Enchanted New Moon

Kagome sighed when they left Mariko's village the next day. Miroku and Mariko were perfectly fine, but Hachi had to stay behind and rest some more after their evening of drinking. Miroku was walking in front of Kagome, rings of his staff ringing happily in the crisp air of the cloudy morning.

Sango was walking beside Kagome, carrying Kirara in her arms while Shippou was riding on Miroku's shoulder. Inuyasha was walking beside him, his tail lowered and his ears twitching in irritation. It had became clear after the sunrise that Inuyasha was now apparently changing forms - when the sun was up he was a large, fluffy akita, while during the night he was his usual hanyou self. The whole gang was stealing worried glances at the dog and a few birds who were riding on his back - it seemed he grew tired of shaking them off. Tonight was the night of the new moon and the group was worried what would the curse change in their friend.

Inuyasha himself seemed to be only annoyed by everything, which wasn't too different from his usual self.

They were headed to the village west from Mariko's. According to the old miko she was unable to break the curse, but she knew about an artifact that should be able to undo it. It was called Kitsune Cauldron and was kept in a kitsune village on the far northern west. The gang was going to make a few stops - one being the Western Palace where Rin's birthday party was going to happen in a few days.

The day went mostly uneventful. The group was moving pretty fast, for a change not being attacked by anyone and just chatting about stuff. After the lunch Shippou and Kirara got to ride on Inuyasha's back while Kagome was walking beside him. Kagome was enjoying herself, it was so nice to simply wander around for a change, without any dangerous youkai trying to attack.

It was close to the sunset when the group reached the village where they wanted to spend the night. Kagome and Sango were the ones who did talking this time, because Miroku, Kirara and Shippou were getting vary glances. Inuyasha, who was usually the receiver of such glances, was walking beside Kagome, his tail wagging lightly, indicating he found it amusing that the most cute and sweet talking members of the group were now treated like him.

It was when they settled in their rented room in an inn that the headman came to greet the youkai slayers. He told them about a vile dragon who was sometimes coming from the nearby mountain, demanding the village to pay for it to not destroy the fields. Sango offered to help the villagers by slaying the beast who was harassing the poor humans. Somewhere during the discussion Inuyasha stood up from his spot near Kagome, picked a red bundle in his jaws and went through an open shoji door leading to a garden hidden within the inn's walls. After a few minutes Kagome followed him and found a very human Inuyasha sitting with his back against a wall, fully dressed. They spend a while talking before the girl drifted into sleep, her head rested against his shoulder. Inuyasha dozed off a little, calmed by the presence of the woman he loved at his side.

When Kagome opened her eyes she was tied and laying on the ground in the center of the village square. To her left and right were two other girls - one of them being Sango and the other a stranger. Sango turned her wide opened eyes at Kagome and tried to struggle out of her bonds, but she seemed to be tied with extra care.

"What's going on? Let us go!" Kagome exclaimed, even if there seemed to be no one to hear her - the square was empty and there was only one torch bringing light in the darkness of the night.

"It's no use," said the other girl quietly. Both Kagome and Sango lookd at her - she was looking straight into the skies.

"What do you mean?" Sango asked, trying to look above Kagome's body to see the girl.

"Please, don't hold it against my people. We just don't want the dragon to drown our fields and wash away our homes," the girl requested in the same resigned tone. "The dragon will soon come and pick the prettiest of us to take with him. The rest will be free to go."

"But we promised to take care of the dragon!" Sango exclaimed. "We were going to slay it!"

"A pair of women, a few weak youkai and a dog are no match for the great Liungwai," said the voice of the headman from the darkness. A moment later the man stepped in the circle of the light.

"Please, release us!" Kagome managed to roll on her side.

"What did you do to our friends?" Sango demanded when the headman gently rolled Kagome to lay on her back again. He looked at both the girls with sad expression.

"They are sleeping. When the dragon finishes picking the ones who will be left behind will be free to go," he promised with a small nod. "We bear no ill will towards you, but... It's easier to offer a stranger for the picking than girls you know."

"What about her?" Sango asked and pointed with her at the third young woman.

"I am an orphan," the girl explained for the headman. "I'm doing it the third time and since you two are so pretty I think my chances of being here the fourth time are rather high."

Kagome felt youki approaching them fast from the direction of the mountain. She knew there was no help coming from the villagers who were probably hiding in the darkness. She closed her eyes and opened them when the ground shook under her. The first thing she saw was the hideous face of the most ugly dragon in the world. He had green scales and yellow fur was covering his spine, elbows, knees and the tip of his tail. His horns were sticking out from a yellow spike-like mane. He had three little eyes and his tongue was hanging from his mouth. When he folded his bat-like wings a wave of smell washed over the square, causing Sango to cough and the other girl to turn her head away. Kagome did the first thing that came to her mind.

"Inuyasha!" she screamed as loud as she could. There was no doubt the hanyou could hear her and came to her rescue in matter of seconds. Kagome knew he would battle practically everything to keep her safe. The moment the dragon laid all three eyes on her and Sango gasped in shock Kagome realized it was a great mistake. The dragon meanwhile was focused on inspecting Sango's looks after sparing a glance at the other girl who was calmly waiting for what was going to happen.

"Kagome!' came a second later and the young miko saw her savior jump in front of her, his voluminous sleeves and baggy hakama practically shielding her from view. He was already holding Tessaiga in his hand. A part of her felt relief upon seeing Inuyasha coming to her rescue, but a big piece of her was scared for his well-being - the dragon's youki was great.

"Oh, no," Sango and Kagome whispered at the same moment. Kagome could hear the villagers talk in the dark, but none dared to enter the square. Miroku and Shippou were shouting, trying to get past through the crowd.

The dragon smiled, all his sharp teeth visible when he arched his neck to see better everyone in the circle of light, including the girl behind the newcomer.

"Nice," he said, apparently pleased by what he saw. Inuyasha growled and shifted his stance, ready to attack.

"Inuyasha..." Sango started. The dragon gave a small nod, as if coming to a conclusion. He reached his clawed hand and grabbed his prize around the middle.

"Aaa!" shouted the captive in outrage while practically everyone else gasped in shock

"Pretty, silky black hair," the dragon rumbled after looking at the person in his clutches from a closer distance and taking a long sniff of their scent. "Big, cute brown eyes, nice face and body. You're perfect."

"I'm a guy!" roared the captive and tried to pierce the beast with his sword, but it was as useful as a stick right now. Kagome growled in a good impression of the hanyou.

"That's not a problem," the dragon assured Inuyasha and opened his wings with a loud snap. "The village fields are spared. For now"

And with those words he jumped in the air, quickly disappearing in the darkness of the moonless night. The echo of angry cursring of his prisoner could be heard for a few minutes before he flew far enough.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted, struggling to get free and follow the dragon.

A/N: Kidnapped again. Who would expect that? What's going to happen to our heroes now?