Chapter 1-No rest for the weary

(A/N: You may have to use your imaginations with the fighting a little. Just so you know.)

(Kaedes village)

It had been a few days since Naraku had been killed in that merciless fight near his castle as everyone had wounds to heal. Kagome had a twisted foot and a sprained arm, Miroku had several cracked ribs and a fractured right arm (though for Sango that was a relief), Sango had been badly cut and was bleeding badly all over despite her demon slaying armor that had protected her from most of the onslaught, Shippo had a received multiple concussion and went in and out of sleep, and Kilala had been pierced through one side and out the other and had to be bandaged completely.

However, those wounds paled in comparison to Inuyashas who had been damaged the most and if it hadn't been for his demon regenerative powers would have died on the battlefield. Inuyasha had suffered three broken ribs each on both sides of his body, internal bleeding as well as external, severe head trauma, and several fractures in different places of his arms and legs. "Ye really pushed yourself this time Inuyasha. Never have your wounds been this severe since ye healed your wounds," said Kaede as she carefully replaced the blood soaked bandages for fresh ones.

"It was...worth it Kaede and...I...I won't have anyone...tell...tell me otherwise," said Inuyasha as he found talking and breathing severely difficult as blood dripped from his mouth and into a round bowl Kaede brought to ensure it didn't stain his clothes.

"I believe ye Inuyasha, but still I feel that you went overboard regardless. There is no excuse for nearly killing ye self when fighting Naraku," said Kaede who finished placing fresh bandages on Inuyashas arm and hands only to find he used it to grab her wrist hard to get her attention.

"Listen to me you...you old hag...(cough)…you weren't their and…have...NO RIGHT to criticize the...the way I fight. I fought with...with everything I...I had and I will do...s...so in every fight...th...that I always have...past...present...and future," said Inuyasha whose eyes Kaede saw were full of fire despite his body looking like it had burned out as he let go of her wrist and started couching up more blood into the bowl then proceed to get up from the ground with the support of Tetsuigia.

Kaede was in shock at Inuyashas words and action, but once she thought about it was no surprise to her that he would try to leave since some of half his wounds had healed. But even then Inuyasha was in no condition to walk much less fight anyone or anything. "Inuyasha I implore ye to sit down and rest more you are in no condition to walk or do anything else," said Kaede as she stopped him at the door.

Inuyasha looked at her with a mean scowl on his face and then in a surprising move shoved her away knocking her down on the ground. "Get away from me you old fool," said Inuyasha in a semi-dark voice whose eyes flashed red for just a second in front of Kaede before they went back to normal as he turned and left the house with Kaede watching in horror.

As Inuyasha walked out of the house he struggled to stay on his feet even with Tetsuigia being used as an extra leg to keep him more stable. Unknown to him Inuyasha was being watched by a several figures hidden carefully in the shadows of the trees where Inuyashas senses were blind to their existence. "Is that the one our master seeks?" said the smallest of the figures as it watched Inuyasha nearly fall onto the ground as he struggled to walk.

"Yes though I don't see why? Do you General?" said the figure to his right in a dark voice.

"Master believes he is strong my Lieutenant. After observing what we saw when he was fighting Naraku I can see why Master would want him around. He will push himself even if dies fighting however, I sense weakness in him that Master will have to correct when we retrieve him," said the General in and even darker voice.

"Everything is prepared General. The false bounty on the half-breeds head is official through out the demon lands until Master calls off the bounty after we retrieve him," said the small figure again.

"Won't the demons we promised to give sacred jewel shards for the half-breed head be disappointed General? If they find out the bounty is false then they will seek to attack us and Master would be most displeased with you," said the Lieutenant cautiously.

"If all goes according to plan their will be no demons to protest about the bounty because the half-breed will have killed them all when they arrive. Remember this is only a test for the half-breed on whether or not he is worthy of my Masters time and converting him into the army being built," said the General as he continued to stare at Inuyasha seriously.

Inuyasha walked towards the woods so he could sit beneath the tree he had been bound to for 50 years. When ever Inuyasha was near the tree he felt his wounds had always healed faster then when he was away from it and sure enough he felt at peace sitting under its branches as the day seemed to slow down just for him. "Finally I heal under my own terms with no distractions from anyone or anything," said Inuyasha as he started to go rest.

The General, Lieutenant, and the small of three figures had moved from their previous position where they could see Inuyasha, but they could see him. "The demons are waiting impatiently General...should we proceed?" said the Lieutenant after receiving a nod from the smaller figure.

"Yes lets proceed with phase one so we can continue to phase two," said the General as he gave a loud snap from his fingers that the demons heard that had been waiting for the single.

Inuyasha also heard the snap and became wide awake when he heard as he leaped from his position and pulled Tetsuigia out from his sheathe ready to fight. At least his mind was ready. His body however, was not as ready or willing to fight as his mind had commanded it to when it touched the ground when he landed. "Damn this...this body," growled Inuyasha as he struggled to stay upright as demons from all directions attacked him with the sacred jewel shards on their mind.

In Kaedes village the sound of an explosion could be heard far away from them as those who could walk outside did to find out what was happening. "Lady Kaede what that explosion?" said Kagome as she limped to the old priestess was already outside before the explosion occurred.

"Ye don't know Kagome, but if I had to guess I would say it was Inuyashas Wind Scar attack., which means only one thing," said Kaede who looked at Kagome with some worry.

Kagome gasped as she realized it too. "Inuyasha in a fight with one or more demons," said Kagome worriedly.

Kagome wanted to run and help Inuyasha, but everyone was too wounded to help him or get their fast enough. "I will try to get their to assist Inuyasha the best I can, but even I believe I will be too late to say him," said Kaede as she got on a nearby horse with her bow and arrow.

Kagome nodded. She wanted to come to, but the horse was only big enough to hold one person on it and doubted it could hold her even if she tried. "Hurry!" said Kagome as Kaede commanded the horse to move as she rode the horse in the direction of the sound of the Wind Scar attack.

Inuyasha however, was no longer near where he was before. He had been on the run slashing with sword and claws at the demons that were bold enough to get close enough "Come one you bastards I still got some strength left," said Inuyasha as he jumped from tree to tree till he landed in a clearing.

The endless lines of demons were that pursued him were relentless in their assault of Inuyasha as they came at him with everything they had. Inuyasha matched their relentlessness with his own as he fought with everything he had and then some, but even as he fought he knew he couldn't keep it up regardless if he wanted to or not. Inuyashas body was so severely damaged that the more he fought the demons the more harm it did to him whether the demons actually hit him or not. "He's starting to get weaker General should we intervene now?" said the smaller of the three.

"Not just yet, but we will pull through after this," said the General whose eyes went from Inuyashas fighting to the shadowy looking figure he just spoke too.

Why his master took HIM into the army was beyond his understanding, but he accepted him as part of the army like all of his soldiers. The Generals glance went from the small one back to Inuyasha who was getting slower by the second even though he had almost killed them all. "DIE ALREADY!" yelled Inuyasha who as he gutted through the last demon in the stomach causing it to fall on the pile of other dead demon Inuyasha had just killed.

Inuyasha then slammed the sword through the demons skull only to twist it sending its blood gushing out all over him. "Very impressive for a half-demon though all that he just did just cost his body a heavy price he may not be able to pay," said the Lieutenant as Inuyasha removed Tetsuigia from the dead demon corpse.

"WHO ELSE WANTS SOME!" yelled a blood covered Inuyasha at the top of his lungs as he started to breath more heavily every second as the adrenaline in his body stopped flowing and the blood that left his mouth did.

Inuyasha then looked around and found no other demons were anywhere close to him as he proceeded to put away Tetsuigia. Only after doing that did he start to collapse on the ground as his wounds reopened even worse then before. The General left his perch on the trees high up and landed on the ground in front of a now unconscious Inuyasha. "Excellent. Phase one is complete. Now we shall proceed to phase two," said the General with a wicked smile behind his armor plating that covered his face.

"So strong yet at same time he also just as weak. Not surprising I guess considering that he is part demon. But then again no matter what regardless he is still...only human," said the Lieutenant with a serious look on his face as the General picked up the dying body of Inuyasha and carried him away from the battlefield before Kaede could get their as the last of them in the shadows threw powder down on the battle field that would mask their presence as they left.