Chapter 22: Hunters

(We've all got something that scares us, even though it shouldn't. You know that the darkness can't hurt you. And you know most spiders can't hurt you. But there's still some dark place inside that makes your hands sweat, and your mouth go dry. Fear is different for everyone. The kind you have to face up to or it will eat you alive.)

Kagome felt warmth on her face as the sun's rays washed over her. She didn't want to open her eyes but she heard a voice calling her name and opened them reluctantly. Kagome looked down to see a pair of friendly yellow eyes looking up at her. Kagome immediately recognized what the eyes belonged to when saw its stubby tail was thumping the ground and its tongue was lolling out while one of his ears was perked up. He looked so comical than she couldn't help laughing.

She raised her head and yawned.

'Good morning, Shippo,' she said gently as she stretched out. It had been several days since she and Inuyasha confessed their feelings for each other, and he was almost fully recovered.

'Mom!' he whined. 'Did you hear what happened? Miroku and Sango!'

'What?' she asked quickly, suddenly wide awake. 'I don't know,' he said with a whimper. 'But they told me to get you and Inuyasha!'

She raced out, with Inuyasha and Shippo right besides her. They raced to the top of the nearest snow-covered hill where their friends were.

'What's wrong?' Inuyasha demanded.

'Hunters,' Miroku said. He was still pretty weak from the beating that he took, but he was finally standing on his own. 'A family of four… we saw them setting traps.'

Inuyasha growled. 'We've got to leave.'

'But Naraku…?' Shippo began.

'Most of his pack's been wiped out,' said Kohaku's voice. He came running up to them through the trees. 'And those that are still there have left. Kagura and Kanna for example went to Sesshomaru for protection. At least that's what I heard. Naraku's now determined to kill us… he's on the prowl and he's heading this way as we speak.'

'We've got to get out of here,' Sango said. 'We'll head South from here. It should be far enough away for us to deal with.'

Kagome nodded. 'You go first,' she said to Miroku. 'It's going to take longer with your injuries.'

'I can manage,' he said firmly, but as he moved, he winced and almost fell. Sango went to his side as Kohaku went on the other side as Shippo followed nervously behind them.

'Sure you can,' Sango said. 'Look, we'll help you. It's going to be easier than last time… Ayame was having pups… but we don't need to worry about them.'

Kagome and Inuyasha both split up from them as they ran. She choked and gasped and breathed hard until finally, her stomach was empty, and she was aching for some food. She blinked and looked around her unfamiliar surroundings.

But then they heard a loud roar of rage. They spun around to see Naraku racing towards them, madness in his eyes as he charged at her. Inuyasha then ran and hit Kagome so hard in her side that she rolled down the hill.

'Inuyasha!' she howled furiously as she used her front paws to get back on her stomach and slid down the rest of the way. She could hear them fighting and she tried to get back up the hill to help, but by the time she dragged herself up the slippery slope, it had fallen silent that they had run off.

'Inuyasha?' she called hoarsely. Her voice was edged with fear and nervousness.

She was alone.

Kagome remembered that even if he was nearby and just out of sight, he wouldn't be able to respond to her vocally. She scrambled to her feet and looked around wildly. That was when she heard something that sent a chill of fear through her body. It was a gunshot. She turned and ran back desperate to find him, trying to find out if they were safe, but as she ran neared the den, Kagome heard something else. A cry of pain. She stopped dead in her tracks and looked back was that Shippo? No, this one was different… but why did it sound so familiar?

Kagome doubled back, hoping that she wouldn't regret it. As she ran, she heard the crying getting louder and louder. When she jumped a log, she stopped dead at what she saw…

It was Sota.

She stared at him. It was him! Her annoying little brother was here! Oh, god, she missed him so much. He was leaning against a large tree that must've fallen over during a storm, dressed in hunting gear, but what scared her was that his leg was stuck in one of the traps that she seen them use.

'Sota?' she thought as she stepped closer, tears forming at the sight of her little brother. She wanted nothing more than to have human arms again and hug him.

He looked up and saw her and backed against the tree trunk. "No," he gasped, his voice filled with terror. "No, please… please don't hurt me…"

Her eyes saddened as she approached.

'Kagome?!' called a familiar voice. She turned and spotted Inuyasha running towards her, alive, and looking furious. 'Kagome! What are you doing? There are humans around and…' he just spotted Sota. He stopped where he was and stared at the boy for a few moments before his eyes darkened.

'Let's go,' he growled. 'Before he comes after us too.'

'We have to help him,' she said firmly. 'He's hurt! If we leave him, it could be hours before anyone else finds him!'

'Kagome, he stepped in a trap, the same trap that tried to kill us both,' he growled at her. 'He deserves it.'

'He's a pup himself,' she said looking at him. 'He doesn't know any better look. It was his elders who taught him how to hunt. We shouldn't blame him for this.'

He looked, and saw the little boy was shaking in fear. He glanced at her and sighed. 'Fine…'

She rubbed her head against him and they cautiously approached him. "No," he whimpered, hiding his head. She shook her head as she approached even closer and licked his hand. He stopped and glanced up at her cautiously through his fingers as she rubbed her head gently against his hand.

"G-good wolf," he stammered as he softly touched her head. Inuyasha reared back his head and howled, trying to draw hunters closer. Kagome looked back at him and laid down with him, to keep him as warm as possible while Inuyasha continued to call.

Sota slowly petted her fur and she could feel him slowly starting to calm down. But just as she was starting to enjoy being with Sota again, she heard running footsteps and knew that humans were coming.

'We go now!' Inuyasha called and she agreed. Inuyasha took off like a bullet, but she ran only far enough to see what was going on, and to make sure that her brother would be safe. Still far enough so that they wouldn't see her against the dark of the trees, she almost cried again when she saw her father, looking older and graver than she could ever remember seeing, came bursting through the trees.

"Sota?!" her dad yelled in relief when he found him.

"Dad!" he cried and he came over to kneel next to him.

"Sota," he said, his face terrified as he touched Sota's face. "Are you alright? I told you not to wonder off like that."

"I'm sorry dad," he cried as he hugged him. "I thought I saw something and I followed it, by the time I lost it, I didn't know where I was and I got my leg trapped in this thing. And then the wolves came."

"Did they hurt you?" he demanded, grabbing his arms, fear in his tone.

"No," Sota said as dad pulled reached down to pull his leg out of the trap. "There were two of them. The Quicksilver and the black one that you and the others call Moonsong… they found me and…"

"We're lucky that they didn't hurt you," dad said, taking off his coat and wrapping it around him as he hugged him fiercely. "When I heard the howling, I was afraid that they had hurt you."

"No," Sota said, shaking his head. "They didn't hurt me. They sat here with me and kept howling. I think they knew that I was in trouble. That's why they called out."

"Sure," dad said, his tone skeptical.

"I'm serious," Sota said firmly as dad picked him up and carried him off through the trees. "They were keeping me safe and…"

"Sota, they're the same monsters that caused your sister to take off," he said and Kagome stared. "I'm only glad that it didn't happen to you. Look, let's get you back to the truck. Your mother is going to be worried sick when she sees this."

Kagome suddenly felt an urge of longing she couldn't remember ever hearing. She wanted her mother, she wanted her mom to hold her and keep her safe and warm. Knowing that she would regret this, she took off in the direction of the cabin. She knew that Inuyasha would be worried sick about her by now, but that can wait. She wanted to see her family one more time…

Looking up in the direction where Inuyasha disappeared, and then looking off in the opposite direction to where she knew that cabin would be, she made up her mind. She wanted to see them again.

It didn't take long at all for her to get there. And when she did, got her first shock. Sitting there, on the front step, was a familiar figure…

'Kikyo?' she cried out, staring at her through the trees. Her best friend was indeed there, looking sad as she sat there, bundled up in her coat, something shining in her hands. Kagome risked a step forward and saw that it was the same necklace that Kikyo had given her… the one that caused all this trouble.

But when she tried to step back, her foot broke a stick in two, loud enough to catch Kikyo's attention. Kikyo looked up at her and stared when she found her eyes. For a few moments she didn't seem able to speak. "Hello," she said softly, putting her hand out to her. "It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you."

Kagome slowly came forward to her. She knew that she was risking a lot, but she couldn't help it; she wanted to get closer to her. Taking careful note of the trap that was in front of the house, she stepped around it and came up to her. "It's ok, don't be afraid," Kikyo said soothingly. Kagome came and felt her hand on her head.

"Here," Kikyo said, petting her thick, matted fur. "I'm sorry for everything that these people are doing to you."

Kagome only breathed in her familiar scent as she went on, "But they've been even meaner than normal. You see, their daughter, my best friend disappeared months ago when they came up to visit. They think that it was a wolf who attacked her, but no one ever saw anything. But Mr. Higurashi has been so furious about the whole thing."

Kagome stared up at her sadly; her nose sniffing the jewel in her hands.

"Oh this?" Kikyo asked, as if she heard the question. "This jewel was a present I gave to Kagome, my friend, before they went on their trip up here. I don't know what has happened… I only hope that she's alright…"

Kagome wanted to cry, to tell her that she was safe and sound right in front of her; but just then there was a loud honk and she jumped back to see that her dad and Sota were back.

"Hey!" her father yelled, getting out of the truck and holding up a short bat. "Get away from her!"

"No!" Kikyo yelled, standing up between her and her dad as Kagome stepped back, too scared to know what to do. "Leave her alone!"

"Kikyo get back!" dad yelled at her, pushing her down as he ran forward towards her. "I know this mongrel. It's the same one that was in the house when Kagome disappeared!"

"No!" Kikyo yelled, getting back up to her feet. "Don't hurt her! She's harmless!"

"Harmless?" he demanded as he came closer. "This beast was in my house, scared my daughter off, no one knows where she is, that doesn't sound harmless to me."

Kagome finally came back to her senses, and turned to run, but she wasn't watching where she was going. The trap that she had seen when she first came here had been there and it crunched down on her hand. She cried out in pain, trying to move, but the harder she tried, the more the teeth dug deep into her paw.

That was when her father was standing over her with the bat, holding it up—ready to strike.

"No! Don't!" Kikyo screamed, running forward and grabbing his arm. "Don't do it! Don't hurt her!"

Sota, who just stumbled from the truck, was on her side, "Don't do it! Don't do it dad! She helped me!"

She couldn't pull her paw free, her dad shoved Kikyo back to the ground again and swung down at her.

'Daddy no!' she screamed in terror, and for a moment, honestly believed that her own father was going to kill her.

But then to her amazement he stopped, the bat inches from her face. Breathing hard, she stared up at him, to see that he was staring back at her… as if he could see something that he never saw before. Here, Kagome could almost swear that he could see her in this form… see that it was his daughter in the form of a dog. He was staring at her, and slowly the bat fell from his hands.

Kikyo ran past him and threw herself between Kagome and her dad, "Don't worry," she whispered to her. "I won't let him hurt you." She then tried to work the trap so that she could pull her bloody paw free.

"Press down on the sides to release it," Sota said, who had limped over to her. He stared up at his father, who was continuing to stare down at her. "Dad why didn't you…?"

He didn't answer at first, he just continued to stare. Finally, he said softly, "I don't know. I just couldn't. I was going to do it, I was going to kill her… but something just stopped me."

"Well, be grateful," Kikyo snapped at him. "You've done enough murder already."

Kikyo hugged Kagome's neck, glaring at them both. "Now do you see?" she demanded. "They aren't just animals. They are living creatures! They've been here longer than humans have been… this is their forest not ours! They all deserve to live just as much as we do!"

Sota and her dad just continued to look down at them both, wondering what to say. Kikyo turned her back on them both and held her paw gently. "Isn't that right?" she whispered.

'Kikyo, thank you,' she said softly. She thought back to everything Kikyo had said before that trip that changed her life forever. She knew that she was right… she had been right about it all from the very start. 'Yes,' she thought. 'I only wish I could tell you that for real.'

But that was when something very strange happened.

Kikyo frowned slightly as she stared into her eyes. "Kikyo?" Sota asked.

But Kikyo wasn't looking at him, she had that same look in her eyes that her father had had. That was when Kagome knew…

"Kagome?" Kikyo whispered softly.

And that was when it happened, at her name, Kagome felt something inside her change. Her entire body began to tingle, she felt her shoulders ache, her face shrink, her tail disappearing…

She looked down at the bloody paw in Kikyo's hand slowly transformed into a bloody hand, a human hand. Kikyo stared at her, her jaw falling open in astonishment as her brother and father let out loud gasps of shock. Kagome was back. Kagome the human, not Moonsong the wolf. She was in the same nightdress she had been the night she transformed, however, it was dirty, and torn to ribbons, and stained with blood. Her hair was matted and tangled into a hopeless mess, she could feel the cold wind on her bare skin…

"Kagome?" dad whispered, the bat falling from his fingers as Kagome held up her hands and stared at them, flexing her fingers.

"Kagome!" Sota shouted and flung himself at her as Kikyo hugged her like a sister, tears threatening to form in her eyes.

"Kagome," dad whispered again and hugged her tightly as well, this time there were tears in his eyes. "Are you alright? How… how?"

'Dad, I'm…' she thought, but then she remembered they couldn't hear her like that.

"Daddy," she croaked out, her voice weak and hoarse. It was then that she realized just how little she had used this voice… but it didn't matter. "I'm alright…" she looked up at them all, tears falling down her face. "I missed you all so much."

But as she looked up in her father's strong arms, she could see him…

Inuyasha was in the distance, staring at her.

"Inuyasha," she whispered miserably, her heart feeling as if it was breaking. They looked up at who she was talking about.

Dad stared at him. Unable to say anything. But Sota knew what to do now… he picked up the bat that their father dropped. He turned away and he threw it as far away into the woods as he could where it will, hopefully, never be found again.

But Kagome stared directly into the golden eyes that she had grown to love so much. Inuyasha stared back at her. And after what felt like hours, he slowly turned and walked away…

Leaving Kagome to sit there and cry, holding onto her friend and family as tightly as she could, none of them understanding how much pain she was in.

(Only three more chapters! I don't know about you, but I'm going to be glad when this story is finally over! Hope you enjoyed this!)