Disclaimer: Don't own any Inuyasha. Never have, never will.
Chapter 10
"Naraku, you're going to fucking DIE!"
Inuyasha tore through the campsite. Innocent branches were no match for the raging hanyou as he hopped into the trees, intent on finding the bastard Naraku's scent. He sniffed delicately, and then took off in the north direction as his companions below him stared in confused fascination.
"W-What?" Sango sat up sleepily. "What was that about?"
"I'm sure Inuyasha has a good reason for taking off this early in the morning," Miroku shifted, trying to find a more comfortable position to fall asleep in. Kind of hard to do that, though, when you're sleeping against a tree. "He knows where we are. He'll come back."
Sango didn't look convinced. "Are you sure?"
Miroku nodded, his head tilted meaningfully in Kagome's general direction. Sango's eyes followed, noticing that Kagome seemed a little…dazed.
"Kagome-chan? Are you all right?"
Kagome looked up into the expectant eyes of her friends. She didn't know what to say. What could she say? She had a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach that the reason Inuyasha took off had something to do with her.
Finally her brain caught up. "I'm fine, don't worry about me. Go back to sleep. I'm sure he'll be back before morning."
As soon as her companions were asleep, Kagome wiggled out of her sleeping bag. She carefully laid the sleeping Shippo next to Kirara, and quietly snuck into the forest.
As soon as she was sure she was out of earshot of camp, she took off at a dead run in the direction Inuyasha had.
'It's all my fault he left; I have to find him before he gets into trouble…'
She tripped over a tree root protruding into her path, cutting her bare foot. She briefly examined it, noting that the bleeding was already beginning to stop. She began to follow the path again, this time being more careful of where she was going.
So absorbed in her thoughts, she never noticed that she had left her bow back at camp.
0000000
Inuyasha slammed his fist into the mud in sheer frustration. The scent he had caught back in camp was faint at best, meaning that it was a few days old.
And just when it appeared that it was getting stronger, it had started raining. The rain washed all remnants of the scent away until Naraku was completely untrackable.
'That bastard hanyou is going to die!'
He leapt into the trees again, intent on traveling in the direction the scent led in before it started raining. After a couple of minutes, he spotted smoke coming from an unusually large clearing.
'What the…'
Inuyasha immediately leapt down to investigate.
The remnants of the village looked almost identical to the village he had found Kagome in some time ago. Smoke billowed out of piles of rubble. Fires were still burning, resisting the effort of the rain to put them out.
Inuyasha stared in morbid fascination at the destruction for the longest time. It seemed as if destruction followed Naraku everywhere. It was a sure thing that it was Naraku who had destroyed it…who else would have that kind of power?
"I knew you would eventually come." A familiar voice chuckled.
Inuyasha whirled around in record time, unsheathing Tetsusaiga reflexively.
"WIND SCAR!!"
The light of the wind scar vanished without ever hitting Kagura. In fact, it missed her by such a distance that it was embarrassing. He readied his sword again, intending on blowing Kagura straight to hell, when she spoke up again.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you…I have some information that you might find of use."
Inuyasha scoffed. "Why would I believe a lying bitch like you? Prepare to die!"
He stopped in mid-swing when Kagura said, "It's about Kagome."
"What? What do you know about Kagome? WHAT DID HE TELL YOU?!?!"
Kagura stepped forward. She took a deep breath, and continued.
"Naraku…intended to produce an…incarnation of sorts with your miko," Kagura took a deep breath and continued. "His ultimate goal is more power, whether it be by gathering more shards or absorbing powerful youkai. He intends to use this…new development to gain enough power to take over all the land he sees."
Kagura turned and stepped onto her feather, rising into the sky while the rain continued to fall in dangerous sheets around them both.
Inuyasha growled dangerously. "Then why did he just leave her? Why didn't he take the shards?"
Kagura whirled around, her eyes flashing. "You insolent hanyou, do I have to explain everything to you? Which would be a greater asset, a couple of shards when he already has so many or an incarnation that is immune to miko magic?"
Inuyasha spat, "How do I know that I can trust you?"
Kagura chuckled under her breath. "You don't."
She then took off, her feather a mere speck against the rainy sky. Inuyasha stood, dumbfounded.
'Naraku plans to…absorb is own incarnation? Is that even possible? What about Kagome? Would he absorb her too? Can he?'
Inuyasha shook his head violently. 'I'll never let him lay another finger on her as long as I'm still alive.'
Inuyasha slowly made his way out of the destroyed village, the weather reflecting his somber mood. How was he supposed to tell Kagome what Kagura had just told him? How was he supposed to know if Kagura was even telling the truth? Could he truly trust her, knowing that it was likely she had destroyed that village? Why else would she be there?
And the most burning question in his mind had yet to be answered.
How would Kagome take the news?
