(A/N:The spelling of Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's swords may be wrong,if so,forgive me. If anyone knows the actual spelling,tell me in review)
Chapter Eleven-The Terms of Release
"Give the human girl some food. She looks like she hasn't eaten in weeks." Kouga ordered, as he went for one of his messengers.
"I have so eaten! I've been sick, that's all!" Saraku defended herself, to Kouga's surprise.
"Keep quiet. The less noise you make, the better. Especially if you ever want to see Sesshoumaru again. " The wolf prince ordered, before continuing on.
"Excuse me….who's Prince Kouga gone to send for?" She asked one of her guards.
"Inuyasha." The simple reply came.
Inuyasha?! Hah! Kouga was wasting his messages. No way would Inuyasha come rescue her! "That's stupid. He'll never come for me."
"No? Why do you think that?" The guard looked at his charge, curiously. There was something sad about the way she said that.
"He hates me 'cause I like his brother Lord Sesshoumaru better than him." The girl explained, as she twisted her long hair around her little fingers. "But Lord Sesshoumaru's nicer."
"Hmm…." The guard wondered if there was any truth to what she said. "Does this Lord Sesshoumaru love you?"
"He said he did…..But then he took my shard."
"Shard? You had a Shikon shard?"
"Yes. I was supposed to be trying to find Sesshoumaru to get it back, but now I'll be stuck here forever." With that, the little girl curled up into a ball, crying softly. She missed her Mama and Daddy, and almost wished that the demons had killed her too. It would've been a lot easier than what she was going through now.
The guard watched her,sympathetically. Sure the Wolf demons were ruthless when it came to killing enemies or hunting, but he couldn't see how Kouga could be so cruel to an innocent child. "Maybe he will come….just maybe." He said softly, as he covered the girl up with a boar skin.
***********************************************************************************
"Saraku! Sara! Where are you?!" Shippou had volunteered to go with Kagome ,Sangoand Miroku to look for the young girl. "I don't see or smell her anywhere, Kagome. Maybe she is faster than we imagined."
"Or maybe she was taken! Look!" Sango held up a piece of the cape she'd made for the girl.
"Do you suppose Sesshoumaru came to get her after all?" Miroku asked.
"I don't think so. The way this is shredded, it's evident she struggled with whoever captured her. She wouldn't fight with Sesshoumaru." Sango pointed out.
"It's as I feared. Some murderous demon has captured her, and will probably kill her! That poor girl!" Kagome wiped her eyes. "We'd better go tell Inuyasha." She turned the group towards camp, and her eyes widened. "Miroku, Sango, look!" Heading towards the camp were figures Kagome recognized as members of the wolf demon tribe.
"What could Kouga possibly want?" Miroku asked no one in particular,his eyes narrowing.
"Come on. This could be trouble for Inuyasha." Sango replied, hefting her weapon. She headed back towards the camp.
Kagome followed, with young Shippou on her shoulders. Please don't let it be anything about fighting. Please. She thought to herself as the group reached the camp. "Inuyasha?" She walked over to the half-demon, in concern, glancing at the wolf demons. Her friend looked distraught. "Inuyasha, what is it? What are these jerks asking for now?"
"Kouga has Saraku." Inuyasha replied softly. "He will only release her if I agree to a re-match against him."
"What?! That's not right!" Kagome clenched her fists, glaring at the messengers. "You can tell Kouga he's lost his ever-loving mind!"
"I'm afraid that will only irritate the situation." The messenger replied. "The young child is well, but if Inuyasha refuses this, there is no telling what the prince will do to her."
"If he lays one finger on her, I will be fighting him, not Inuyasha!" Sango raged. "That girl is an innocent child!"
"Those are the demands, as stated by Kouga himself. It is up to you whether you wish to accept them or not, Inuyasha." The messenger turned, and his escorts followed him.
"He has some nerve!! Using an innocent girl to pick a fight!" Sango fumed.
"What are we going to do? We obviously can't allow him to do that!" Kagome began, but Inuyasha was already grabbing Tetsuagia. "Inuyasha, you can't!"
"I can't let him hurt her either." Inuyasha replied through clenched teeth. "It's either me or her, Kagome!" He turned, and left the group, to seek out Kouga's den.
***************************************************************************************
Sesshoumaru was beginning to feel a certain sense of urgency about finding his second human child. "Jakken! Keep up. Something doesn't feel right around here." He pulled his sword,Tensuagia out. "Rin, stay close." He sniffed the air. "Wolf demons have hunted here recently."
"Are we in trouble, My Lord?" Rin asked, staying close to him.
"No. But there is another scent around that is sadly familiar." He looked around, searching the ground. "I was right. Saraku came this way." The demon lord turned to his other followers. "She was captured, but I do not know if they spared her. Wolf demons are very tricky creatures."
"Oh no!" Rin gasped. "What do we do now,My Lord?" The little girl's eyes widened in fear.
"There is nothing we can do, Rin. I'm sorry." Sesshoumaru lowered his eyes, the shard in his hand. I failed you in keeping my promise, Saraku. Forgive me,Little One.
"We can't just give up,My Lord. We can't!" Rin spoke up so suddenly, it startled the demon lord.
"Rin, I am not going to war with the wolf demons over a child." Sesshoumaru said firmly.
"But you said you wanted her! You told her you loved her. Would you leave me with the demons if I was the one kidnapped?" Rin's eyes filled with tears of worry. Why wasn't Lord Sesshoumaru going to help her friend, her sister?
Sesshoumaru sighed, picking Rin up, and brushing her tears away. "Of course not. I would never let anything harm you." He held her close to him. He knew he'd probably live to regret this, but he would do it for Rin. "And I will not let anyone or anything harm Saraku either." He sheathed his sword, and continued through the forest, with Rin in his arms.
Soon enough, he found himself once more within inches of his half-brother's camp. Sesshoumaru growled under his breath. He would never forgive Inuyasha if anything happened to Saraku. He set Rin down, and held her hand, as he made his way into the site. He would ask Inuyasha why he hadn't helped Saraku find her way back, and inform him of Kouga's wrong doing.
"Sesshoumaru. What are you doing here?" Kagome folded her arms. "Saraku's not here, so you can just leave!"
"I'm well aware of that, Kagome. The wolf demon tribe took her. I came to speak to my little brother."
"He's not here either. He went to get her back." Shippou chimed in. "It's your fault she ran away." The child fox demon added sharply.
"My fault? No,I told that idiot brother of mine to make sure she got back to me safely! I was going to exchange her for this." He held out the girl's missing shard. "So Kouga sent messengers? What did he want?"
"That's none of your business!" Kagome declared. "You're not welcome here, so get out!"
"Very well, I will. But if Inuyasha fails in whatever is he must do, I am sure Kouga will take great pleasure in killing that little girl." Sesshoumaru replied, as he turned to go.
"Wait! Don't go! Kouga wanted a rematch with Inuyasha, but I don't think Inuyasha can win, since Kouga has shards in his skin." Kagome finally admitted.
"I see." Sesshoumaru looked towards Rin. "You will stay here, Rin. I've to go make sure Inuyasha doesn't get my child killed."
"Yes,My Lord." Rin went to stand with Kagome and Shippou.
Sesshoumaru nodded once more to the group, before walking past Jakken, towards the mountain caves.
"My Lord! This is silly! It's just a human!" Jakken hung on Sesshoumaru's cloaks.
"Stay here, Jakken. This will not take long." Sesshoumaru pulled his cloak free, and walked away from the group.
"This is your fault,Rin! He's only doing this because of you!" Jakken accused the little girl.
"Let her alone." Sango said sharply. "And as for that accusation,I don't think it's accurate. It's obvious Sesshoumaru does care for Saraku."
"He does. He said so before." Rin spoke up softly, as Shippou handed her a piece of bread.