{Disclaimer: Again, see Chapter One.}
Chapter Three: And Then There Were Two
"Oh man. My head," Sango moaned as she tried to assess where she was. She looked around, her eyes protesting the blaring sun's rays. She could see Kagome a few feet away, not moving. Sango braced herself and crawled toward her. When she was close enough, she rolled Kagome on her side. She had a small bruise on the side of her temple. Sango shook her gently. "Kagome. Kagome wake up."
Kagome took a sharp breath and opened her eyes. "Did anybody get the tag number on that bus?" she groaned, sitting up. Sango looked around while Kagome found her bearings. They were still in the road a day's walk from the village. It seemed they were all alone, their male companions no where to be found. The last thing she remembered before now was Miroku shouting for them to duck.
Seems they missed the point.
'Where is the pervert anyway? And where is Inuyasha?' Kagome's gasp brought her to attention. She followed Kagome's gaze to a pile of breathing purple robes. They staggered to their feet and moved as fast as they could to Miroku's side. He was bleeding badly, with cuts on his face and along his torso. Sango called for Kirara, who was also waking up. She and Kagome lifted the unconscious man to Kirara's back and headed back for the village.
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"Are you ok, Miroku?" Kaede asked. Miroku was slowly coming to, and was trying to sit up. Two small hands on his shoulders gently pushed him back to the pallet below him. He opened one swollen eye to see Sango and Kagome on either side of him, worry in their eyes. He gave them a smile, and winced as he opened one of the cuts on his face. Kagome sighed and wiped away the blood.
"I must be in heaven. There are two beautiful angels above me."
He reached to grope one of them, but stopped when his shoulder painfully disagreed. Sango shook her head. "Be serious for once, Miroku. Do you remember anything?"
Miroku tried to sit up again, and was immediately nudged back down, he turned his head and realized where he was. "How did we get back to the village?"
"Kirara brought us back. You should see yourself. What happened?"
Miroku sighed, wincing at how much that hurt. "We were attacked."
"No duh," came a voice from below him. He looked over to see Shippou standing at his feet, a scowl on his face.
"Where is Inuyasha? Don't tell me he left us?" Kagome said, feeling like he had.
"Inuyasha didn't leave us on his own. Inuyasha was taken."
Kagome looked at him in disbelief. "No way. I'm always the one to be kidnapped. There's no way."
Sango brought her hand to her chin thoughtfully. "I have to agree with Kagome. This is a strange roll reversal." Kagome frowned and rolled her eyes, but kept to the subject.
"What happened?"
"A beast fell out of the sky and knocked you two out. Inuyasha and I tried to fight it, but by the time it was over he and I were on the ground. The creature opened its mouth and a girl that could have been Kikyou stepped out and chained him. She dragged him into the creature's mouth and it disappeared."
Kagome tilted her head slightly. "What do you mean 'could have been Kikyou'?"
Miroku closed his eyes, allowing the girl's image to resurface behind them. "She was dressed like Kikyou, but she wore a mask. I couldn't see her face."
Sango groaned. "That's just great. Kaede, can he move?"
Kaede shook her head. "I'm surprised he can breath. He can't leave here for a long while yet."
Kagome paled. "Then who will help us find Inuyasha?"
Kaede stood against the wall, rubbing her knees. "It looks like it will have to be you and Sango."
Sango rose to her feet and exited the hut, going for supplies. Kagome stared at Kaede in shock. "There is no way Sango and I can find Inuyasha by ourselves. Sango could, but I would be in her way."
"There is no one else to go, Kagome. You must trust the power within yourself."
Kagome snorted. "What power? All I manage to do is get in the way."
Kaede placed a weathered hand on Kagome's shoulder. "You are more powerful than you realize. The Shikon Jewel's power flows through you, almost as if you were another jewel."
"All the more reason to stay here."
Kaede sighed. This was going to be hard. "Kagome, you are more powerful than my sister ever was because of the jewel. That's why you can purify it so easily. You must trust your powers if you plan to get Inuyasha back."
Kagome blushed. Could she really do it?
"You must trust in yourself. You have seen your power manifest itself in your arrows. All you have to do is learn to use that power without them."
Kagome nodded and lifted her pack to her shoulders. As she stepped out the hut, she gave one last look at Kaede, who gave her a smile in return. Kagome smiled back and left, running to catch up with Sango.
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Inu-chan: Another short chapter. You're going to get flamed, SF.
SF: I know, but I'd rather write short quality chapters than long crappy chapters.
Inu-chan: But you write short, crappy chapters.
Bonk!
SF: {::leaning over a prone Inu-chan::} Jackass! What do you know? Can you read?
Inu-chan: {::voice is muffled by the floor::} Yes, twit! I can read! What do you think I am, stupid?
Sesshou: {::comes on stage and digs around fridge::} Yes. I do anyway.
{Inu-chan growls and jumps up, then stomps across the stage to Sesshou. Sesshou tosses a coke over his shoulder, hitting Inu-chan in the head. Inu-chan falls to the floor.}
SF: Thanks Sesshou! {::glomp::} You really are a girl's best friend!
{Sesshou grins and hugs SF back.}
SF: What's with the affection all of a sudden? Um, Sesshou…{::tries to move away::} You can let go of me now.
Sesshou: Who said I wanted to?
SF: Not again. Read the preview and the responses below while I try to talk some sense into him.
Chapter Three: Dog Pen
Sesshoumaru chuckled, his laughter filling up their imprisonment.
Inuyasha scowled. "What's so damn funny?"
Sesshoumaru shook his head, tears streaming down his face. "A halfling, ruling over the Western Lands. You must be joking."
Sesshoumaru continued to laugh, his muscular frame shaking under the chains.
CLINK-CLINK!
ZAP!
"Ow!"
Responses:
Fanfiction:
LadyWyrsa: Thanks for the love! I thought Jaken deserved some love too, even though I don't like If you think that was good, then read chapter four of 'Chosen...'
Tokia: Thanks so much! Another chapter is coming Tuesday!
glory230: Thanks!
Tessa: Inu-chan is so mean sometimes! If you do draw a picture, it will be accepted with open arms and a loving heart.
Tenshi no Yami: I missed that episode! How did that happen? Thanks for the love!
Em Starcatcher: Jaken won't die, I promise. Thanks for the review and enjoy the other two chapters!
Mediaminer:
Reality: It's not necessarily the Shikon shard itself, but the shard in connection with the chains. See, the chains were made to be handled by a miko (CLUE!!!!!) to protect a village from lesser demons. With the jewel shards, the chains develop the power to control demons like Sesshou. So, what miko would have possession of a few extra shards? (CLUE!!!). Thanks for the review!