Mizuko Sui scrunched herself up beneath the underbrush, trying her best to conceal her body from the sight of her attackers. For a while, the woods were dead silent. Slowly, the four year old pulled her beaten body into a kneeling position and peeked out through the bush that had become her sanctuary. The dreary, desolate forest remained silent in the darkness. She'd never even seen such wooden giants up close like this before. But now she understood why it was forbidden.

She choked back a whimper and slowly crept out into the open. Her right leg throbbed painfully with each step she took, and the rusty copper smell of the blood running down her arm was becoming more obvious. They would find her for sure. There was no warning, only a sudden growl, before she felt the crooked, sharp talons graze her back. She screamed in pain and crumbled to the ground. The demon towered over her, almost as tall as the trees around them. 

Mizuko stared up at the monster with wide terror filled eyes. Her whole body was trembling violently, and nothing could make her stand up and run. The realization that she was going to die left her paralyzed. The beast roared again and Mizuko instinctively closed her eyes, bracing herself for death. 

Nothing happened; and an agonized roar echoed throughout the forest. Mizuko covered her ears against the painful screeching. As it ended, her silver-blue eyes opened hesitantly, and then widened as it fell to the ground: dead. Her hands fell limply to her sides, and she scampered backwards away from the corpse. She wanted to scream, but no noise would come out. All she could do was whimper fearfully and tremble. 

"Are you alright?" a voice asked. Her terrified eyes searched the area for the owner. 

"W-Who's there...?" she called out, praying that no one would answer. Something brushed against her arm, and then a hand shot over her mouth before she could think to scream. 

"Don't worry! I'm not going to hurt you." the voice said. Mizuko turned and saw a young boy about the same age as her kneeling beside her. The darkness obscured his form, except for his eyes. They were a shocking pure gold. She couldn't help but stare at them, mesmerized. After a moment, he removed his hand. 

Mizuko continued to stare at him. "You're...you're a...demon..." she said quietly. The boy nodded slowly and then looked at her still bleeding arm. Mizuko moved away, worried that this boy was like the other demon. 

Or worse. 

 "I'm not going to hurt you." he said again. Mizuko moved back further, unsure if he was really worth trusting. He reached out slowly until his hand was directly above the wound. He was completly still for only a moment before he drew back. Mizuko stared at her now uninjured arm, and then at the boy. Before she could say anything, they both jumped as gunshots broke through the silent night air. He jerked away from her, slowly creeping back towards the safety of the trees; he looked afraid. 

"Mizuko?! Mizuko!!" 

She glanced over her shoulder at the sound of the other Slayers, and then looked back at the boy. He was already gone. Her eyes lingered on the trees where he'd once been as her mother emerged from the darkness and fell to her knees beside her, hugging her tightly. 

"Mizuko!" she sobbed, repeating her daughter's name over and over like a chant. She couldn't focus on anything else. Slowly more people joined them in the clearing, including her father and a young blacked haired boy. 

Mizuko's eyes went straight to the boy. "Seichi..." she mumbled.

"Mizuko, are you alright?! What were you thinking?! You could've been killed!" Seichi scolded angrily. She scowled at her friend's tone. Her mother looked up and noticed the lingering blood on Mizuko's arm. Seichi saw it too. "You're bleeding..." he said, looking horrified. 

"Don't worry, I'm fine. It's just a little cut." Mizuko replied. This was partially the truth. It HAD been a cut a few minutes ago. 

Seichi sighed and took her hand as the Slayers began to leave the clearing. Mizuko clung to him tightly as they walked, the events solidifying in her mind as they made their way back towards the city. She looked back at the woods as they faded away behind them and for a brief moment, she thought she saw a pair of golden eyes looking at her from between two trees. But when she looked back, there was nothing there. 

Guess I imagined it...she thought sadly, as she followed her friend thought the iron security gates and back into Tokyo. 

~13 years later... ~

"Mizu-chan! Mizu-chan, wake up!" Mizuko groaned sleepily and swatted blindly at the disturbance. The girl sighed. "Mizu-chan, wake up. Class is over." she said coaxingly.

Someone threw a book onto her desk and Mizuko sat up with a jolt, wide awake. Seichi stood in front of her desk, leaning on the book. "I see you slept through Mr. Tsukaya's lecture...again." he said coldly. Mizuko squirmed under his cold stare.

"Mizu-chan, how do you expect to pass the Slayer Exam...when you never listen to any of the lectures...?" the girl asked.

"Not you too, Tsukiko..." Mizuko complained. Seichi reclaimed his textbook and led Mizuko and Tsukiko out of the classroom.

"You head home, Tsukiko. I have to tutor Mizuko. Again." Seichi said, sounding annoyed. The tan haired girl nodded.

"Alright. See ya back at the house, Sis." she said as she ran out of the school. Mizuko groaned the instant she was out of hearing range. With Seichi, "tutoring" meant getting yelled at until you finally got sick of him and walked away. Seichi sighed once she left the school grounds.

"Heh. you two are twins, and she's one of the Academy's top students. Are you sure you two are related?" Seichi asked teasingly. Mizuko glared at him and punched his upper arm; he didn't even flinch. "And on top of that, you're way too weak. How do you expect to fight demons, when you can't even manage a decent right straight?" he asked.

Mizuko glowered at him and the silver in her ocean blue eyes became more obvious. Seichi sighed again and roughly grabbed her arm, pulling her towards the library. They walked past several rows of bookshelves until they came to a relatively private section.

"Alright, Mizuko. What's the real reason you joined the Academy? It's obviously not to carry on a tradition." he said coldly. Mizuko's confidence caved as his sharp violet eyes bored into hers. It always seemed like she was drowning in them. Then she saw it, a flicker of a long ago memory. A pair of warm, honey gold eyes staring at her through the darkness.

"That boy..." she whispered. It wasn't a conscious action, but Seichi heard her anyway. His expression remained the same but she saw the anger and disgust welling in his eyes.

"Are you insane?! That boy was an outcast; a DEMON. It's forbidden for you to even consider..."

"He saved me from a scary demon that day...and I never thanked him..." Mizuko said quietly.

"That doesn't matter. He was a kid back then, and now he's just as dangerous as any other demon, and needs to be treated as such." he replied. Mizuko frowned but decided it was best not to respond. Seichi's expression softened. "Look. Exam's next week. If meeting that demon is your only motivation for graduating, then I really think it'd be best for you to drop out. This is a really dangerous business, you know that, don't you?"

"Yeah. I know it's not easy. But I've made it this far..."

"Heh. YOu really are a stubborn fool." Seichi said with a smirk. Mizuko felt her face grow warm with indignation.

"Yeah, well...thanks for the stupid lecture." she grumbled at him, as if it were somehow a come-back, and then stormed out of the library, then out of the Academy. Instantly she was surrounded on all sides by the immense pearl white buildings of the city. Sleek cylinder shaped cars drove past her from nearly every side. Everyone in Tokyo seemed to own the latest model these days. Mizuko was one of a small handful that still walked; even Seichi owned one.

Not that that's so impressive. In two days I'll be 18 and legally able to drive one she thought smugly. She paused as a giant shadow consumed the area around her, completely blocking out the sun. She looked up at the building in front of her. It was larger than all the others around it, the letters 'SNT' were painted in a brilliant gold near the roof.

This was the SNT Headquarters, the largest company in the world. It provided power all the power in Tokyo, acted as the head governing body and military, and provided the majority of paying jobs. Once the Final Exam was over, she would be working there as well.

If I pass the Exam, that is...she thought.

She continued on towards her house. "I'm home!" she called out. No one answered. It didn't surprise her. Tsukiko was probably out with her boyfriend again and her parents wouldn't be back from their latest assignment for at least another month. They were the best Slayers the company had ever seen, so they were always gone on extensive missions, and she'd become comfortable with the resulting quiet solitude.

Cause a 14 year old thinks she's in a serious relationship, and the self-proclaimed government/company thinks it can send people into constant danger whenever it wants... she thought sourly.

She ignored the sudden complaints of her stomach and went up to her room. The best part about their home was that it was on the edge of civilization, so she could see the forest over the electric wire fence. The easy school and work commute was just a bonus. Mizuko glanced out the window, ignoring the cool breeze playing with her short hair. Until it fell in front of her eyes.

I wonder what he's doing right now... she thought to herself, barely aware of the warmth rushing to her cheeks. In her mind he was always on some gallant mission to restore peace between their worlds, until she reminded herself that he could have been captured or killed by now.

She sighed and walked over to the full body mirror hanging on the back of her door. A skinny, pale complected girl stared back at her. Brown red hair curled around her face and barely fell to her shoulders. The only thing she liked about appearance was her eyes. They were the reason she had been named 'Mizuko'. Swirling blue and silver orbs that were as relentless and changing like the crashing waves. It was the first thing anyone noticed about her. Then they saw the rest, a short, 'flat chested' girl that was ignored by pretty much every other member of society. Except her sister and Seichi, but neither were worth bragging about. She left the mirror and crossed off another date on her calendar.

One more week...and then she'd have her chance. She'd meet that boy again, and truly thank him.

I wonder what his name is... she thought. She'd considered this many times in the past, but nothing seemed right to her. They probably have their own exotic names... she smiled a little, of course I wouldn't be able to think of any. Their world is so different from ours. I wonder what theirs is like...do they live in towns together, or do they just wander around...alone?

"Mizu-chan, are you here?" she heard Tsukiko call out.

"I'm upstairs!" she shouted back. The door creaked open and her little sister came into the room.

"Have you been staring at the trees again?" she asked.

"I think the answer's obvious."

"Mizu-chan, why are you so entranced by that place? It's a scary, barbaric place, and those animals were banished for a reason!"

"But why? Do you know why they were thrown out of our world?" Mizuko challenged. Tsukiko frowned and fell silent. "See? You can't, and do you know why? Because NO ONE knows why! Every person I've asked has had that same stupid blank expression!!"

"That's because we're not supposed to question how things have always been! What HE says is..."

"I know, what the Taishou says is law." Mizuko interrrupted. She'd been taught that from birth. That there were certain things about their world that simply were not questioned. Like the existance of demons and why they were feared. Of all people, Mizuko had the best, or should've had the best, understanding of how dangerous they really were. She was of a select few that had ever encountered one. Instead, she questioned the natural order of their world-something no one had ever bothered to do- and even planned to find one.

"Come on, I'll help start dinner." Tsukiko said, realizing that this conversation was going nowhere.

Mizuko smiled eagerly and the two sisters headed off to the kitchen.

"Master Seichi?"

He didn't respond. Seichi simply stared out the massive picture window at the immense courtyard.

"Master Seichi." the maid said again. "Your father wishes to speak with you."

Seichi sighed and followed the maid into the hallway. Another maid stood near the opposite wall; she was carrying a small tray with a phone on top. Seichi grumbled as he picked up the receiver. Their "conversations" were always like this.

"What is it now, dad?" Seichi grumbled. He hated his father's 'check-ins'.

"I heard that you're still talking to that girl..."

"Mizuko's an old friend, dad. There's no law saying that I can't be around her." He interrupted. This ALWAYS came up, and made him glad that his father was never home these days.

"Don't put that girl before your duty, Seichi. You're in that school for a reason." his father warned sternly. Seichi rolled his eyes.

"Ya. Whatever." he retorted. The line went dead and Seichi handed the phone back to the maid before walking back towards his room.

"Um...will you be needing anything else, sir?" one of the maids asked. Seichi waved hand at them.

"Nah. Feel free ta' shove off for the night." he answered as he vanished down the dark hallway.

"Relax your arm...now tilt forward." Mizuko stumbled as she attempted to comply. The bow trembled awkwardly in her hands as she shot the arrow, which fell to the ground in front of her.

"I'm sorry! Please forgive me, Sensei!" Mizuko pleaded instantly. The young woman standing beside her sighed.

"It's alright. Now try again." she said. She repositioned Mizuko's grip. "You need to keep the bow straight, and AIM for the target..." the woman said. "Good. Now release." Mizuko did as she was told. The arrow whizzed through the air and struck the target two rings from the bull's eye. The woman sighed and released her hold on Mizuko's arm.

"That's enough for today..." she mumbled after a moment. Mizuko sighed and undid her auburn hair from the priestess ponytail. She could tell who was more intimidating: her archery coach or Seichi.

"Sister Kikyo!" the archery coach and Mizuko turned as two young black haired girls ran over to them. Kikyo smiled at the younger of the two girls.

"Did you have any trouble, Kaede?" Kikyo asked.

The eight year old shook her head no. "Kagome and I found everything on the list!" she said happily, sounding proud of herself.

Kikyo smiled at her two sisters and then frowned as she turned back to Mizuko. "Our lesson's over for today. You may go home, Mizuko."

Mizuko nodded and slowly walked away from the archery fields. why she had taken up the bow as her weaponry of choice was unknown to her even now. It'd never made sense, since she had no talent whatsoever for it. Yet at times, she looked forward to her lessons with Lady Kikyo. Until she was scolded of course.

"Finished another blunder round?" Seichi asked, coming up behind her. Mizuko turned around swiftly and was again swallowed by his eyes. Half-concealed beneath his wavy black bangs, his once harsh, fear-inducing amythyst eyes now seemed softer...tame. "Do you find staring that amusing?" he asked, slightly annoyed.

Mizuko flinched away from him. His tone never changed.

"Sorry." she grumbled. She didn't like how insecure she felt around Seichi. Like he was the only one in this world with power. That she was completely helpless without him.

"Not bad..."

Mizuko turned to look at Seichi; he was staring at the target across the field. "You managed to hit the second ring. That's improvement." he said thoughtfully. Mizuko frowned.

"Since when are you kind? What do you want?"

"Is it wrong for me to compliment an old friend?"

"Yes. Cause usually that means you want something."

Seichi laughed. "Come now, Mizuko. have ever done that to you?" He saw her scowl and laughed harder. "Fine. From now on I won't say anything positive around you ever again. Would that suit you better?"

"Yes. Yes it would." Mizuko said confidently. Seichi shrugged.

"Fine. Then I guess you wouldn't care to know that they've rescheduled the Final Exam for tomorrow afternoon, since I can't say anything positive."

Mizuko nearly fell over. "They WHAT?! Why didn't you tell me?! And how is that POSITIVE?!!"

"Well for me it's positive." Seichi said with a sly grin.

Mizuko scowled and jabbed his ribs with her elbow. "Jerk." She grumbled. Seichi smirked.

"So...what do you plan to do now?" Seichi asked smugly.

"Suffer in silence." Mizuko said with bitter discontent. "Hey...um...have you heard from your dad lately?" she asked, hoping to change the subject.. Now Seichi was scowling.

"Yeah. He called last night." Seichi said bitterly.

"Oh. He's still on that business trip, huh? Don't you get lonely in that big, old mansion?" Mizuko asked. Seichi laughed, though it obviously was not from amusement.

"Please. Unlike you, I don't need the constant presense of humans."

"Then how come you take every opportunity to talk to me?" Mizuko asked smugly.

His uncaring expression remained unchanged. "If you're hoping for some sort of compassionate answer, it won't work." he said bluntly.

"Oh come on. Just admit that you enjoy my company." Mizuko taunted. Seichi smirked.

"You're good for stress relief, but that's about all."

Mizuko scowled and walked away from him. Out of the corner of her eyes, she thought she saw a flicker of pained confusion on his face. He didn't get why he was mad. Typical men. She hadn't expected an affectionate answer, but he could've said something more than that. They were like siblings. Best friends for as long as she could remember. Her parents had been friends wiht Seichi's father, and they'd instantly become close from the first moment they'd seen each other. Strangely, she couldn't remember anything about his dad, except that the guy was never home.

Maybe that was why Seichi was always in a bad mood. he claimed to detest human company, but maybe he just wanted to have someone around at home.

She sighed; there really was no evidence to support this. It was possible that Seichi found being an annoying bastard enjoyable. Slowly she made her way to her house. Right now she had more important things than 'Sei-bozu's' rude behavior to worry about: like the Exam tomorrow.

"Sir; the demons have overcome our northern defense." an elderly man said, slightly anxious. "At this rate, our city will be at risk of complete annihilation."

"We...await your judgement...sir..." another said.

A young man- barely in his 30's- sat at the very front of the long rectangular table. His long bony fingers were intertwined and his elbows rested on the table as he debated. It didn't last long.

"Send the graduates." he said simply. His voice was deep, and low in volume.

"But, sir! They're mere children! They've never been in battle!"

"Then this will be an excellent opportunity to introduce them to the career they're entering." the man said calmly. He stood up. "I believe you can handle the rest, gentlemen. Now. If you'll excuse me." he slowly made his way out the dimly lit meeting hall, leaving the speechless-and slightly disturbed- Senate to debate the Taishou's shocking solution.

Mizuko couldn't control her frantic heartbeat. All she could do was stare at the mirror. She was dressed in the Slayer's armor.

They had been told...that their final test would be an actual battle...against actual demons.

I...I can't. I can't do this! she thought, her confidence crumbling away with each passing second. I can't fight...!! There's no way one of MY arrows would actually hit! I'm going to die out there!

She jumped-and nearly hit the ceiling- when someone knocked on the door.

"Mizuko...? Are you ready to go yet?" Seichi asked impatiently. Mizuko tried to answer, but no words came out. her voice was paralyzed by her own fear. Seichi knocked again, and went inside when she still didn't answer. "Oh. If you're ready, why are you hiding in here?"

"I can't go out there." she said, her fear consuming her tone.

The smugness faded from his expression and was replaced by something rare for him...concern. "Get a hold of yourself, Mizuko. This is what you wanted."

"But I can't kill those things! I'll just get killed!"

"You're not going to die, Mizuko. I'll be right there next to you the whole time. Part of the test is also based on how well we work together. So as long as you don't wander off or do anything stupid, we'll both pass." he said with a teasing grin. It was like he was trying to get her to laugh or something.

Mizuko smiled half-heartedly. He reached over and handed her her bow and quiver. "Now let's get going. All we have to do is stop them from getting into the city, and we'll both go home. And maybe if you're good, I'll let you stop by that cafe you like so much on our way back."

"You'll...let me stop by?" Mizuko asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. But only if you behave yourself." Seichi said.

Mizuko laughed dryly, and then followed Seichi out of the dressing hall. As they neared the front doors he grabbed his halberd from where it rested against the wall. Mizuko squinted against the bright sun as she stumbled to her place among the ranks of her class. Everyone seemed as nervous as she was.

Except Seichi. He was standing perfectly still, letting his halberd rest on his shoulder. She couldn't help but notice how vaguely cool he looked against the still rising sun. It wasn't like he wasn't good-looking.

He was well built, not the overdone body builder type, but just enough that you knew he'd "whoop your ass" in a fist fight. And with his large, jagged axe-headed pole-arm in hand, he'd "whoop" more than just that. His ebony hair had the faintest wave to it- a trait from his mother no doubt- and was just barely long enough for the wind to catch it. He could be very popular and admired by the girls at school...if it weren't for his sucky personality.

The small group around her began to disband, though Mizuko didn't notice until Seichi came over and lightly bonked her on the head.

"Earth to Mizuko. Time for us to get into position. They've spotted the demons." Seichi said.

Mizuko's heart started thundering again. It was finally time. She was going into battle, and now...there was no escape. No chance for her to walk away and go home...to safety.

"Seichi..." he turned to look at her. "What if...what if something goes wrong?" he looked at her for a long while, and then ruffled her hair.

"Did we already have this conversation? You're not going to die. I'll stay right next to you the whole time. So stop freaking yourself out." he leaned in towards her ear. "Or you'll turn into a wrinkly old hag by the time you're 30."

Mizuko glared at him and bonked Seichi on the head with her bow. Seichi chuckled quietly and then glanced ahead at the forest.

The ground beneath them began to rumble violently. Mizuko latched onto Seichi's arm to keep herself from falling over.

How convenient that they would have an earthquake now of all times. Or at least that's what Mizuko thought it was. Seichi was smarter than that. Suddenly, Seichi pulled her close to him and leapt to one side. She looked over in time to see a mass of swirling white and gold lights crash into the wall behind them. It buckled from the blast's power, then crumbled and gave way to the attack.

Even after Seichi had put her down, Mizuko refused to let go of him. She'd had no idea that they'd be this strong.

Seichi's eyes were beginning to regain their harsh nature. "Looks like our prey's finally decided to show up." he said with a smirk. He was going to enjoy this. Mizuko could tell just by looking at him. The aura that surrounded him was overpowering, intimidating, and seemed to affect everyone around them. The students screamed war cries as the attacking demons appeared from the forest. Mizuko stared at the creatures. They weren't more human than animal. Sort of a mixture of both, and there was no pattern in their appearances. Seichi ran forward and impaled one that had come too close to them.

Mizuko's eyes widened as Seichi quickly ripped his weapon out of the demon's body, a large spray of crimson blood erupted from the wound as the corspe fell to the ground.

She saw it within her mind. A mountainous demon with animal like features. Its cruel talons tearing through her flesh...

"Mizuko, snap out of it!" Seichi shouted at her. "This is not the time to be remenesing!"

Mizuko shook the thoughts away and aimed an arrow at a demon near Seichi. It struck between the beast's eyes.

"Good shot!" Seichi shouted to her. "Too bad Lady Kikyo didn't get to see that!"

Mizuko blushed at his sudden praise. "But I missed! I was aiming for its heart!!" she complained. then her eyes widened in horror. "Seichi, behind you!!" she shouted. He spun his halberd expertly, cleaving the head from the demon's body. Mizuko let out a squeak of fright as it fell to the ground.

"Thanks, Mizuko!!" he said as he went after another one. Mizuko loaded another arrow and fired. As long as she killed them before they could get close enough to attack her, she just might survive this!

She heard the rustling bushes a moment too late, and then felt a cloth over her mouth.

"Sleep for a bit." a rough male voice said. Mizuko struggled against his grip until her eyelids suddenly felt heavy. She slumped backwards agasinst her attacker and everything went black.

Seichi sliced through his target and looked over at Mizuko. She'd been too quiet. When he looked around for her, he saw she wasn't there.

How was that possible? She'd only been out of his sight for a minute at most, how could she have vanished in so little time?

"Mizuko?! Mizuko!!" Seichi shouted as he ran over to where he'd last seen her. There was no sign of a struggle. She'd simply vanished.

Damn it...Mizuko...

Mizuko groaned as the ability to feel returned to her body. Her head was spinning and trying to sit up only made it worse.

"So...you're awake..." a voice said. Mizuko searched around. It was dark, so she couldn't identify who was talking, much less where she was. All she could tell was that it wasn't the same voice she'd heard at the battle. Her eyes widened.

Seichi. What had happened? Was he alright?!

"Why did you bother saving that girl?! She's a HUMAN!! What use could she possibly to us?!" the voice shouted at someone. Mizuko flinched at the knowledge that there was more than one.

"What was I supposed to do? Sit back and watch her die? Those demons would've torn her to pieces if I hadn't stepped in. It wasn't like her buddy was going out of his way to protect her." said the voice from the battlefield. At least this one sounded more docile than the other.

Some one lit a lantern near her and Mizuko flinched against the sudden change in brightness. She saw a man standing next to her, leaning slightly on a tree.
He was tall, maybe five ten or five eleven. His hair was pure ebony black, like Seichi's, which he kept in a long ponytail that went almost to his waist. He was dressed in some furry animal skin, a dog or a wolf maybe, but what caught Mizuko's attention were his eyes.

They were a bottom-less, empty sky blue; they held no light or anything. Just lifeless orbs of color, like someone without a soul.

Comparing the two, she preferred Seichi's harsh and accusing eyes any day.
The man suddenly lifted her up by her shirt collar and held her ups so their faces were level.

"Alright, human. What were you doing in that clearing?" he asked menacingly.
"Ah...I was there ...cause..." Mizuko whispered as quietly as she could manage.
"Speak up, or I'll feed you to the wolves..." the man threatened, but he moved closer in an attempt to hear. Mizuko continued to mumble until his ear was right next to her mouth. Then she yelled as loud as humanly possible.
The man leapt backwards in surprise, painfully deafened by her sc

ream. Mizuko pulled herself to her feet in the midst of the confusion and took off running. She didn't care where she ended up, so long as she was far away from those demons. And if she got far enough, she might reach another town. The forests only went on for so long. But before she could even get close, she heard howling from behind her. Her heart thundered loudly in her chest. That man hadn't been kidding about the wolves.

She tried to run faster, but the wolves easily caught up to her. She let out a small cry of panic as they tackled her to the ground.

"Nice try, bitch." the man said as he walked over to her. Mizuko then noticed that the wolves were simply holding her down. She couldn't even feel their claws against her skin. He walked over and stood near the wolves. "Drag her back to the camp." he ordered.

Each wolf grabbed hold of her clothes and literally dragged her back the way she'd come. One the way back, she realized how slow she moved compared to them. The distance seemed so short now. They carried her to the tree she'd been sitting near before and tied her up so she couldn't escape again. After that she was ignored.

Hours past, and Mizuko began to doze off, until her stomach started growling. She hadn't eaten anything since before the battle, and that could've been last week for all she knew. All she could tell for certain was that it had been at least a full day, since it was dark.

"Getting hungry yet?"

Mizuko glared at the darkness. "Go away. I wouldn't even be in this mess if it hadn't been for you." She said angrily.

"If it hadn't been for me, you would be dead right now." the voice retorted.
"Oh. So I'm supposed to thank you or something?" Mizuko asked sarcastically. The demon sighed.

"Well this isn't the first time I've saved you, now is it?"

Mizuko's eyes widened as he came out of the shadows. "It...It's you. You're the demon who saved me when I was little..." she said in amazement.

"Nice to see you again, as well." he said with a small smirk. Mizuko didn't answer this time. She couldn't even look at him. This was the boy she had been hoping and striving to meet all these years...and she'd just treated him with the same disrespect that was normally reserved for Seichi.

How embarrassing...she thought despairingly. Finally she dared herself look up at him through her curtain of hair. This was the first time she'd ever seen his full appearance like this before.

His hair was an unusual gleaming silver, almost white, and fell to his waist. He was wearing an old fashion blood red kimono and hakama, much like the Shinto priests of the ancient past. His eyes were still a brilliant gold. The same eyes she'd remembered all these years. He was carrying a tray -made from a piece of tree bark.

"Here. I snuck you some food." he said as he sat it down in front of her, and then untied her. "Don't try to escape. The wolves are on guard everywhere."

She scowled, but accepted the food gratefully. It didn't matter to her that it was the leftovers of a demon's meal. After a moment, she cautiously looked up at him.
"What's your name?" she asked slowly. She'd been waiting to ask him that all this time. But she hadn't expected it to be like this.

"Inuyasha." he answered, smirking a little. "Your name's Mizuko, right? The humans were calling out that name when I met you that day."

"Yeah. That's right." Mizuko answered, a little surprised. She hadn't expected him to remember anything about that day. The fact that he did sent a giddy sort of pleasure coursing through her. It was like he had just confessed to liking her or something. She glanced around at the surrounding area. Even though she couldn't see anything, it felt like a hundred eyes were glued to her. Every move she made was being watched.

"Inuyasha...why am I here...?" she asked after a long moment.

He wasn't fazed by her question. "You already got your answer, when I told Kouga. If I hadn't interfered, those demons would've killed you for sure..."

"Kouga...?" Mizuko mumbled. Then she remembered the black haired demon that had sent the wolves after her. "Oh. So that's his name..."

"Yeah. He's the leader of our 'pack' as he calls it..."

"Do all demons live in groups?"

"Only a few. Most prefer to be on their own." Inuyasha answered. "Didn't they tell you anything before they threw you at those demons yesterday?"

"Nope; just that they were evil and had to be killed." Mizuko answered bluntly.
Inuyasha laughed a little. "Huh. They should've blindfolded you while they were at it..."

Mizuko couldn't help but nod in agreement. This would've been more enjoyable if she wasn't the victim of a kidnapping.

"I get that you want to go home. If I had any say in this blasted group, you would've been taken back a long time ago." Inuyasha said.

"I don't want to go home! What made you think that?"

"Your expression. It's pretty easy to figure out." he replied. "I'll get you back home, if you help me with something first."

"Sure. Just tell me what I have to do!" Mizuko said eagerly. She couldn't help but feel excited. The very idea that he needed HER help just added to the crush-like happiness.

"It's nothing too hard. I just need you to help me get into this place I found a while back. It's got some sort of shield on it, and only a human can get through." Inuyasha explained. Mizuko grinned and nodded happily.

"Alright! Will Kouga be coming with us?" she asked.

Inuyasha snorted at her question, reminding her a little of how Seichi used to dismiss her questions. "As if. I can't stand that guy. I'm only in his group because I have no other choice. He was friends with my family before I was born so after they died; I was left to him and his brainless wolves."

Mizuko blinked in surprise. Even he had family issues! If she hadn't known anything except that bit, she might've thought he was human.

"Eat up quickly. We'll leave after the wolves doze off." he said to her quietly.

"I thought they were on guard..."

"Remember what I said about them being brainless? They can never stay awake for very long. Give it two more hours and they'll be out like the dead." he replied with a smirk.

Mizuko laughed a little and then returned to eating. After he left she stared at the almost empty bark tray and then sighed. Home...was that what she really wanted? Did she really want to return to that city...?

I'd been planning all these years to meet Inuyasha...and now...I just leave...? She thought, as if trying to force the answer out of her. Am I really losing anything by staying here...? What's so special about that world...that I'd miss it if I stayed here...? For a moment, she thought of her sister. They were sort of close, but for the most part, they had nothing in common. Tsukiko was definitely the type that could handle being on her own.

‘"I'll protect you...so stop freaking yourself out...." '

Seichi...she thought sadly. I...I wonder what he's up to right now. He's probably celebrating that he doesn't have to baby-sit me anymore...I'm sure he wouldn't care if I choose to stay here. Somehow she was satisfied with that reality and settled back against the tree to sleep. She had a few more hours before she and Inuyasha would have to leave. She gave a small yawn and the world faded away...

The elderly man nearly fell over as he darted back before Seichi’s fist hit the desk. The wood bowed under the force.

“I’m sorry, Seichi-sama, but I’m afraid that it’s out of my hands…!”

“You’re the reason she was out there in the first place!! I told you a thousand times that she wasn’t ready, and still put her name on that damned roster anyway!!” Seichi snapped back. He realized belatedly that his temper was reaching a dangerous level and stormed out of the tiny office.

The neighboring employees watched him storm away with looks of fear on their faces. He recognized most of them from school. The Final Exam had gone better than expected, and no one had died, unless you counted Mizuko.

And of course, these damn idiots don’t have the backbone to go and ask the fuckin’ Taishou to set up a search party! He thought angrily.

“Um…Seichi-sama…?” Seichi turned to glare at the person and saw a timid-looking young woman standing behind him. She had long black hair and dark brown eyes, but her demeanor reminded him a lot of Mizuko. She fumbled nervously with her wire-frame glasses

“Um…the T-Taishou wishes to see you…in h-his o-office…” she stammered, unable to look directly at him.

Seichi growled under his breath and stomped over to the nearest elevator. I liked it better when the ol’man barely managed a phone call once a month. He thought angrily as he quickly hit the button. The elevator jerked and then slowly rose up the floors until he reached the last one.

The hall was dimly lit, with only one door at the opposite end. He walked calmly down the hall and pulled open the door. The inside of the room was darker than the hallway.

“What is it now, dad?” Seichi asked irritably. He purposely slammed the door shut behind him. If there was anything he knew about his father, it was that he demanded respect and secrecy. And those were things Seichi enjoyed disrupting.

His father didn’t say anything though. He remained silent as he stood beside the immaculate window, pouring wine into a glass. He had black hair like Seichi’s, but his eyes were a different color: a musty brown. Seichi was almost positive that he got his eyes from his mother.

The silence finally tore down Seichi’s patience. “Why did you have that nervous-wreak secretary tell me to come up here?! If you have nothing to say to me, then I’ll be on my way.”

He heard the sound of glass shattering. He looked back as a thin stream of red liquid flowed from his father’s hand; he couldn’t tell if it was blood or the wine.

“I wouldn’t have need to if you weren’t causing chaos over that stupid girl.” The Taishou said coldly. “It was her fault for not paying attention. I’m surprised she was only abducted and not slaughtered.”

Seichi’s eyes widened. “…It was you. You’re the one who added her name to the roster.” He said, a bit of horror in his voice.

“That girl’s hardly of importance. It’s better that she was ‘removed’ early.” The Taishou said shrugging.

Seichi’s self-control snapped and he lunged at his father. The Taishou easily dodged his son’s ‘flimsy’ attempt and restrained him, his eyes flashing violently. Seichi flinched in pain and clutched at his shoulder.

“It’s time you learned your place, boy.” He said menacingly. Seichi glared at him, trying to resist his father’s grip. He pulled his arm free and stormed out of the office. If there was one thing he hated more than the old man being around, it was the old man acting like he had Seichi wrapped around his finger.

No one had any power over him, and especially not his father.

If no one’s going to help, then I’ll just have to go and rescue Mizuko myself he thought grimly. Getting around the guards would be a cinch. It was actually finding Mizuko that’d be a challenge.

“…Seichi…?”

He glanced back and saw Tsukiko standing behind him. She looked even worse than when he’d seen her yesterday after the Exams.

“Did you get help?” she asked anxiously. Seichi could tell that she’d hardly slept since he told her about Mizuko’s disappearance.

“No. Everyone seems more content with just erasing her from the records.” Seichi grumbled. That turned out to be the wrong thing to say, because Tsukiko started sobbing uncontrollably. Seichi sighed and tried to comfort her. “Don’t worry. I’m going to search for her by myself. So stop crying, ok?”

She looked up at him. “But…what if something bad happens to you too…?” she asked worriedly.

“Don’t worry. There isn’t a demon alive that’s too tough for me…” Seichi said with a confident smirk.

Tsukiko smiled slightly, but she only seemed half-convinced.

“Now go wait back at the house. I’ll call when I find Mizuko.” He said. She nodded and went back towards the apartment she’d shared with Mizuko. Seichi sighed. At least Tsukiko would be appeased for now.

I hate to see her so upset…but there’s nothing else I can do for her at this point…he thought to himself. Or at least nothing I can tell her anyway…

He sighed again. This guilt was starting to really wear him down. He shouldn’t have taken his eyes off Mizuko for even a second. She had been relying on him to keep her safe, and he had let her down. She’d always depended on him to protect her. Their relationship had always been like that, ever since they were kids.

Mizuko had never been very popular in school, and the boys always picked on her.

“Give it back!”

The group of boys laughed as their leader dangled a doll in front of a little girl’s face. “If you want it so bad, then come and get it, shortie.” The boy taunted. Mizuko looked like she was about to cry as she jumped up to try and reclaim her doll. The boy tossed it to one of his friends and then tripped Mizuko when she tried to follow.

She hit her face on the pavement, and trembled as she tried to stop herself from crying. The boys all laughed.

“Aww. Did the baby fall down and get a ‘boo-boo’?” one teased. Then he let out a gasp of pain and shock. Mizuko looked up as her doll went flying and landed in the outstretched hand of a new boy.

“Stupid kid! No one shoves Akito like that!” one of the standing boys yelled angrily. The new boy glared at them. A look of absolute terror flooded each of their faces and the boys all ran.

He glanced around and spotted the young girl on the ground; his expression softened to one of almost sympathy. “Hey, are you alright, Mizuko?” he asked worriedly. The girl looked up at him, slightly confused. “I’m Seichi, remember? We met at my father’s house almost a month ago…” He saw a flash of recognition cross her face, and he smiled. He glanced down at the doll in his hand and held it out to her. “Here you go. You’d better hurry home before those boys come back.”

Mizuko nodded, suddenly smiling happily.

“Ok. Thank you, Seichi!!” she said with a big grin. Then she ran off.

Seichi laughed quietly to himself; it had been almost 14 years since that day. Mizuko was a lot younger than I was back then, so she probably doesn’t even remember that day at all…he thought to himself as he kicked a crunched can down the sidewalk. He frowned in irritation. The more he thought about Mizuko, the harder it became to shake off the gnawing anxiety. Was Mizuko alright?? Was she even still alive??

I’m sure she’s alright…she may be a chicken at times, but Mizuko’s more than able to take care of herself he thought confidently. She’s probably scared out of her wits though…just hang on a bit longer, Mizuko, I’ll be there soon.

He ran towards his house and grabbed his halberd and a rucksack he’d prepped before going to the SNT Headquarters.

“Master Seichi, where are you going?” one of the maids asked.

“I’m going to find Mizuko. If I’m not back within two days, have Tsukiko moved to the manor. Take care of whatever she needs. I left her address in the kitchen.” He said with more confidence than he should’ve been capable of. Then he sprinted out of the manor and towards the northern gate. It wasn’t as heavily guarded as the other three. As expected, there were no guards on duty.

Using his halberd to launch himself, he jumped over the electric fence and landed on the other side. Then he took off into the forest to find Mizuko…and face whatever else was in there…

"Inuyasha, wait up!!" Mizuko shouted at the demon almost a mile ahead of her. He turned to look at her, silver hair gleaming in the sunlight, and ran back to stand next to her.

"Come on, Mizuko. You act like you haven't walked a mile in your life!" he said incredulously. Mizuko scowled. The walk from her apartment to the Slayer Academy happened to be a mile and a half, and she'd walked that every day since she was four. She groaned in discomfort as she undid the ties of her bone-made shoulder plate. Summer weather and black body suits didn't go well together.

"It's not the distance that's the problem. It's hot, and hiking through a forest isn't exactly the norm for me." She protested.

"Huh. Well I guess that makes sense." Inuyasha said.

Mizuko sighed. At least he was more understanding than Seichi. He would've called her a wimp and tugged her down the road. Inuyasha looked at her for a long moment and then glanced up at the sky. They'd been walking for a long while, and the sun was just starting to set. They'd have to stop soon.

"Fine. We'll go a little further and then set up camp." Inuyasha said. He held out his hand to her. "Come on. Unless you want to end up a demon's dinner."

Mizuko shook her head, blushing slightly, and took his hand, allowing him to lead her through the forest. It was strange, the way he treated her. No one had ever been this nice to her before, or at least not like this.

Maybe staying out here with Inuyasha won't be so bad...she thought, smiling happily to herself. She then glanced at their entwined hands, and the blush that colored her pale face darkened. He'd seemed so rough when she first saw him. Yet his grip on her hand was so gentle, almost nonexistent, and warm. He never seemed annoyed by her limitations, or her dependence on him. Instead, he accepted them, and never tried to push her past her weaknesses.

He's a lot kinder than Seichi. That's for sure... she thought affectionately.

Seichi growled quietly under his breath as he examined the remains of a campsite. It was close enough to the site of the Exam that it might've been made by Mizuko's kidnapper. He spotted something near a large oak tree at the back of the campsite. Curious, he made his way over. Remnants of coiled rope were scattered on the ground and nearby, a smooth sky blue shell, with a coiling circle pattern etched in white, hanging on a silver chain.

Seichi carefully picked it up and turned it over in his hand, almost reverently. He recognized it. Mizuko's mother had given it to her before they left a few years ago. Mizuko never let it out of her sight. He gently shoved it into his pant pocket, and ran off into the forest. He wasn't sure where he was going, or where Mizuko had gone for that matter, but he couldn't seem to resist the strange pulling sensation that led him from one area to the next. Like some sort of bizarre internal compass that was locked on Mizuko.

He'd followed it all the way here, so it couldn't be that off. All he cared about was finding Mizuko unharmed. Everything else was of no concern to him.

Mizuko was precious to him, a treasured friend. She was this first person to care for him, cry for him, who didn't see him as just the Taishou's heir and son. There were times when he wondered if she even knew at all. It was hard to tell from her actions. She never seemed scared of him, or treated him with that almost fearful respect that most people did. Her words...her actions, the way she reacted to anything were genuine. She could never mask her emotions, and he liked that about her. She wasn't restricted by anyone's opinion, and always said what she really meant.

He could tell when she was lying...when he'd taken something too far. That's why she could never know....

Their friendship was such a fragile thing. If Mizuko were to learn the truth, he had no doubt; she would turn away from him. And she was happy with things being the way they were. He'd just have to settle with it remaining like this, so he could still be there with her as long as possible...until it had to end.

Seichi sighed and glanced up at the sky; it was getting dark. Normally he would’ve stopped for the night and set up camp, but chances were, Mizuko’s kidnapper wouldn’t. If he bothered with that, then the distance between them would increase drastically.

He grumbled under his breath and continued on his way.

Mizuko stared at the crackling fire in front of her. She shivered slightly as the cold night air blew over her, and she hugged her knees tightly.

A twig snapped behind her, and she turned in time to see Inuyasha re-enter the clearing. His arms were full of firewood.

“Are you ok?”

“Yeah…just a little cold.” Mizuko replied with a small smile. Inuyasha looked at her for a long while before removing the top layer of his kimono and draping it over her head. She stared at the soft red fabric, and then up at Inuyasha, realizing he had a second –white-one underneath.

“Are you sure? Won’t you be cold?” She asked.

“Nah. This is nothin’ to me.” Inuyasha said with a smug grin.

Mizuko smiled back. “How much further until we reach that base?” she asked.

“Not too much further. We’re a bit off course, so no one finds us. The last thing we need is an ambush.” Inuyasha said.

Mizuko nodded and pulled the kimono closer. “This is…warm. What’s it made of?” she asked.

“Fire Rat Fur. It’s tougher than any human suit of armor.” Inuyasha replied. Mizuko glanced down at the soft fabric. It didn’t feel like armor.

Inuyasha checked the fish near the fire and then handed one to Mizuko. “Eat up. You must be hungry after the long walk today.” He said.

Mizuko accepted it gratefully and took tiny nibbles before giving into her hunger. Inuyasha looked at her for a second with an amused look on his face before eating his own. She ate three before exhaustion began to take over. She rubbed her eyes sleepily before staring at the fire, trying to stay awake.

Inuyasha saw her efforts and laughed. “Go to sleep, Mizuko. I promise nothing will get to you.” To prove his point, he moved over to sit beside her. “I’ll stay right here so no demons attack you.”

Mizuko smiled and allowed sleep to overtake her. She slumped to one side; her head resting on his shoulder. Inuyasha looked at her in shock for a second, before smiling and putting his arm around her.

Seichi squinted as he stumbled along through the darkness. It had been easy for a while, but now he could barely see his own hand. Something moved in the darkness and Seichi jumped back in time to evade a jagged-looking dagger.

“Nyu-nyu-nyu. You’re nimble, for a pitiful human.”

Seichi readied his halberd and took a defensive position. “Urg…where are you?! Show yourself, you coward!!” he shouted angrily.

Damn…I can’t fight easily in the dark…this won’t be fun…he thought, slightly anxious. He searched around, refusing to face any one way for too long. The demon charged from behind, brandishing its weapon. Seichi heard the monster at the last second and leapt to one side. He rolled across the ground and prepared to counter.

“Think you can fight blind, human?!” the demon taunted.

Seichi tried to follow the sound of the voice, but couldn’t’ seem to locate the source. It was like it was coming from everywhere. For a while, it was quiet, until he heard something move and he turned towards it.

“Too slow!” the demon shouted. Seichi let out a grunt of pain as the weapon pierced his shoulder. He swung out, but the demon easily moved away. Seichi slumped to the ground, clutching his bleeding shoulder, waiting for the creature to reappear.

This is not good. The only time I can see the stupid thing is when it’s about to cut my head off! How am I supposed to get the upper hand…? He thought angrily. Mizuko would’ve figured something out by now. She’s not much of a fighter, but she’s good at creating advantages…

“Ow!”

“Seichi-kun?!” Mizuko shouted as she ran over to aid her friend. Her hair was longer, almost to her waist, and she looked like she’d be in elementary school. Seichi was sitting in front of a dark alley way, rubbing a scrape on his cheek. “What are you doing down there? It’s not safe to be out this late…”

HE looked up at her and scowled. “You mean it’s not safe for you. There isn’t anything that could do anything to me…!” he boasted confidently. Mizuko shook her head.

“Well, it looks like something did for a change…” She said as she poked his scraped cheek, making him wince just slightly. “So what are you doing out here anyway?” she asked.

He glanced back down the alleyway and scowled. “A stupid dog grabbed my backpack and took off down there. Problem is I can’t seem a damn thing.”

“Seichi-kun! How many times do I have to tell you to stop swearing?”

“And how many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me ‘kun’?! It sounds weird!!”

Mizuko sighed and reached into her backpack. “Here.” She said as she tossed him a flashlight. “When thing’s are confusing, it helps to shed light on the subject…!”

Seichi’s eyes widened slightly. He hastily reached into his backpack as the demon made another attempt. “DIE!!!” it shouted; its final war cry. Seichi turned swiftly, clicking on the lighter and running it across the monster’s front. The demon let out a cry of pain as the flames slowly consumed the rough, scaly skin. Seichi smirked as he lunged forward, beheading the demon with one stroke. He let out a slow sigh as the decapitated body stumbled about before falling to the ground.

“That took longer than I would’ve liked…” he grumbled, then flinched as a brief spark of pain surged through his arm. He slowly pulled himself up and started walking again. He had to find somewhere to rest.

Seichi stumbled along the road, searching for any suitable place to stop and rest. Though it aggravated him, there was no way he could rescue Mizuko like this. It would only give the demon the advantage.

Then he saw something: a large, run-down building partially hidden behind the trees. It looked like an old Slayer base. He’d heard that there were many such structures scattered throughout the area. This was probably the best place he could find to rest for the night. He smirked slightly and then made his way inside. The interior was dark, and the vegetation had made its way in between stone slabs and metal sheets. Seichi pushed back some overhanging vines and made a grotesque discovery.

Human bones littered the ground, and he could vaguely make out some corpses that hadn’t rotted completely yet.

These people must be the original Slayers stationed here… Seichi thought, trying not to be disturbed by the scene. He had been raised not to bother himself with sympathy.

As he moved further in, he saw more and more demon remains among the human’s. So the base had been attacked, and the humans hadn’t been able to defend themselves.

One thing’s odd, though…there are a lot more human than demon remains. They could’ve easily taken on this many, even as graduates no less… he thought suspiciously. He knelt down and examined some of the bones. Only demon bones showed signs of weaponry damage. The human bones were free of any battle wear. If they hadn’t been killed by demons…then how did they all die?

Slowly he got to his feet and ventured in. From what he could tell, there were not other people around. Solitude…that was something he could tolerate.

He located a rather empty area of ground and mended his shoulder before turning in for the night.

"Come on, Mizuko!!"

Mizuko let out an exaggerated gasp of air as she stumbled over protruding roots to reach Inuyasha. She stood beside him, panting, hunched over with her hands on her knees.

Inuyasha waited for her to regain her breath before commenting.

"Are you sure you can handle this?" he asked skeptically. Mizuko looked up at him and nodded.

"Yeah. I'm alright. Is that the 'base' you were talking about?" she asked, pointing to the structure ahead of them. Inuyasha glanced over in that direction and nodded.

"Yep. That's it." he said, starting back through the forest. "Let's get going. We need to get in, and out, before sunset."

Mizuko looked up at him curiously. "Why before sunset?"

"The base has a weird barrier around it. As soon as the sun goes down, it goes off and demons can get in." Inuyasha said. "That's why we need to go now. Any demons stuck in there would've been killed by the electric waves. You should be able to disable it just long enough for us to get in, so no one can follow us. Simple."

Mizuko nodded in agreement and followed him towards the base.

Inuyasha glanced over in that direction and nodded.

"Yep. That's it." he said, starting back through the forest. "Let's get going. We need to get in, and out, before sunset."

Mizuko looked up at him curiously. "Why before sunset?"

"The base has a weird barrier around it. As soon as the sun goes down, it goes off and demons can get in." Inuyasha said. "That's why we need to go now. Any demons stuck in there would've been killed by the electric waves. You should be able to disable it just long enough for us to get in, so no one can follow us. Simple."

Mizuko nodded in agreement and followed him towards the base. It looked a lot like the old war bases she’d seen in textbooks. The massive steel walls were dull silver and covered in intertwining vines.

It’s…kind of creepy looking… she thought.

Inuyasha stopped just in front of the door. “The barrier is just ahead. You have the pass they give Slayers, right?” he asked.

“Y-Yeah…how do you know about all this stuff?” Mizuko asked curiously.

“Our group lived near the boundary so I used to eavesdrop on the passing Slayers as they went on their missions.”

Mizuko smiled a little before pulling out her security pass. She located a lightly damaged scanner and slid the card through. After a moment, a green light flashed, followed by a loud beep.

“Alright. We have about a minute before it goes back up again.” She said. Inuyasha nodded and led her into the base. The inside was almost identical to the exterior. Vines and other plants had weaved their way through the crumbling foundation and concealed most of the area around them. To Mizuko, it looked more like the interior of an ancient pyramid, rather than a military base.

They made their way through slowly, giving Mizuko a chance to look around. It didn’t take her long to notice the sound of bones crunching beneath her feet. She glanced down and barely prevented herself from screaming.

“Geez, Mizuko. They’re not going to jump up and bite you.” Inuyasha said, rolling his eyes. “There’s nothing scary about a bunch ‘a bones.”

“Easy for you to say!” Mizuko protested fearfully. She stumbled around the remains, clinging to Inuyasha’s sleeve as he led her through the ruins. “How much further do we have to go?”

“I don’t know. This is the first time I’ve ever been in here.” Inuyasha replied calmly. Mizuko’s eyes widened in disbelief, and then she looked around nervously. How were they supposed to find…whatever it was they were after, when they had no idea where they were supposed to go? And how would they get out for that matter? She nearly jumped when a sharp crackle broke through the silence. Her grip on Inuyasha tightened as she fearfully moved closer to him. Inuyasha watched her in confusion for a moment before glancing back they way they’d come down.

“Don’t worry. It was just a surge of power going through the defensive barrier.” He said.

Mizuko looked up at him, unconvinced. Her apartment had been located near the electric wire fence and she knew what a ‘power surge’ sounded like. That was no power surge.

Someone else was in here with them…

Seichi grumbled in irritation as he absently rubbed his burned hand. He hadn’t realized that this base was recently built. It had the standard solar-backup security system.

“And of course, I had to forget my stupid Pass Card.” He grumbled. Without that stupid sheet of plastic, the system wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between him and a demon.

On top of that, the shield acted like a one way mirror. He could see out, but no one could see him. It had been developed so no one could find the base, except those whole already knew, and those who found it at night. OR if you got close enough to see through it, but you would be dead long before then.

Just then he heard a strange ‘slunking’ sound. He glanced up in time to see a large bulbous form slowly move past his current prison. His eyes widened and then he growled quietly.

Not all of the demons were dead…

Mizuko let out a tiny shriek and was practically on Inuyasha by now. “There’s something in here…!!” she exclaimed in a tiny fearful voice.

“Get a hold of yourself, Mizuko. There’s no one in here but us!” Inuyasha protested, looking at her with a bewildered look on his face.

“I’m telling you, there someone else in here!!”

“That’s impossible. You closed the security gate behind us.”

“They could’ve gotten in here before us. You said demons can get in here at night!!”

Inuyasha flinched. He had said that. Damn. It figured he’d set himself up like that.

“Alright. There might be a demon in here, and if there is, I’ll handle it, Ok?” Inuyasha said.

Mizuko nodded instantly. She knew he was more than a match for any demon they encountered. She was just more worried that her bad luck would get in the way. She glanced over, realizing that she was practically attached to his side and instantly jumped back several steps, blushing fiercely. He didn’t seem to have minded-or he hadn’t noticed-and motioned for her to follow him.

They wandered through several long winding passages before entering a large open room.

Inuyasha paused and sniffed the air.

“Heh…There’s a strong demonic aura nearby. It doesn’t seem to be moving, so it’s probably not a normal demon.” He said with a small smirk.

The hairs on the back of Mizuko’s neck stood on end as she glanced over at the other hallways that connected to this room, waiting for something to come out and attack them.

Inuyasha started towards one of the halls and paused, his attention caught by a new scent. Mizuko glanced around as a skittering noise slowly filled the air around them. She glanced around but nothing was there. Inuyasha took a defensive stance, searching for the source of the noise. Then he heard a new sound, then faint rumbling of rocks. His eyes instantly shot to where Mizuko was standing.

“Get out of the way!” he yelled as he grabbed her arm and jumped to the opposite end of the room. The area where she’d been standing suddenly exploded upwards, and a large dark grey spider crawled out of its hiding place. Inuyasha growled as several more joined it.

Huh…only 5, that should be easy enough… Inuyasha thought confidently.

“Mizuko, I want you to stay on the sidelines, ok?” he ordered. Mizuko glanced up at him and nodded. Inuyasha leapt at one of the spiders, his talons poised for an attack.

“Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!!”

Mizuko’s eyes widened as half of the demon’s body fell away. Then she scampered away from a spider that had gotten too close. She glanced back as it struck near her with one of its legs. Mizuko lost her balance and fell to the ground.

“Ow…” she groaned as she tried to pull herself up, and her eyes locked on something in front of her. A recently decapitated demon head.

“AAGGH!!!!!!!!!!”

Seichi’s head shot up as Mizuko’s terrified scream echoed through the base.

She’s here… he thought in amazement. He glared at the electric barricade that kept him from leaving the tiny room. He rammed his shoulder against the shield, barely suppressing a scream of pain as the electricity tore through his body. He tried to force his way through, determined to reach Mizuko in time. The shield bowed a little, and then forced him backwards into the wall.

Damnit. These demons are WAY too strong for Mizuko to handle… he thought angrily.

Inuyasha slashed through another of the demons before grabbing Mizuko’s hand. “Come on!” he said as he yanked her down one of the hallways. She stumbled several times as she fought to keep up with him. They rounded a corner only to run into another group of waiting demons. Inuyasha immediately pulled Mizuko towards him, still holding her hand.

Seichi stared at her through the barrier as they ran into his hallway and then his eyes locked on Inuyasha. That must be the demon that…! He noticed their entwined hands and his face grew warm with rage.

“Damn bastard!! Quit holding Mizuko’s hand!!” he shouted angrily, pounding on the barrier; he ignored the painful shocks he received each time. “Do you hear me?! If you as much as look at her funny, I’ll tear you to shreds!!!”

Inuyasha didn’t’ even glance in Seichi’s direction, and his numerous threats were ignored. He moved Mizuko towards the wall, partially blocking her from Seichi’s view with his body. She nervously glanced up at his grim expression, and then at the demons around them. She was completely at a lost of what to do. Then Inuyasha let out a low growl and he clenched his hands into tight fists.

“The exit is a short distance away from here. Disable the field and get yourself out of here.” He said in a low voice.

“What?! But what about you?!” she protested.

“Look. You’re not strong enough to handle these demons. Just get yourself as far away from here as possible. I’ll catch up with you later.” Inuyasha said. He never took his eyes off the spiders. “When I give the signal, run.” Mizuko let out a small noise of consent as she nodded. He focused all his demonic energy into his hands, which had gained a red glow.

“NOW!!”

Mizuko dove away from him as he turned to the demons blocking her way. “Blades of Blood!!” she let out a tiny scream as he dove away from the blade-shaped red waves of energy. The spider let out a shrill shriek as the blades tore through its body. She dove towards the end of the hallway, narrowly avoiding a spray of blood and chunks of the demons.

With trembling hands she pulled out her Pass and slid it through the slot. She heard a brief beep and then she sprinted out into the forest. After a few minutes she turned back to at the base behind her.

Inuyasha…please be alright…she thought anxiously.

Seichi choked on the kicked up debris as the shield came down.

Damn. Mizuko must’ve disengaged the security system. He thought in annoyance. He covered his mouth with his hand and turned towards the back of the corridor he’d been sitting in, curious now to see if it went any further. He’d let the demons take care of each other. The narrow hall slowly spread out into a large room. Cells with thick glass walls lined each wall, so it was easy to figure that this had once been used to hold specimens that were to be sent back to ‘SNT’ for analysis.

Each one was filled with bones, more proof of the base’s age, but what caught Seichi’s attention was in the center of the room. It was a long sword encased in glass. Interested, Seichi moved closer to examine the weapon. It was fairly old- several centuries no doubt- from the rust and nicks on the blade.

Seichi raised an eyebrow as he looked at the crappy weapon. It was practically falling apart. Why go to all the trouble of protecting it…?

The ceiling crumbled slightly above him and he looked around quickly. The demons’ battle must be getting out of hand in the other hallway. He glanced back at the weapon. For some reason, it didn’t seem right to leave the weapon inside the slowly caving structure. He caught his train of thought and shook his head dismissively.

Why did he care about this stupid sword? It wouldn’t be of any use in a battle. He stared at the weapon for a long while, debating whether or not it was of any use to take the sword.

Finally he sighed and chucked a large horned skull at the glass, which almost immediately shattered. He reached in and pulled it out by the sheath. Sparks flew off the blade for a few seconds before engulfing his hand with painful shocks. Seichi threw the blade to the ground out of instinct, and glared at it.

Now I see why it was in glass…he thought irritably. There was no way he could leave something like this lying around for some demon to pick up.

The nearby wall exploded, and a red-clothed, silver haired, demon fell into a pile of bones. Two large spiders crawled in through the gaping hole. Seichi moved back defensively, and then glanced over at the demon.

He was back on his feet, and getting into an offensive stance. There were large tears in his red cloth kimono, and a bloody gash on the left side of his face. He looked over at Seichi, his eyes locked on his Slayer armor.

“That outfit…are you a friend of Mizuko’s?” he asked.

Seichi scowled, annoyed that the demon was using her name so casually. It figured that demons would have no sense of respect.

“Yeah. I know her very well.” He replied irritably. The demon glanced back in time to dodge a spider’s attack, which reminded Seichi that he was included in this fight now. He jumped away from the other arachnid and turned to see the demon pick up the sword. To Seichi’s annoyance, the weapon didn’t shock him at all.

“Huh. So this is the old man’s sword? Not much of a weapon if you ask me…” he said, examining it with the same perplexed expression Seichi had minutes before.

Seichi readied his halberd to strike, but was intercepted by one of the spiders. The dog demon turned back to look at Seichi. “You distract them a bit, and I’ll deal the final blow.” He said, before channeling energy into the weapon. Seichi grumbled and turned back to the spiders.

“Like I’d ever go along with your plans, demon.” He spat out. Then he charged head-on at the two demons. He sliced through one’s head, and severed half the legs on the other.

“Move back!!” the dog demon warned. Seichi grumbled and turned to snap at him. His eyes locked on the blade and widened immensely. The sword had undergone a complete transformation. It was almost three times longer, and shaped kind of like a fang. A whitish fur concealed the handle. Grumbling, Seichi leapt away from the maimed demons as the dog brought down his sword. Golden sparks tore through the ground, and then through the two demons.

He put up his halberd in a defensive position and deflected the projectile pieces of the spiders. Then he looked back over at the demon. He had already sheathed the sword, and was attaching it to his hakama. Seichi got to his feet, but maintained a defensive stance.

Inuyasha looked over at the man and scowled. “Give it a rest already. I’m not going to fight you.” He grumbled. Seichi’s eyes narrowed, but he became a little less tense. Inuyasha shook his head and walked towards Seichi.

Then he suddenly stopped and looked around, with an anxious look on his face. Seichi froze; a cold shiver running through his body, and his heartbeat escalated rapidly. He’d experienced this sense of dread several times in the past, but only when Mizuko was in danger. Without speaking to the demon, Seichi bolted at full speed out of the base. He knew the demon was behind him, but bluntly ignored him. Getting to Mizuko was all he could think about.

“I can smell Mizuko’s blood. She’s not too far from here!” Inuyasha said. That comment only made Seichi angrier.

“Damnit, this is all your fault! She’s only in danger because you let her go off alone!!” Seichi snapped. “If anything happens to her, I’ll rip your throat out!!” He knew it wasn’t smart to lose his temper like this, but he couldn’t help it. Demons had to be the dumbest creatures on the planet!!

“Like you’re one to talk! If it hadn’t been for me, Mizuko would’ve died back during that battle!” Inuyasha retorted.

“Yeah. She’s so much better off with you.” Seichi said sarcastically. “She’d be safer with a puppy. Not that you much further up.”

“You’re asking for a beating, buddy.” Inuyasha growled.

“As if you could land a hit. You’d have more luck hitting a tree.”

Inuyasha started to protest, but Seichi was too far ahead to hear by then. He leapt over a fallen tree and slid to a halt in a clearing, halberd ready.

“What the hell are you doing? She’s this way!!” Inuyasha shouted. “I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but if you want to help Mizuko, we may as well work together…FOR NOW.” Inuyasha emphasized the last two words. Seichi smirked. A guaranteed chance to bash the demon’s head in. He could live with that.

“Fine. Only until Mizuko’s safe.” Seichi said.

Inuyasha nodded and then took off into the woods, with Seichi not too far behind.

Mizuko ran as far as she could until she collapsed in a small clearing. Her throat was dry and burned every time she tried to breathe. It was a miracle she had even managed to run this far. She looked back the way she'd come, un-nerved to see that no one was there.

Where's Inuyasha...? He should've been here by now... she thought worriedly. Maybe I should go back. I doubt I'll be able to do much, but...it's the effort that matters...right?

"Ok! I'm going!" she said confidently, before starting back through the forest. She stumbled precariously over roots and fallen logs, trying to keep track of her direction. After a short while, she came to a split in the stamped out path. She glanced down both ways, confused. There hadn't been a split like this when she'd come from the base.

Maybe I just didn't notice... she thought. Yeah...that's it! Temporarily convinced, she started down the right path. It seemed like the right direction to go, since the trees looked familiar to her. She must've come this way. She hummed quietly to herself, proud that she'd figured out which route to take.

Then the road stopped; a dead end

The area in front of her was over-run with tangled vines, and branches, and brush that were almost taller than she was. There was no way she could've gotten through all that.

"Uh oh." she whispered, the reality sinking in. She was nowhere near the base, and now she was hopelessly lost. "I-Inuyasha?!" she shouted fearfully, hoping he would hear her. Praying desperately that he was somewhere nearby.

Something responded, but it was definitely not Inuyasha. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as something rushed at her. Before she could turn around, a hand was covering her mouth and a brief sharp pain pulsed through her neck. Then everything went dark... 

"Are you sure you know where you're going?!"

Inuyasha growled under his breath. Seichi had been purposely annoying him since they'd left the base.

"Obviously you don't. Because if you did, we would've found Mizuko by now." Seichi retorted hotly. "Face it, mutt, you've been leading us in circles."

Seichi pointed at a dagger stuck in one of the trees; there were hatch marks in the trunk near the weapon. "You've been going in circles." He stated again. "Whatever took her did this on purpose to confuse brainless demons like you. It's a simple trick even a preschooler can figure out."

Seichi brushed off the threat and started walking. He pulled a small, hand-held device not much larger than a cell phone out of his bag and slowly moved along the trail Inuyasha had been leading them on.

"What the hell is that?" Inuyasha asked suspiciously.

"A portable tracking system." Seichi said, not looking up from what he was doing. "It can catalog, identify, and trace the unique patterns left by an individual. All demon abilities have been conformed into various technologies that Slayers can obtain with ease."

"This is why people like you really piss me off." Inuyasha grumbled. "All you do is kill demons so you can make yourselves more powerful. Why not just turn all humans into demons. It'd save you the trouble of having to round us all up."

"As if we'd want to be demoted to your level, half breed." Seichi said coldly. "Being turned into a demon is the cruelest fate that can befall a human."

He looked up when the machine located a second source of Mizuko's scent. "They went this way!" he shouted before taking off.

Mizuko groaned softly as a drop of water fell onto her face. Still half asleep she grumbled under hear breath and tried to continue sleeping until more splashed on her face. She grumbled again in protest and sat up as she rubbed away the dampness.

It took several minutes for her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting and saw she was in what seemed to be an old cave.

Musty water dripped from the crumbling stagmites above her head and fell into small pools formed by corroding rock. The air was thick and wreaked of still water. Mizuko quickly tried to get to her feet, and, collapsed backwards against a slimy wall.

Her legs were wobbly, and she could barely keep herself up. She dug her nails into the wall -trying to keep herself from vomiting- and forced herself to walk out of the chamber.

There's gotta be an exit somewhere...! She thought anxiously. Dang it, where's Inuyasha?!

She wandered aimlessly down corridor after corridor, trying to find a way out. Occasionally she noticed large amounts of demon bones scattered around her, and her fear slowly escalated. The narrow corridor slowly expanded out into a large chamber. Large piles of corpses surrounded her on every side. The ones closest to her were only bones, and she was grateful it was too dark to see the other piles. One pile towards the center seemed larger than the rest, and she could make out a silhouette that looked almost human.

Mizuko took a deep breath and stalked over to the remains. A large demon that vaguely resembled a grotesque mutated snake made up most of its form; it's still decaying jaws clamped around the body of what appeared to be a woman. Her skin had a brow leathery look, petrified from so many years of being within the cave. Empty eye sockets stared down at Mizuko, and she felt her stomach lurch when she was the gaping hole in the woman's chest.

She turned on her heel and ran back the way she'd come, trying to get away from the remains. She could hear a faint clattering noise behind her, like something was running across the bones in the other chamber. Her heartbeat escalated as she tried to run faster. She didn't dare to look back at whatever was pursuing her, in fear that what she'd seen something that would make her stop.

Her foot caught on a protruding stone and she fell head-first into the ground. Her attacker lunged forward as she struggled to get back on her feet. She looked back and saw a deformed hunched over human. It had 4 extra arms and eyes all over its forehead, much like a spider would. She cringing in pain as the monster's claws dug into her should and she realized with a pang of fear that the demon hadn't moved any closer; its arm had stretched.

Its lips pulled back to reveal large crooked fangs before its neck stretched forward and it bit down hard into her neck and shoulder.

"MIZUKO!!!"

The demon pulled away and turned as Seichi ran towards it, with Inuyasha not too far behind. It grinned gleefully and tossed Mizuko's limp body aside; she crashed into the stone wall and fell into a heap on the ground. Seichi ground his teeth together and ran towards the demon. The monster tried to dodge the attack, but was overcome by Seichi's superior speed. He brought down the mighty axe with the speed of a guillotine and cleaved the demon in half, tearing through bone and muscle with ease.

Inuyasha slid to a halt, staring at the human with a look of shock on his face. He'd seen humans fight many times in the past. But the way Seichi fought, the ease he had cutting the demon down with one blow, it almost seemed inhuman. In fact, it was almost like a...

It took all of Seichi's control to keep himself from losing what remained of his sanity and going on a rampage. He squinted against the red haze that had come over his eyes, trying to regain control. He'd never had it be this bad before. He ran over and gently lifted Mizuko off the ground. Her pale face had a dark pink flush from fever, and burned against his arm where it rested.

As carefully as he could, he started to pick Mizuko up, until she let out a small cry of pain. It aggravated him more than he'd expected. He hated not being able to do anything for her.

"Damnit. This is all your fault, stupid mutt!" he snapped at Inuyasha. "The only reason this happened was because you told her to leave the base!!"

"How does that make this my fault?! She could've gotten hurt back there too, and there were MORE demons back there!!" Inuyasha protested.

Seichi glared at the half demon, until he heard Mizuko's soft pained cry. The panic quickly extinguished the rage and he got to his feet.

"We have to no time for this. I need to get Mizuko to a hospital." Seichi said.

"There is an herb that grows nearby that'll dilute poisons. I'll find it.' Inuyasha said.

"Oh, really? Do you know EXACTLY where it grows? Did you see some on the way here?" Seichi asked sarcastically. Inuyasha didn't answer. "We don't have time to be searching for some random plant. Mizuko needs medical attention NOW."

"This means we also don't have time to get her to a doctor. The next town is at least two days away. Finding the herbs is our fastest option." Inuyasha said gravely. Seichi looked down at Mizuko; she was already looking worse.

"Alright, fine. You'd better know what you're doing, half breed." Seichi warned. Inuyasha nodded and led them away from the cave. Mizuko groaned in pain as Seichi ran behind Inuyasha, making him panic more. After a few minutes Inuyasha stopped them in a small area clear of vegetation.

"Take care of her here. It'll be faster if I go alone." Inuyasha said, and then ran off.

Seichi grumbled under his breath and then looked at Mizuko. She was quieter now, which worried him more. He slowly got down onto his knees and sat her down. He looked at her for a moment, and then gently brushed his hand against the side of her face. It didn't seem like she could even tell. He frowned, and then got comfortable on the ground.

Knowing Inuyasha's mentality, it would probably take him till evening at least to find the herbs. This meant he had plenty of time to kill.

He sighed and then started rummaging through his bag, trying to think of what to do for the next couple of hours, when he heard a faint moaning sound. He glanced over just in time to see Mizuko's eyelids slowly flutter open. He immediately got up onto his knees and went over to her.

"Mizuko. How're you feeling?!" he asked anxiously. He knew it wasn't like him to sound so worried, and the confused look on Mizuko's face confirmed it.

"Cold." She replied quietly. Seichi laughed halfheartedly. She'd always been one to get straight to the point. He pulled out a jacket from his bag and put around her body; he had to lift her up off the ground to do so.

Mizuko pulled the rough cloth closer to her body, and then slumped against Seichi, resting her head on his chest. He was actually warmer to her than the jacket was.

"Why are you out here, Seichi...?" she asked quietly. He looked at her in bewilderment, tempted to bonk on the head if she'd not been injured.

"Why do you think?" he said in annoyance. "I came to get you, what else? You didn't actually think I'd let you stay out here with these animals...did you?!"

Mizuko was silent for a while. "...I...I didn't you really cared..." she answered. This time he did bonk her on the head, but only lightly.

"You really are an idiot, ya know that?" he said. She smiled slightly, and then moved closer to him. It still surprised her that he hadn't tried to shove her away yet.

"Thanks Seichi. For caring..." she said, barely above a whisper.

Seichi looked at her for a moment, and then wrapped his arm around her shoulders, holding her close to him.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Seichi nearly jumped, and he instantly yanked his arm away from Mizuko, which made her fall over. Inuyasha was standing in the clearing, one arm full of leafy plants. Seichi scowled.

"Oh. It's just you." he said, sounding disappointed.

Inuyasha growled and then motioned to the herbs. "We need to find a river or something, so we can clean the wound and stoke the herbs in-"

Seichi chucked a water bottle at the demon's head, and smirked as it almost knocked him over. "Will that work for you, Mutt?" he asked sarcastically. Inuyasha huffed and yanked the lid off and a chunk of the actual bottle as well. Seichi sighed and helped Mizuko up. He took out another bottle, since he didn't want to bother with the demon's mangled one, and dampened a strip of cloth he'd torn from his shirt.

After he'd managed to clean up what remained of the blood, Inuyasha came over to with the medicine. Mizuko looked down at the now reddish brown liquid with a look of nervous disgust on her face.

"Y'mean I have to drink this??" she asked hesitantly. Seichi looked at her for a moment, a bit surprised that she had enough strength left to question anything.

"Yeah. Trust me; it'll help you get better." Inuyasha said.

Mizuko stared at it for a moment longer before chugging it down. She choked on the medicine and made a face as she stared at the now empty bottle. "It tastes horrible!!" she complained.

"It's supposed to dilute poison, not taste like candy." Seichi said bluntly. Mizuko scowled at him, and then yawned quietly.

"I'm gonna go to sleep," she said as she got comfortable on the ground. Inuyasha nodded and then went over to a nearby tree. He looked over and saw that Seichi was still looking at Mizuko with a constricted look of concern on his face. He rolled his eyes and climbed up onto a low branch.

"Give it a rest, human. She'll be fine by morning." He said. Seichi didn't respond, but got comfortable on the ground to sleep. He'd need it for tomorrow.

Mizuko woke up early the next morning, and glanced up at the rising sun overhead. The sky was a colleague of pinks, gold's and blues, and the warm sunlight was barely peeking through the emerald leaves of the trees around them. She smiled slightly and then glanced over at the guys. They were both still fast asleep, and she realized that it was probably from worrying about her the day before. She sighed and then went for the food bag, hoping to find something she could use for breakfast. Cooking was, after all, one of the few things she COULD do without severely injuring herself. Or at least it was for now.

Seichi's eyes snapped open when he heard a loud crash and Mizuko's cry of panic. He sat up with a jolt and looked around the campsite. Mizuko was sitting next to the campfire, shaking her hand frantically, as if to quell pain. There was a long log beside her. Seichi sighed and went over to her.

"Injured yourself already?" he asked teasingly. She looked over at him and pouted.

"I was just trying to get the stupid log in the fire..." she grumbled. Seichi looked over at the log and then at the already blazing fire. It didn't seem like it needed any more fuel. Unless she was planning to burn down the whole forest.

"I have a better idea." He said. He picked up the log and then hurled it at the tree Inuyasha had been sleeping in. The piece of wood collided and split into several large chunks as the tree shook from the impact. Inuyasha let out a yelp of panic and fell out of the tree. "And that's how they invented the Alarm Clock." Seichi said smugly.  Inuyasha got his feet and growled at Seichi.

"Damn it, what the hell did you do that for?!" he snapped angrily.

"You were sleeping too long."

"It's barely morning, you bastard!! Damn! Don't you have anything better to do?!!"

Mizuko watched them argue back and forth. It was like watching someone argue with themselves in a mirror. She'd never thought they'd be so similar.

"Come on, Mizuko." Seichi said harshly as he roughly grabbed her arm and practically dragged her to one side of the clearing.

"HEY! Where the hell are you going with her!?" Inuyasha protested.

"Back to Tokyo of course." Seichi said coldly.

"Did you ever think that maybe she doesn't want to go back??" Inuyasha said angrily.

"That's retarded. There's no reason for her stay out here, except to get killed."

"She isn't exactly safe there either, ya know!! Face it, as soon as they see her, they're just going to send her out on another suicide mission and you know it!!"

"It won't be suicide. She'll be with me."

"LIKE THAT'LL DO ANY GOOD!! You couldn't even protect her doing that stupid TEST!!! What makes you think you could do it in a REAL battle?!!!"

Seichi glared at the demon, and then threw the halberd at him like a boomerang. Inuyasha narrowly missed the blade, and looked back to see it cleave through a tree. "I've been holding back on you, since you were taking care of Mizuko. But if you don't learn to keep your damn opinions to yourself, I WILL kill you." Seichi said coldly.

"I just think Mizuko should have a say in this..."

"Please, Mizuko isn't capable of making a decision like this." Seichi said dismissively. Mizuko's face turned red with anger, and she yanked her arm free from his grasp.

"I can too, choose!!" she protested as she walked in front of him. "And I've made my choice." She turned to look over her shoulder at Inuyasha and then back at Seichi with fierce determination.

"I'm staying with Inuyasha."

"I'm staying with Inuyasha."

Seiichi couldn't speak for several minutes, and stared at Mizuko in disbelief. Then his harsh violet eyes narrowed into a murderous glare, and she flinched, as if she'd been slapped. "Are you out of your god'damn fucking mind?!" he shouted angrily, making her wince again. "This has to be your most idiotic idea yet!! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" His blood boiled inside his veins as he glowered at the girl. Her resolve was beginning to give way -he could sense it- but then it rebounded and she stared at him defiantly.

"You can't tell me what to do, Seiichi." she retorted stubbornly. "I can do whatever you I want, and you can't do a damn thing about it." She'd never sworn before, and it felt weird to force one in. But unfortunately, that was the only way to get Seiichi to listen.

"I can't eh?" he asked bluntly. "Why the fuck do you want to stay out here anyway?! Do you like living like a damned animal?"

"I'm not living like an animal!" she said back, her temper starting to flare. Why were they even arguing about this? He had no right to tell her where she wasnt' allowed to go or what she wasn't allowed to do. He was supposed to be her friend, not her mother.

"Then why are you acting like a bitch?" he asked calmly. Mizuko's cheeks burned with anger and embarrassment. Her hands were clenched in tight fists at either side of her, and she stomped forward so that she was directly in front of him and stared up into his face angrily.

"Bitch? Look who's talking!!" she shouted back at him. "Ever since we were kids, you've done nothing but yell and complain about every stupid thing! And you know what? I'm sick of it. So stop acting like somehow you're better than me!!"

"I'm not trying to act better than you. I'm trying to keep you from getting yourself killed, stupid!" he shouted. That caught Mizuko off guard. She stared up at him dumbly, completely at a loss how to respond. "You're more accident prone than any other person I know. And staying out here is just asking for something to happen." he continued, his anger starting to dissipate a little.

Inuyasha yawned boredly, having lost interest in the fight a long time ago. "Look, this is getting us nowhere. Let's just get going already. I'm tired of sitting here listenning to you two ramble on and on."

"I don't recall asking for your input, dog." Seiichi answered coldly, staring at the demon with disgust. Mizuko sighed and shook her head. When he wasn't givng her a hard time, he was picking a fight with Inuyasha. Everyone always seemed to get on Seiichi's bad side. She was starting to wonder if he even had a good side.

"Look. I'm not returnning home until I find out more about what's going on. There's got to be a reason for the Slayers to even exist, and I want to know why." Mizuko said. "And no one inside is going to tell me anything. So I'm going to try the outside."

"Reality check: there doesn't have to be a reason. Demons are the scum of the earth. Brainless, man-eating bastards that serve no other purpose than to take up space. And in order to keep them from killing us, we kill them. There's no need for an elaborate explanation."

"Well...I don't accept that."

"You don't accept anything."

"Let's just go already." Inuyasha interrupted again. "You're both being--" He paused for a moment, and then glanced around the area suspiciously. Mizuko saw his tense posture and looked around as well. From what she could tell, nothing was going on. There were no noises at all: no footsteps, no rustling, no birds cawing at all...completely silent. Maybe that was what was making Inuyasha so tense.

Then suddenly his head snapped back and he lunged forward, grabbing Mizuko around the waist and leapt backwards with Seiichi close behind as a large mass fell through the trees in front of them. It looked like a massive troll, or at least the body of one anyway. The head had been severed. Mizuko only managed to stare at the corpse for a few seconds before she turned away in disgust, trying to keep herself from getting sick. She didn't have the stomach to handle things like this.

"What the hell?!--" Inuyasha said in disbelief before leaping away, joustling the already nauseous Mizuko as he did so, narrowly avoiding a large flying object. It flew past them for several yards and then turned around, heading back in the direction it'd come out.

"A boomerang?" Mizuko asked out loud. It was the only explanation she could think of. Nothing else she knew of could fly in a that sort of pattern. The large object was caught by a woman as she walked out into their clearing.

She seemed to be only a few years older than Mizuko. with long jet black hair that she kept back in a ponytail, and experienced chocolate brown eyes. She was dressed in an outfit similar to Mizuko's except that her armor plates were a bright coral pink. She held the boomerang-which was about the same size as her- casually in one hand, like it weighed nothing.

"Well...that was easy..." the woman said to herself, seeming unaware of their presence. She examined her kill for a moment, pleased with her success, and then turned to leave only to see Mizuko and Seiichi. "Who are--"

"No fair, sis!" a young boy shouted suddenly coming into the clearing. "I-I saw that one first!!" He was much younger than Mizuko, not even a teenager yet, with dark brown hair that looked black except for where the sun hit. Like his sister, he was also dressed like a Slayer, with green plates. In his trembling hands was a odd looking weapon, a sickle and chain if her memory was correct. Weird.

"Sorry, Kohaku, but you took too long..." his sister answered, smiling at him teasingly. Kohaku made a face, and then glanced over, his eyes locking on Inuyasha.

"W-Wha?! Another demon!!" he shouted in alarm, sounding terrified. Inuyasha stared at the boy with an uninterested expression as he threw the chain at him, and caught the blade with ease.

"Get a'hold of yourself, kid. I'm not gonna eat ya. You're too scrawny." he said, purposely trying to scare him. And he was obviously succeeding. Kohaku squirmed under the half demon's gaze, and then looked to Mizuko and Seiichi for assitance, and was the first to actually notice how they were dressed.

"You two are Slayers?" he asked curiously. Mizuko and Seiichi immediately glanced at each other and then nodded. Kohaku smiled slightly and then turned to the woman. "Hey, Sango! Those two are Slayers!!" he shouted. Sango looked over at them curiously, and then smiled as well.

"Really now?" she smashed her boomerang into the ground and walked over to them, giving Inuyasha a cold look as she passed him. "What brings you two all the way out here, and with him no less. Are you from a nearby base?"

"We're from Headquarters." Seiichi answered calmly. Sango looked startled and then smiled.

"Well...you've traveled quite a distance. Why don't you come with us to our base. It's not too far from here." Sango offered. Mizuko glanced at her two friends and then nodded. "Great. Follow me..." she said, before motioning for them to follow them into the woods. Inuyasha grumbled slightly as he followed. So now they were heading into a Slayer Base full of people who would kill them on sight?

Fantastic.

Ch 8: A History Lesson

Mizuko had seen several bases over the last few days, but this one was nothing like what she'd expected. Most were large rectangular structures covered in steel plating, concealed from sight by highly advanced barriers and roof mounted rifles in case something managed to get by. This place was far from that. It was more like a small town, a nine foot fence of electrified wires stood around the perimeter as its only main protection against the beasts that lived within the forests around them. These Slayers must be extremely powerful if they could live with so little protection like this. Seiichi seemed almost as surprised as she did, but unlike her, he kept any emotions safely beneath the surface where no one could ever see them. Inuyasha was busy growling at anyone who dared to look at him funny. He didn't feel comfortable here, not around so many humans that would have no trouble taking him out. He could fight off a good number, especially with the help of the sword he'd acquired thanks to Mizuko, but he wasn't a fool. Walking into enemy territory like this was just asking for trouble.

Sango occasionally glanced over her shoulder, as if to make sure that the tiny group was still keeping up with her. Kohaku was walking beside her, seeming a bit disappointed that he hadn't been of much use that day. He was still in training of course, but he still wanted to be at least as good as his sister. It was basically expected of him; an unspoken promise made when he first joined the profession. And so far, he wasn't doing such a good job of keeping it.

"Well, here we are." Sango said after a moment, stopping in front of a large mansion like structure. Mizuko's eyes widened and her lips opened a little as she stared up at the building, amazed by the sheer size. It was an impressive size of about three or four floors, and covered about half an acre just with its foundation. The gated area surrounding it was probably another two or three. It was almost as impressive as Seiichi's mansion, and his father was the Taishou. The female Slayer said some words into a tiny box on the stone pillar next to the black iron gates, which then slowly creaked open to allow them inside. Mizuko moved a bit closer to Inuyasha as they walked up the smooth concrete path to the front steps of the manor; she was just as uneasy about being here as he was, though for a probably different reason. For someone to live in a place as elegant as this, they had to be someone of great importance. She was just some run of the mill girl living in a tiny apartment. Sure her parents were famous, but she had to be adopted as far as the rest of the world was concerned.

"Welcome back, Sango-sama, Kohaku-sama." A tall elderly man greeted as they entered the mansion. Sango nodded in response and led them one of the stairways at the back of the entry halls. To Mizuko's surprise there seemed to be several; how many stairs were needed in this place? To someone with as poor directional skills as her, this place was practically a death trap. They got cleaned up and changed before being shown around. Since Mizuko had no extra clothes, Sango had lent her some. She felt a lot more comfortable now that all the blood and dirt had been washed away. Who would've thought that traveling could have such an effect on you?

"Now then," Sango said eventually; they were all sitting in one of the immaculate living room. She lifted her tea cup to her lips before continuing. "What are two Slayers from Headquarters doing all the way out here? And with a hanyou in tow...?" Inuyasha grumbled slightly at the label, but didn't make an effort to complain about it. He'd been called worse.

Mizuko shifted slightly on the couch before replying. "To find out why demons and humans hate one another?" she said sheepishly. Like all the times in the past, she received a dubious stare, and stared down at her feet. Was it really that stupid?

Sango was silent for a long while before responding. "Weren't you taught about that at the Academy?" she asked.

"Yeah, but they didn't give her the answer she wanted." Seiichi said bluntly, receiving a small scowl from Mizuko.

"There...must've been a time when we weren't fighting like this..." she continued quietly. As a kid, whenever she'd whine about not wanting to be a Slayer, her parents had always told her that this war was only temporary; that it would eventually come to an end. But that was all they would say on the subject. Sango looked at Mizuko for a long while, the surprise fading from her face as grimness took its place, and then stared down at the liquid in her cup.

"It's true. There was a time when humans and demons lived moderately peacefully. But that was nearly 500 years ago...I'm surprised that you were never taught about it..." Truth was it wasn't all that surprising. The Taishou wasn't that fond of the old ways. It wasn't that hard to erase parts of history; the only reason she knew was because her family was the keeper of records pertaining to that time. She leaned back against the cushions, debating where to begin. "According to the legends, our land was being attacked by a wicked, powerful demon. Many of the villages were destroyed within a matter of hours. The Taishou at the time learned of a method for sealing the demon away, but, the demons ambushed her palace and slaughtered her before she could complete the spell.  It's said that she entrusted the final piece of the seal to someone before she was attacked. The demon's still very much alive, and continues to attack our towns in hopes of finding that piece and destroying it. That's all I know about it, unfortunately."

Mizuko went over the information in her head, trying to make sense of it all. Seiichi was still sitting silently beside her, and there was something about his expression that bugged her. "What became of that seal? Does anyone know where that missing piece is now?" she asked curiously. Sango shook her head sadly.

"Many have looked for it since then, but it's never been found. The demon is supposedly branded with the mark of that seal, but unless it's found, then the war between our kinds will go on indefinitely."

"Where could we find out more information about this old legend of yours? There's gotta be a record somewhere." Inuyasha said suddenly; it was the first time he'd spoken since they'd arrived here. He'd been leaning against the wall next to the couch, since he didn't feel right about sitting like one of the humans. Sango turned to face him.

"There is a temple further to the north that may be able to help. The seal was supposedly created by one of their people." Sango explained. "If you like, I could escort you to that temple. I know of a route that would provide us with the least amount of detection." Inuyasha snorted at the idea. "Why the hell would you want to help us?" he asked bluntly. Sango let out a long sigh before answering the hanyou's question. "I want to see this war come to an end as much as the rest of you. And I would like to know more about the truth of this legend."

"I don't see why not." Seiichi said after a while. "We could use the help." He himself wasn't one for asking for help, but when it came to Mizuko he seemed to make exceptions. Besides, the sooner they got the answers she so desperately craved, the sooner they could go back to Tokyo and get on with their lives. Sango seemed pleased by his co-operation, and rose to her feet.

"Good. In that case you're all free to spend the night here." She announced, looking at the dog demon as if to silently imply that he was allowed as well. "After dinner, I'll show you to your rooms." They nodded and dismissed themselves to look around before it was time to eat. Inuyasha immediately headed out to explore the acres of land. He wasn't used to being stuck indoors, so he was probably looking for a good tree to sleep in instead of one of Sango's rooms. Mizuko had gone out as well, but she decided to remain in the gardens out back. It was probably the most beautiful place she'd ever seen. Smooth stones led from the porch to the immaculate water fountain in the center of the planters full of different colored roses. She'd never seen so many flowers in one place before. The air around them was full of butterflies and small birds heading for the orchard off to the left a short walk away from the flower planters.

She noticed someone come up beside her and saw Seiichi standing next to her. "Enjoying the view?" he asked quietly. Mizuko glanced over at him for a moment before nodding slowly.

"Yeah...I've never seen anything like this." Then she let out a small laugh. "This must all seem pretty normal to you."

"I suppose." He said after a moment, shrugging his shoulders. Everything was a lot similar to his mansion back in Tokyo, save that there were more people living here. Save for a few servants, he basically lived alone. They both fell silent for a while, the effects of their fight still making things awkward between them. Even though they'd rejoined, they still hadn't made up for what had been said. Seiichi wasn't really one to admit when he'd been wrong, or to apologize for anything for that matter. But there was no reason for Mizuko to; he'd been the one who'd caused the fight. So they were just left in silence, wondering what else they could possibly say. It was then that he remembered what he'd found back at that campsite while searching for her. "Here," He said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the blue shell necklace from his pocket and held it out to her. "I'm sure you've been looking for this..." The auburn haired girl's face lit up as she reclaimed her missing necklace, smiling at Seiichi with a mix of amazement and gratitude.

"Thank you! But...where'd you find it?" she asked eagerly as she clasped it around her neck.

"At some weird campsite; where you met up with that dog, I'm assuming." Seiichi replied bluntly, not caring that Mizuko seemed annoyed by the dog comment. He pushed off the railing, deeming the conversation over, when Mizuko suddenly grabbed onto his wrist. He cocked his head slightly to look at her, seeming annoyed that she'd dared to stop him.

"Why do you hate Inuyasha so much? This can't just be because he's half demon." She stared directly up into his eyes, which was something she normally never did, given the intimidating glare they always seemed to be giving. This time that wasn't present, just two orbs of pure amethyst staring back into hers as he debated how to answer. After only a moment the indecision faded and he let out a small sigh.

"That's the only reason I need." He answered unemotionally. Mizuko was about to pry further when one of the butlers came to tell them that dinner was ready. Talk about good timing. "Come on." He said in a way that said he wouldn't allow any resistance. She nodded silently and followed him in, still unconsciously holding onto his wrist. She knew something else was up with him, but she couldn't bring herself to bring it up again now.

It was late by the time dinner was over, so everyone decided to turn in. Mizuko lay awake staring up at the dark green canopy. For some reason, she just couldn't get herself to go to sleep yet. Everything she'd heard that day suddenly decided to re-enter her mind, leaving her restless and a little afraid. The images of Sango's story were the most vivid. A menacing creature concealed mostly in shadows, and a woman trying everything to defeat him, only to lose her life.

If that demon had been the cause of this whole war, then maybe finishing that woman's work would bring an end to it. If they found that missing piece of the seal, then maybe. Mizuko smiled slightly to herself. She wasn't completely convinced that such a thing was even possible: what if only that woman was capable of unleashing its power. Her hand instinctively went to the necklace, filling her with reassurance. They'd find for sure out once they reached that temple.

Content with that thought, she rolled onto her side so she could stare out the window at the moon, and eventually gave in to sleep.

Chapter 9

 It was around midnight when Kikyo awoke, aroused by the presence of a demonic aura. Her dark brown eyes snapped open and she warily looked around her room, before climbing out of bed and grabbing a jacket from her closet. How was it even possible for a demon to be this far into the city? The security around it was hard enough to get through, and there were Slayers constantly stationed around the entrances in case one got too close. So how was it even possible? Seeing that she had no other choice, she grabbed one of her bows and went to the back door. Kaede and Kagome were still fast asleep in their rooms, so she was going to have to deal with this on her own.

Once she got outside, the aura seemed to intensify to the point that she couldn't tell where it was coming from. It felt like it was surrounding her, all the auras from the neighbors and even her sisters, which were pretty powerful despite their inexperience, were completely drowned out by this ominous presence. She heard something rustling in the bushes, and immediately fired an arrow without thinking. Whatever she'd hit hadn't made a sound, and she was beginning to wonder if it had only been the wind, when a shadowy figure appeared for a second before vanishing over the property wall, taking the demonic aura with it. Kikyo immediately took off after it, following it through the dark and empty streets.

‘Damn...it's heading towards headquarters....'

She chased it into one of the alleys, firing another arrow before it could vanish from her sight again; she saw it hit this time, she was sure that the arrow had pierced its body. The creature's form flickered for a few minutes before fading into a trail of smoke. The priestess let out a small sigh, before putting her next arrow back into her quiver and proceeded to walk towards the street. For such a powerful demonic aura, it had been pretty easy to kill. The outline of a face leered at her from within the darkness, before raising its deformed, scythe like arm. Kikyo let out a strangled cry of pain as it tore through her shoulder, easily slicing through skin and muscle. The pain was nearly unbearable, but it only lasted for a few seconds before the priestess lost consciousness and collapsed on the pavement.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The whole city was a whirl with rumors and nervous glances; a priestess attacked in the middle of the night? It was too horrible to even think about. How could such a thing happen when the city was so well protected by the Slayers. The Taishou bragged about how secure Tokyo was. So how could a demon get inside? Could it happen again?

In his office, the Taishou listened calmly as the council informed him of the details of the attack. They tried to be gentle, as it was well known that despite his hard and often cruel words and laws, the man was not blessed with the strongest of bodies. Too much stress might be enough to make his heart give out in a matter of minutes.

"Is she expected to recover?" he asked calmly after they'd finished their report. There was a brief exchange of glances before one started going through his pile of papers.

"Yes, sir; Ms Higurashi's surgery was a success, and she's expected to be taken out of intensive care later on this afternoon. They've already contacted her family about the attack." He said, reading off said papers.

"Good. I'm relieved to know that the woman wasn't severely injured." The Taishou said, though it was difficult to tell if he really meant those words, or was simply playing the part of a concerned overlord. "And what of my son, Seiichi's whereabouts?"

There was more shuffling of papers. "He was spotted recently going towards one of the Slayer towns near the outskirts of the forest, and the girl Mizuko was with him. Shall we send some men to pick them up?"

"Yes. And when you do, send Mizuko to see me. There's something I'd like to discuss with that girl." He said. The men all nodded, and he then sent them away before going into his private quarters. He went to one of the windows, grabbing a medicine bottle and a glass of water from a nearby table. So many pills, you'd think with his standing they'd be able to find a cure for his annoying condition. ‘The outskirts of the forest...what could that pest possibly want all the way out there...?'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kagome ran as fast as she could down the street, occasionally bumping into people as she went. She had never been the most graceful one in the family. "Tsukiko-chan, hurry up!" she shouted back over her shoulder at the dirty blonde struggling behind her. Tsukiko had moved in the Higurashi's after her twin sister's sudden disappearance, since living by herself had proved too much for her sanity. She doubled over for a few seconds before chasing after the priestess in training once again, narrowly missing the same people Kagome hit.

"Kagome-chan, please wait! The hospital isn't going to get up and leave any time soon!" She protested. Her friend let out a sigh as the crossing light turned red, and she stopped at the curb. Tsukiko doubled over, taking in several haggard breaths while leaning against a nearby lamp post. "I know...you're worried....about...Kikyo...but, do we really...have to run three miles?!" she gasped out between deep gulps of air. Kagome realized how much she was overworking her friend, and patted her shoulder in apology.

"Sorry, I just...I have been able to think since we found out about what happened...I just want to be sure that she's going to be okay..."

"The doctors said she'd recover fine..."

"I know, but, I won't believe that until I see if for myself. If Kikyo says she'll be fine, and she looks like she'll be fine, then maybe."

Tsukiko sighed quietly, and then groaned as the light changed to green. Thankfully this time, Kagome was willing to simply walk the last half mile to the hospital.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Just try to relax, Ms Higurashi. Your sister and Miss Sui will be coming in a few minutes to see you." Kikyo nodded slightly to the doctor as he left, and then stared out the window. She felt really silly right now. She had all the common hospital accessories, an IV, a heart monitor; she even had an oxygen tank handy. You would've thought that she was on her deathbed or something. She just wasn't one for appearing weak. The doctors had spent the last few minutes trying to get her to remember what had happened to her in the alley, but she'd only been able to give them vague answers. After all, the coward had attacked her from behind.

She let out a small sigh, and then turned her head when she heard the door click open. Sure enough Kagome rushed in, with Tsukiko a few steps behind looking pretty winded. "Sis! How are you feeling? Are you in any pain?" her frantic sister asked. Kikyo let out a small laugh before shaking her head.

"No. I can't feel anything thanks to those drugs they gave me." Kikyo answered bluntly. She saw a frown come onto Kagome's face, and let out a weak laugh. She knew her sister hated hearing stuff like that. "Anyway, I'm glad you're here. There's something I need you to do for me: I want you to go to Kyoto; take the car. Mizuko will have to be heading through there soon, and I want you to go find her. There's a scroll in my bedroom on the top shelf, it's tied with a gold string; you can't miss it. Give that to her..."

"But...how, how do you know Mizuko-chan will be even going there? What's going on sis?" Kagome asked in confusion.

"It's too early to give you all the details. Just do as I ask, Kagome. I would've gone myself, but by the time I've recovered, she'll already be past Kyoto."

"Alright, I'll leave now then. Take it easy till I get back, okay?" Kikyo nodded in agreement, and then Kagome headed out of the room. Kyoto was a two day trip by car, and if what Kikyo said was true, then she'd need all the time she could get.

"I'm coming too." Tsukiko interjected suddenly, following behind Kagome.

"No. Someone needs to stay behind to take care of Kaede. She's only seven; she's way too young to be staying home alone."

"But-"

"No buts. I'll be fine. I'll just give Mizuko the scroll, and I'll be back before you know it. Everything's going to be okay."

"Mizuko said the same thing before the Exam."

"And Mizuko-chan is fine. She's just not home at the moment. You're going to have to trust me on this, Tsukiko-chan."

"Fine..." Tsukiko mumbled under her breath. "Then...could you do me a favor as well?" She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small jar of what appeared to be pills. "Seiichi-kun left these back at the house. I've seen him taking them at school, so I know they're important. Could you please give them to him for me? And tell Mizuko I said hi and to come home soon?"

"Of course." Kagome said with a grin before taking the pills. "I've gotta hurry back now, I'll see you when I get back." Then she took off running, leaving Tsukiko to walk back on her own. Once she got back to the house, she headed straight to her sister's room and started feeling around on the top shelf. Finally she felt paper and pulled it down to look at it. "Guess this is it." She said, looking at the gold colored string. After a very hasty packing of suitcases, she hurried to the family car and turned on the ignition. With any luck, she might get to Kyoto right as they were leaving.