Hello all, I'm so happy that this chapter didn't take nearly as long as the last one, and on top of that it is also longer. (Jumps up and does the happy dance) Thanks for all the great reviews and forgiveness after the last update... I have the best readers ever... it really helped me get on track and find the enthusiasm to write this one. So without further delay... enjoy the story!
Kagura hung limp, supported entirely by the many chains that were wrapped around her, too weak to even lift her head. From the corner of her eye she was able to see Kanna's legs and the bottom half of the mirror that she always held.
'I wonder how she eats? Does she eat?' Mused Kagura.
It helped to think about small things, it let her focus on something other then the screaming agony her back had been reduced to. Icy, white hot pain that screamed into her mind without pause. For the fifth time in as many days Naraku had slowly and methodically pealed off every inch of skin from the nape of her neck to just below her waist. Something like that just can't help but wear a lady out.
"Kagura I grow bored with this, I want to know what you have been up to." He droned, speaking directly to her for the first time since Kanna had fetched her.
"What I've been up to? I was following your orders." Hissed Kagura in a reed thin voice. "I was looking for Koga."
"Koga here? My territory is suddenly very popular. Why is that, do you think?" Asked Naraku in an aristocratic tone that was heavily laced with accusation.
"That's what this is about? You think I led them here..? I was following Koga, not the other way around. He dragged Kagome along with him and the rest of the happy shinny do-gooders followed after her." She bit out.
"Koga had Kagome all to himself? Hmmm... Interesting... and those injuries of hers... they were caused by the late wolf as well?" Asked Naraku in a suddenly happy voice.
Kagura shivered, Naraku was infinitely more terrifying when he was pleased. "I didn't say Koga was dead... I was still looking for him."
Kagura's head flew back with a crack as one of the bones in her neck snapped. Naraku paused to whip blood off his palm.
"Fool, do you honestly think that Inuyasha would let that wolf live after harming the girl? He barely tolerated Koga's existence before, nothing would have stopped him from ending the wolf's life after that."
Naraku sighed. "That means that they claimed the shards as well, but at lest we now have some exciting information to work with. I wonder just how many bad things Koga did to the girl... what a shame I wasn't able to watch, I imagine she has a delicious scream."
Naraku turned and started to walk off, forgetting about Kagura for the moment while he plotted and planed. As he was ascending the stairs that lead out of the dungeon like chamber he had locked her in, he turned back.
"Rest where you are for now... you may have been following the letter of my instruction but I am still displeased with the way you conducted this mission. Once you have fully healed I will decide what to do with you. Kanna come."
Naraku then turned and vanished up the stairs, Kagura was unable to raise her head to watch him leave, but she strained her ears to listen to his footsteps as the faded away with distance, her body relaxing more and more the farther away he moved. When Kanna drifted by a moment later Kagura didn't react at all, until she heard a whisper of sound so faint it might have been imagined, then she sneered.
"I'm sorry."
Once the door was closed, with a clank of metal against metal, absolute darkness surrounded her, but in it Kagura felt calm. A small part of her regretted giving the knowledge she had to Naraku, even if it was the only thing that had saved her, but a cool and controlled fury quickly filled her, pushing aside the feeling. There in the darkness Kagura made a vow.
'I will see that bastard die if it's the last thing I do. Even if it costs me my life and the lives of every other being on this planet I will see Naraku dead.'
Content with her purpose and weak from both pain and a sorrow she refused to look at more closely, Kagura slept.
"How did you know about the trap?" Inuyasha asked Kagome as soon as every one settled down around a much larger then normal campfire. They had all, quit easily, decided that it would be wiser to wait until the following morning to venture into the woods, and so had set up camp in the rock strewn field some distance from the tree line. Inuyasha alone dared the forest to hunt and gather firewood, while the rest of them had tirelessly cleared rocks from the smoothest patch of ground they had been able to find.
"There is a kind of normal... well non-demon at lest.. ant that uses that type of attack, I recognized the signs and trusted my instincts." Answered Kagome with a shrug, it really wasn't that big a deal. "I always liked life sciences and so a lot of it just sticks in my head. A couple years ago I had a teacher who was obsessed with insects, and so we covered them very thoroughly. I haven't thought about it since, but I guess I remembered more from that class then I realized." Kagome turned to Sango to ask the slayer a question.
"So how big is the queen?"
"Queen?" Replied Sango in confusion.
"You mean no one ever knew about her?" Kagome stared in surprise, but then she thought about it and realized that in the feudal era people probably didn't know about things like ant biology. Turning back to face the fire Kagome pondered how to sum things up. As she thought she shifted closer to Inuyasha, turning slightly and refolding her knees so that she could rest her head against his shoulder.
"I don't know about Demon Ants, but all normal ants have a queen, she is the biggest and the mother of the entire colony. The queen does almost nothing but lay eggs, which are taken care of by nurse ants. There are also worker ants, they gather the food and do all the manual labor. I think those first ones we saw were workers. The colony is also protected by soldier ants, which I'm sure you remember, they do most of the fighting when the colony is at war or attacked, but workers will fight to if they must." Kagome fell silent trying to remember more.
Shippo clambered over to curl up in Kagome's lap, and loudly praised her. "You're so smart Kagome. I didn't even know you knew about things like bugs... What do you know about grasshoppers?"
Kagome laughed and rubbed her hand over the young kits head. "Not all that much Shippo... they have something really unique in their legs that lets them jump so high... but I can't remember exactly what. The teacher started comparing it to mechanics and I lost interest... hydraulics or springs... Something... but whatever it is lets them build up pressure in their ummm... well lets say knees... then once they are ready, or are startled, they let go, and BOUNCE!!" Cried Kagome as her hand lashed out to tickle the little demons belly, her fingers dancing around and over it, mimicking a bouncing bug. "They spring up and away."
Shippo howled with laughter, begging for mercy, and after a moment Kagome relented letting her hand lay still over his stomach in a soothing comforting manor. Deep down she was cheering over the fact that she wasn't bothered by touching Shippo any more. Sango didn't bother her either... Miroku on the other hand... Kagome paused as she realized that she didn't know. Ever since the first day when they had all re-found each other and he had made that one grab for her butt, which Inuyasha had quickly and thoroughly prevented, he hadn't come near her. Not once in the days since had he touched her in any way... when passing her food his fingers never brushed hers... not once had he placed his hand on her shoulder in that friendly way he use to...
'Damn, he knows.' Realized Kagome with a sigh. 'I guess it's better this way... but man, what if there is ever something I really do want to keep a secret... it doesn't seem possible with my friends.'
"Come on focus Kagome... we need to know everything you and Sango can tell us about these Ant Demons... I don't want to take any chances." Snapped Inuyasha lightly. Kagome had gotten a sad look on her face all of the sudden and he didn't like it one bit. When Kagome flashed him a glare that held promises of retribution later, he grinned openly. That was more like it.
"I don't know what else to tell you... ants are very successful creatures and one of the most widespread in the world. There are so many different kinds I couldn't begin to list them, even if I knew them all. Some live underground in elaborate tunnel systems that they created themselves, some steal their homes from others, while others live in trees, or the walls of buildings. Some eat meat and other incest's... some eat vegetation... there is even a kind that grows their own food, a kind of mold or fungus I think. Some are relatively peaceful... as long as you don't threaten them, while others are so vicious they will attack anything and everything in sight." Stated Kagome, almost quoting the teacher's lecture word for word, while she thought to her self how weird it was that strangest facts could be so easy to remember while other things like oh... say... algebra, took hours and hours of studying to get locked into her brain.
"What about you Sango, what can you tell us about them? After all I don't know anything about the demon variety." Asked Kagome passing the subject over to the Demon Slayer without a qualm while she slipped one arm around Inuyasha's waist and turned a bit more towards him. Her other hand still softly stroking Shippo's tummy where he was now lightly dozing in her lap. Inuyasha's arm came up to encircle her shoulders and his head dropped down to lay against hers. For a moment he nuzzled her hair affectionately then he went still, resting peacefully while they listened to Sango speak.
"Their skin is like armor, and nearly impossible to cut through with a normal blade. Fire scares them, and can kill them, but there are stories about ants throwing themselves onto fires to snuff out the blaze so that the other ones can get past by walking over their dead bodies. They will use surprise whenever possible and like to surround their victims, using their numbers very effectively. When dealing with Ants we were taught to always watch our backs because where you see one there are bound to be others and they do not fight fair. I don't know if they can speak but they never did to any of the members of my village, at lest none of the ones who made it home from that battle. It was a very hard time for my people, so many warriors were lost to end the threat of these creatures. To find out now, after all these years, when the Demon Slayers are all no more, that the thing they saw as one of their greatest victories was in fact something that they failed to do." Sango fell silent with a sharp denying shake of her head, while sorrow cut through her.
Miroku reached out and grasped her hand in both of his. "Do not despair my dear Sango. They may not have finished the task back then, but you are here now to do it for them and we shall all help. From what Kagome said about the queen it is no surprise your clan was unable to stop them entirely, until the mother is killed she will continue to produce more offspring. She is the one we must defeat, and so we will. You will finish the work your clan started. I know that you will honor them and make them proud, just as you have always done."
Sango gave Miroku and watery smile and nodded.
For a time they were all silent, quietly gazing into the flames as their minds turned over the information that they now had to work with. Kagome was perversely pleased to have an excuse to delay going home. Part of her wanted nothing but to throw herself into her mothers arms and tell her everything, but the larger part wanted to protect her from ever knowing the truth. There was even a small corner of her heart that was scared to tell, worried that her family would demand that she stop traveling with Inuyasha, finally deciding that it was just too dangerous. It would kill her to disobey them, but she would never leave Inuyasha... and if even one of them blamed him for not protecting her better... Kagome cringed... that would hurt Inuyasha far more then he would ever admit. Kagome swore to never let that happen.
Inuyasha felt Kagome go tense, and quickly scooped her up, Shippo and all, to drop her in his lap. "What's bugging you?" He asked.
Kagome giggled at his unintentional pun, and Inuyasha growled lightly at her evasion. "It's not important... I was just thinking about the fact that this means it will be even longer before I see my family. I know they must be very worried about me. If I don't see them soon to let them know everything is ok they might have a harder time letting me come back again... and then I would feel badly about not listening to them, because there is no way I am leaving your side, not even for them. But part of me is also glad for the extra time... I still don't know what to say when I do see them." Answered Kagome giving him almost the full truth as her hands lifted and danced over his face. Her fingers tracing and caressing his features before they wound themselves around his neck to pulled herself closer.
Inuyasha didn't respond at first, her words had left him reeling. Did Kagome really just said that she would defy her entire family to stay with him if she had to? He couldn't get his mind to wrap around that fact at first. When it finally did sink in he dropped his face into her hair to hide the shin in his eyes and breath in her scent.
"Kagome I love you so much... I don't know how to tell you how much... I'm no good with words, but I do, I love you. I love you more then anything in the whole damn world." He whispered, not wanting Shippo or the others to hear.
Kagome pulled him even closer and whispered back. "Even more then Ramen?"
Inuyasha laughed and lifted his head to nuzzle his nose against hers. "Yes even more them Ramen." He answered.
"Good cause we're out... so there is nothing but rabbit for dinner." Teased Kagome with a grin as she turned to look at the cooking game. Inuyasha had only been able to find two smallish ones while he had been hunting, the woods had been strangely free of animals... or not so strangely if this is were the Ant Demons had been living. It only made sense that all the animals in the region would have been almost entirely hunted down by such creatures.
Eventually Sango and Miroku lay down on their side of the fire, both quickly drifting off to sleep. Inuyasha picked Kagome up, Shippo still curled up in her lap sound asleep, and carried her a few feet further from the fire so that he could sit with a large boulder at his back. Because they were still in the rock fields around Totosai's place it was warm enough that they didn't need the heat from the blaze. It had been started more for cooking and comforting light then anything else.
It took a bit of shifting and rearranging to find a position that was comfortable for both of them with Shippo in the mix, but they managed, and soon Inuyasha heard Kagome's breathing drop into the soft even rhythm that meant she had fallen asleep. For a long time he sat up awake, running his fingers up and down her jean covered leg, from her knee to the fraying edge of the pants and back. He never went any higher then that even though the temptation was there, but not all that strongly... touching Kagome that way was only fun when she was awake and responsive... making those throaty little sounds... Inuyasha shifted his weight with a grunt.
It still, and likely always would, amazed him that Kagome could love him the way she did... but he was done questioning it. Whatever the reason was, he believed in her love now. He believed her when she promised to always love him... after all he knew beyond any doubt that he was always going to love her, so Inuyasha knew it was possible to love that way. Somehow fate had let him find the one and only woman who could feel that way about him, and who he could love back. It balanced the scales, Inuyasha realized... having Kagome in his life made up for every single bad thing that had ever happened to him... Maybe she was even the reason why they had happened, not that he blamed her in any way, but maybe in order to be given something so wonderful and rare he had to first lose nearly as much just to keep things fair. Or maybe he'd been forced to suffer and struggle so much in his life so that he would be strong enough to protect her. It didn't matter though, because as far as Inuyasha was concerned, now that he had Kagome in his arms, he had come out ahead when comparing the good versus the bad in his life.
Inuyasha sat up most of the night ears alert for shrill calls and stealthy foot falls. Just before dawn he finally drifted into a light sleep and dreamt about Kagome holding a squirming blanket wrapped bundle in her arms.
When Shippo woke up the first thing he noticed was a sort of heavy weight over his middle. Blinking his eyes open and his vision clear, he saw that there was a big red shape across his stomach. A moment later his mind caught up to his eyes and he figured out that it was Inuyasha's arm. At some point in the night Inuyasha had stopped stroking Kagome's leg to lay his arm across her waist, and since he was in the way, over the top of Shippo as well. Suddenly Kagome flexed her hand and Shippo realized that she was still touching him to, her hand was just hidden by Inuyasha's sleeve.
Tears filled the little kits eyes as it dawned of him that both Kagome and Inuyasha had kept him with them all night, that they had held him... together. Sniffing as quietly as he could Shippo lay still, not wanting to wake them up... he wanted to enjoy this feeling for as long as he could. It was almost like when he had been just a little kid and slept curled up between his mother and father. It felt like being home.
"What are you sniveling about?" Ground out Inuyasha quietly a moment later in a sleep roughened voice, while he slowly stretched out his neck.
"It's nothing... just please don't wake up Kagome yet." Whispered Shippo, his voice pleading and heavy with emotion.
Inuyasha opened his eyes and looked down at the young fox who was able to get under his skin like no one else on earth. Seeing the look in Shippo's eyes was jarring and brought back many old feelings... Inuyasha gave a faint grunt of surprise. He never really thought about it before but now Inuyasha could not help but see how alike Shippo and he were. They had both lost their parents violently when they were very young, and even though Shippo was a full demon, he was also a fox... a lot of the other demons resented the mercy foxes showed humans. So Shippo would never have been excepted by most of them... he would have ended up just like Inuyasha, an outcast. If he had been able to survive at all that is, after all no one had prepared Shippo to be on his own like Inuyasha's mom had done for him. They had both been alone in the world, unwanted, and unloved... until Kagome came.
Inuyasha felt his heart soften as he watched Shippo try valiantly to hold back the tears that filled his eyes, making them glisten wetly.
"Don't worry kid, I know exactly how you feel... so just this once I won't give you a hard time. If you need to cry I won't say a word." He said softly lifting the arm draped over Shippo to awkwardly pat the kit on the head a few times before putting it back around both Shippo and Kagome.
Kagome smiled very faintly, she was so proud of Inuyasha she could kiss him... and she would later, but for the moment she continued to pretend to be asleep.
Shippo stared up at Inuyasha in shock for a long moment, then the tears he had barely been holding back fell... running down his face in steady streams. He missed his mother and father so much, but he now had a new family... one that he finally knew loved him just as much as he loved them.
Shippo's quiet sobs filled the air as he covered his face with his hands to hide the tears. Inuyasha felt a moments panic but when Kagome shifted and wiggle her hand free from under his arm, relief filled him... she would know what to do.
Kagome stroked Shippo's head gently and waited for his crying to calm. When it seemed like he had gotten most of it out of his system... with only the occasional hiccup being heard, she spoke.
"What has you so worked up Shippo? Was Inuyasha being mean to you again?" Kagome asked knowing full well he had not, but she couldn't resist, and a moment later she was rewarded.
"Why would it be my fault! I didn't do anything!" Cried Inuyasha loudly in his defense, making both Shippo and Kagome giggle. He growled and gave a loud huff when he caught on.
"Brat." He grumbled. A moment later he chuckled and pressed a kiss to Kagome's temple. "But your MY brat."
Kagome turned her head to look up at him grinning. "You got that right." She answered cheekily.
Then she turned back to Shippo. "So are you going to tell me what upset you." She asked gently.
Shippo sniffed loudly and shrugged. "I wasn't upset really... more like happy, but kind of sad to. I woke up and you were still holding me.. so was Inuyasha and it reminded me of my parents. I was sad about them, but also really happy about having both of you now. It was stupid but I just couldn't stop myself from crying." Explained Shippo in a shame laced voice.
Kagome scooped him up into a hug and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. "It's ok to cry once in a while... it's not stupid, and it is nothing to be ashamed of. Sometimes a person has so much emotion inside of them that they just have to let it out, and if that happens it's ok, in fact it's good because keeping things bottled up isn't healthy. More often then not it takes greater courage to cry then it does to hold the feelings in. When you let someone see you cry, you risk being teased or having those people think you're weak. You are trusting them, and trusting people is a very brave thing to do. I'm so happy that you trust Inuyasha and me, thank you." Stated Kagome, her words intended for more then just Shippo's ears, and when Inuyasha gave her a slight squeeze she knew he had understood.
"But Inuyasha said that real men never showed their tears, no matter what." Stated Shippo in confusion.
"Oh he did, did he?" Answered Kagome in that tone of voice that set off warning bells in Inuyasha's mind.
"OK kid listen up, cause I'm only going to say this once. About this one thing and just this one time, I was wrong and Kagome is right." Bit out Inuyasha with difficultly... man did he ever hate admitting he was wrong.
A moment later when Kagome turned surprised and delighted eyes his way, beaming up at him, he didn't mind so much.
"Well that was something I never thought to hear... Inuyasha admitting that he was wrong. Perhaps the I should ask the lovely Sango to pinch me so that I can be sure I am not in fact still asleep." Dolled out Miroku from the other side of camp.
Before anyone was able to reply the monk gave a sharp pain filled cry.
"What? You said you wanted me to pinch you." Growled Sango.
"So I did, but I imagined you doing so far more gently." Answered Miroku in a slightly whiny voice.
Shippo burst into laughter while Kagome made funny choking sounds as she tried to hold hers back. Inuyasha merely grunted, but Kagome caught a glimpse of the grin he tried to hide.
A few minutes later everyone was on their feet and stretching, there was nothing to eat for breakfast so they quickly prepared to head out. Once they were situated Miroku asked the question they were all wondering about. "So what is the plan?"
Inuyasha made a dismissive sound and spoke. "Isn't it obvious? We follow the ant's trail and I blast them to hell!"
"Always nice to have a well thought out and complete plan." Grumbled Miroku.
Inuyasha glared at the monk. "You're sure grumpy this morning... still sulking because you managed to make Sango mad at you before you even made it out of bed?" He taunted.
Miroku straitened his shoulders and turned his face away. "I don't know what your talking about... my mood is ever calm and peaceful, it is my duty as a monk to be so, I don't sulk."
Inuyasha chuckled. "Yay right, and I never sulked about Kagome either."
Miroku gave a start and turned to look at Inuyasha, studying him closely. "You have changed so much during this journey... it is astounding. Already you have become much more open and free... even admitting your faults..." Miroku turned to Kagome and bowed. "You have performed a miracle."
Kagome growled. "I didn't change Inuyasha. He has always been like this... he just hid it before. I never want to change Inuyasha."
When he heard Kagome growl Inuyasha's knees did that nearly buckling thing again, damn if that wasn't the sexiest sound in the world. Too happy about Kagome's defense of him to get mad at Miroku, Inuyasha walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her back against him, dropping his chin to rest on top of her head.
"See that is exactly what I am talking about!" Cried Miroku pointing at the pair. "When did you get the girl, and I end up being the one getting abuse?" Miroku turned a strange shade of green when he realized what he had just said. "I am sorry, I didn't realize I had let my jealousy become so overwhelming." He confessed a moment later dropping his head.
"It's ok Miroku, but perhaps that is a question better left for a time when you and Sango can speak privately." Replied Kagome with an evil grin, unable to stop herself from that one last teasing comment.
Sango sputtered and turned a vivid red while Miroku groaned and covered his face with his hands. Inuyasha gave Kagome a squeeze and hid a grin of his own against her hair before pressing a kiss to the crown of her head.
"As fun as all this touchy feely drama is... we do have a lot of ants to kill so unless anyone has a better plan then following them..." Inuyasha paused and waited for anyone to speak up, when no one did he finished. "...we should get going."
Hours later they were deep within the forest following a path that even Kagome could have easily seen. The ants didn't seem to be concerned about hiding their trail and had left a well-worn path for them to follow.
Under the tree canopy it was so quiet and still that the group had fallen silent as well... no birds sang, not even the sounds of insects could be heard. It was a heavy stifling quiet, creepy and unnerving.
Kagome reached out to grasp Inuyasha's hand, and when he squeezed her fingers she felt better.
A short time later the trail ended, just like that. In front of them was what had once been a hole... it was clear that the dirt that now filled it was new... the ants had sealed off the entrance to their lair.
Inuyasha let go of Kagome's hand with a snarl, and drew the Tetsusaiga. Bracing himself he raised the blade over his head and slashed downwards pointing the blast at the ground. "Wind Scar!" When the dust cleared there was a huge crater where the entrance to the tunnel had once been, but still no sign of which way it had gone. A few more blasts and he had opened an immense cavern but even with all that he had not broken through to any active tunnels.
The Ant Demons had escaped.
Yes I do know that I am pure evil... I love the cliffy endings... but if you are still coming back for more you must love them to in your hidden heart of hearts. I haven't started the next chapter yet and am still not sure what will happen in it... will Kagome finally get to see her family... will Miroku have a jealous break down... will Shippo turn out to be the mole and hand them all over to Naraku... who could say? Well I could, but I wont... see you next time. Grin
Oh ya... please review. Pretty please with a cherry on top.