A/N: Hi Everyone! I hope you're enjoying the fic so far. There's some more magic theory in this chapter so if it doesn't make sense, please let me know...P.S. I'm so excited that new Slayers has been released and am working my through it now.

And, as always thanks for your reviews!

Timeline:

The Slayers takes place two years after Try. Lina is 19.

Inuyasha takes place while Kagome is 17. She is still dividing her life between her present and the past. The group is still after Naraku.

Disclaimer:

I do not own Inuyasha or The Slayers.

The Lesser Kindred

Chapter 14: The Morning After

By the time that Lina Inverse opened her eyes again, sunlight was streaming through the curtains. She pulled the blankets up to her chin and snuggled further underneath them. Her body still hurt from the night before. In fact, she still felt exhausted even though she probably spent the last ten hours or so in a coma like state. Hell, she didn't even think that she would be able to get out of bed this morning. Besides the linger pain that would flash along her nerves every once in awhile, there was also the fact that she was nauseous. While her body felt like it went ten rounds with a dragon, her soul felt like it had been stretched too thin, chewed up and spit out.

The thought that her magic wasn't going to work for at least a few days settled into her head.

She scowled. Xelloss was such an ass. He could have maybe warned her or something about the lingering consequences. What happens if Naraku attacks next week and she can barely lift a finger? Didn't Xelloss think that maybe that would have been something important to mention?

As soon as she was at full power again she was so going to kick his ass.

No, scratch that. She was going to kill the little shit.

Lina rolled over onto her side and almost yelled at the sight of another person in bed with her. A second later, she realized that the lump underneath the blankets was Gourry. It was obvious considering how recognizable his golden hair was. His blue body armor lay not too far away piled in a lump in the corner. If Lina had to guess, she would say that he was sleeping in the white undershirt and his shorts that he wore underneath his blue outfit.

Through the pain and haze of the sluggish memories of last night, she vaguely remembered asking him to stay. She slightly smiled to herself; part of her didn't actually expect him to do it. But here he was, sleeping beside her. Now, any other morning if she had woken up to this she was sure she'd kick him out of the bed and yell at him for taking advantage of a sweet girl like her. This morning though, she just didn't have it in her (and there was a good chance that the mere movement would result in her puking up whatever was left in her stomach). Besides, the guy did stay all night like she asked.

Lina was half tempted to take a hint from Gourry and go back to sleep. Unfortunately, the sunlight streaming through the window was very bright and a good indicator that she had already slept through most of the morning. She groaned and flipped over to her back once again. If she was lucky, someone had already started breakfast or more like lunch. Her stomach churned a little at the thought. Perhaps food was not the best thing right now. Maybe she'll take a cue from Zelgadis and settle for a cup of tea only.

She shifted uncomfortably against the sheets trying to ignore another twinge of pain. At least these linger effects seemed to come in short spurts. If she's lucky, they might even go away completely sometime today. Lina tried not to frown as even herself scoffed at that idea.

She really was going to kill Xelloss.

After lying still for another few minutes, Lina decided that while she really wanted to lie in bed all day, which probably wouldn't be a good idea.

Gingerly, she sat up and was surprised how chilly the air was against her skin.

Her skin.

Lina froze as if her realization that she was naked would be enough to wake up Gourry. She let her gaze slowly creep over to him to see that he was still on his side with only his mane of hair facing her direction. On second thought, maybe she will give Gourry a good beating for crawling in bed with her.

Lina crept out of bed and softly as she could. Careful not to wake Gourry in the process and give him a full view of her almost naked body (as she moved, she realized that at least she was still wearing panties). Cause then, she would really have to hurt the guy and she wasn't sure if she was up to it this morning. Unfortunately, every move she made hurt and her cloths were nowhere to be seen.

Looking over to closet on the wall across from her, she took in the heap of red and white clothing. Hopefully, the nice Kaede lady won't mind Lina just borrowing one piece for the day.

Now that a new outfit had been chosen, all she had to do was get there. It was only about ten feet away - how hard could that be? Once off the mat, she stood up on her wobbly legs only to stagger into the weapons rack that was against the wall.

There was a loud clatter as the wooden swords knocked together. She bit her lips sure that Gourry had woken by that sound. There was a rustle of blankets from behind her. Lina turned her head expecting to see him sitting up and gaping at her. To her relief he had just flipped over onto his back.

Lina counted her blessings and continued forward, steadying herself on the wall as she moved on. Her legs slightly shook but she was not going to give up. Not when she was this close. After all, there was no way in hell she was going to ask Gourry to get one for her. That was an embarrassment that she could do without.

She grabbed one of the white kimonos only to have her legs go out from beneath her.

Lina couldn't help the yelp that came out of her mouth as she crashed to the ground taking the item of clothing with her. She laid still for a moment trying to catch her breath. A groan escaped her mouth as she realized just how much the fall hurt.

"Are you okay?" Damn it, and now Gourry was up as well. Isn't that just great.

Lina tilted her head back to see Gourry sitting up in bed looking concerned. His hair ruffled from sleep but still looking rather alert for just waking up. He seemed very careful at keeping his gaze locked on her face making Lina once again aware to the fact that she was wearing nearly nothing. His eyes flickered towards her chest and he pulled his lips together tightly. Lina reached for the white shirt that was sprawled haphazardly on top of her and adjusted it so it covered most of her, or at least her tits.

"Let me help," he said moving towards the end of the bed.

"No," Lina replied rather forcefully. "I can do it myself."

"Lina," he chided. "You could barely walk over there."

"And how do you know that?" she shot back.

Gourry's face reddened and Lina had a feeling that he had been awake the entire time. She opened her mouth to yell at him but he had already closed the distance between the two.

"Look," he said. "If you need to yell at me, can't it wait until you feel better? Cause right now, I think you need to concentrate your energy on more important things and take help when it's offered to you."

Damn Gourry for picking the most inopportune times to be insightful.

She huffed at him but turned her gaze the other way.

He stood up and pulled another one of the white tops out of the closet.

"Why am I practically naked?" Lina asked with bit of menace in her voice.

She could see Gourry flinch at her words. It was then that Lina became aware that she was still sprawled on the floor with Gourry almost standing over her in his light blue shorts and white shirt. Hmm, if she tilted her head the right way, she might even be able to see up those shorts.

Bad Lina! It was not the time to be thinking thoughts like that.

"Your cloths needed a good cleaning after last night," he said bringing Lina out of her inappropriate thoughts. He pulled the shirt off the hanger and Lina tried not to scowl at him as he did it with all of the ease that she had lacked.

Gourry stepped over to the side and knelt down next to her. Pulling the shirt tightly to her chest, Lina fought to sit back up. After a few attempts, Lina had to admit to herself that she was going to need help. Shit, this was so embarrassing.

"Um…. Can you -" thankfully she didn't have to finish that sentence as Gourry seemed to read her mind. He wedged his hands around her back and helped her into a sitting position. She gave him a small smile in thanks as there was no way in hell that she was actually going to say the words.

"So, ah…. How do you want to do this?" he asked gripping the shirt a little harder then what was necessary.

"If you hold it up I should be able to slip my arms through," she said after a moment trying to control the blush that was creeping onto her face.

He held the shirt out as Lina had instructed. Lina turned her back to him and was able to slip her arms through without too much pain. Once both arms where through, she let the makeshift cover-up fall to her lap.

Lina frowned as she closed the front. It was rather big. Hell, it made her look like a little girl playing dress up. Thank goodness she was still wearing her underwear from last night because she didn't think there was anyway that those pants were going to fit and she did not want to go anywhere without something covering her ass. Gourry found something to secure her waist and gently tied it around her. Once finished, he got back onto his feet.

"I'm sorry Lina," he said. "But I don't those pants are going to fit."

It looked like the guy was reading her mind.

"Maybe we can find you something else?" he half suggested, half asked.

Lina just weakly nodded back at him and tried to get her legs to stand up. Gourry had to help, again. It was getting sickening. There was no way that she could continue to rely on the guy like this. What would it do to her reputation?

She weakly pushed him away and took a few tentative steps. The going was slow, but thankfully, she could do it by herself. At least the shirt she wore was long enough that it almost went down to her knees. She wasn't sure if that should make her happy or mad. Instead, she settled for just being relieved.

Gourry walked a little ways behind her. Stopping by the bed, he quickly pulled on his pants, but did not bother with the blue long sleeve shirt he normally wore with them. He still made it to the door before her and slid it open.

From the look of the main room, everyone was up and outside already. Mats were folded along with blankets and stuck in a corner. Lina glanced at the other bedroom to see that the door was open and the room was vacant. A fire had been lit in the kitchen area and the entire room smelled as if something had been cooking. Her stomach gave a painful churn that only instilled in her mind that food was currently not her friend.

Gourry made his way past her to the front door. He waited for her to hobble to him before holding it open for her. Almost as soon as she stepped out into the day, voices in conversation could be heard.

Zelgadis, Amelia, Miroku and Sango sat around a small fire with what looked like the remains of some sort of meal on a table to their left.

"Lina!" Amelia was the first to notice her. She jumped to her feet and ran over to the red head. Amelia went in for what was going to be a rather forceful hug before Gourry stopped her. "You're still hurt?"

"I'm fine, just weak," Lina responded but the waver in her voice betrayed her words.

"We were so worried," Amelia continued gently taking her arm and helping her over to where the others sat. It was somewhat less embarrassing for Amelia to do it rather then Gourry. "Zelgadis almost had a fit when you returned. I'm surprised he didn't destroy half of the forest in rage looking for Xelloss."

"Ah gee Zel," Lina smiled. "I didn't know that you cared."

Zelgadis snorted in response, but Lina was fairly sure that there was a look of concern on his face.

"He wasn't the only one," Sango said from where she sat petting Kirara. "You were not in the best of shape when you returned."

Lina almost collapsed into the grass next to Zelgadis. Amelia sat on the other side, but Gourry remained standing. What Sango had said was a gross understatement. Shit, considering she knew that she looked pretty damn awful now, she didn't even want to think about what she looked like last night.

"Well, I'm fine now," she replied.

"That's bullshit and you know it," Zelgadis replied rather forcefully. "What you did was perhaps one of the most foolhardy things you've ever done. Which is saying something considering how many stupid decisions you've made in the past."

"Excuse me?" Lina probably would have shouted if she felt better. Her deal with Xelloss had not been stupid. Sure, she might have gotten hurt and she's pissed as hell at him, but it was not a stupid decision. "Like you're one to talk Zelgadis; Mr. I let my body be a science experiment."

"Oh, nice of you to act so grown up Lina," Zelgadis replied crossing his arms.

"Now come on you two," Amelia said. "Arguing about this is pointless."

"They almost sound like Kagome and Inuyasha," Sango whispered to Miroku out of the corner of her mouth.

"It had to be done," Lina stated choosing to ignore Sango's words. "I told you before we're not going into this battle half cocked. I am so sick of that! If we can get Xelloss to be straight with us from the beginning instead of him talking around us in circles - it's more then worth it. I am not repeated the mess we had with Valgaav if we can avoid it!"

Zelgadis gave her a dry laugh. "Cause the stakes are so similar."

"You know what I mean," she insisted. "It was a mess, when we weren't fighting Valgaav, we were fighting Xelloss or we were fighting Armace. No one had a clue to what the hell we were really fighting for and when we finally figured out what was going on, we were almost completely fucked! If I can avoid that this time around, you better be damn sure that I'm going to try to."

"What are you guys fighting about?" Lina looked up in the direction of the female voice that came from the trees to the left of her. "I could hear you long before I could see you."

Kagome walked out with Shippo perched on her shoulder. Inuyasha followed not to far behind them. Come to think of it, Lina hadn't seen them yet this morning… Granted she hadn't been awake for long, but still there wasn't a whole lot of places to go.

"Zelgadis is just trying to play big brother when I don't need one," Lina huffed.

"It should have been me," Zel replied. "I'm the one who needs the jewel. I'm the one who got us into this mess. You shouldn't have to suffer for it."

Lina almost laughed aloud but instead settled for shaking her head. She should have know that that was what was really bugging Zel. While he would never admit that he was a selfless guy, he really was. All of his talk about going off and finding a cure on his own - of not bothering others because it was his quest - it was all a mask. Zel hated when other people got hurt on his behalf. Of course, it was different when he was the one doing the hurting.

"Stop it," Lina gave him a firm stare. "We're friends Zel, and that's what friends do for each other. You know damn well that Xelloss would have never offered the deal if it was you on the other end. He would have never accepted those terms."

"But that doesn't mean that you should -"

"Enough," Lina stated as firmly as she could. Zelgadis clamped his mouth shut almost immediately. "You have helped me - us - out more times then I can count in the past. It's about damn time that you let me do the same for you. You are not going to spend one more minute longer then necessary in that body of yours. Not one."

Zelgadis continued to stare at Lina. He was still mad; she could see it in his eyes. But you know what, Lina didn't care. He was acting stupid and Lina would bet anything that he knew he was being an idiot as well. Lina stared right back at him. Challenging him to say something else on the subject. Just let him try, there was no way he would be winning this battle of words.

Zel finally turned his attention towards where Amelia was sitting.

"Don't look at me," Amelia said crossing her arms. "I firmly agree with Ms. Lina on this one. So, stop sulking and just accept our help. If this deal of Lina's helps us get the jewel, then it was worth it. And you know what, I would have made it to."

Those were some words coming from Amelia. The girl wasn't one for making the difficult dark decisions that would undoubtedly lead to pain. How did she ever expect to lead a kingdom when she tends to think that everything is bunnies and roses? For a matter of fact, Lina was somewhat surprised that Phil has lasted for so long when he pretty much shared the same mindset as his daughter.

"I'm going for a walk," Zelgadis muttered getting up to his feet. He stalked off into the woods without an other word. Lina was half tempted to shout after him but decided not to waste her breath. He was a big boy and could handle himself.

Gourry took Zel's vacated spot next to her. His leg rubbed against hers making her realize that he was sitting closer then necessary. She shot a glance at him from the corner of her eye. He was munching on an apple that he had grabbed from the table that stood not to far away. She was surprised that he wasn't cramming it down in a split second like normal. His eyes met hers and Lina looked away as quick as possible. Perhaps he didn't notice that she was staring.

"Do you want some?" he asked offering the apple to her in his hand. He had taken only two bites out of it.

Lina shook her head in a definite no.

"Why does he half to be so difficult?" Gourry asked after taking another bite.

"Well, that just Zel for you," Lina sighed. It was definitely one of Zel's more irritating personality traits. The guy was practically family; hell Lina preferred him to her actual family - even with his sour deposition. Then again, he was nowhere near as sour as her sister. Just thinking about her made Lina shiver. "Is there any water for tea?"

"I'll heat you up some," Amelia said getting back to her feet. Lina was about to tell the girl that she could do it herself but decided that would probably not be a good idea. Now that she was off her feet, she wasn't sure how long it would be before she could get back up. Lina tried not to let the implications of that get to her head. If she could barely walk now, that meant that trying to do any sort of spells would most likely cause her to collapse. She probably needed at least a weeks worth of rest before she would be able to cast any heavy spells again.

Lina frowned. She didn't even want to consider the possibility that the next battle would happen before she was fit enough to put up a fight. Xelloss had tried to assure her last night that it wouldn't, but it still did not sit right in her stomach.

"So Kagome," Amelia said from where she preparing Lina some tea. The girl had just used magic to heat the water up and was now blending together leaves of some sort to brew. "I was a little surprised that you were already gone by the time I had gotten up."

"Um, yeah," Kagome replied giving Miroku a side glance. "You know, things to do."

"I see you tracked down Inuyasha," Miroku commented. "Was that before or after you went to the river to bathe and meditate? Because I would have been happy to keep you company if you needed it."

"Miroku!" Sango almost shouting as she threw a rock within easy reaching distance at him. "Now is not the time for you lewd comments. And besides, Shippo was with them."

"Nah-uh," the kid pouted. "Kagome left without me. Again. I had to sit and wait by the well for her to return."

"I'm sorry Shippo, but even I need my alone time every once in awhile," Kagome said choosing to ignore Miroku's comment.

Amelia joined the group again and handed Lina her tea. She took a tentative sip only to realize that it was hot. The liquid was out of her mouth and spit back into the cup before she even realized.

"Nice Lina," Gourry said. "How very lady like of you."

"Shut up," she muttered as she mentally added her tongue to the list of things that hurt.

"Sorry," Amelia apologized even though it wasn't her fault. Tea was supposed to be hot after all. Lina smiled at her letting her know that it was nothing to worry about causing the girl to smile back at her.

"I was thinking we should do some training today," Amelia said to Kagome.

Kagome's training into the world of shamanism and white magic was going rather well. Even though they had only been traveling together for a couple weeks, there had been a significant amount of progress. The first few days, Kagome's spells had come off flaky at best. Sometimes they'd work but most often, they had fizzled out and died. However, after Kagome's few weeks of work with Amelia, Lina had already seen Kagome's improvement. And with each day that had followed after, Lina had become more impressed at the girl's natural talent.

With enough practice, Lina didn't doubt that Kagome was going to become a talented sorceress.

Lina ended up looking for Kagome and Amelia later that afternoon while they were training. Her body was so weak that even the thought of her normal routine of picking up a sword and working with Gourry made her want to collapse. Even if she could have found the energy to pick up a sword, no doubt the next twinge of random pain that ran though her body would probably cause her to impale her foot or something. She rather liked her body parts without holes.

Meditation would do her some good right now anyway.

After last night, her soul still felt like it was in shreds. Having Gourry hanging out with her for most of the afternoon was a great distraction. Between him and Inuyasha, she was distracted enough that she was able to take her mind off what had happened last night. But now that they were busy doing boy things, Lina was left alone with her thoughts - and that was not good. Even the few moments she spent thinking about it now was enough for the fear to start to set in. It was enough to make her skin start to itch and her breathe start to quicken. Lina really needed to center herself and tune in with her magical core before she lost it.

She hated feeling this weak.

Knowing that her magic was not at her call unnerved her more then she wanted to admit. The fact that it felt as though it was torn away form her made her feel lost. She felt unnatural and out of place.

Lina rubbed her hands along her arms in attempt to ease some warmth back into them. Goose bumps had formed on her skin despite the fact that it was a warm day out. She shook her head in an attempt to change her thought cycle.

Okay Lina! No more depressing thoughts!

Taking a prolonged deep breathe, she continued forward.

Unfortunately, she only made it a few steps before her foot wedged itself underneath a root. Her arms flailed around in an attempt to steady her. She hooked her arm around a tree branch and caught her weight before she went crashing to the ground.

Gourry had offered to help her on her journey to find Amelia and Kagome, but she had shrugged him off. Perhaps, that had been a bad idea.

If she tripped over another twig, she was going to snap.

Thankfully, they weren't too much further away. Lina found them sitting in a clearing next to the river that flowed nearby Kaede's hut.

Neither of the girls noticed Lina's arrival (even with all of the shuffling and grumbling) and she practically collapsed into the grass when she got there.

Sighing, she stretched out and laid down.

Lina didn't normally join Amelia and Kagome for training; usually she worked on her swordsmanship with the guys during this time. It wasn't that Lina didn't want to help; she just didn't think that she would be able to do a whole lot. After all, her specialty was in black magic and due to Kagome being a natural channeler of white magic - there wasn't much use for Lina. Amelia insisted that Kagome had a powerful tie to the healing and purification arts. Far stronger then Amelia herself. With that type of connection, learning black magic would not only be difficult but also almost painful for the girl.

It was best to think of magic like a spectrum, white on one side with black on the other. Most people are born into the spectrum of magic somewhere into the middle and will eventually gravitate towards one direction or the other. However - the further down the spectrum one goes, the further away the other end becomes. The better someone gets at practicing light spells, the more difficult dark ones become and vice versa.

Lina was steeped in the black end of magic. She had trained her magic core to be able to accept the darkest of energies and once her core had been trained to do that, the white end of the spectrum was out of reach. It was why Lina stayed away from a lot of the white magic. Once she tuned her core into accepting the dark, white magic was no longer compatible with her energy. The few white spells that Lina does know, she learned the hard way.

It had taken a long time and a lot of meditation to learn the few white magic spells in her arsenal and not to mention it had been very dangerous. If one was not careful, they could burn themselves out and die from magical exhaustion. The few white spells that Lina had learned where important enough to take the risks and she had been careful enough that the chance of doing permanent damage was slim. Quite frankly, Lina didn't think that it was worth it to try to learn the whitest stuff like purification. She was quite happy with her range of the dark and shamanism. There was no need for her to try to include anymore light spells then the important ones, like healing, into her arsenal.

Even Sylphiel, despite her ability to cast the Dragon Slave, can be applied to this rule. Lina had asked her about it before, how she had been able to learn the Dragon Slave when she was clearly a priestess of the light. Sylphiel had taken a big risk with teaching her core to be able to handle that spell. She could have easily killed herself in the process. But - just because she had been able to learn the Dragon Slave did not mean that she could wield other dark magic. This was evident in the fact that the girl was terrible at any other dark spells - even a fireball.

Shamanism was different. While black magic comes form the Mazoku and white magic comes from the Gods, Shamanism comes from nature. It in itself is not associated with the black - white magic spectrum and is a separate entity. Zelgadis's forte was Shamanism. Zel often floats between the light and the dark spectrum as he isn't tied to either end. But he could never have the power that Lina has with dark, nor Amelia has with Light. Although, he probably could do some of the heavy spells if he put his mind to it. That guy could be scary when focused.

All in all, it meant that Lina wouldn't do much good in Kagome's lessons.

Lina sighed and let herself focus on what Kagome was working on. Even if she couldn't be much help, she could still offer some general advice. Lina had plopped herself down maybe about five feet away from where Kagome and Amelia where sitting. But even at that distance, she could feel the energy shifting around the Kagome and flowing into her. The girl really would be something in a couple of years.

Amelia's voice drifted in the air almost lazily. From the sound of it, Amelia was deep into channeling her magic as well.

"The arrow that you hold in your hand is just an object. The energy it posses is only stagnate. Shamanism will bend that energy to your will. Feel your magic flow from yourself and into the arrow. Watch as it faintly glows pink as it accepts the purification energy you are giving it. The more you give it, the brighter it glows."

Lina cracked her eyes open and looked at Kagome. She hadn't noticed the arrow sitting in her hands when she had first laid down. But to be fair, she wasn't really looking for it. Kagome had said before that she channeled her purification spells into her arrows. Amelia had said as well that working with Kagome on that technique was a good place to start. It was a spell that Kagome had already been using and had proven to work in battle. If Amelia could help Kagome gain consistency and strength in this attack, the benefit to her would be astronomical. There was a good chance that an other battle would happen soon, and Kagome did not have time to learn any of the big spells. It best was to hone in and improve an ability that she had already been putting to use instead of trying to teach her something like the Rah Tilt.

Lina closed her eyes and shifted her senses away from Kagome; changing her focus to the problems that lie ahead. Lina had to be ready as well in case a battle sprang up, and her condition right now was anything but such.

There were two Mazoku to currently worry about. The fight with Succhii had been, as much as it pained her to admit it, pathetic. Damn it she was out of shape. She hadn't had to use heavy black magic in a long while - not since the fight with Valgaav and Darkstar. And at that time, she had been in her prime. Lina groaned, the last two years of Mazoku inactivity was definitely coming back to bite her in the ass.

She clearly remembered the last time she had cast the Ragna Blade - the force of the power that had coursed through her hands and had filled her. Not to mention the headache and nose bleeds that had followed soon for days after. Was she even up to casting a spell of that nature again? Would she even be able to survive something like that?

In the state she was in now - probably not.

Oh, she knew the right words and how to open her body up the energies. Lina knew the motions needed to go through it and she knew that she was fully capable of doing it. But powerful spells were like talents. For instant you might have spent four years of your life drawing everyday and then not pick up a pen for a whole year. Sure, after that year when you pick up the pen you can still draw - but you look at your work and you see the differences. Lines and shapes don't come as easy. The people or trees or whatever you are drawing don't have as much life in them.

Magic works the same way. Her body isn't used to the heavy stuff.

Lina ran a hand through her hair. What a fucking great time to be out of shape.

For the first time in a long while, Lina wished that the past two years of her life had been a little more dangerous.

Amelia and Zel had it easy. White magic and Shamanism didn't take as much of a toll on the body as black magic did. The bodies' strength to handle the difficult spells such as the Rah Tilt could be maintained through mediation. Amelia and Zel meditate often, while Lina…not so much. Oh meditation helped the mind of the black magic practitioner, but the body had to be channeling the dark energies regularly in order to withstand it.

With those thoughts, Lina drowned out the noises from Amelia and Kagome and slipped deeper into her mind. While her body might not be ready for a spell such as the Ragna Blade, her mind would be. Lina focused on the energy swirling around her.

Lina sought out the negative energy that the Mazoku were so fond of and channeled it into her body. It wasn't peaceful like white magic and it didn't feel like Shamanism. No, it was like a raging floodgate that had to be controlled. If one couldn't control it, the energy would slip through your fingers or worse, it would be released in an uncontrollable mass and destroy that around you. The larger the spell, the more potential for damage it could do if it ever went out of control.

So there Lina sat, focused in on her own mind. She channeled the dark energies in preparation for what was to come. Lina reinforced her mind seeing how much she could take in, a practice that she hadn't done in two years. The last time had been not long before she had gone into battle with Darkstar. And, as Lina sat there preparing, she tried to keep the thoughts out of her mind that came in with the darkness. The pain, despair and hate that whispered to her. The cold and loneliness that was so similar to what Xelloss had overwhelmed her with last night. Lina was under no pretenses; she knew what Xelloss had done to her and the simple fact that she was doing it to herself right now. He had drawn negative energy from her and had feed off of it. Filled her up to past her breaking point and reveled in her despair.

However, even with those thoughts on the edge of her consciousness, Lina still let the darkness in.

"What is she doing?" Kagome asked Amelia.

They had been training for a good hour before Kagome had started to feel her skin itch. She ignored it for at least a good half hour. But it kept getting stronger and stronger until her skin felt as if it was crawling with bugs. It was a feeling that she recognized instantly. The same feeling that Kagome got when she was around Naraku. The darkness and evil that made her stomach churn. She had felt it last night as well when Xelloss had returned with Lina. And now, she was feeling it again. But this time, it wasn't coming from a demon. No, it was coming from the red head that sat cross-legged in the grass with her eyes closed.

"Lina's meditating," Amelia said.

"But it's nothing like what we've been doing," Kagome replied. "Meditation is peaceful, calming…and this, this is nothing of that."

"That's because Lina practices a different type of magic then you Priestess," came a voice from behind.

Kagome whirled around as quickly as she could to see Xelloss watching Lina. Where he had come from, Kagome had no idea. He seemed to just have appeared from nowhere. Kagome unconsciously scooted away from him. It wasn't that she was afraid of the guy… um …. monster but after last night she really didn't want to be near him. But who could blame her? The amount of dark energy that had come from him last night was repulsive. Perhaps being a Shrine Maiden she was more sensitive to it then the others? But after last night, she knew for certain that Xelloss was seeped evil.

"You better watch out," Amelia said to Xelloss. "Zel was still pretty mad at you the last time I saw him."

Xelloss waved his hand indicating that Amelia's warning meant nothing. However, Kagome figured that he really didn't have anything to worry about, not if the power from last night was a hint of the forces that he really commanded.

"Where were you anyway?" Kagome asked getting up to her feet. He had disappeared almost instantly after bring Lina back to camp.

"Well," Xelloss smiled. "I was trying to gather information on where our quarry might be. However the little bird I had caught was not quite ready to talk."

From the corner of Kagome's eye, she could see that Amelia looked stunned for a second, as if she wasn't really expecting him to answer the question.

"Don't look so surprised," he continued. "Lina and I have a deal. And I for one honor my deals."

"Xelloss," it seemed that Lina noticed the monster's presence as well. "How nice of you to join us again."

Lina was struggling to get to her feet, enough that Amelia moved to help her get up. Kagome had noticed that Lina was still weak from last night - it was hard not to no matter how much the girl tried to hide it.

"I thought so too," Xelloss replied with a smirk even though it was evident that Lina's statement had not been a question. Kagome watched as his gaze drifted off again. She followed it to the trees. Peering in as well, she wasn't sure what had caught his attention.

He moved almost too fast. One second he stood still before disappearing in a strange black mass only to reappear again. He was clutching something in his hand. Perhaps clutching wasn't the correct word. Blood too dark to be natural oozed out between his fingers. Whatever he had caught was thoroughly crushed in his palm.

"And what do you have there?" Lina asked as she approached him on wobbly legs.

He didn't answer but opened his fist to show what used to be a bird. The wings were bent at funny angles and the neck was twisted unnaturally. Lina frowned as she stared at the creature. Kagome could only guess that she was coming to the same conclusions as herself. That bird had not been a normal bird; even with it crushed, it was obvious that there was something off about it.

"Spill," was all Lina said.

"You've been being watched since you've joined up together," Xelloss turned his hand over and let it's body fall into the tall grass below. "They've," Xelloss waved off-handedly to Kagome, "probably have been watched for months now. Far long before they met you."

"And you've just decided to bring it to our attention now?" Kagome couldn't believe that he didn't think this was important enough to bring up earlier. The bird had obviously been one of Naraku's creations.

"I thought that it might bring Naraku to you," Xelloss smiled. "However now that I've managed to catch something more useful then that, having him know your every move is no longer beneficial to me."

"But weren't you worried that he'd know that you were here too?" Amelia asked.

Xelloss let out a short laugh.

"You honestly think I'd let myself be seen by that thing?" he asked with a bit of sarcasm. "I assure you that I am quite talented enough to cloak my presence so that the abomination never even registered that I was here. After all, it was only a visual recording device, it never could distinguish sound."

Kagome shook her head despite herself. Xelloss was a real piece of work. She had a feeling that he was going to get under her skin as much as Inuyasha does…but in a less then friendly way.

"So," drawled Lina. "This something more useful that you caught…you going to tell us what it is?"

"Not yet," Xelloss replied. "Once I get the information that I need, I will share but not until then."

"Why not?" Amelia asked.

"Because I'm afraid that a few of you would not approve of my information gathering techniques."

Xelloss didn't have to expand any further on that statement. In fact, Kagome would have rather had not had him say that statement at all. Her mind connected the dots rather quickly. She gathered her hair up into a ponytail and frowned. The face of disgust that she made wasn't that well hidden.

"Doesn't sit well with you Priestess?" he asked.

"No, whoever or whatever you are torturing for information I would rather not know."

"You're sure about that?"

It was the way he asked. The inflection in his voice that made Kagome falter and almost want to know more.

"I'm sure," she finally replied. "Just make sure that you keep your part of the deal and tell us when you get the information."

Kagome spun around on her heals and started walking back to the camp. She wasn't quite sure how she should feel. It wasn't that she was mad, or scared. She didn't know if the jittering in her belly came from the thought that one of Naraku's minions was currently being tortured for information. No, Kagome rather believed that it came from wishing they had that information now. And that thought scared her.

Kagome wasn't a cruel person. In fact, Inuyasha often scolded her for being far to nice and putting others before herself too often. Kagome didn't want to become that type of person either. It reminded her of Kikyo, and that was the last person on Earth that she wanted to be compared to. After this war, is that what she would become? Someone cold and uncaring only thinking for herself? Kagome tried to shake the thought out of her head. After all, look at Amelia. The girl seemed to have seen plenty of battle and misery but she still was a gentle soul at heart. That's what Kagome wanted to stay like. And she would try her damnedest to remain pure after the battle was done. With that thought in her mind, Kagome continued towards camp hoping that Naraku's location would be discovered at last. She couldn't help the fleeting thought that whatever Xelloss had to do in order to get the information would be worth it. There was no way that she was going to lose anyone else like she had lost Koga.