Misara lifted herself off the ground where she had been sitting and took a deep breath. The pain that was still throbbing in her head wasn't helping her calm down, but she tried to ignore it. Suddenly, she realized that she didn't have any weapons with her, and if she got in trouble, she'd have to use her wits and some of the martial arts moves that Tamahome taught her. She began to get scared, something she definitely didn't need. Taking a few more breaths, she closed her eyes, and thought about Tamahome. Something in her heart told her in which direction he was, so she began sneaking through the palace, quiet but determined.

After a few minutes, her intuition had led her down a few flights of stairs into a dark, sinister-feeling dungeon. Sounds of pain floated in the air around her, one scream in particular. She hurried on, her sneakers making loud sounds on the stone floor, as much as she tried to be quiet. Down one corridor, she could dimly see light from a lantern. She inched forward, listening for that scream again. It had sounded like Tamahome, but she had never heard him cry out, and she hoped she was wrong.

She peered around the corner where the lantern had been shining from and stopped herself from gasping just in time. She saw Tamahome, covered in blood and gashes, lying on the floor, apparently unconscious. She looked up and saw who was standing above him. A girl with short, blond hair was looking at Tamahome in horror, and next to her was the guy from Misara's dreams! Misara was too dumbstruck to scream as she stared at him from the shadows. It had to be the same guy, she thought. He held a whip in his hands, and there was a small smirk on his face as he lifted the whip once more. This time, Misara didn't stop herself from screaming, and the blond man stopped in surprise. Her mind roared in fury as she rushed from her hiding place and struck him with her fists. In a small corner of her mind, a tiny voice cried out. I can't control this anger, it cried out, I can't stop myself! The rest of Misara's mind ignored it and she was about to strike the blond man again when he grabbed her arm. She stopped completely and stared at him with wide eyes. His narrowed when the girl next to him screamed, "Miaka!"

Misara tried to turn to the girl and explain that she wasn't Miaka, but apparently, the blond guy had heard enough. He twisted her arm so quickly that it snapped, and the sound echoed through the halls. Too stunned by his action to feel any pain, Misara looked at him again, her mouth open in shock, and all her anger gone. He dropped her arm and it flopped uselessly by her side.

"Miaka?" She heard quietly, and she looked down at Tamahome. He had lifted his head slightly and was trying to look at her.

She bent down quickly and said, "No, Tamahome. It's Misara..." she trailed off as he closed his eyes and sighed.

"I'm glad..." he whispered. "You shouldn't have come, Misara."

She burst out in surprise. "Of course I should have come, stupid! This guy was going to kill you!" She choked back tears of anger. "I HAD to come! You know that!"

"No..." he murmured. "You have a mind of your own, don't you?" His eyes opened again as he looked at her.

"Of course I have a mind of my own! But when it comes to you and the others, I can't use it!" She shrieked. "When you're in trouble, I have to come and help! My body won't let me ignore you! Even if I hated you with all my heart, I'd have to come!" She started to cry.

"Is that why you came?" He asked. "Because your body made you, or because you wanted to?"

She stopped abruptly. "Because my body made me...and partly because I wanted to." She finished. "I know how much you and Miaka love each other...and you're also my friend..."

He cut her off. "Good."

"What do you mean by that?" She asked, confused.

"I'm glad that you came because you wanted to, and not because it was your duty." He looked as though he was going to say something else, but didn't have the energy. Misara put her hand on his shoulder, and soon he continued. "I'd tell you to look after Miaka, but I know you're going to do that anyway, and she has Hotohori and Nuriko to look after her right now. But you don't have anyone...so look after yourself, because I can't."

Misara's eyes narrowed. "Tamahome, I'm getting you out of here right now." Her eyes closed to concentrate but Tamahome stopped her.

"I promised I would stay..." He said.

"I don't care!" She cried.

"I promised..." He closed his eyes again. "Just go, Misara. I don't want Nakago to hurt you..." He trailed off as he slipped into unconsciousness again.

Misara stood. "Nakago?" She said, confused.

"I am Nakago." A voice said behind her, and she spun around quickly. It was that tall blond guy, and he was looking at her very curiously.

Misara turned to the girl. "You're Yui, right?"

The girl gasped in surprise. "How did you know my name?"

Misara didn't answer her. "Where's Taylor? Isn't she with you?"

Yui's eyes widened. "Well, she's ..."

Nakago cut her off. "Not here. Misara's anger flared at the obvious lie, but he raised his hand before she could speak. "Tamahome told you to go before I hurt you. I think you'd better listen to him, Misara." He smirked again.

Misara's eyes narrowed, then she turned on her heel and began walking away. They didn't follow her and soon she found a deserted place where she could concentrate and leave. Suddenly, the pain from her broken arm began to grow sharper. I've got to get back to the others, she thought, her mind reeling from the pain. I'll have to come back for Taylor later...

She thought about that guy. What was his name? Nakago? She shook the ominous feeling out of her heart and tried to concentrate on Miaka, Nuriko and Hotohori. As she disappeared into a glaring red light, her last thought in Kutou was about Nakago. She suddenly realized that she liked the way he had said her name...


OoooOOOooohhh...scary! Not really, huh? I thought not. Anyway, I couldn't decide whether she liked or hated Nakago, so I suppose "she" hasn't decided yet. Poor Tamahome...well....nah, I could care less. I haven't figured out what to do with Taylor, so that's why Misara hasn't seen her yet. The way this is going, this is going to be one looooong series. For those of you who have reviewed my story, I love you! You make me actually want to continue this dumb story...so thank you thank you thank you!! I suppose I'll go start on chapter 11 now...thanks for reading this far! I commend you!