Chapter 21 - Revenge

"Inuyasha?" Sango exclaimed when she noticed him coming towards them. The rest of their group immediately looked in the same direction as her. It's been days since Kagome disappeared and they haven't seen Inuyasha or Sesshoumaru the whole time either. They were starting to doubt that those two would show up anytime soon.

"Inuyasha! You're back!" Shippo shouted in excitement, but his excitement quickly died down when he looked at Inuyasha more closely. Inuyasha was walking towards them slowly, his head tilted down, his eyes covered by his bangs.

Shivers ran down their spines. The way Inuyasha was moving reminded them of the times when he turned into a demon. If that was the case, they would be in big trouble. Kagome was the only one who could calm him down from that state, but she wasn't here now and Inuyasha certainly didn't give off the feeling that he found some clue.

Everyone was tense, waiting for what will happen, but their fears weren't fulfilled as they found out when Inuyasha stopped a few steps from them and raised his head. However despite Inuyasha still being himself, they weren't relieved. In his eyes they could see all kinds of feelings mixed together – anger, tiredness, determination, doubts... hope.

"Miroku..." Inuyasha suddenly spoke, his voice a bit lower than usual, but other than that free of all emotions. All eyes shifted to the person in question, surprised why, after being away for so long, would Miroku be the first one Inuyasha would turn at. They looked back at Inuyasha when he started speaking again.

"Do you have something to do with Kagome's disappearance?" Inuyasha asked, drawing shocked expressions from everyone.

"What are you talking about Inuyasha?" Sango asked, still shocked, but prepared to defend her friend.

"That's right, why would Miroku have anything to do with Kagome's kidnapping?" Shippo added his share.

"Seems like the half-breed's finally got a screw loose." Jaken commented and only thanks to the special situation he got away with his comment unharmed.

Miroku didn't say anything, his expression didn't give away anything either. He and Inuyasha were just staring at each other while the others were trying to make sense out of the current situation.

"Is that true?" Sesshoumaru suddenly appeared out of nowhere and to everyone's surprise took Inuyasha's side as he also tried to determine the truth from Miroku's actions.

"Lord Sesshoumaru?" Rin asked in a quiet voice, not really expecting an answer, just expressing her confusion.

"Has everyone really gone crazy?" Sango exclaimed once again, understanding the situation even less than before. She wanted to say something more, but Miroku finally decided that he would answer the question he was given, and his answer caused stunned silence within the whole group.

"Yes, that's right. I'm the one who set that up." Miroku confirmed Inuyasha's suspicion and despite him saying so himself, Sango refused to believe it.

"W-what are you talking about? You don't have to go along with their weird fantasies you know? Just say that it's not truth." She tried to change his mind awkwardly, but Miroku just shook his head.

"It's as I said. It was my idea to have Lady Kagome kidnapped." He confirmed his previous statement. This time Sango just stared at him in shock, but Inuyasha wasn't that patient.

"How could you! And I actually saw you as a friend!" Inuyasha shouted and prepared to attack the person who betrayed him, but he was stopped by his older brother, who grabbed his shoulder and then threw him back.

"What's the deal?!" Inuyasha shouted, quickly getting back on his feet, his attention now shifting from Miroku to Sesshoumaru.

"I believe that there is something more to it than what we think." Sesshoumaru stated unfazed by Inuyasha's antics, who after hearing his words actually stopped to think about it.

"What do you mean?" Inuyasha asked, a bit calmer than a while ago.

"I obtained information from the old woman, Kaede, that she's seen Kagome after the day she was kidnapped, and that despite being with her kidnapper, Kagome didn't look like she was in trouble." Sesshoumaru answered and it got everyone thinking.

"So, where was it that she saw her? Did she actually speak to Kagome?" Sango asked with a new hope that her friend was alright.

"No, apparently Kagome has left to her home before she could get her attention." Sesshoumaru answered once again.

"Ah, I see, that's why I lost track of them." Miroku stated in realization, but after receiving glares from everyone present, he decided to rather stay quiet from the moment on until they would calm down a little.

"If she went home then it will be easy to find her and bring her back. Let's go." Inuyasha said and immediately set of in the direction of the well. The rest followed him as well, with Miroku staying in the back, not wanting to agitate them any more than they already were.

They quickly arrived at their destination, but what they saw destroyed all their hopes they built up during the run. The well that always connected them to Kagome's home disappeared and in the place where it used to be, there was only a deep crater with some parts of the ground still on fire. There was a person standing in the middle of the crater, enveloped in a black aura. His eyes filled with evil.

Still, Miroku, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru recognized the person immediately. It was the person who kidnapped Kagome, but unlike before, this time they could actually feel his presence, a presence of a vicious demon, with a strength that could easily match that of the two dog demon brothers.

He looked them over, until his eyes fell on Miroku, an evil smirk forming on his face.

"Now I can finally take my revenge."