"Damn," Inuyasha muttered as he and Sesshoumaru ran into the manor, their eyes falling upon the huge openness of the main hall and the large stairs in the center leading to the second floor. "I didn't notice it last time, because I went to Kikyou's room directly from the outside, but this place is big."
"Inuyasha, I believe we should search separately for Kagome," Sesshoumaru interjected into his brother's tirade, noting that he was unable to locate her scent. "We will find her faster that way."
"Naraku could be lurking behind every corner," Inuyasha reminded his brother firmly. "Searching separately could help us find her faster, but we may also then run across Naraku alone, and if he's already wished on the jewel, then we wouldn't be able to handle him separated."
Sesshoumaru frowned. "He has not wished yet."
"How can you tell that?" Inuyasha asked, incredulous.
"If Naraku makes a wish, the release of the jewel's power will be insurmountable. We will sense its use."
"Right, well, I still think…! Do you smell that?" Inuyasha suddenly hissed, turning towards the main stairs. "It smells like…"
"Blood," Sesshoumaru growled. "Kagome's blood."
"That bastard just…!"
"Yes," the elder demon confirmed grimly. He began striding towards the stairs. "Come, Inuyasha."
As they closed in on the stairs a familiar darkness descended, and fog began rolling down towards them.
Inuyasha inhaled sharply and promptly began coughing. "Shit, Sesshoumaru…!"
"The fog is poisonous," the inu-youkai remarked, casting his brother a glance. "Cover your mouth and nose with cloth. You should be able to last until we kill Naraku."
"Kill me, will you?" a smooth voice chuckled.
Slowly Naraku materialized out of the miasma, fangs glinting in a sneer. In his upraised hand, Naraku idly twirled a purple bauble before clenching it in his fist, blood dripping from his fingers. "I beg to differ," he mocked.
"Naraku!" Inuyasha shouted angrily, the sash traditionally wrapped around his waist now covering his mouth and nose. "Where's Kagome?"
"Isn't that a question your darling older brother should be asking?" Naraku purred, leering. "After all, he is the one she professes to love."
"Do not avoid the question, spider," Sesshoumaru growled.
Naraku raised his blood covered fingers to his lips, licking one claw idly. "She's in her old room, of course. What kind of host would I be, if I had done otherwise?"
Sesshoumaru made to step forward, making Naraku glare at him. "I see the nice pleasantries are over now. Are you so eager to get the little chit back, Sesshoumaru?"
"You are worth less than the mud on my boots, Naraku," the demon captain answered, eyes flashing red. "Your desperation to use the Jewel of the Seven Seas to only stand a chance of beating me is proof of that."
Naraku growled angrily, his fist closing harder around the jewel. "You smug bastard," he gritted out. "We'll see who's more powerful."
Moving fast, Sesshoumaru pulled out his sword just as a series of tentacles burst out from Naraku's chest, bearing down on him with concentrated intent. Inuyasha leapt out of the way, drawing his own sword and bringing it down mid-transformation to slice one of the tentacles in half. Immediately two more grew out of its severed stump, wrapping around Inuyasha's arms and pinning them to his sides.
"Shit," he growled, using claws to rip the tentacles off him. "These things multiply if you cut them!"
"Hnn," Sesshoumaru grunted, eyes assessing their enemy.
"Inuyasha, you will distract him."
"I…what? Sesshoumaru!"
"Ungh," Kagome grunted, pulling herself back towards the bed achingly slowly. Her hand shook as she reached up, but she managed to grasp the bed sheet and pull it down beside her.
Panting harshly through her nose, teeth gritted against the pain, Kagome bit into the sheet and tore it roughly. Her hands did the rest, pulling the sheet apart into strips that she tied around her waist in an attempt to stem the flow of her blood.
"Ahh!" she cried out loudly, head falling back when she knotted it as tightly as possible. The pain was excruciating, but Kagome knew if she didn't tie it tight enough, the makeshift bandage would do nothing to save her.
She tied three layers of sheet strips around her wound, collapsing once she was done, out of breath and feeling weaker by the second.
As Kagome rested, trying to catch her breath, her gaze fell upon the pistol that Naraku had thrown in his rage…and left behind as he left.
Her breath caught again, this time in surprise. As quickly as she could, the Shikon's protector pulled herself towards the weapon, her fingers closing tightly around the grip. Testing herself, Kagome lifted the pistol off the floor, thrown off but not daunted by the gun's weight.
Determination and anger sparked in her eyes as she tucked the gun into her ruined bodice. Hands now free, she began dragging herself into the hall, hissing in pain on occasion but otherwise remaining silent.
"You…are not supposed to leave," a soft voice murmured.
Gasping, Kagome twisted to look behind her, groaning softly when the movement pulled at her side.
Standing at the end of the hall was a little girl dressed completely in white, and cradled in her arms was a beautifully ornate mirror.
"Who are you?" Kagome managed to ask, edging away from the girl inches at a time.
The girl, her face composed in a blank mask, nodded briefly in greeting. "I am Kanna."
"You work for Naraku?"
"Yes," she answered simply, and began walking forward. As she did, her mirror began to glow, and Kagome froze as she felt like pieces of her were being sucked away.
"I'm sorry," Kanna told her, voice hollow. "I must obey."
"Kouga, why are we sneakin' 'round the back again?" Ginta asked softly, following his leader even as he questioned him.
The wolf leader scowled, glaring up at the second story windows. "Because Sesshoumaru and Dog-Turd went in through the front, and I'm not interested in being pulled into the fight with Naraku. They can handle him on their own – our job is to find Kanna."
"How will we find her?" Hakkaku asked, clasping his hands with Ginta to form a makeshift platform. "We don't even know what she smells like – not that that'd help, the whole place reeks of Naraku."
Taking a couple steps backwards, Kouga stretched his legs, hopping on the spot in preparation. "If Miroku's intell is right, then the only people in the manor right now are Naraku, Kanna, and Kagome, and I'm willing to bet my tail that Kanna's been set to guard Kagome."
Racing forward, Hakkaku and Ginta grunted softly as Kouga spring boarded off their clasped hands and grabbed the window sill. He pulled himself up with a slight wiggled and pushed the window experimentally. When it didn't budge he punched his fist through it, ignoring the cutting glass to grab the latch and open the window.
Hopping inside, he leaned over the sill, stretching his arms down, and one at a time pulled his companions into the manor as they leapt up to him.
"So we'll just follow Miss Kagome's scent," Kouga continued, sniffing the air experimentally.
"Kouga," Hakkaku and Ginta gasped. "I smell blood."
"Damn it," Kouga muttered, racing off down the hall. Don't tell me we're too late.
The other two wolves followed him anxiously, turning corners sharply just to keep up. They nearly collided with his back when he came to a sudden stop, his breath hissing in and out from between his teeth.
Hakkaku and Ginta leaned sideways around their leader, staring intently at the little girl blocking their path, seemingly oblivious to their presence.
"Is that…?"
"Kanna," Kouga confirmed stiffly. At her name the girl gasped softly and turned her head to stare at them, large black eyes wide. With her movement the three wolves could see what she had been looking at, and they inhaled sharply at the sight of Kagome collapsed on the ground, eyes unseeing as she stared back at them.
"Kagome!" Kouga shouted. With a growl he leapt forward, knocking Kanna aside. Immediately Hakkaku and Ginta stepped between Kouga and their opponent, brandishing their claws.
"Lookit her mirror, Ginta," Hakkaku whispered, edging closer to his pack brother.
"That's…Miss Kagome's face!"
"We gotta break that mirror," he muttered. Stretching to their full heights, Hakkaku and Ginta stalked closer to Kanna, intent on intimidating her.
Kanna frowned slightly, staring up at the two wolves. "My orders…are to stop Miss Kagome. Do not…interfere."
"No can do, sister," Ginta growled, leaping forward suddenly. With a small cry Kanna fell backwards, the mirror spinning out of her grasp.
"No!" she shouted, the first sign of true emotion on her face.
"Quick, Hakkaku!" Ginta shouted, falling upon the girl and pinning her struggling form.
"On it!" his brother replied, grabbing the mirror. With a mighty swing he threw the cursed object into the wall, the sound of shattering class drowned out by the sound of Kanna's wail.
"Kagome, wake up," Kouga ordered desperately, shaking her roughly. The sudden sound of shattering glass had him turning around, having forgotten about Kanna, Hakkaku and Ginta. Immediately following the sound, Kagome took in a big gasping breath, the movement causing her wound to pull uncomfortably. She cried out softly, pulling away and pressing a hand to it.
She began to curl in on herself when the events of the last few minutes came back to her, and with a jolt she looked up at Kouga, for once relieved by his presence. "Mr. Kouga!"
"Kagome, I gotta get you outa here." He urged her into a seated position, prepared to wrap his arms around her and come out the way they'd come in.
"No, you can't!" she shouted, wiggling away from his reaching hands.
Kouga growled, frustrated. "Okay, okay, Miss Kagome. Look, this isn't the time to get hung up on past—!"
"That's not why, you stupid wolf!" Kagome denied, glaring. "I can't leave yet! Naraku isn't dead!"
"So? Sesshoumaru is dealing with him. Your safety is more important—!"
"No!" Kagome repeated angrily. "I…I have to do something! He attacked me, and I want…want to make him pay," she managed to gasp out, coughing weakly.
"Kagome, you're in no condition to fight," Kouga tried to explain. "You wouldn't be able to beat him in battle anyway."
Kagome scowled at him. "I know I'm not strong enough – could never be strong enough. That's why I plan to use this." Reaching up into her bodice, she pulled out the pistol, letting its comforting weight rest on her stomach.
"I've enough strength left in me to lift this and pull the trigger. Let me do this one thing," she insisted, grip tight on the gun.
Kouga sighed, knowing he would regret the decision later. "All right. But let me carry you."
Reaching under her gently at her nod, Kouga turned back toward Hakkaku and Ginta, who had Kanna in their grasp. "You heard the lady. I'll be able to take care of her on my own; plus, Sesshoumaru and Dog-turd will be there. You take the girl back to Miroku and let him decide what to do with her."
"Wait, please!" Kanna interjected urgently, her face still blank but her voice now alive with emotion. "Naraku had me under a spell that was tied with the mirror I held. By breaking it, you freed me. Allow me to help you."
"I ain't lettin' you near Naraku or Kagome, girl," Kouga growled. "Spell or no spell."
"Then let me at least tell you one thing," she pleaded. "Naraku cannot be easily destroyed."
"What do you mean?" Ginta asked nervously. "He's a demon, right?"
Kanna shook her head. "He wasn't always a demon. He used to be human, but he made a deal with a demon – since then, he has been accumulating powers by absorbing other demons. You must not let his tentacles grab you, lest he pull you into his body and absorb you as well!"
"Then how do we defeat him?" Kagome asked from her place in Kouga's arms.
"You must let him make his wish—"
"Ha, unlikely!" Kouga barked. "Now I know you're real game."
"No, please!" Kanna insisted, struggling in the grasp of her wolf captors. "If he makes his wish, his body will absorb the jewel. Miss Kagome can then purify it, and him."
"Purify him? How would I do that?" Kagome's brow creased with worry.
"If you could get close enough to him, all you need do is touch a part of him and call upon the jewel. You are its protector, it will respond to your call."
"There ain't no way in hell we're doin' that!" Kouga snapped, turning away. "Take her to Miroku," the wolf repeated over his shoulder. "Kagome and I are gonna go kill the bastard the old fashioned way – shootin' his fuckin' brains out."
As Hakkaku and Ginta pulled Kanna along with them, no longer struggling, Kagome leaned back slightly to watch the girl go, a contemplative look in her eye.
