Title: Koumajutsu
Author: Tsubasa Kya
Disclaimer: I do not own "Naruto" or "Inuyasha". This will be Canon Naruto and Alternate Universe Inuyasha. Pairings are undecided at this point.

Chapter eleven: Yobidasu Dogs

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said as they moved swiftly through the trees toward where the highway met with the road to Konohagakure. "Who are we going to meet up with?" It was something that bothered her; Tsunade knew, and Kakashi knew, but she didn't. She disliked being uninformed of known information.

Kakashi responded with a quick, "You'll find out when we get there." In his voice was a smile, and he knew it would bother Sakura greatly not knowing. What he was worried more about was how Naruto was so quiet. He really didn't think Naruto had changed that much in the past few years. He had expected Naruto to demand who they were going to be escorting, and to ask a million questions.

But Naruto was stuck in his thoughts, and mostly running on auto-pilot. He was able to keep up with the swift pace, but if he tried talking, as well as thinking and running, he was pretty sure he'd have a head-on collision with an unfortunate tree.

He kept thinking of something he had heard somewhere. Kakashi had been the Fourth's student, hadn't he? So, then Kakashi would know about Naruto's parents, wouldn't he? But if that were so, then why would Kakashi keep that a secret all that time? And just how exactly was he supposed to react to all that?

Still, Naruto didn't want to confront anyone about what he knew until he'd finished reading that journey log—which might be a while since everything kept getting in the way of it. And then there was the matter of Sasuke that bothered him. How would Tsunade deal with Sasuke?

There was also the matter of what everyone else thought of Naruto now that Sasuke was back, or whether or not most people knew. Sakura knew, which was undoubtedly one of the reasons why Team Kakashi was off on a mission. It was to give Sakura a chance to cope with the fact that the traitor was back. To give her something to take her mind off of that fact. Naruto had heard Sakura telling Ino in confidentiality that she wanted to go right up to Sasuke and slug him with no restraint on her chakra.

Pakkun—in the lead and following the scent of whoever they were meeting up with—had picked up a strange scent. Pakkun relayed the information to Kakashi. Sakura still found it weird to see a dog talking. "Someone else started tailing her about here."

"Are they shinobi?" Kakashi asked.

"If they are, they haven't bathed in days." Pakkun replied.

Sakura said, "Tsunade-sama has had reports of disappearing girls in the villages in this area. She sent Shino, Kiba, and Hinata to find out what's going on this morning."

"We already passed where she would have been by now if she stopped last night in a village." Pakkun added. "She probably rode in the buggy and continued on through the night."

Kakashi felt a frown mar his features as he began worrying about Kagome. She was for the most part trained to utilize her summoning skills, but he wasn't sure if she knew what to do if she were confronted. Would she think to try running? Or would she fight? Or would she simply freeze up?

Sakura said, "Even if she rode in a buggy all night, wouldn't she have stopped to rest in the morning?"

"Not necessarily," Kakashi said. "Pakkun, are we getting close?"

Pakkun suddenly stopped and Kakashi tripped over him. Sakura and Naruto jumped out of the trees and Sakura nudged the downed Kakashi with a foot. New things were happening every day; Jounin were tripping over dogs.

"The scent trail disappeared," Pakkun said as Kakashi got up and brushed himself off like nothing happened. "I can't smell her, the buggy, the mule, or her stalkers." Pakkun started sniffing around on the ground. "It doesn't turn, it just stops."

Kakashi swore rather colorfully. Naruto felt the hair rising on the back of his neck as Kyuubi whispered in his mind yet again. He tried to ignore it, but Kyuubi wasn't easily forgotten. Look up! Look up! Kyuubi said in his mind rather insistently.

Naruto looked up and saw an almost ghostlike version of Kyuubi sitting on a tree branch. His eyes went wide. Despite the fact that he could see right through Kyuubi, it was undoubtedly the humanoid fox creature. "What the hell?" he exclaimed, earning strange looks from Kakashi, Pakkun, and Sakura. "Who let you out of that cage?"

The three looked at where Naruto was looking, but saw nothing. Sakura asked, "Who are you talking to, Naruto?"

"Can't you see him?" Naruto asked, pointing to the spirit. Sakura looked but could see nothing. She shook her head and glanced with worry at Naruto. Naruto looked back at Kyuubi.

They can't see or hear me. If you want to save that Summoner girl, Kyuubi said, then follow me. Naruto watched Kyuubi stand up.

"What are," Naruto started, but then it clicked in his head. He'd met a girl who could summon, didn't he? "You mean Kagome?" he demanded, and Kakashi's black eye went wide. Kakashi hadn't told them who they were following…

Kyuubi turned around. If that's her name, he said carelessly. It may be too late already.

Naruto felt a growl tearing out of his throat. Kyuubi took off running. "Wait!" Naruto yelled, chasing after the fox.

She won't wait! Kyuubi said.

Sakura said, "Kakashi-sensei! Someone must have caught him in a Genjutsu mind trap!"

"No," Kakashi said, "I don't think so. I don't know how the trail disappeared, but I think we should follow him." Sakura nodded and the three took after the racing Naruto. After what felt like several hours but was only ten minutes later, they saw a fire ahead.

The clearing was bare save for a mule cart that was on fire and a dead mule. The mule's body was littered with shuriken. Pakkun went to sniff the mule. "These shuriken smell like the guys who were following her. We must be dealing with shinobi."

That makes it a little harder, Kyuubi told Naruto. Naruto looked at the fox's spirit. Kyuubi was looking in the water of the hot spring. Sakura and Kakashi were quietly waiting for Pakkun to sniff the area and see if he could find any leads on trails. Naruto, Kyuubi called, come here.

Naruto obeyed and looked into the water at what Kyuubi was pointing to. By the light of the burning mule cart, he could see a glinting at the bottom. He didn't need to be told twice. He jumped into the spring, ducking down to grab the item. It turned out to be a bag; a dark green knapsack. The glinting came from a piece of chain sticking out of the lip of the sack.

As Naruto surfaced, Sakura said, "Naruto! This isn't the time for bathing!"

Naruto lifted the waterlogged bag up onto the edge, then climbed out to wring out his clothes. He should have taken his jacket off first, he thought. Each step he took, his shoes squelched noisily. He should also have taken his shoes off.

Kakashi walked over and knelt by the bag, flipping the cover up and peering inside. The bag was still draining water; Kakashi dumped the contents out and looked at them. Naruto found them all very similar to what he had seen when Kagome dumped her bag out. There were jars of colorful powder, kept dry with airtight rubber seals or corks. There were all the little trinkets that had been in there before, and the flashlight and kunai.

Also among the items were clothes of white and dark green, just like Kagome had worn when he met her on the mountain. The strange pendant she'd worn was still glowing and it was threaded among a pile of jewelry made of silver bells and silver chain links. The "Level One Summons" book was drenched.

"We now know Kagome was here, not only because that's her mule and buggy," Kakashi began, "but also because these are her things." He glanced up at Naruto. "Come out with it. Who led you here?"

Naruto looked at Kyuubi and the fox just shrugged. "Kyuubi," Naruto said finally. He was glad to say it, but at the same time wished he hadn't. Sakura looked nervous all of a sudden.

"You mean the Nine-Tails?" she squeaked. "I thought the demon was dead!"

Kakashi put Kagome's things back in the bag and strapped it shut. He then slid the bag over his shoulder. "Enough, Sakura." Kakashi said.

Earth-nin, Kyuubi said suddenly. Tell them its earth-nin you're dealing with. Naruto blinked at Kyuubi, but the fox continued. I don't have any idea what they want with her, but they're good at hiding their presence and hers. That's all the further I can help you. Next time you need my help, you remove the seal first. With that, Kyuubi was gone completely.

Naruto relayed the information to Kakashi, but left out anything that didn't have to do with their current mission.

xXx

Kagome glared at her captors as they greedily ate roast chicken. She was sitting among a group of twelve other young girls, all varying in age between six and twenty. She didn't really know what was going on, other than they'd all been captured for some unknown reason.

She had been really scared and thought that she would be raped. She'd found out within a few minutes that wasn't the case, or at least she wouldn't be raped there. She'd been forced into an outfit that looked much like an upturned potato sack with a hole for arms and her head.

The other girls were wearing similar garments, though all of them quietly agreed that potato sacks were not anywhere near being in fashion. When she'd realized she wouldn't be raped, her thoughts and her confidence had come back. She had been about to use her Maryoku Koumaberu, but then something hard knocked her unconscious.

When she'd woken up, she was with the other girls. They were all tied to a long rope that connected them to one another, and the end of the rope was connected to a tree. She didn't know where her things were, but they most certainly were not with her. The only thing she did have was the choker around her neck, with the single, very special Summoning bell on it.

Each time she shifted, the bell's hammer would ring. Her captors seemed amused by the sound, but they had no idea just how amusing it could be. She didn't want to ring it just yet though—not with the girls. Had it just been her, she would have.

Kagome looked around her, viewing the girls closely. Some of them were thin and dirtier than others. She judged the youngest, a small girl who could be no older than six years, to have been the first girl to be taken captive. She was sickly and her head lay in the lap of another girl who looked to be the oldest.

"Grahaha!" laughed one of their captors, amused by one of his fellow's rotten jokes. Kagome bowed her head in thought. The girls looked as though they would do anything to get out of their current situation. That certainly was not a good thing, because survival chances were slim in that case.

"Hey, you!" one of the men said, poking a girl with a long stick. The girl shied away from the stick, but the man only poked her again. "Get me some more of that chicken!"

The girl untied herself and shuffled over to the fire. She was no more than ten years old, but her movements mimicked an elderly woman with stooped shoulders and a bad leg. She peeled the chicken from the makeshift spit, making no noise even though the hot meat had to be burning her fingers. She plopped it onto the man's plate and then returned to the other girls and sat down where she had been before.

The girl tied herself back up.

That was another thing that puzzled Kagome. They could all untie themselves, but the girls didn't try escaping. Why not? And what did these grubby men want with them all? Until Kagome knew, could she risk Summoning? She couldn't Summon while she was tied up or she'd end up dragging the other girl's arms out of their sockets because she wasn't properly balanced.

"Hey, what do they want with us?" Kagome asked the girl on her left in a low whisper. The girl didn't even have the confidence to look up at Kagome. She stared at her hands as if the world had come to an end and she was simply waiting for the ground to swallow her. Kagome didn't like that look.

"You'll find out soon enough," the girl said so quietly Kagome almost missed it. "It's almost time…" Kagome sat to wait, the burlap sack she wore making her skin itch. Her hair was still wet, she noticed. The cool night air caused her to shiver and goose bumps crawled along her flesh.

The girl on Kagome's right warned Kagome, "Don't eat the food they give you. It's drugged." Kagome watched the men closely but found soon enough that she didn't have to look closely to notice the men's indiscrete actions. They slathered the remaining chicken with what looked like powdered sugar and then tossed it among the girls. Half of the girls scrabbled for the drugged meat, their sunken eyes feverish.

Kagome looked at the girl on her right. She looked disgusted at her fellow captive's actions. The eldest girl and the youngest sickly girl did not make a move for the meat. The girl to Kagome's left slipped something in Kagome's hand; it was meat, but it didn't have the powdered substance on it.

Kagome guessed the girl had managed to finger it when the men weren't looking. Kagome eyed the small slice and the girl on her right. She slipped it to that girl instead. The girl looked grateful toward Kagome, and smiled weakly at the girl on Kagome's left. Kagome watched as the girl then slowly scooted toward the sickly child and the eldest girl. The meat was given to the sickly child.

Kagome had to do something. She couldn't just sit there and wait for something of interest to happen.

"They're shinobi," the girl on her right explained softly when she'd scooted back over. "Hina was the first to be kidnapped." She glanced at the sickly child, confirming Kagome's original suspicions. "But then Hina fell ill with their treatment of her, and the drugs they were feeding her. Mari is the one taking care of Hina; she was second to go. Mari's dad is a doctor, so she knows a little bit, or at least enough to keep Hina alive. Not that I think it's all that good a thing."

Kagome watched the little girl as her face scrunched up in pain. She wanted to go to the little girl, but at the same time if she were to alert shinobi to the fact that she could use Maryoku (which undoubtedly would be misjudged as chakra anyway) she'd probably lose any opportunities to use koumajutsu—which was likely their only way out. She should have asked Kakashi to accompany her home. Of course, if he'd been along, it would be less likely that she would be captured in the first place, and these girls would still be in trouble.

"What would shinobi want with a bunch of girls?" Kagome asked quietly, once more looking at the greasy men. They didn't look like shinobi at all. Shinobi walked with pride in their skills, didn't they? They took care of the weak, didn't they? They didn't prey on little girls, right?

Kakashi would tell her she was looking at the world in black and white again. He would probably go into a lengthy explanation all about the 'gray' area that she was missing. But that was just what he would do.

"What do all shinobi want with girls?" the girl on Kagome's left asked in a dead voice.

The girl on Kagome's right said, "That isn't true, Sephi!" her voice was somewhat squeaky, but she hurriedly toned it down. "You know it isn't true. Just because these ones are, doesn't mean all of them are!"

Kagome wisely stayed quiet as Sephi responded in that same dead tone, "You don't know what its like, Nana. You only just got here a few days ago."

The two girls fell silent and Kagome didn't know what to say. She didn't know what was going on really. A few minutes later, two more men showed up with a keg of ale between them. The eight men began drinking heavily and within moments they had all become drunken sloths.

One of the men scrambled unsteadily onto his feet and waded into the pile of girls, hitting whoever happened to be in his way. He grabbed up a young drugged child who was too out of it to even scream. The man untied the child and dragged her out of the clearing.

Nana said quietly to Kagome, "See? That's what they want us for."

Kagome's temper had risen a hundred-fold. Sephi even noticed it. The two girls beside Kagome looked at her in surprise as she felt her fists itching to deal out swift justice. There was no doubt in Kagome's mind what that man intended to do.

She looked at the remaining captors; all of them were enjoying their drink. None of them noticed the absence of their companion or the girl.

Suddenly the consequences were not an issue. She hadn't untied herself before because she didn't want to bring attention to herself, but now the eyes of several drunks turned on her as she untied herself and stood up, bracing her feet and folding her hands together. Those girls who were sensible still looked at Kagome in surprise.

"Sit down," Sephi urged Kagome. "You'll only make it worse for yourself if you fight!"

"Hey, you jerk faces!" The drunks blinked at her before laughing amongst each other as though amused. "I'm talking to you!" she told them. "And you better damn well start taking me seriously, or else!"

One of them yelled, "Or else what, girl? You gonna stomp your feet in a temper?"

Kagome felt a cruel smile cross her face. "Or else I'm going to Summon your last supper and make it an interesting night."

The shinobi sobered up fairly quick at the word 'summon'. Instantly they were on their feet and before she could even do anything, she was grabbed by two strong shinobi with her arms spread wide. Ropes were tied to her hands and soon she was dangling between two trees. She couldn't move farther than that.

She was twelve feet away from the other girls at that point. She smiled as the lead shinobi walked up to her. "What's funny now? Even if I highly doubt you can Summon, we've got your arms occupied."

"That's very true," Kagome told him, still smiling, "my hands are occupied. I'm just laughing at the idiot mistake you made."

"And what mistake would that be?" he sneered.

"You left the bell on," Kagome told him. She started letting her Maryoku enter the bell and it rang out a tinkling sound. Seconds later, Sesshoumaru himself appeared, resplendent in his white garments. To anyone who couldn't see the rip, it would look like Sesshoumaru had just stepped out of thin air.

His hair swayed gently in the cool breeze that flowed through the trees, and his glowing golden eyes took in everything without fail. His nose wrinkled slightly in disgust at the scents around him and the shinobi began backing away from Kagome steadily. The girls who were drugged didn't seem to register anything that was going on, but the few who had not eaten the bad meat were looking at Sesshoumaru in astonishment.

Sesshoumaru glanced at Kagome for a moment before looking down at his feet where his loyal servant (and annoying companion) Jaken was standing previously unnoticed. "Remove the ropes," Sesshoumaru told Jaken.

"But my Lord!" Jaken stammered in a flustered voice, "Surely this is the perfect way to get rid of that useless human once and for all! Surely she is a burden upon the Great Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken stumbled on his strange brown-green kimono, planting his awkward face in the ground quite firmly.

"Useless!" Kagome growled in irritation, but Sesshoumaru shot her a glare that told her to be quiet. She obeyed the silent command, but still shot Jaken a look that spoke tales of promised pain sometime in the near future.

Sesshoumaru looked at the shinobi with an elegant yet bored expression on his face. "Would you presume to think that this Sesshoumaru would waste his time on something if he did not feel it worth the effort, Jaken?" Jaken began spluttering apologies and excuses for what he'd said. Sesshoumaru pressed on, "Or perhaps you think this Sesshoumaru incapable of the responsibilities of having a human in his care?"

"No, my Lord, no no! I would never think anything like that! This Jaken is your most faithful servant! There is nothing that my Lord is incapable of!" Jaken was speaking so fast and bowing so much that not only was he hard to understand, but he looked like he was doing push-ups.

Sesshoumaru added the final stone to Jaken's guilt by saying, "Perhaps then you are suggesting that this Sesshoumaru shirk his duties to the human in his care?"

"No, no no! Never, my Lord would never shirk his duties, and I would never suggest anything like that, my Lord!" Jaken half-screamed.

"This Sesshoumaru is having thoughts of hiring a new retainer, Jaken." Sesshoumaru said idly, still staring at the shinobi. They seemed to be frozen in place with fear, just as Jaken seemed to be several shades paler. "One of the duties of a retainer is obedience, is it not?"

Jaken screeched in terror and raced to where Kagome was tied between two trees. He started attempting to climb one of the trees but it wasn't working at all for him.

Sesshoumaru then addressed Kagome. "You will bathe and rid yourself of the odorous stench that lingers upon you as soon as you reach water. Understood?" Kagome nodded. Part of her original agreement with him had been regular bathing, because he couldn't stand the scent of humans. It had also prompted her to making fresh scented shampoo that wasn't too strong so that she wouldn't be too harsh on Sesshoumaru's senses. "Good. Now, what is it you need of this Sesshoumaru?"

"These men have been kidnapping girls, drugging them, and raping them!" Kagome told him immediately. "One of them has a young girl right now, beyond those trees!"

"This Sesshoumaru can hear that." Sesshoumaru said with an annoyed glance to where Kagome had mentioned. He grew annoyed at Jaken's futile attempts to climb the tree to reach high enough for the rope. Sesshoumaru reached out and with a single claw he cut the rope holding Kagome's left hand. "This Sesshoumaru assumes it to be your wish to free the girls of their captivity."

"You know, that's a great idea," Kagome told him. "Actually, I just called you here to free me of the ropes. I was going to Summon a level one creature but since you're already here…"

Sesshoumaru said, "This Sesshoumaru finds your tone—"

"Insolent?" Kagome finished for him. "You usually do, but these girls won't wait forever. You can scold me later." She untied her other arm and hurried past the stunned other girls toward where the man had taken the child. "Take care of these ones and don't let anything happen to the girls!" Kagome told him.

The trees became a blur as she rushed past, trying to locate the man and the child. She got there in time to find the man standing up. He was about to pick up the child—probably to carry the abused girl back to the group—but she wasn't going to let him put another greasy finger on the girl.

She swooped down and her hands found a couple sizable rocks that she threw at him. She missed badly both times, but had gotten the man's attention. At first he looked confused, but then he realized she was attempting to attack him.

He pulled out several shuriken—she wasn't sure where he got them from, and she was watching him—and fanned them out. She folded her left hand over her right, her two pointer fingers and her right middle finger up toward the sky. Kagome braced her feet in annoyance and disgust.

"Why!" she yelled. "What kind of person are you? They're little girls!"

The man smirked. "They're little girls, and I'm tight with desire for them. That's why. Don't worry—you'll get your turn."

She built her Maryoku up as she always did, forming an unseen Maryoku blade. The man threw the shuriken at her, but she couldn't take the time to dodge them or she would lose her chance to Summon. The more she built up the Maryoku blade, the more it wanted to fly, but she held it back. She had to see the rip-strand first. As the first shuriken embedded itself in her flesh, unhindered by her lack of armor of any kind, she saw the glistening hair-like thread and let the Maryoku blade fly.

The hair-like thread was cut and the black void appeared. Two large level one Summons padded out, their tongues lolling playfully. They looked almost like dogs, their shaggy white fur glowing and their golden eyes looking everywhere.

When the dogs appeared, the void closed and Kagome let herself fall to the ground, six shuriken embedded in her flesh. The dogs saw Kagome and the little child and separated to sniff both of them.

The man chuckled. "Summoning your petty dogs won't save you." He told her.

Kagome struggled to pull the shuriken out of her. With the shuriken in hand, and blood pouring out of the nasty wounds, she used the dog as a brace and stood up. The dog was massive, almost to her elbow at the shoulder. The dog licked her hand and she pushed its nose away.

"I'll introduce you to my petty dogs," Kagome told the man. "Avei and Kotor. They're famous for their protection of women and children… and like an idiot, you just hurt their Summoner, who happens to be a woman."

Avei was the one licking at the little girl. His lip was curling and he was indeed growling rather protectively. The longer the girl didn't respond to his actions, the more Avei growled. After a moment, and while the shinobi realized his mistake, Avei's head snapped up.

"Yobidasu dogs," the man muttered in horror.

"Ooh," Kagome felt a grin come to her face despite the fact that she was in pain. "How'd you guess?" Avei and Kotor were two of Kagome's papa's most used Summons. He had been so pleased when she had finally managed to Summon them. Her father had been a Konoha-Yobidasu Summoner so before the Kyuubi incident, he'd taken Avei and Kotor on many missions.

It was reasonable for the man to be afraid. She would have thought him insensible if he weren't. Avei and Kotor had quite the reputation all over the world as the gentlest Summon dogs…as long as women and children within their senses were safe.

"Go ahead," Kagome told him. "Take off running. I'm sure they'd like to play a game of chase. It's been three years since they were Summoned."

Kotor looked at Kagome for a moment before he shifted his weight. She released him and he stepped forward rather menacingly, lip curling to show massive teeth. He howled, his voice so loud and deep it rattled the leaves on the trees.

Petrified, the man took off and Avei and Kotor were instantly hot on his heels, barking and howling.

Kagome formed Maryoku in her hands and forced it into the wounds on her body. After so long not Summoning, she didn't have the energy to do much more than stop the bleeding. Not only that, but she was tired and had used a lot of her stored energy in healing Sasuke, and she'd Summoned Ah-Uhn. The difference between Maryoku and chakra was in how much the body was prepared to use daily. Since she hadn't Summoned for three years, her body wasn't used to using so much.

She couldn't help it when she passed out, but at least she'd stopped the bleeding. She only hoped someone would find her and the little girl.

Goodness I had so much trouble with this chapter. I kept writing it, not liking it, and deleting it. I finally kept this version, since I think it worked. If anyone is interested in a peek at what the chapter would have been like (mostly) if I kept the other version, just ask!! AND THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS!! regretfully-yours-Cassy-chan, Ashuri Nikouru (I had a tough time with that particular scene and re-wrote it twice), DeathNoteMaker (you don't really make those, do you? Should I be worried?), inuag-Spellcaster (I am interested to hear what other people would like the pairing to be, but I am already decided on what it will be. Fortunately I am keeping that on the 'low'), lildevil0644 (I consider things bad), KibaSin (no, I think you had it right the first time..."Stupid men"), Hiei's Cute Girl (I am evil...you noticed?), KuroxTenshi (I feel it pertinent to inform everyone of your question).

ANSWER: Sasuke does not have feelings for Kagome. He sees her as a way to possible stop Naruto from becoming a Summoner, although it's his fault Naruto wants to be one in the first place.

Thanks for your feedback everyone, again. I really had a lot of trouble on this chapter, seriously. I just couldn't get it to work right so I ended up changning practically everything. Please leave more feedback for me, since the button asks you too...