing in a place like this?" Kikyo asked, and the girl gave her a genuine smile.

"You let me in," she chirped happily.

"How? I don't even know who you are," Kikyo answered as she tried to place the girl's face. She did seem somewhat familiar, but she couldn't think of how they knew one another.

"When you purified this tree," the girl replied as she moved forward to caress the bark that Kikyo had purified, "when you did that, you created a hole in Naraku's barrier. It allowed me to get in," she explained.

"What business do you have with Naraku?" Kikyo asked, hiding her curiosity behind her stoic mask. The angel merely smiled back at her, as if she knew that Kikyo was hiding her feelings before she replied,

"He transformed into the man I loved, and then tried to make me think that he was my murderer,"

"So, you're coming back for revenge?" Kikyo questioned.

"No, not revenge. What happened in the past cannot be undone, but I can protect the future," she answered, "The ones I love are going to fight Naraku because of me. I won't allow Naraku to kill anyone else, and have vowed to do all I can to protect them,"

"Who are you?" Kikyo asked, and studied the angel's features closely. She smiled at Kikyo before she placed a hand against her breast,

"I am Rin," she replied curtly. Kikyo's eyes widened as she took her in for a moment, and did notice the similarities in her appearance. She had the same wild hair she had had as a child, and her eyes were still the same cinnamon color they had been back then.

"But I've only seen you as a child, how are you in this form and not one much older? Surely you lived a long life with Sesshomaru as your protector,"

"Like I said before, Naraku transformed into the man I loved and murdered me. He had meant to cause strife between Sesshomaru and that man. That gave Naraku time to kill the rest of my loved ones one by one while Sesshomaru was distracted,"

"Who was the man?" Kikyo asked and Rin lowered her gaze as a reminiscent smile appeared on her lips.

"Kohaku," Rin murmured lovingly, "his reincarnation has also returned to this world, but like me, his soul is trapped until his living form matures to the age when he died,"

"How long have you been waiting to return to the living? Why have you not passed on?" Kikyo asked. Rin's expression brightened suddenly as a true smile flashed across her face.

"I've been waiting for five hundred years, because I wanted to watch over Sesshomaru, like he had watched over me," she replied, "and give him hope that I would return to the living. He blamed himself for my death for many years, and fell into an even darker place when Kagome died. I wanted to keep him company, and let him know that things would change. He would have all that he had once had one day,"

"But how did you remain here for so long?" Kikyo questioned as Rin shrugged slightly.

"I simply refused to go to the 'other world' until I could return to the other half of my soul that would be reincarnated. It got easier the longer I stayed in this realm. My soul also grew more powerful as the centuries passed. It gives me the power to not only remain here, but I can even prevent the death of others to a certain extent. I can stop a soul from passing over if I can catch them before they leave their body,"

"A soul that defies death...you must have gone through many obstacles to reach this point in your existence," Kikyo noted as Rin nodded.

"It was tough for awhile, but keeping Sesshomaru happy was all the motivation I needed," Rin smiled, "not that Sesshomaru looked all that happy when he actually was," she added with a giggle.

"You really love him," Kikyo observed as Rin nodded.

"Of course! He did save my life countless times while I was alive. I merely wanted him to know that his actions were not in vain. But enough about that, I came to you because I need your help,"

"My help?" Kikyo asked back as Rin nodded curtly.

"I need to protect my living reincarnation until she turns sixteen – so that I can rejoin her and we can finally become one like we were five hundred years ago. To do that I need to lead Kagome and Sesshomaru to Naraku before he kills her, but right now they are both under massive attack. Sesshomaru is fighting off numerous amounts of Naraku's guards, and Kagome is trying to get past Inuyasha who has been taken over by Naraku's miasma," she explained.

"I see. Why would you think I would help you?" she asked as Rin faltered slightly at her words.

"Don't you love Inuyasha?" Rin asked back, and it was Kikyo's turn to hesitate.

"I – I don't understand my feelings for him at the moment, but if I kill Naraku then Inuyasha will no longer be under his control,"

"But we need to help Inuyasha now! He's already starting to transform into his demon form, and Kagome won't be able to kill him when he attacks her. She cares about him too much for that. Don't you want to stop him before there's a bloodbath?"

Kikyo held her breath at that information, and silently cursed for wasting so much time. She should have left the moment she finished making the first arrow. Rin studied her expression for a few seconds before she nodded.

"I can see you have made up your mind. Follow me, I will lead you to Inuyasha,"

Kagome held her breath as she watched Inuyasha's body twist and contort as he struggled to withstand his transformation for as long as possible. The miasma around them didn't lighten, and she noticed how labored his breathing had become. How long would he last? How long until she would have to fight him?

Her whirling thoughts kept her on her toes as she watched him intently. His red eyes glowed from behind the purple curtain of miasma, but he did not look like he had lost himself completely yet.

"Ka...gome, run!" she heard him command, his voice muffled from behind his hand. Kagome watched him for a moment before she shook her head.

"No, not now. Not like this," she stressed, feeling her own demonic power heighten from within the miasma, and yet she did not feel any discomfort. Her power was not trying to consume her, it merely ran through her more strongly. Feeling far more confident than she should, Kagome slowly began to approach the half demon.

"Inuyasha, you can beat this. I know you can," Kagome added in confidence when she noticed the shock in his glowing eyes. His body turned away once she was within arms reach, but Kagome refused to give up. She would not abandon him here.

She brought up a clawed hand as she moved to caress his cheek, but it was quickly swatted away. Kagome jerked her hand back in surprise before she felt blood trickle down her palm. Unclenching her fingers she spotted a cut on her palm. Had he scratched her that quickly? She hadn't even seen him move.

Suddenly her inner confidence began to leave her as she cradled her palm to her chest, but then straightened when she heard a growl emit from Inuyasha's throat. He turned to face her again, and she gasped when she noticed that the man she knew was gone. No remnants of Inuyasha's soul were left in his eyes. All she saw were hunger and rage.

"Inuyasha...?" she whispered, but the demon before her merely growled louder in return to her plea before he cracked his knuckles. Kagome's expression turned from worry to anger as she growled in return, the angry sound that tore from her throat alien even to her own ears.

He answered her challenge with a hiss before he lunged for her with his arm outstretched towards her neck. She easily evaded his attack, finding his speed rather sluggish compared to hers. Where had that speed from before come from? He growled in frustration before he whirled around and made another jump for her.

Kagome felt the demonic power within her surge through her system as she flipped her body over his head and grabbed hold of the back of his shirt. "I've got you," she remarked darkly, "you should give up now," she added, but Inuyasha merely turned at lightening speed and took hold of her wrists.

Her golden eyes widened in surprise, her expression alone giving away her shock at his sudden spurt of speed. A large grin cracked half of his face before he drew up his other arm and readied his claws for the attack.

Kagome struggled against him, but no matter how much strength she exerted she could not get free. She felt the presence of Sesshomaru in her mind, and could practically hear his growl of rage ringing in her ears as his half brother dug his clawed hand into her stomach.

Kagome choked suddenly at the pain that blinded her eyes, and fell slack in Inuyasha's grip as he pulled his hand back out. She shuddered as he let her go and she tumbled to the ground, her blood quickly pooling around her body as her vision began to blur. A few silver strands fell into her line of vision, and she watched as the color rapidly faded back to its original raven color.

Inuyasha went down on his knees as he surveyed her with those unrecognizable eyes before he bared his fangs at her with a deadly smile. She felt her body begin to shake as shock took over her system, and all she could do was stare up at him like frightened prey.

As if sensing her fear, an agreeing snort quickly followed as Inuyasha roughly took hold of her hair and repositioned her body so that she was lying on her back. Her body pulsed in protest as Kagome let out a pained breath, but she refused to cry out.

He grinned at her stubbornness, and roughly cupped her chin as his claws wound around her neck. He planned to suffocate her, Kagome could understand that clearly enough. She stared up at him defiantly as she weakly grabbed hold of his arm and tried to pry it off. Her strength was laughable compared to his at the moment, and she felt what little strength she had left dissipate faster as more blood seeped out of her stomach wound.

"Inuyasha!" a woman's voice screamed, and the half demon quickly turned before he growled in outrage. Kagome could not turn to see who had called out, but they were important enough to distract him. With a quick motion, Kagome twisted his arm and his claws dislodged from her neck reflexively. He snarled at her and made another move towards her, but a purified arrow shot mere inches in between their heads and took them both by surprise.

They turned to see Kikyo standing in front of the door, and Kagome's eyes widened when she spotted another woman by her side.

"Rin...?" Kagome murmured, confused. The cinnamon eyed beauty at her cousin's side sent her a small smile before she made her way over to Kagome. She recognized the woman from the flashbacks she had been having of her past life. She was the mirror image of the Rin she had known back then.

"Kagome, you're hurt. I was hoping we would have gotten here before something like this happened," the woman murmured, her long brown hair framing her mature features as she bent by her side and rested her hand against Kagome's stomach. She felt her stomach grow warm for a moment before the feeling disappeared and Rin took her hand back. Kagome's vision gradually began to return, and it was then that she noticed a pair of wings on Rin's back.

They were tucked in behind her, but there was no denying that the white feathered wings were attached to her shoulder blades.

"I couldn't heal your wounds, but I was able to stop your soul from leaving your body. I'm sure Sesshomaru's blood within you will take care of the rest," Rin added before she turned to glance back at Kikyo, "do you need my help with Inuyasha?" she asked the other priestess.

"No, get Kagome out of here. We need her alive if we want to have any chance against Naraku," Kikyo replied, "Leave Inuyasha to me," she added as she knocked another arrow on her bow. The half demon growled angrily at her, Kagome easily forgotten as he rushed towards Kikyo.

"Kikyo! Get out of the way!" Kagome screamed, and let out a groan when her stomach pulsed painfully.

"Kagome! Don't strain yourself!" Kikyo scolded before a warm smile softened her features, "You always seem to underestimate what I am capable of,"

She loosened her hold on her arrow and threw her weapons aside just as Inuyasha roughly grabbed for her neck and hoisted her a few feet off the ground.

"Kikyo!" Kagome screamed as she struggled to get up to help her, but Kikyo held up a hand to stop her.

"What did I just finish telling you?" Kikyo bit out with a glare before she looked back at Inuyasha, "If you really want to kill me, then go ahead," she commanded, and the half demon hesitated.

"Do you think you're stronger in this form, Inuyasha?" Kikyo hissed, "is this how you want to be remembered? As a thoughtless brute intent on killing everything in his sight? Was all the training we've been doing to prevent something like this from happening a complete waste?" she questioned sharply as the half demon growled helplessly at her before he tightened his hold around her neck.

She didn't even flinch with the added pressure, but her glare turned deadly.

"I know you're in there, Inuyasha. You may feel like you are no longer in control, but you are. Show everyone here how strong you've become on your own – without this demonic side," she ordered, and Kagome noticed in surprise how the red began to fade from Inuyasha's eyes. He growled back, and then bit his lower lip until his fangs punctured the sensitive skin. A single stream of blood dripped down both sides of his chin before he let out an angered snarl.

Kagome watched in amazement as Inuyasha slowly lowered Kikyo back on the ground and let her go before he fell to his knees at her feet. Kikyo paused for a moment before she ran a hand through his silver bangs and kneeled in front of him.

"I knew you could do it," she murmured before she cupped his face and forced him to look at her. Kagome watched as a faint blush coated his cheeks before he turned his gaze away from hers sadly. His gaze fell on Kagome before his eyes widened. He hurriedly broke out of Kikyo's hold and ran to her side.

"Kagome – I...I...I did this..." he finished in disappointment as he grimaced at the sight of her gripping the part of her stomach where he had hurt her, "I should have been able to fight off Naraku's miasma. I should have protected you, not hurt you. If Kikyo hadn't come, if she hadn't stopped me like she always does, I could have – I would have – How can you ever forgive me for this?" he growled before he hid his gaze behind his bangs as his arms shook at his sides in anger.

"But you did stop," Kagome murmured, "and the wound will heal soon – look! It already looks ten times better than it did!" she assured him as she moved her hand so that he could see her stomach. The bleeding had stopped and a fresh layer of skin had grown underneath her tattered shirt.

"Sesshomaru's blood has taken affect," Rin smiled happily before she took hold of Kagome's hand, "now we must hurry, Kagome! If we don't, my soul could very well be in danger of getting stuck in limbo forever,"

"Stuck in limbo?" Kagome asked as Rin stood and spread open her beautiful white wings.

"Yes, for I am only a spirit – a fragment of myself. Only half of my soul was reincarnated in this time," she murmured, "and I won't be able to join the living half until she makes it past her sixteenth birthday – the age that I was killed five hundred years ago,"

Rin felt her leg muscles begin to burn as she struggled to keep up her fast pace with Hakudoshi in her arms. The baby was cuddled against her chest as he continued to hold onto strands of her hair in his tiny fist. It was as if he was trying to comfort her, and Rin was grateful for his support.

She knew that it would be naïve to think that Naraku would have let her go with Hakudoshi in her possession, and she was right. Only seconds after she made it into the underground tunnels she noticed a couple of guards come in after her. They dragged their feet across the ground as they ran, and their movements were spastic and uneven as they hurried after her. She could only conclude that they were injured, and that pushed her drive to escape even more.

You're almost there, just a little further, a young boy's hushed voice assured her in her head. Her eyes widened slightly at the sound before she glanced down at the baby in her arms. He looked up at her with eyes far older than his body gave him credit for, and she knew instantly that his voice had been the one in her head.

"A little further until what?" she asked in between breathes as she glanced back worriedly at the guards still chasing after them. The baby smiled up at her silently before his voice entered her mind once more,

Until I come to save you, he replied confidently, and Rin smiled slightly before she gave a start when an exit brightened their path. It was just an small opening above ground, but Rin felt a wave of excitement rush through her as she quickened her pace. The end was near! She even allowed herself a laugh or two as relief washed over her, but it was quickly taken away when she noticed that another guard stood there. He appeared to be waiting for her, and she immediately slid to a stop. She collapsed onto the ground as she struggled to calm her fluttering heart.

She hugged Hakudoshi to her front as the guards behind them caught up and quickly blocked her path as well. As they circled the two Rin tightened her hold around Hakudoshi before she hunched over him defensively and hid him in the curve of her tiny body.

She heard the guards unsheathe their weapons, and shut her eyes when the sound of their breathing as they slowly approached became as loud as drums. The sound overtook her, overwhelmed her, and she struggled to keep her composure. She would not cry, no matter how scary the situation was. She would be strong, just like Sesshomaru. She kept them shut for a good few seconds before she gathered enough courage to open them once more.

The sound of loud breathing had disappeared and she turned around to spot the guards lying motionless on the ground. Amidst the bodies was the sight of a familiar boy in a kimono with white hair.

"Hakudoshi!" Rin exclaimed happily as the demon turned at the sound of her voice.

"Told you I'd come back," he replied with a slight smirk before his expression grew serious when he spotted the baby in her arms, "you retrieved him," he observed before he approached them and extended his arms forward.

"Give him to me," he commanded, and Rin outstretched the baby towards her friend, but the baby's fist was still tangled painfully in her hair.

"Hakudoshi..." Rin murmured warningly, but the baby would not let go of his death grip on her hair.

"I see, so you're still faithful to him," Hakudoshi snarled at the baby, "I should have known housing his heart inside of you would have affected you like this,"

"'His'?" Rin asked as she brought the baby back up against her once more to gaze down at his violet eyes. Tell me what you're thinking, she begged him through her thoughts. Why now would he not want to join with his other half?

Naraku still has control over me. If I join with him now, we will never be free, he replied solemnly. He does not realize how powerful Naraku's influence is on me, even now. If we were to rejoin, then Naraku would have full control of us, he explained.

Rin struggled to think of something to say before she paused when the older Hakudoshi let out a pained breath.

"I didn't realize you were desperate enough to hide Naraku's influence over you by using Rin as your accomplice," he scowled, and Rin jolted slightly at his oddly fitting comment, "He's always prevented me from becoming a whole being after I was split in two five hundred years ago. He doesn't want me to be as powerful as I was then, so he put his heart inside one to make sure that if we did rejoin, he'd still have some control,"

"But how did you...?"

"I can read your mind," he replied, "much like that half of me can communicate with you telepathically," he added while inclining his head towards the baby in her arms.

"If that's true, can't you just take Naraku's heart out and destroy it?" Rin asked as she glanced at the baby. He merely stared back at her blankly.

"Naraku has too much control over it. Perhaps if he were in a weakened enough state his heart could be released, but not now," Hakudoshi replied surely.

"Then let's go find Sesshomaru and Kagome. They can weaken Naraku for sure, I just know it!"

"You still hold such faith in them," Hakudoshi murmured thoughtfully, "just what is it about them that makes you so confident that they will come for you?" he asked curiously.

"Because they love me," Rin shrugged with a smile.

"Love? That's it?" Hakudoshi sounded unconvinced.

"Yup! It's the same reason I saved you," Rin beamed as she looked at the baby in her arms, "because I love you!" she giggled while she glanced back at the boy a few feet in front of her. Hakudoshi's cheeks flushed slightly at her declaration, before he cleared his throat sheepishly and he shook his head.

"You can't mean that,"

"Of course I do! I wouldn't have risked my life to save your other half if I didn't. I knew that bringing him to you would make you happy, so I did it. I want to see you happy, so there's no other explanation except that I love you!" she reasoned as she continued to grin at him.

"You know, you're far too nice for your own good," Hakudoshi scolded, but smiled at her anyway, "let's go find your precious Sesshomaru-sama,"

A/N: That's the end for now folks! Look for the next update soon (hopefully)!