just left you standing there and ended up as a lunch menu!"
"I'm a toad demon!" Jaken corrected the girl and turned away. "Besides, I didn't ask you to save me!""Hm!" Kimie crossed her arms over her chest. "Then remind me that next time I won't save you!"
"It was Sesshoumaru-sama who saved us!" Jaken corrected her again. Kimie was cooking. Apparently this guy really wanted it. Well, he was somehow right, but if she hadn't caught him, Jaken would be a thing of the past. The next moment she wondered why she had to help him.
"Oh, think what you want! I really don't care!" She finally snapped. “Apart from that you called Inuki a mutt!” And again Kimie gave a head-butt. "Remember one thing: my dog ​​is NOT a mutt! Sure ?!"
Jaken rubbed his lump and looked up at her angrily. "And if he's a mutt! He's a lousy mutt who ...!"
Another headbutt.
"Shut up! I'm buckled up! You don't like dogs!"
"Dogs are only good for getting fleas out of their fur!", complained Jaken." What else are they not for ... "Suddenly he paused and began to sweat. Unsure, he then turned to Sesshoumaru, who had listened to everything quietly and without comment.
"AAH !!" Jaken immediately knelt on the floor and bowed umpteen times to the youkai. "Sesshoumaru-sama! Please don't get me wrong! I only talked about dogs, not about dog demons, let alone you! Although it's only this dog that I think is completely useless and superfluous! Please believe me!"
Kimie watched the show with a raised eyebrow. Maybe that was a slouch!
> Will there be frog legs tonight? she thought, amused.
Jaken still apologized to Sesshoumaru, who at some point turned back to go. Jaken only noticed a little later that his master had long since left.
"I think I've just shortened my life by 100 to 200 years ..." the toad demon muttered while looking after Sesshoumaru."Well, that wasn’t anything!", Kimie said with an amused smile and followed the youkai, as did Inuki. Jaken pouted. "You stay out of there, human woman! What do you know about it ..." He paused and looked at the bushes in the nearby forest. It rustled suspiciously and a growl could be heard. Jaken swallowed and then quickly sprinted after the group. "Sir! Wait for me, Sesshoumaru-sama!"

Inuyasha, Kagome, and the others were still in the forest now. Kimie was still alive, that was certain until then, but what could Sesshoumaru want from her? That was the question everyone was asking right now.
"That doesn't make any sense.", Sango said skeptically. "Sesshoumaru is unlikely to have taken Kimie with her out of friendliness and willingness to help."
"As the example here proves.", Shippo said and looked at the tree that Sesshoumaru had demolished. Kagome's worries mixed with a touch of anger. "If this guy dares to harm Kimie, he'll be sorry for it!""Mind you, you have no chance against him, Kagome.", Inuyasha interjected with raised eyebrows and immediately caught a venomous look from the girl. "I don't care!" She replied angrily. "And anyway, we should keep looking instead of sitting here and staring holes in the air!"
"Hey! You don't have to yell at me like that! I'm trying just as hard as you to help Kimie!", Inuyasha said and Miroku added: "Each of us wants to help her. So now we better think about how we want to go ahead instead of arguing. "
Then Kagome looked down. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha.", She apologized to the hanyou. "That wasn't directed against you, honestly not."
“It's okay.” Inuyasha could understand Kagome. She was worried and rightly so. "We can easily find out where Sesshoumaru went," he said finally. "Following him won't be a problem.The only question is what we do then. Either we fight or we try some other way to free Kimie. "
"Well, you'd want to fight, wouldn't you?" Shippo asked the Hanyou. Inuyasha grumbled slightly to herself. Always those cheeky remarks!
The others didn't seem sure whether a direct attack would have been a good idea.
"Let's think about it when we've found them." Sango finally suggested and earned a unanimous nod. The group continued walking through the forest with Inuyasha leading the way. A rustling in the bushes suddenly made everyone sit up and take notice.
"What was that?" Kagome asked uncertainly. "There is something."
And in fact a gigantic demon appeared behind a large bush. Shippo stared at him in horror. "WUAH! He doesn't want to eat us, does he ?!"
"Pah! It will be history soon." Inuyasha jumped straight at the monster and reached out to strike with his right hand."Sankon Tessou!"
Shortly thereafter, there were only strips left of the demon.
"I'm sure there are a few others here," Inuyasha guessed.

After a couple of hours of walking, Kimie was visibly tired and therefore gratefully accepted Rin's offer to ride Ah-Un as well. She sat down behind the girl. Over time, however, Rin seemed to be more taken with the tiredness than Kimie, because the little girl was soon leaning against her, sleeping peacefully.
"We're resting here.", Sesshouamru suddenly said whereupon Ah-Un stopped. The dragon sat down carefully, but Kimie could not get off at the moment, because Rin was still soundly asleep. So she sat there and waited. Of course, she could have just asked Sesshoumaru if he took the little one from her, but she quickly dismissed this thought.
> Before he'll do me a favor, I'll probably be able to teach him how to pick up sticks. <, thought Kimie ironically and had to grin at the thought, slightly amused."What's so funny?", The cool voice of Sesshoumaru Kimie brought back to reality. "What? Uh ... Nothing!" She lowered her eyes and tried to distract herself. Suddenly Rin stirred and sleepily opened his eyes. "What's going on?" She asked tiredly.
"Nothing, we just rest.", Kimie replied with a smile. Rin jumped up and climbed off Ah-Un's back. Kimie did the same and Inuki immediately came running towards her.
"Well, Inuki? How about a little game?", She asked the mongrel, while she took off her light-colored jacket and tied it around her hips. In the meantime it had gotten pretty warm.
“A game?” Rin looked at her curiously. "May I watch?"
"For sure." And so Kimie went a little further to the meadow with Rin and Inuki. In the grass she found a stick which she picked up. Rin watched her carefully as she presented the cane to the dog. "So, Inuki. You know the rest of that."
Kimie reached out and threw the stick far away.Inuki immediately sprinted after him and then carried him back to the girl. Kimie threw the stick away again and Inuki ran after him again.
"What is this game for?" Asked Rin, interested.
"Well, it is fun for him and it keeps him fit. After all, he needs exercise." Suddenly Kimie thought if it was not Inuki but Sesshoumaru who would take part in this game. The thought of it had occurred to her earlier, but when she included all the commands like seat, space and so on, she had to start laughing after all.
"Kimie-san? What is it?"
"Nothing! I was just thinking of something." Kimie still had to laugh slightly. She did not notice how Sesshoumaru was also watching this game from a distance. It struck him as strange. These girls threw the stick, the dog ran and got it. He brought it back, then she threw the stick again. Now Rin seemed to want to try and threw the stick too.This time Inuki brought him back again.
"What nonsense!", Sesshoumaru said to himself and averted his eyes.
After a while the game ended and Kimie went back together with Inuki and Rin.
"That was fun!" Said Rin happily and sat down next to Ah-Un. Kimie also sat down and stroked Inuki's head. Jaken scurried around them, busy gathering firewood. Apparently the group would spend the night here, it was getting dark.
So absorbed in her thoughts, Kimie did not notice how Sesshoumaru was now approaching her. She only noticed him when he stood right next to her and looked down at her carefully.
"Is what?" She asked suspiciously. The youkai's gaze fell on the sword that the girl was carrying on her belt. "I thought you could wield this sword," he said coolly. "Why didn't you use it to defend yourself against the demon?"
The question sounded a little sarcastic and of course he was referring to the demon from before.Kimie gave Sesshoumaru a skeptical look. With her sword? Surely that should be a joke !? With that she wouldn't have had a chance against this Jurassic Park-style lizard! She didn't feel able to fight demons who could swallow a person with a single bite.
"Well, maybe because this beast was a size too big for me and I wasn't necessarily eager to end up on today's menu?", She inquired back and looked at the youkai slightly defiantly. Sesshoumaru kept the cool expression in his eyes and then turned back without a word.
> What was that supposed to mean? Kimie wondered, a little confused.

It was some time before night fell, but it really didn't look as if the group would continue on their way today. Kimie could only please. She had certainly never been as tired as she was today. Rin, on the other hand, obviously had a lot of fun with Inuki.Kimie watched and smiled. How good that Inuki was so fond of children. Jaken poked around in the now lit campfire, Ah-Un dozed peacefully next to it. Kimie was leaning against a tree and her gaze wandered slightly to the side and then up. Sesshoumaru was sitting on a branch in the neighboring tree. Kimie couldn't tell whether he was already asleep and she didn't really care.
When night finally fell it was so quiet that you could have heard the smallest sound. Rin had snuggled up against Inuki and his soft fur kept her nice and warm. But the night was generally very mild and pleasant. Jaken snored next to the now extinguished campfire, as did Ah-Un. Sesshoumaru had not left his resting place and Kimie was still leaning against her tree and sleeping.
In the middle of the night Inuki awoke from his sleep and raised his head. His ears pricked up, he listened for