Chapter 11: Only the Strongest Survive

A/N: Guess what?! I'm back! I am so so sorry it's been so long (almost a year, ahem…). Please forgive me! First it was writer's block and then my computer just upped and deleted the entire story….literally. I only just got round to rereading it on today…so that I would know where I was. Anyway, I'm going to start posting again! How about, every other Sunday? Does that work for you? I would like to do every Sunday but…school… (IB life, yo) Anyway, please comment and tell me I'm forgiven….especially after such a cliffy :P Anyway, let's get on with the story, shall we?

Disclaimer: I still don't own Inuyasha….strange that…

Kagome kept still. Very still. The breath against her neck was regular. Even. Calm. Unlike her own which jumped and caught in her throat. The clearing in the woods was still silent. The villagers had heeded her warning and didn't dare say a word. This wasn't good. She'd ruined it now. The person knew. He knew. He knew that she had twigged on to his arrival.

Kagome was terrified. She wanted to run. Hide under her bedcovers. She wanted to pretend that she had never met Sango, that she had never got involved with the Magpie. But, she raised her chin a little higher, there are some things you can just never go back on.

"It's alright," she called out to the rest of the crowds. "I thought I heard something. I thought it could be the Magpie. It's alright, though. It was nothing."

The rest of the villagers frowned. They would have been more annoyed. More frustrated with her 'paranoia.' But, they, too, were afraid. There was something not quite right about the evening. Something strange in the air.

The breath on Kagome's neck began to stutter. The person was laughing. At her.

"Oh well done, my Lady," it said. Kagome shivered. His breath was cold. Close, too close for comfort. "Very, very well done."

Kagome stiffened her shoulders. She couldn't let on what she knew. Now was her time…now was the moment to let all her training come into use.

"I'm not quite sure what you mean," she began, stiffly. Coldly. "If you are one of us, then I advise you come into the light. If you are not, then you should leave quickly; the men have guns, you know."

"If I am not one of you, why are you offering me a means of escape?" The voice was amused. Too amused. If anything, that frightened Kagome even more.

"It was a way to prove my point," she replied. "For now, I am certain you are not one of us."

"Oh? And what are you going to do now then…my dear Kagome?"

Kagome stiffened. He knew her name. He knew her name. How? The strange, crashing headache from earlier started to return. The one that made her blood slow and thick in her veins. Kagome tried to blink to clear her head, and her eyes struggled to open again afterwards.

"Are you alright?" The voice was too light to be sincere. "Maybe you would like to sit down, Kagome. You're looking a little…pale."

She could hear the smile in his voice. Hear the mockery in his tone. Her knees bent. No. They couldn't. No. Keep standing. Stand straight. Don't fall. No.

"Lady Kagome?" She could hear Kouga beside her. He asked again, his voice gaining anxiety. "Kagome, are you alright? Kagome!"

"No, Kouga..." Somewhere the words became trapped in her throat. Caught underneath her tongue. They didn't pass through her lips. She felt herself begin to fall. A pair of arms caught her. They weren't Kouga's. These arms were thin. Strong and ropy. The sharpness of the bones cut into her stomach. The arms were uncaring. It didn't matter to whoever was holding her whether she was hurt or not.

"She will be fine." a voice, that voice, cut through Kouga's splutters. "I think the excitement of the moment has quite turned her head."

It hasn't! Kagome tried to say. Kouga, help! All she managed was a choked gasp. A cold hand reached down and touched her cheek. Kagome tried to shake it off but her bones felt like lead.

"It is exciting isn't it?" The voice was still strange, almost as if holding in a laugh. "And also…are you sure you're not a little cold?" As he said that, a chill passed through Kagome's body. She couldn't move. Her arms and legs fell limp. They no longer felt as if they were filled with metal but rather, her body had turned to stone. She couldn't feel. Couldn't move. Her eyes wouldn't open. She felt herself being placed back on the ground.

'There, there," the voice continued. "I wouldn't be too dramatic if I were you. Come on, open your eyes…there we go."

Kagome could see Kouga. She could see the relief spread across his face. She could see his slight smile as he believed she was going to be alright. He knelt down beside her. Took one numb hand in-between his two.

"Oh, Kagome," he breathed. "I was worried. I thought the Magpie had done something. I had heard how a note was left in your room. Anything could have happened, the thief could have slipped something into your food."

"It was merely an overload of excitement, was it not, my Lady?" The voice. Kagome moved her eyes, her head immobile, to look at its owner. He was very thin, as she had deduced when he held her, like Inuyasha in fact. She looked again. No, not like Inuyasha. Inuyasha was thin, but he was muscular. It was obvious his lifestyle relied on his fitness. This man looked almost ill, his cheeks caving into his face and his collarbone raised sharply beneath his shirt. He couldn't be Naraku, could he? How could this man inflict so much harm?

"Wasn't it," the man pushed again. "It was only too much excitement for a young lady to handle."

"Yes," Kagome said. "It was too much. The excitement quite took hold of me."

"Well done." The man smiled. It didn't meet his eyes. "Now then, you're feeling better aren't you, Lady Kagome."

"Yes." Kagome nodded her head slightly. She wasn't lying. The sensation of paralysis was disappearing. She sighed slightly in relief. "I feel much better. Thank you."

"Excellent. Now then, why don't you stand up?"

Kagome pulled herself to her feet. She felt stiff, sore. She used a tree to support herself as she stood. Kouga moved forward. Slipped an arm around her waist.

"Now, now," the thin man said. "We can't have that kind of behaviour in a public setting. Lady Kagome does not require your assistance, young man. Do you Kagome?"

"No, I do not." Kagome stepped away from Kouga, shaking loose his grip. "But I thank you, Kouga. You were very kind."

Kouga frowned. "My lady Kagome, are you sure you are alright?"

Kagome was silent. She smiled slightly. Tilted her head to the right.

"She is perfectly well now," the man answered for her. "Thank you for your concern."

Kouga appeared confused. Unsure of what to say next. He chose to ignore Kagome's strange behaviour and instead turn to the man. Male conversation. A language he was much more fluent in.

"I don't believe I've seen you before," he began, inflating his voice with the pride of a man who thinks he's best.

"No," the man smiled again. "I do not believe you have."

His cool expressionlessness threw Kouga off a little, but he recovered and blustered on. "Where do you live? You seem to know the Lady Kagome quite well. May I ask why?"

"That would be a matter between me and Kagome, would it not?"

Kouga drew himself up. "You might not have heard yet, but Kagome is my fiancée. Her matters are my matters now, and I demand to know how the two of became so well acquainted."

The man turned back to Kagome, who had been standing without speaking all the time. "What do you think, my Lady? It isn't really his right to know all of your secrets, is it?"

Kagome stepped forward. "You do not tell me all your secrets, Lord Kouga. I do not see why you should hear mine."

"Kagome." Kouga looked shocked. "You are to tell me, your fiancée, that your business, with another man, is nothing I should want to know more about?"

Kagome didn't reply.

"I'm sure you are a lovely couple," the man cut smoothly in once more. "And I know every relationship has its bumps that must be sorted, but now is not the time. I believe someone is calling you, Lord Kouga."

Kouga didn't turn around. "I will leave when I, myself, hear that I am begin summoned."

"That may not be a wise move." The man tutted gently. "I distinctly saw someone trying for your attention, don't you agree, Kagome?"

"Indeed." She nodded. "A man in a blue overcoat is trying very hard to catch your eye."

"It might be about the Magpie, mightn't it Kagome?"

She nodded once more. "I'm sure it is, Lord Kouga. You should go and speak with him." Kagome fell silent once again. The thin man reached out a finger and, ever so lightly, touched her hand. She lifted her head and spoke once more: "I would feel more comfortable, Lord Kouga, if you were to go and check. You are the person I feel most protected by after all."

Kouga had not noticed the touch. He nodded, his ego well nurtured. "I'll go and speak with him," he said, importantly. Hesitating before leaving he turned back. "Will you come with me?" A moment's silence. "My Lady."

Kagome stood still. As did the thin man. He stared at Kagome, almost is if he was waiting for something. Nothing happened and he smiled. Returned his gaze to Kouga.

"Why not?" he said. "You'd like that, wouldn't you Kagome?"

Kouga winced at the familiarity that Kagome seemed not to notice. She smiled widely up at Kouga.

"I would love to."

If Kouga were a more intelligent man he would have noticed at that instant that something was wrong. That something was off, not right. Instead, all he noticed was the adoration in Kagome's eyes and her willingness to follow at his side. It lit a fire inside of his heart and struck a storm inside his mind. He offered his arm and felt dizzy with delight as she took it. As the two of them walked across the clearing Kouga hardly noticed the thin man trailing behind him.

"Which man was it?" he asked Kagome after a while. "I can't see anyone wearing blue."

Kagome ignored him and walked at his side in silence. Kouga squeezed her arm comfortingly. The poor girl was probably still recovering from her collapse.

"He must have left," answered the thin man behind him. Kouga turned with a start and scowled. He'd forgotten him. Why was he still here?

"Must you continue to follow us?" he asked, imperiously as he dared. "The Lady Kagome has quite recovered from her previous ordeal, though we thank you for your assistance."

The thin man laughed. Slowly. Languidly. "Kagome wants me here." He shrugged. Off-handedly. As if to say he couldn't help it. "Don't you, my dear?"

Kagome turned and wrapped her small hands around Kouga's upper arm. "Please, my Lord," she whispered softly. "He has been such a good friend to me, please don't send him away."

Kouga turned red and swallowed as she pressed herself closer. "W-Well," he began. "I suppose, my Lady. If he means that much to you. However," a clipped pause as he collected his wits, "you have yet to tell me his name."

Something flashed across the thin man's face. "How rude," he said. "I am standing right bes-"

"Lord Naraku," said Kagome, smiling sweetly. "His name is Lord Nakaru."

"Ah, well." Kouga turned to Naraku. "Pleasure to meet you, I am Lord Kouga."

Naraku bowed slowly, his gaze never leaving Kagome's face. "It's a pleasure."

"All mine, all mine," Kouga said absently, not noticing the strange expression in Naraku's eyes. "Well, I'm off to find your father." He looked over to Naraku. "I can trust you to take care of her?"

Naraku nodded. "She'll be perfectly safe with me, won't you Kagome?"

She was silent and Naraku's mask slipped once more. His forehead creased slightly and his eyebrows trembled in an effort to hide a scowl.

"Well then," Kouga nodded once more. "Stay with him, Kagome, we need all the protection from the Magpie we can get." (A/N: Oh, the irony…)

He set off and the two of them were alone. Naraku took hold of Kagome's arm and drew her slowly out of the clearing. Only, when the two of them were safely hidden behind a tree did he loosen his grip.

"Hello Kagome," he said softly, his voice cool. "You're still in there then?" he lifted one hand and pressed it against her forehead. She didn't move. Her eyes were blank. "You're sweating, darling," he continued. "Come now, you shouldn't struggle so much; it will destroy your lovely, little face."

Kagome shivered. Her head jerked back. Naraku's hand tensed and he knotted his fingers through her hair to keep her head still.

"Didn't I say not to struggle?" His voice had lost its cooing tone. It was cold. Hard. "I know you can hear me, Kagome. Stay still."

She stopped moving. Kouga waited until her eyes had dimmed once more. He lifted one hand and stroked her cheek. Gently. Gently. Kagome's eyes faded even more.

"Good girl," he whispered. "Don't fight it. It's not worth it, is it?"

He jerked backwards suddenly as a person came crashing through the woods and stopped in front of them.

"Be quiet, damn you!" Naraku shouted softly. "The woods are crawling with people tonight!"

"It's the village," the man said, out of breath. "Another thief and his troop are there, its impossible for us to go in without being seen."

"Then kill them!"Naraku's voice was angry. Furious. He saw Kagome flinch was more and lowered it.

"We can't!" The other man was desperate. "Then there will be the bodies. There will be evidence. There's too many of them. And it was you who said-"

"For God's sake, man!" Naraku sighed. He turned to Kagome and spoke with a voice like honey. "Kagome dear, don't you want to sleep?" Her body slipped to one side a little. "That's it," he said, lowering her to the ground. "Close your little eyes, there we go, go to sleep."

He waited until it was established Kagome was unconscious before turning back to the man. "Just, clear everyone out." His voice was cold. Angry. "We'll come again. Damn it!" Naraku hit a tree with his fist, causing the other man to jump. "If only you all weren't so bloody useless." He nodded in the direction of the sleeping Kagome. "Pick her up. Lead me back to the village."

"Yes, sir." The man leapt forward and threw Kagome over one shoulder. The pair walked swiftly into the darkness, leaving the unaware villagers shivering in the night.

~…~

"I thought you said he was coming tonight," Inuyasha complained. " All we're doing is sitting around. Is this your idea of a good night out?"

"He was supposed to," Sango snapped back. "It's part of his pattern. This is when he should come. And if you're so bored, why don't you do something?"

"Like what? Skip around in circles and sing lullabies to the moon?"

"Oh, I don't know. Pick something you see, tell someone the letter it starts with, and have the other person guess."

"Fine, I see something that begins with the letter d."

"I didn't mean play it with me," Sango grumbled. "Why don't you find someone else to subject your lovely self to?"

"Oh believe me," Inuyasha replied. "I would. But unfortunately, everyone else is out looking for a thief who isn't coming. Now, it starts with d. Take a guess."

Sango sighed. "I don't know, dirt?"

"No. Dark. Because everything is bloody dark. Because I can't see a bloody thing, with which to play your bloody game, because everything is dark! Come up with something better."

"How about the Game of Silence and Death?"

Inuyasha leant forward. "That one sounds good. How do you play?"

"Its simple. We're both silent and the first person to speak dies a horrible and painful death. Let's play it, starting…now."

"What's all this?" Miroku asked, walking towards them. "Getting along are we?"

Sango flinched, noticing Inuyasha's grin. "It doesn't count," she interjected. "Miroku's not playing."

"Aha!" Inuyasha'a grin grew even wider. "You were the first to speak!"

"What's going on?" Miroku frowned in confusion. "Am I missing something?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "Not much, Sango just found out that she's going to die."

Miroku's eyes widened. "Never! Oh my dear Sango." He stumbled through the dark, arms outstretched. "To die and have never yet loved! Oh my dear Sango."

Sango stepped to one side to avoid his thoughtful and unselfish (supposedly) embrace. "Why did I even think it was a good idea to join you lot?" she asked aloud.

"Because you love us so much?" Miroku answered, regaining his balance. "Because your inner mothering instinct was yearning for children and you knew the perfect father was near? Because you-" His voice faded into nothing as Sango glared and opened her mouth to reply.

"Wait!" Inuyasha was suddenly on his feet. He stared into the woods. "Someone's coming."

The three waited in silence. Nothing happened. Then, there it was. The slight crack of a twig underfoot. And then again.

"Could it be one of ours?" Sango asked softly. "One of the younger ones maybe?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "The younger ones are lighter on their feet than the elder. No one in our troop would make such an elementary mistake."

Miroku and Sango were silent. The three edged around to crouch behind the fence surrounding a garden. They watched, as a group of men walked from the forest onto the street.

"Have they left?" the one in the front called softly.

"I can't see anyone else. Looks like they left."

"Do you know who they were?"

"Well, the scout said all the villagers are camped out in the woods, looking for the Crow or something like that. Must be him and his people."

"The Crow?!" Muffled laughter rippled through the crowd. "No wonder his gang upped and left him!"

Sango turned to Miroku and Inuyasha. "Everyone left?"

"I forgot to say," Miroku whispered. "Everyone was becoming worried that the villagers might come across our campsite. Instead of splitting up and becoming weaker they all turned back. Anyway, it will be dawn in a moment. Naraku won't be too foolish as to come just as the day breaks."

"The Crow?!" Inuyasha snapped, his voice rising. "The Crow?!"

"Be quiet, Inuyasha," Sango hissed. "It doesn't matter." She turned back to Miroku. "If they wouldn't do anything at dawn, why are they here now?"

Miroku shrugged. Tried to smile. "Short break before they go on their way?"

Sango's cheeks turned red. "This is no time for jokes Miroku! They know the village is unprotected; they know where Kagome and all of the other villagers are, what more could go wrong?!"

"Nothing." Miroku tried to sooth her. "It will all work out. It will all be fine. You just watch, they're going to leave now."

Sango glared. "Don't be so foolish, Miroku! You know they'll never-" Sango edged a little higher to listen as another person began to speak.

"Do you know what Lord Naraku wants us to do?" he asked the others. "Do we stay or…?"

"The scout said the Lord wants us to back out. We'll come back again he said. So, I suppose that means we leave."

"Right now?"

The answering man shrugged. "Now's a better time than any."

Miroku had to choke down his laughter as the group turned to leave. Sango scowled. He would be unbearable for days after this.

"Oh yes," another man started. "Where is Lord Naraku now? Does he know what we're doing?"

"The scout said the last he saw, the Lord had taken a girl with him. One of the richest daughters of the house. K something or other. He'd somehow put her to sleep or something along those lines. Anyway, he took her somewhere."

"A girl?" Another person laughed. "What's he going to de with her?"

"Who can say? It'll be the day when we can predict what Lord Naraku does next."

With another outbreak of laughter the group turned and entered the forest, their voices fading into the dark.

"Ha!" Miroku said after a while. "Ha! Did you see that? I said they were going to leave and what did they do? They left! Ha!"

"The Crow?!" Inuyasha still couldn't believe. "It was my father who came up with the title of the powerful and magnificent Magpie. How dare they sully his name by calling me the Crow?"
"Shut up!" Sango snapped. Her face was pale and her lips pinched. "Didn't you hear? They said Naraku had one of the daughters, her name beginning with K." She looked at the two men's blank faces. "Don't you understand? He has Kagome!"

~…~

Naraku woke Kagome up again as he carried her back to her house.

"There you go," he said gently. "Everything's better now isn't it. Now, tell me which house is yours."

Kagome pointed dumbly, her eyes still dull.

"Good girl," he continued. "Let's go in, shall we? I won't take you back with me today, alright? Maybe some other time. But for now, you just settle down back home. I'll come back and get you, don't you worry. Now, this is the right house? Yes? Alright, in we go."

The two of them walked in through the front door.

"It's a good thing no one has come back from that clearing yet, isn't it?" Naraku asked. "We don't want things getting complicated now, do we? There we go. Well, this is where I leave you. Until next time, my dear."

And with those words, Naraku left and the life flooded back into Kagome's eyes. Her head pounded horriblyß and she leaned against the wall to keep her balance.

In an empty, dusty house, filled with empty, dusty memories, Kagome laughed until the tears dried away.

A/N- What do you think? Worth the wait? (I know it was almost a year but still…my writer's block is over!) Anyway, I will try very hard to stick to my every other Sunday regime… However, hypothetically speaking…let's say I got 7 more different reviews? Then, I might be more motivated to update more quickly! Anyway, it all depends on how badly you all want a new chapter! :P See you in two weeks!

-AsDarkAsTheNightSky