Author's Note: I'm sorry this took so long, I finally managed to tie turtlequeen2 down long enough to get this chapter written. Hope everyone enjoys it, and happy birthday turtlequeen2!
Shippou ran as fast as his small legs could carry him. He panted as the wind rushed into his lungs and burned his chest. Even though he was a youkai, he still had his limits. He was switching between using one of his flying rocking horses to float on and running earlier. After finding that running was a faster way of travel, he pushed himself forward.
He followed the group's scents and was able to catch up to them. The kitsune saw the group fighting a look-alike Naraku. It was obviously a golem based on the information that Kagura had told him and Lynnette.
The closest person to Shippou was Kagome and so that was who he called upon first. "Kagome!" he yelled in a raspy tone, trying his best to regain his breath. "That isn't the real Naraku! He's distracting you all so he can kidnap Lynnette!"
Kagome's arrow went wide as her heart leapt in her mouth. "Inuyasha! It's a trap!" Her scream rent the air, already turning as though to head back. All Kagome could think about was the fact that Lynnette was all alone, and she had no idea what Naraku could do to her friend.
Inuyasha continued to slice at the puppet's tentacles. "Keh! We still have to kill this thing first!" he announced. Muttering under his breath, he added, "I should've known..."
"Naraku is after Lynn! Kirara, Sango, go back to her!" Kagome fumbled for another arrow as terror sang though her veins. 'Lynn, please be okay! Please!'
The taijiya nodded, catching Hiraikotsu in her hand after throwing it at Naraku's body. "Got it!" she replied, jumping onto the transformed feline. "Let's go, Kirara!" The nekomata nodded her head and took off into the sky at a quick pace. She also hoped that the woman would be okay.
Reassured that her friends would take care of things, the young miko resumed her attack with a vengeance. "What do you want with her?" Kagome shouted, shooting in between breaths, anger fueling her powers and shortening her temper. This was one woman you didn't piss off lightly, and Naraku was about to learn that the hard way...
The golem let out a low laugh at how the group reacted to the fact that they took so long to figure out his real intentions. "I guess you could say that I have grown curious of her abilities..." he replied.
Miroku thought to himself about what Naraku had just admitted. "What do you find so special about her, Naraku?" the monk inquired.
The fake Naraku smirked from beneath his baboon mask. "I'd like to ask you the same thing, monk. The girl has something radiating from her that obviously the rest of you have not figured out yet..."
Kagome was getting more and more pissed off by the second. "Just leave her the hell alone!"
"It's pretty obvious that we ain't getting anymore useful words out of this bastard!" Inuyasha remarked. "I say we destroy him and get back to Lynette and the others as fast as we can."
For an answer, Kagome just shot another arrow, almost shattering Naraku's mask in the process. Anger burned in the miko's eyes as the next arrow spitefully buzzed where the evil hanyou's ear should have been.
Naraku knew that Kagome was not playing around anymore. He let out another laugh. "You will not reach her in time, Kagome. The longer you all stay here, the farther I will have gotten away from the rest of you."
"You'll find that you've bitten off far more than you can chew. Lynnette would never bow to you." Kagome shot back in fury.
"We'll have to just see about that now, won't we?" he taunted.
Inuyasha snarled with anger. "I heard enough of your shit!" he declared. Charging forward, he brought forth Tessaiga and emitted yellow light from the blade. "Kaze no Kizu!" he cried as the attack ripped through the golem.
Kagome waited tensely, wanting only to run back to her friend as fast as possible. At the same time, she knew that she had to back Inuyasha up if his attack had failed.
The puppet gave no shouts of pain as its body was torn into shreds and turned into a dust, leaving behind only the baboon cloak and the wooden ornament signifying its true form.
Seeing that the golem was gone, her feet flew on their own accord, praying that she wasn't too late.
The hanyou sped ahead of her easily, leaving behind the monk. He knew that Miroku would eventually catch up. He always did.
Inuyasha turned his sights onto the angered miko. It was rare when he saw the young woman this upset. "Kagome!" he yelled, stopping in front of her so she would stop. "Why don't you ride on my back? We'll get there faster!"
Panting, Kagome nodded wordlessly, panic in her eyes. "Please hurry..." She begged as she climbed on.
"You don't need to tell me!" he huffed, immediately rushing towards where Lynnette's scent was located.
Meanwhile, behind the pair ran the monk and the kitsune who decided to hitch a ride on his shoulder. Both of them hoped that they would be there on time.
Lynnette was rolling around backwards, trying to always keep real Naraku in sight. Right now, the redhead was devoutly wishing she had a good thick branch in her hand. "What do you want with me?"
Crimson eyes twinkled with malicious intent. "Something that only you possess," he only replied in a smooth voice. Feigning a sigh, he added, "It's such a shame that you don't even know it yourself..."
Ignoring the stinging skin on her palms, Lynnette kept moving, trying to keep him out of reach. Knowing that she had to buy time, she tried to keep him talking. "What in the world are you talking about? Kagome's the one with most of the jewel shards."
"That is true..." he purred. "However, your abilities could easily help me achieve my goals..."
Her laughter was the polar opposite of humor. "Why would I turn my back on my friends? I have better things to do."
"Ah, but that is where I come in, my dear," the evil hanyou said, his oily voice saying such words that would have made anyone shiver.
Her hands jerked involuntarily on her wheels, coming to a dead stop. "Don't call me that." The redhead snapped.
Naraku advanced towards her. He was only toying with her. He was the predator and she was the prey. There was only so much ground she could cover before she would be trapped. "Oh, so I suppose, Lynnette would be a better name to use, correct?" he asked, taunting her. He twisted her name around so much that it even sounded evil to be uttered.
Automatically, the redhead resumed backing up. "I didn't say you could call me by my name either." Fear tightened her voice and gave it a sharp edge. "If you thought I would help you, you are very sadly mistaken. Please leave at once."
"Now, I would have thought that you would have assumed that I'm not very kind in such a sense. Petty words will not drive me into fear," Naraku chuckled.
Her answer was surprisingly rude, in essence telling him where to stick a certain body part in a very warm place... assuming he had that body part in the first place, which she highly doubted.
His eyes narrowed at her quick retort. Perhaps the prey would be a bit of a challenge, after all? It really did not matter much to him. He had to act fast since the others were on their way.
Agony shot up the reddened skin of her palms, but the calm look in her eyes never faded as predator and prey continue to circle each other.
Naraku saw her face contort in the slightest way and then caught the scent of her pain. What exactly was wrong with this woman? He had little time to debate such a thing. The others were closing in.
"I think we shall have to continue our great conversation elsewhere..." he stated, not bothering with anymore taunting for the moment being. Reaching out with several of his many tendrils, he gripped her body and wheelchair, levitating both momentarily before dragging them back towards his body.
As they passed under a tree, her hand reached out and snapped a low hanging branch then tried to whack him with it, heedless of her own safety should he have dropped her.
He was far more powerful than she was. She managed to get one hit on him with the stick, but he easily grabbed it with one of his hands and snapped it into smaller pieces. "I would not be too rash, now..." he warned, still continuing to move.
For an answer, Lynnette punched him in the mouth. Her eyes burning in triumph as the redhead spotted Sango and Kirara closing in fast.
Naraku resisted the urge to growl at her insolence. He lifted them up into the sky and began to head back towards where he came from.
Both Kirara and Sango caught sights of him as Naraku lifted himself into the air. "Naraku!" Sango cried. "You're not getting away!" She threw her boomerang, yelling out, "Hiraikotsu!" as if flew in his direction.
Lynnette tightened her grip on her chair and shut her eyes in prayer as she prepared to fall and crash.
Naraku smirked as he built up a barrier around them. The boomerang bounced off as easily as a ball bouncing off of a wall. "You always seem to underestimate me, Sango..." he taunted after he saw her catch her weapon.
Sango glared at him. "Let Lynnette go! You have no business with her!" she ordered in an enraged tone.
"Oh, but I do..." Naraku replied in a dangerous tone of voice. Pushing some of his tendrils out of the barrier, he allowed her to cut them open. The incisions released large amounts of shouki to which Sango maneuvered away from.
"Dammit!" she yelled, pulling on her gas mask and gripping her weapon. "Lynette, hold on!"
"Sango, get me away from this king of creeps before he decides to drop me!" Lynnette called back, her face pale as she shifted the deathlike grip she had on the armrests of her wheelchair. Almost out of reflex, the redhead looked down. If possible, her face went even paler. "It's an awful llllooonnnggg way down from up here Sango." She added.
The evil hanyou was tempted to drop her a few feet just to taunt her, but withheld the urge. He could not do risky things when anyone from the Inuyasha-tachi was around.
Sango dodged the shouki to the best of her ability but knew that if no one else arrived soon, he'd make his escape.
Naraku let out a small laugh. "I thought you wanted to cut me so badly so I granted your wish..." he commented.
The taijiya glared at him, feeling anger flow through her veins. "You bastard!" she shouted, throwing her boomerang again. However, all that did was release more shouki into the air. Her gas mask could only protect her for so long.
"Sango, that gassy stuff is only getting worse! Get help!" Her voice felt raw with terror, and her dilated pupils made her eyes look black in fear.
"And leave you here, alone with him?" Sango shot back. "That's what Naraku wants!" She looked down a Kirara for a split second, silently apologizing for endangering her life once more. Despite her being a youkai, the miasma still harmed her. She was already beginning to weaken. "There has to be some way to take him down..." the taijiya murmured aloud.
"You think I want to be left alone with him, not a chance!" the irate redhead shot back.
"Exactly why I'm not leaving!"
Naraku watched the exchange, feeling both amused and annoyed. He knew that at any time, he could leave and Sango could do nothing to stop him. He lingered merely to make it more agonizing on the taijiya and she knew it. The evil hanyou was also surprised that Lynette was less afraid of him than the height she was being held at. Yes, the woman was very interesting, indeed.
"Inuyasha, where are you at?" she muttered.
"I'd love to stay and chat, but I have more important items of business to take care of..." Naraku said, sensing Inuyasha and the others close by. He began to make his escape once more.
Sango cursed. "I don't think so!" she declared, throwing Hiraikotsu again. Her attempts were having no effect on him. She was powerless against Naraku without the others around and she hated to admit it.
It was all Lynnette could do to keep from screaming in panic. She wanted down and she wanted down right now!
Once Naraku saw the others, he knew that he would have to escape quickly before the rest of them decided to annoy him. "It was good seeing you again, taijiya," Naraku addressed in a sarcastic manner. "I'll be sure to tell your brother that you said 'hello.' "
Sango felt anger pump through her veins at his last remark. She wouldn't let him get away with mocking Kohaku! "Dammit! Naraku! Stop running away like a coward!" she yelled, preparing to throw her weapon again.
"Sango!" shouted Inuyasha as he neared the scene and saw her being the only one engaged in a battle against their arch nemesis. "Lynnette!" he added in a growl when he saw her current position.
Lynnette swallowed hard, her eyes black with fear and the whites showing all around. "Get. Me. Down. NOW!" Was all the redhead could get out.
"She terrified of heights." Kagome's tight voice told Inuyasha.
Inuyasha nodded and allowed the miko to slide off his back before he drew his sword. "Naraku! Let her go!" Charging up his sword, he watched it glow red before he unleashed his attack. "Kaze no Kizu!" he cried as the flashes of light flew towards the floating barrier.
Naraku's expression became annoyed as he saw the light swirl around his barrier. "Inuyasha, must you be reminded that that particular attack does not work on me anymore?" he teased. "Besides, you wouldn't want to hurt your precious Lynnette if the attack got through now, would you?"
Inuyasha cursed. Naraku had a point. He had to be more careful. But how...?
Seeing the look of indecision in the hanyou's golden eyes, Lynnette swallowed hard as she gathered her courage and took a deep breath. "Inuyasha, remember what I told you." She said quietly, a haunted peace lurking in her gaze.
The amber-eyed hanyou saw Lynnette's haunting expression and remembered the words she had given him when they were in the hospital. She told him to leave her for dead if she got in trouble. Glancing back at Kagome, he found that he just couldn't do it. Kagome didn't know about that arrangement and would want to slaughter him if she knew that he didn't try his hardest to protect her friend. "Dammit..." he growled aloud.
Lynnette nodded, acceptance in her eyes. "Better by your hands than his Inuyasha." She said consolingly.
Was there any way to make Lynnette think that he was honoring her words while at the same time... not? Either way, he had to do something fast.
Miroku looked up, noticing that Inuyasha and Lynnette were staring at each other. Was there something going on between them? Shaking his head, he knew that now was not the time for that. "Naraku, I will ask you this. Why do you want Lynette-sama? While she is not like the average human, she is fragile and not the type of person I would imagine that you'd find interest in," the monk observed.
Kagome wasn't liking the silent conversation that seemed to be going on between them either, and the arrow trembled in her bow as she waited for a clear shot. Her eyes filled with mingled despair and rage.
Naraku chuckled, his grip never lessoning on the woman. "It's rather simple, really." His eyes glimmered with amusement and annoyance. He wasn't able to escape without a confrontation after all. Ah well. "Lynette has a rare ability within her that not many possess. It is obvious that no one is aware of it yet."
"Inuyasha..." Lynnette's voice was low and urgent. "Do it. Remember your promise." Fear was starting to creep in her eyes.
The evil hanyou heard Lynnette's pleading voice. Had the hanyou and Lynnette made some secret agreement? It made him wonder if Kagome or Kikyou knew. Could he use it to his advantage later when he coaxed it from her? It sounded promising. "What are you waiting for, Inuyasha? Attack me if you are so determined to get back 'precious Lynnette'," he taunted.
Lynnette sighed softly and closed her eyes after giving Kagome one last loving smile. "I am ready."
The young miko's heart jumped into her throat. "Lynnette..." She said, fear growing by the second. "NO!" The word was a scream.
Sango gripped onto her weapon, looking down at Kirara. Her nekomata returned the same determined emotion in her expression. It was now or never.
The nekomata sped up to Naraku, allowing Sango to hurl her boomerang bone in his direction. The weapon managed to get through the barrier because the evil hanyou was too busy paying attention to the others to keep his full power behind the blockade. Hiraikotsu managed to slice off the side of his body that wasn't holding onto Lynnette. "Naraku!" Sango growled. "Release Lynnette!"
Kagome shot an arrow to empathize Sango's point, not liking how calm Lynnette looked. "Let her down... slowly."
Naraku's body began to regenerate itself with little effort on his part. His face still shone with confidence despite the fact that he looked like he was losing. "Well, if I did that, then coming out here would have been a waste. You'll have to forgive me, Kagome, but I do not think that I can comply with your request at the moment." His tone sounded like he was teasing the group.
Inuyasha let out another growl. "Cut the shit, Naraku!" he yelled. Charging up his sword, he knew that now was his only chance to cut at his enemy. "Take this!" Slamming down his blade, he unleashed the familiar torrent of yellow lights. "Kaze no Kizu!"
With Naraku's barrier down thanks to Sango's Hiraikotsu, the man had nothing up to protect him. Inuyasha also made sure that it wasn't a big enough attack to destroy his entire body so that Lynnette wouldn't be harmed by much.
However, the attack never hit him.
Out of nowhere, several wind blades sliced apart the semi-weak version of Inuyasha's assault.
The wind blades hit the ground, making everyone take a few steps back. The creator of the blades revealed herself with a smirk.
"Inuyasha, how pleasant it is to see you again," Naraku's ally addressed, opening her fan with a flourish. "You'll have to forgive me, but Naraku is really determined to get what he wants this time." With that, she released even more of her wind blades.
Dodging all of her attacks, the hanyou snarled. "I don't have time for you right now, Kagura! Stay out of my way or I'll kill you!"
"Actually, being in the way is my specialty," Kagura replied, her red eyes glimmering with amusement. "Fuujin no mai!" she shouted, continuing her attacking. She inwardly knew that Inuyasha could have easily killed her but she was not taking the fight all that seriously either.
Miroku and Sango both inwardly groaned. Kagura being here was just Naraku's plan and they knew it. That was why his expression never faltered even as he was "injured."
Fear warred with despair in Lynnette's light blue eyes as she swallowed hard. Her lips moved as though in prayer, but no sound came out of them. The knuckles on both hands were white as she struggled to control herself.
Kagura produced multiple tornadoes, all of which Inuyasha sliced in half. "Dammit! I'm fighting Naraku right now, not you!" he growled. Glaring at Naraku, he knew that the bastard planned it from the start. Still, he it wasn't like he could ignore Kagura. If he didn't pay attention to her, she could easily cut him up.
Kagome was fair vibrating with fury, and was slowly moving to circle Naraku, doubting that she'd be noticed.
Sango froze when she saw something on the ground that she never noticed before. She knew that Kirara felt it as well. Before she could say anything, a chain flew from out of the forest, wrapping itself around Kagome's ankle. "Kagome-chan!" she yelled, making Kirara lower both of them down.
Startled, the young miko found herself tripping, the bow flew from her hand as she saw stars from the impact. "Damnit..." She snarled in anger.
Inuyasha whirled around when he heard Kagome's curse. "Kagome! You okay?" he shouted in a tone of concern.
"I'm fine!" She shouted, sitting up and trying to unwind the chain around her ankle.
However, while he was distracted, Kagura managed to sneak attack him. He gave a shout of pain as he felt his side be sliced open. "Dammit!" he repeated, focusing on his current opponent.
While all of the commotion was going on down below, Naraku chuckled, watching them. "Such a nice show, wouldn't you agree?" he asked, touching the top of Lynnette's head to get her attention.
Lynnette flinched at his touch. "It won't work you know." She said calmly. "You are only wasting your time."
Naraku raised his eyebrow. "What won't work?"
"Whatever you want me for."
"You don't even know what I desire you for so how would you know?" he questioned. She held a confidence that he only saw in the two priestesses he dealt with in his lifetime. It made his prey even more appealing.
"I don't," was the redhead's honest answer. "However, I'm guessing that you'll need me to be cooperative no matter what your plan is. That's something I'm not gonna do."
"We'll see about that..." he sneered. He looked down at the boy who had appeared, stilling the other side of the chain and laughed. "Kohaku and Kagura have done well," he admitted aloud. Gripping onto Lynnette tightly, he wrapped his barrier around them once more and began his ascent into the sky.
"Kohaku!" Sango shouted, clearly too dazed with her brother to notice Naraku's escape.
The younger taijiya was still being controlled by Naraku. His eyes reflected the spell he was placed under and he walked towards them with his sickle raised high.
Miroku and Shippou seemed to be the only ones who saw Naraku making his escape. "He's getting away!" the fox shouted, coming out of his hiding spot.
"Lynnette!" Kagome's scream ripped the air in her despair. It sounded as though both heart and soul were being ripped from her body.
Inuyasha managed to push Kagura back from him for a few minutes with a sudden attack in order to turn towards Kagome. Hearing her scream her friend's name with such horror sent chills up his spine. "Shit!" he cursed. He turned and attempted to chase after Naraku but knew that he was too far away to catch.
It was obvious that Kagura wouldn't follow because she was supposed to be a distraction anyways.
When Naraku and Lynnette were unable to be seen, Kagura called for her partner. "Kohaku, let's go. We're done here."
The boy nodded, pulling back his chain and running to her side.
"Kohaku!" Sango shouted, trying to reach out for her younger brother.
Kagura plucked a feather from her hair and tossed it up, waiting for it to grow into its giant form. The two of them hopped onto it and sped out of the area before anything more could be done.
Inuyasha reunited with the group after Naraku managed his escape. "Kagome..." he murmured, seeing her break down in an agony of loss.
Kagome's legs collapsed as she sobbed in heartbreak. Her shoulders heaving as tears ran down her face.
Enraged, the hanyou whirled around to glower at Miroku and Sango. "You two could have been a little more helpful!" he snapped.
Sango grit her teeth, knowing that once more, her weakness for Kohaku caused the rest of her group pain. "I know...," she murmured guiltily.
Miroku sighed. "Kagome-sama was also distracted by Kohaku's sudden attack. We couldn't control the circumstances."
Inuyasha knew they had a point, but didn't want to admit it to them. He just hated to see Kagome so upset. He felt as if she was exposing all of her sorrow and rage to them at a level that she had never revealed to them before. It honestly scared him.
"What could he have wanted with her?" Kagome gasped out, her deep soulful eyes blinded by tears of agony. "How did he know she was here?"
The monk was usually the calm one in most bad situations they were caught in. This was not an exception. "He probably used Kanna's mirror or sent Saimyoushou out to spy on us," he explained.
"But why her? What was he talking about?" The miko's body shook as she tried to bring herself under control.
Miroku shook his head. "No one but Naraku knows. It seems as if even Lynnette-sama was clueless. The good thing is that based on what he wants her for, he cares enough not to kill her. We will have time to rescue her without worrying about that."
"Which is why we need to start moving now," Inuyasha growled. "We can't let Naraku keep her."
Kagome sniffed and rose to her feet, hunting for her bow and arrows. "If he harms one hair on her head..." She snarled darkly.
"Hopefully we'll be there before he'd have the chance to attempt to do anything to her," Miroku commented. He looked over at Sango who still stood by in silence. "Sango, we will get Kohaku back. Please do not beat yourself up about this situation. We cannot afford to lose efficient fighters."
Sango gave him a weak nod, knowing that he was right. "Thank you, Houshi-sama." Her expression became determined.
Shippou hopped onto Kirara's back, sniffling all the while. "Lynnette!" he wailed. It seemed as if the kitsune was really growing close to her after all.
Kirara let out a gentle rumble to comfort her friend but at the look Sango gave her, she let out a roar. Kirara's newest friend had been taken by her worst enemy, and now the cat demon found herself with one less woman to pet her, she was not very pleased.
The nekomata felt worry ever since she first found out about Naraku wanting Lynnette. She knew that her friend had a rare energy about her that made her powerful in her own right. However, it seemed as if no one around noticed. Her abilities must have been dormant but at least noticeable to some degree for Naraku to find out.
Kagome found her bow and quiver of arrows, rage dancing with despair in her chocolate brown eyes. "Let's go everyone." There was a note of steel in her voice, and the unspoken message was that no one was getting any sleep that night, or for some nights to come.
Inuyasha let out an angered growl at Naraku's actions, but agreed with Kagome. Getting in front of her, he waited for her to get on his back in order for them to speed up the process of covering ground. He had no problem going a few nights without sleep.
Sango, Shippou, and Miroku got onto the transformed neko and followed behind the pair. They could not waste a second of their time. Looking down at the pair, the monk and taijiya could not remember a time when they appeared as determined as they were currently.
Kirara knew that the others were planning on doing reckless searches for Lynnette and she could not agree more. She wanted to tear Naraku apart with her fangs at the particular moment.
Shippou, perched on Miroku's shoulder, continued sniffling at having seen their new friend stolen by their worst enemy. He did not want to lose sleep, but this sacrifice was one that everyone would have to make. He had to be brave like everyone else! Naraku would not get away with this!
All the while, each of them prayed that Lynnette could hold out while they searched for her.