Spiral by Kokuun

Watchers

Two figures hidden by the shadows of the trees watched as a young raven haired girl made her way out of an old well. They watched impassively as she was greeted by an inu hanyou and a kitsune cub. The two followed the trio as they went into a nearby village to pick up two more companions, a young man dressed in the purple robes of a monk and a young woman dressed in a kimono.

The group traveled swiftly looking for signs of either jewel shards or the hanyou, Naraku. The week the duo followed the shard hunters was one where not even a lesser demon approached. The hanyou was becoming more and more agitated as the days went. He could sense the duo on the very edges of his senses. The unfortunate result was that he pushed the group hard, barely letting them rest. He often snapped at the girl and the fox, until the girl had finally become enraged and stomped away in a huff.

The duo split, one following the girl while the other stayed to watch over the shard hunters. The one watching the group was witness to the hanyou sulking, while the monk and taijiya spoke to each other in low voices. The one watching the girl was witness to her attempt to rescue a little girl no more than eight from a boar demon. She managed to kill it but fell unconscious due to heavy injuries and blood loss. A silver haired youkai appeared to retrieve his wayward ward. After the best puppy dog eyes the watcher had seen in a long time, the silver haired man relented and picked up the injured girl.

"So it begins."