"He wants to be released from the tree." Nadeshiko stated with a scowl.

"Then let's release him. If he can help us, then we should let him go!" Kagome rationalized.

His smile grew wider and seemed to be almost painful.

"See, you heard the girl. Let me go! In a minute she'll be too strong for you, but I can kill her," his face betrayed the cocky sense of confidence he was feeling.

"No, Kagome. You heard the miko. He stole the jewel and killed Kikyou. He's not to be trusted." Her voice was cold as ice. Her black hair, tangled by the strenuous exercise and dripping with sweat, clung to her flushed face framing her frustration plainly. Her arms shook with the adrenaline coursing through her blood stream making her seem more anxious than reality.

"We don't have a choice!" her younger sister yelled as the centipede demon's long abdomen and legs snaked around the trees surrounding them.

A trampling of hooves became audible in that instant as the human villagers burst from the tree line. With bows ready, they shot at the youkai. The arrows hit their mark taking shelter within her long body. Ropes connected to their ends allowed the men to pull back with all their might hoping that they might stop the youkai from crushing the young miko and her twin to death.

"So someone did come to save me…" the young miko sighed in relief.

This short moment of respite was welcomed by both of the young twins. Nadeshiko released a breath she didn't know she had been holding and relaxed. Carefully, she wiped away the sweat on her brow and sheathed her bloodied sword.

"Keh! Don't look so relieved. She still has the jewel in her gut." the hanyou on the tree scoffed in mockery.

It seemed that it was just those few words that brought the youkai's wrath upon them yet again. Her winding body tightened quickly picking a surprised Kagome up off of the ground and pressing her against the sacred tree. She released a grunt and hissed in pain. The strength of the constriction robbed her of breath and freedom.

"Release me!" the inu hanyou growled out with a fleeting look of discomfort.

"Don't do it Kagome!" Nadeshiko yelled backing away cautiously from the long bindings which were Mistress Centipede. Her arms were now shaking dangerously and she knew she would not be of any help for a while to come.

"Yes, child. Listen to ye sister. You know not what kind of destruction ye will unleash should Inuyasha be freed from my sister's spell!" Kaede implored a safe distance away from the violently constricting form of the youkai. Her sacred arrows were weak and useless against a demon such as this and the men were tiring from fighting against the might of a youkai the size as she.

"Dammit! Shut up! Do you all wanna die? At least with me you have a chance. Once that thing stops digesting that jewel, nothings gonna stop her from eating you bastards." Inuyasha bit out in frustration.

A look of silent contemplation crossed the young girl's face. She was slowly being crushed to death. What did she have to lose from trying this?

"You talk big, but can you actually deliver?" she asked suddenly.

He spluttered for words, and found them only when the seriousness portrayed in her eyes met him.

"Keh! Yea," was his simple answer.

As the body tightened around them further almost cracking Kagome's ribs, she made her move.

"Then I choose to live!" she yelled out to the dismay and protests of both the villagers and her sister.

Mistress Centipede chose that moment to suffocate them, their bodies disappearing from view underneath her own. A bright pink light leaked out from the cracks of her body. Energy washed over them as Inuyasha's youki pulsed with growing power. With a violent blast of blinding light, the youkai's body was torn to bits. The hanyou, Inuyasha, tore her limb from limb and piece by piece. A shower of blood and flesh rained down upon the ground covering it in carrion.

Sitting in a pile of gore, Kagome's mouth dropped open in shock. A previously helpless Nadeshiko rushed to her side and checked her over for wounds. The villagers shouted for joy and celebrated amongst themselves, and Kaede looked on at the form of the crimson garbed hanyou pensively.

"You shouldn't have done that!" Nadeshiko whispered fiercely into her sister's ear. Her icy silver eyes lay fixed on the hanyou who would be savior of them had he not lusted after the jewel himself.

His golden eyes narrowed at the pair as he thrust out his hand.

"Gimme the jewel," he demanded.

Pulled out of her reverie, Kaede took a step between the two parties blocking them from view protectively. The clawed hands wrapped around Kagome's arms became white at the knuckles as Nadeshiko tightened the grasp on her sister. Kagome's eyes grew wide in surprise as she gasped out in surprise, "You mean, you're not the hero!?"

"Keh! Took you long enough to figure it out."

Her mouth opened and closed repeatedly in her shock.

"B-but… You saved us! You can't be the bad guy!" Kagome stuttered gracelessly.

At this he smirked and allowed himself an odd guttural chuckle. He took a step forward confidently stepping over the remains of the centipede mistress.

"I didn't save you I killed the bitch who ate the sacred jewel. Now show me where it is and give it to me!"

Relief flooded the twins knowing that he needed Kagome alive to be able to find the jewel. He couldn't kill her yet. With that in mind, Nadeshiko whispered to her sister in the only secret code they had which was Chinese, "Can you see the sacred jewel? It should be glowing. I can feel it, but I can't see it."

Kagome's eyes wandered around the clearing discreetly. Within a few seconds she located a soft pink glow in a piece of mutilated torso across the clearing. It was by Kaede.

"Crap. The jewel is by the old miko. We can't tell her from here; she's too far." Kagome said to her sister her face down cast.

Nadeshiko groaned in annoyance. Today was really shitty, and she wanted it to be over.

"That may prove to be a problem. I would try to make a break for it, but it seems that would be a most unhealthy idea." Nadeshiko sighed.

"I know. I really wish we had telepathy!" Kagome stated exasperated, but unbeknownst to them at the request of pure innocent blood a wish had been made upon the jewel. A tingling feeling started within Nadeshiko's abdomen before it grew. The tingling became a prickling, the prickling a stabbing, and the stabbing a searing burn. Just as Nadeshiko was forced onto her hands and knees breathless the sensation stopped. Kagome kneeled over her sister in worry. She ignored the inu hanyou's growls and insults which grew with every passing moment and wondered for a second what was happening. Her sister had been screaming a blood curdling scream which made its way into her very bones. When her screaming stopped she panicked.

"Onee-san! What's wrong? Why were you screaming?" Kagome asked worriedly.

Those around them looked at the young girls oddly. The elder twin had not made a sound at all for the past few minutes. She had just knelt on the ground gasping for air, which was the only sign of her discomfort.

"Keh! Just my luck. The only one who can see the jewel is hearing things."

When Kagome didn't retort he growled. There was no way he was being ignored.

"Oi! Wench, don't ignore me! Find the damn jewel already before I slice you to fucking bits!" his snarls were dismissed by Kagome's obvious concern for her sister who now lay on the ground barely conscious and burning up with a fever.

'We can't let him get the jewel! Shit! I can't get up! Why!?' Nadeshiko thought to herself in a panic.

"What do you mean you can't get up?! How'd you get this sick so fast? What happened?" Kagome held her sister close pulling her up to a sitting position. Looking around for support, Kagome dragged Nadeshiko, which is harder than it seems, to a tree.

"How'd you? I didn't say that aloud," Nadeshiko gasped out in hoarse choppy words. She looked curiously at her sister for a few moments before her eyes widened.

"Child, were you aware that you house the Shikon Jewel in your body?"

The words that Kaede spoke echoed within her head. Theories spun within her head and a frown planted itself firmly on her lips. Kagome's eyebrows furrowed and like a light it dawned on her. She was reading her sister's thoughts. Her wish had come true. Lost in her shock, Nadeshiko was the first to notice the remains of the recently dead youkai twitching. Frantically she turned her thoughts to the body and taking the jewel back before Mistress Centipede regenerated. With a jerk of her head Kagome's eyes glazed over in quick thought before Kaede was seen leaping up in fright.

Inuyasha laughed at the old woman's expense.

"What's wrong old hag? Scared that the bad old bug will come back and eat ya?" Inuyasha asked rudely.

His attention turned back to Kagome who had stood up. She nodded at Kaede and took a step towards the dog eared boy.

"Why don't you stop being such an idiot and start looking for the god dang jewel yourself then! If you haven't noticed I'm a little busy over here. Maybe, if you had done your job proper and killed the thing like you said you would then she wouldn't be wiggling around trying to put herself back together like a freaking jigsaw puzzle!" Kagome's face was red and her finger pointed at him accusingly.

Taken aback by her attitude Inuyasha took a step back as she came closer.

"Don't yell at me like I'm an idiot! You're the one who's stupid and twisted your ankle! Look at you! Ya can't even walk straight without trippin over yourself. Bet it hurts, don't it? Why don't you come here and let me alleviate your pain!" he growled out lowly bearing his fangs. He cracked his knuckles and squat down with his claws extended.

"Oh yeah! You're gonna rip ME a new one!? Haha, I'd like to see you try baka! I'll just zap you with my pink light and see if you're still so tough!" Kagome retaliated. She really hoped that she was capable of pulling of the attack again. She wasn't quite sure she knew how to do it.

With the hanyou distracted, he did not notice the old miko carefully making her way towards a large chunk of the demon's remains. She slowly knelt before the large piece of corpse and dug through the torn flesh. The body, ceased its twitching. With the pink jewel now within her wrinkled hands, the carcass disintegrated. The meat and bones turned into ash which was blown away in a gentle breeze.

The inu hanyou lost in his anger, did not see nor hear the movement of the elderly woman. His claws sharp and poised to attack swept at the young girl before her nearly taking off her head before she ducked. She shrieked in fright and ran into the trees. His demonic attacks left large gashes deep within the ground. With her human speed, Kagome was quickly outrun. She found herself cornered on a rickety suspended bridge. The water from the river roared beneath her. The demon boy blocking her path only mocked her human weakness. His confidence increased her fear. She took a step back in retreat. CRACK! The wooden board under her foot cracked. She watched as the shattered piece fell into the river and was violently swept away. Her eyes widened in realization that she truly was trapped. The bridge was too old and brittle to risk another step back.

Her mind, lost in the roaring of the river, was brought back by the yelling of the village men. Behind her, and away from the bridge stood the village men and her sister among them. Her arms were wrapped around the shoulders of two of the younger men serving as her support. Kaede stood next to her, prayer beads held within her hand. Her eyes were closed in prayer as the beads began to shake and glow with holy light. Without warning, the beads flew speedily towards the inu. They gathered in the form of a rosary around his neck. He yelped in surprise and tried to tear them from his person, but they only glowed stronger with every attempt.

"Kagome, you must use the word of restraint, child!" Kaede instructed.

Confusion rattled her brain as she struggled to understand what the old miko had said.

Pictures of scrolls she had never seen before began to pop up in her head. She witnessed Kaede's training and the instruction of her elder sister Kikyou as she taught her about subjugation. Comprehension filled her suddenly.

Looking back at Kaede, smiled and turned to Inuyasha with a mischievous grin.

"Inuyasha!" she yelled.

His ears perked up and his shoulders straightened.

"SIT BOY!" she ordered. A manly cry of pain left the hanyou's mouth as he fell face first into the bridge below him.

Kagome clapped her hands in excitement and resisted the urge to do a little victory dance.

"That was so cool! Haha, lemme do it again! SIT BOY!" she cried happily.

A scream followed by the crack that broke the bridge met her ears. Inuyasha fell through the wooden bridge and was swept away by the river's rapids.

"Well, he won't be bothering us anytime soon." She stated proudly, turning to look at her sister with a large grin.

Nadeshiko rolled her eyes, as Kagome skipped towards her.

"You're insufferable." Nadeshiko sighed in annoyance.

"Indeed, she be an odd one." the man to her left sweat dropped.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Hey, hope you enjoyed everything so far. Sorry this chapter wasn't very long, but bear with me. Anyway, thank you for reading. Please follow or review. Ciao!