Chapter Eight: Escape and Rescue!
Kagome woke with a start. She didn't remember falling asleep and now she regretted it. The horses had stopped in a large courtyard. There were high wooden walls set in the opening of a ravine. The high stone walls on either side were covered in holes that looked like windows and along the ground were sturdy looking doors. Several wooden long houses were also visible to Kagome from her uncomfortable perch. Everywhere she looked she saw soldiers. Not army soldiers but men who looked vicious and very well armed.
The girl next to her was struggling again. Their captors dismounted and hailed several more men over. They came over giving Kagome and the girls very unfriendly smiles; Kagome didn't like them at all. They started talking very rapidly in a language that she didn't understand. They sounded happy but kept giving the girls evil grins and laughing. Kagome shuddered; this was not looking good at all.
The men broke off their talking and started to pull the girls off the horses. Kagome fell flat on her backside because of her stiffness. Several of the men laughed, it was not a pleasant sound. She tried to stand but because she was bound she couldn't get balanced enough. One of the men came over and lifted her up by her arms. She got her balance and tried to pull away but he held her tightly. She started to struggle but he just laughed and started kissing her neck. She screamed and kicked up at him. She hit him square between the legs. He moaned in pain and fell over backwards, his companions laughed even harder. What was this place?
That night Kagome found herself in a low cleaned room. The men had shoved her into the stone room that looked very much like a cell. There was a futon that was worn and ragged in each corner and a small whole in the floor in the back, she could guess what it was for from the smell. She moaned and rubbed her wrists. They had untied her before shoving her inside. Despite its ragged appearance she selected a futon and lay down. She was too tired to think and decided that sleep would be her best friend about then.
The sound of rusty hinges woke Kagome. The only light was from a torch in the hallway that cast a halo around the figures it the doorframe. There were three of them. One of the larger figures pushed the smallest one inside the cell and pulled the door shut again, Kagome heard the key in the lock and the retreating footsteps of the two men. The figure they had throne in lay still on the hard stone floor. Kagome carefully crawled over to darkened form. "Are you ok?" she asked softly reaching for the figure. She stopped her hand when she heard the sound of muffled crying coming from the figure. "Are you alright?" she pulled herself closer and put a hand on the figures shoulder. The person lifted her head to stare at Kagome. Tears were in her eyes, though one was swelled shut. Kagome gasped. "You're the one who was on the horse with me." The girl nodded and sat herself up, rubbing at her eyes. "Yes." She shuddered and started to cry softly again. Kagome sat next to her and hugged her tightly. The girl rested her head on her shoulder and slowly wept herself to sleep.
Kagome woke early the next morning. She was laying on one of the futons with the nameless girl. Slowly she sat up and stretched. Then she looked down at the girl. Tear marks were apparent on her cheeks and she was staring blankly at a wall. "Are you feeling better?" Kagome asked. The girl looked up at her slowly; her eyes were sad and full of pain. "Yes, thank you." Kagome helped her to sit. "What's your name?" the girl glanced towards the door. "My name is Rain." Kagome smiled "hi! I'm Kagome." Rain sighed and shook her head. "How can you smile in a place like this?" Kagome patted Rain's back. "No use getting down when it will only make matters worse." Rain chuckled, a hopeless sound. "Do you know why we are here?" she asked Kagome. "No, in fact I don't know where here is." Rain lay back against the cold wall. "This is the bandit fort Jigoku and we are here as entertainment." Kagome could guess what sort of "entertainment" they were to provide, hurry Inuyasha she called out mentally.
Inuyasha ran through the rocky terrain, following Kagome's scant scent. It was dull and fragmented, and at least four days old. "Hey Seven you find anything." He called. Seven emerged from behind a clump of trees running as well. He had left his case back with Toutousai but was still traveling well armed. "Not much over here, they must have camped near here though, there seems to be a lot of tracks." Inuyasha nodded. Seven had turned out to be almost as good a tracker as Inuyasha; the Hanyou's opinion of the man had just gone up. They had been running for almost a full day without rest and nightfall was coming fast. "Hey Inuyasha." Seven called after a while. "Not to complain or anything but I'm starting to get a little tired, do you think we could stop for the night?" Inuyasha growled, he would welcome a rest as well. "Sure thing, but only for a few hours." Seven smiled "right!"
They started a small fire near a stream and boiled some water for Ramen. Seven stretched and sat down next to Inuyasha. The Hanyou was deep in thought, there was something in the back of his mind that was bugging him, he just couldn't put his finger on it. Suddenly. "Hey Seven," he turned to face the man. "How did you heal so quickly?" Seven swallowed loudly "why do you mean Inuyasha?" Inuyasha glared at him. "The night Kagome was taken you should have died. You wee stabbed three times in the chest and lost allot all of your blood, and now your up and running." Seven coughed "well its nothing really, just some effects of the Dragon soul that's all." Inuyasha stared at him, he sensed there was more. "And?" Seven jerked up his head. "And what?" "There's more I can," he sniffed, "I cant smell you either, I just noticed that." Seven threw a stick into the fire. "That's because I don't want my scent broadcast, so I muffled it." Inuyasha blinked "I didn't know that was possible." Seven threw his empty Ramen into the fire. "Come on we've stopped long enough." He evaded that pretty well thought Inuyasha.
The sun was rising behind the two runners. Inuyasha and Seven had not stopped since their meal and were gaining ground quickly. "Inuyasha," Seven called "how far behind are we?" Inuyasha took a longer whiff of Kagome's scent. "Less than a full day I would guess." Seven ran closer to the Hanyou. "So we should be caught up by noon at the latest." Inuyasha smiled. "At the latest!"
Dawn light streamed into Kagome and Rain's cell. They had slept on the same futon for warmth but they were still cold. Mist wafted in through the small grated window. Kagome shivered. "Where are we?" she whispered through clenched teeth. Rain rolled over to face Kagome. "We're in the mountains." Kagome sat up slowly rubbing her arms for warmth. "Is it always so cold?" Rain chuckled it sounded actually lighthearted "only in the mornings, we are just below the cold rim." "How do you know all this?" Rain sighed. "Both of my sisters were taken here almost a year ago, my father tried to buy them back but because of that they cut off the hands and feet of my sisters and took me in their place, my father rests in a shallow grave." Kagome remembered the body she had seen. "I'm sorry Rain." She whispered. Rain buried her face in the futon and started to cry again.
Kagome was tired, they had made her and Rain does laundry at the stream in the fort. She was not good at it. Rain however was used to the task and helped Kagome as best she could. The sun was almost at its peak but the air was still chilly. The ice water was not helping either. She was shaking furiously; "well I don't think I'll have a problem faking sickness." She whispered to Rain. Rain smiled and kept working. It was going to be a long day.
Seven finished putting on the stolen armor. He and Inuyasha had acquired it from a scout from the fortress. The captured man was unconscious on the ground. "I still don't understand why I can't go in." Inuyasha growled pulling the man into the bushes. Seven strapped on his sword. "You would be spotted quicker, tonight I'll signal to you where you can climb the wall, but first we need to find out where Kagome is being held." Inuyasha pouted "why cant we just bust in there and get her now!" Seven shook his head. "There are at least three hundred men in there, chances are someone we know could get hurt, my way is better." Seven mounted the scout's horse and spurred it towards the fort. Inuyasha jumped into the trees to wait for nightfall.
Kagome was getting very tired. The laundry pile just seemed to get bigger. How was that when the men never looked clean? A stone plopped into the water in front of her. She turned and saw a soldier, his helmet pulled low and his face wrapped in a dirty scarf. He started towards her slowly but firmly. When he reached her he knelt behind her and pulled her up to him, her face to his. She squealed but he pushed his cheek against her mouth. "Be quiet Kagome, now is not the time." She gasped and pulled away; the scarf around his face fell slightly. "Seven!" she gasped. He quickly pulled her closer "just play along, you can hit me later." She nodded. "Listen I need to know where you are staying, tonight Inuyasha is coming in and we're gonna take you out." Kagome shuddered in relief. "Now I need you to take me to your room, nobody will question us because of." he paused. Kagome smiled "don't worry they haven't got me yet." Now Seven looked relived. "Good, Inuyasha would have killed me."
He stood and pulled Kagome up. Rain had been watching the exchange stood as well. Kagome nodded to her and started for her room, seven was holding her arm so it looked like he was leading. Rain followed close behind, but still keeping a safe distance. The walk to Kagome's room was uneventful. A man taking a woman was a common occurrence at the fort and Seven had made sure that is what it looked like. They reached Kagome and Rain's room and Seven opened the door, then he pushed Kagome inside and ducked after her, pulling off his helmet.
Rain followed quickly, brandishing a fist-sized rock from the stream. She was ignorant of the connection between Kagome and Seven. She thought he was a soldier taking a woman, her friend. CRACK! She brought the rock down hard on Seven's now unprotected head. With a grunt he toppled to the floor. Kagome shrieked "Seven! Are you ok?" she rushed to his side. Rain was confused "Kagome?" Kagome had tears in her eyes; blood stained his head and was pooling on the floor. "Seven say something." Rain knelt next to Kagome. "Do you, know him?" she asked slowly, she was starting to get worried. Kagome nodded, "he is my cousin, he came to rescue me." Rain gasped and clenched the rock, making her knuckles turn white. "Oh Kagome." she could barely whisper. A moan from the floor brought the attention of both girls. "What the hell hit me." Seven grunted as he pushed himself off the floor. Kagome and Rain gasped in shock. Rain recovered first "how are you still alive." She gasped; seven sat and rubbed the back of his head. "nice to meet you to. Do you always introduce yourself that way?" Rain blushed. Kagome had by that time found her voice. "Are you ok Seven?" Seven smiled "of course I'm fine, now who is your "friend"" he said friend with layers of sarcasm. Kagome smiled. "This is Rain, Rain meet Seven." Seven extended his hand and pulled the rock from Rain's hand, then tossing the rock aside he shook the now empty hand of Rain. "Nice to meet you, I think." He said. Rain blushed "oh yes, nice to meet you to." Seven leaned closer and whispered. "Let's stick to my greeting from now on ok." He winked at her, she smiled back.
Seven used the scarf that had been around his neck to clean up the blood on the floor and on the back of his head. "Now here's the plan," he explained the escape to the two girls. "You must be ready to go at any time." He continued "we may not have much time to escape once we get in so you MUST be ready." He threw the bloody rag into their toilet hole. Rain nodded, the plan was made without them knowing about her, would she be left behind? Kagome noticed her friends look. "Its ok Rain." She said patting her hand. "We won't leave you here." Rain smiled, "thank you." Seven stood. "I have to go now, see you tonight." He strode out and shut the door, leaving the girls alone. After a few minutes of thought Kagome noticed that Rain was still staring at the closed door. "Are you ok?" she asked. "Hmm?" Rain jerked her gaze away from the door. "Oh yes, of course Kagome." Kagome smiled, "let's get some rest, we have a big night." Rain moved to their futon. How had he survived? She asked herself. I ht him as hard as I could, and the blood! She lay down and stared at the low ceiling. "Kagome?" "Yes." "Is Seven human?" Kagome blinked and sat down next to Rain. "Well, yes, but." She paused trying to think of the right words. "He has a Dragon soul that gives him power, I don't know how or how much but I guess it helps him heal like a Youkai." Rain nodded, "at least he's human, I don't like Youkai." Kagome lay down. "Then watch out for Inuyasha." "Who, oh the guy Seven was talking about?" "Yeah" "is he a Youkai?" "A Hanyou." Rain shuddered "and he hasn't tried to kill you." Kagome smiled at the memory of her first night through the well. "Not in a long time."
Night came on quickly for Inuyasha. He had been crouching in the same tree all day and was starting to get bored. As the sun set the sky above the fort started to glow from the numerous fires inside. Inuyasha fidgeted anxiously and scanned the wall; it shouldn't be long now, he thought. There! On the far right of the wall a small flame flickered from side to side. Inuyasha dropped from the tree and ran low to the ground towards the fort. He reached it quickly and started to climb. The wall was rough and Inuyasha had no difficulty in reaching the top in seconds. He slipped over the wall where he had seen the flame and crouched against the cliff face where it met the wall. He peered around looking for any sign of Seven. Then, there again in the courtyard was the flash of the lighter. Inuyasha made his way stealthily along the wall top. He jumped down and slunk over to where the light had been. He was between two buildings near the cliff wall. The flash came once again from a low door in the face of the cliff. Inuyasha broke for it and ducked inside. Seven was waiting. "Can't you sit still?" Inuyasha growled. Seven smiled and put a finger to his lips. "We must be quiet and go quickly." He stuck his head around a corner before he beckoned to Inuyasha "come on." Seven darted down the hallway stopping every once and a while to clime a flight of stairs. Suddenly they stepped into a hallway that was better lit than the others. "Crap." Seven growled glancing at Inuyasha. "Hang your head and try to look like a girl." He muttered glancing from side to side. "What did you say?" Seven glared at him. "We won't attract attention if you look like a woman now move!" Inuyasha growled and pulled his hair to hide his face. He hung his head and tried to walk like he thought a girl was supported to walk.
They passed through corridor after corridor until Inuyasha was confused as to where they were. "Hey Seven, you know where we're going?" he whispered "yeah, were almost there now." He stepped into a low side corridor and went for one of the doors. He wrenched it open and stepped inside, Inuyasha followed on his heals.
Kagome and Rain sat up as they heard the door open Seven darted in followed by. a woman? Kagome frowned "Seven who.?" she stopped as the woman flew across the room to her "Kagome!" he cried "Inuyasha!" Kagome caught him in a rough hug as he pulled her off the floor. "Thank God." He whispered "thank." he paused realizing his position; quickly he pushed her back down. "Damn it woman!" he growled "what the hell do you think your doing going off like that." Kagome stared at him in surprise, he was blaming HER? He turned towards the door. "Come on wench lets get out of here before I loose it." He walked to the door. Rain leaned over to Kagome "so he hasn't tried to kill you eh?" Kagome blushed. Seven coughed "we really should go now." Rain stood and helped Kagome up "alright, let go." Seven smiled to himself. At least she had a sense of humor.
They reached the top of the wall without incident. The wall guards were mostly asleep and didn't pay attention to the small group against the cliff. Kagome peered over the side of the wall "eep!" she drew back. "Long way down isn't it?" she asked. Seven nodded "we'll go down one at a time on Inuyasha's back, Kagome you first." Kagome nodded and pulled herself onto the Hanyou's back. He climbed onto the wall top and stared down slowly as to not attract attention. Seven stared over the wall following the retreating pair. "He should be back in a minute." He whispered Rain nodded and glanced down the wall. She gasped and took a step back, right into Seven. "What's wrong?" he brought his head up and stared down the wall. "Oh." Coming towards them were several soldiers. Their weapons were out and they were staring at Seven and Rain.
Seven growled "crap!" then grabbing Rain around the waist her jumped onto the wall. "When we hit the ground I want you to leave me and run." He whispered. "What?" she stared up at him. "Just do it" she nodded. One of the advancing men shouted and raised a bow, pointing at Rain. The arrow made a hissing sound as it streaked for her unprotected back. Seven whirled at the last second, shifting so she was no longer in the arrows path. It struck him square in the chest instead. He grunted, Rain screamed. The men started to run as seven lowered himself off the wall. Another arrow loosed imbedding itself in his arm. Seven pushed away from the wall positioning Rain next to the arrow on his chest. "Remember, run." He growled as they fell towards the earth.
They hit the ground with a dull thud. Rain rolled off Seven's chest and tried to regain her breath. She stood unsteadily and started for the forest, he had said run, but. she turned back to Seven, he wasn't moving, was he alive? She knelt at his side peering at his face. "Are you ok?" she put her hand on his chest where the arrow was protruding. She heard the whistle of an arrow and two more shafts struck the ground near her. She stated to stand and looked up. The tip of an arrow was heading straight for her; she had no time to move.
SHUNK! She heard the arrow hit but. there was no pain. She opened her eyes. Seven! He was standing in front of her hand outstretched. Through his hand was a long bloody arrow. "I told you to run, now run." She nodded and started for the forest again, this time Seven followed. Arrows whistled around them as they ran the forest grew closer. They reached the edge and dove into its cover. Rain yelped in fear as strong arms caught her. "Quiet woman." She looked up and saw Inuyasha. He picked her up and started to run. "Wait for Seven." She cried peering over Inuyasha's shoulder. "I don't need to." He darted to the left and she saw Seven running close behind, the arrow still in his chest.
Kagome woke with a start. She didn't remember falling asleep and now she regretted it. The horses had stopped in a large courtyard. There were high wooden walls set in the opening of a ravine. The high stone walls on either side were covered in holes that looked like windows and along the ground were sturdy looking doors. Several wooden long houses were also visible to Kagome from her uncomfortable perch. Everywhere she looked she saw soldiers. Not army soldiers but men who looked vicious and very well armed.
The girl next to her was struggling again. Their captors dismounted and hailed several more men over. They came over giving Kagome and the girls very unfriendly smiles; Kagome didn't like them at all. They started talking very rapidly in a language that she didn't understand. They sounded happy but kept giving the girls evil grins and laughing. Kagome shuddered; this was not looking good at all.
The men broke off their talking and started to pull the girls off the horses. Kagome fell flat on her backside because of her stiffness. Several of the men laughed, it was not a pleasant sound. She tried to stand but because she was bound she couldn't get balanced enough. One of the men came over and lifted her up by her arms. She got her balance and tried to pull away but he held her tightly. She started to struggle but he just laughed and started kissing her neck. She screamed and kicked up at him. She hit him square between the legs. He moaned in pain and fell over backwards, his companions laughed even harder. What was this place?
That night Kagome found herself in a low cleaned room. The men had shoved her into the stone room that looked very much like a cell. There was a futon that was worn and ragged in each corner and a small whole in the floor in the back, she could guess what it was for from the smell. She moaned and rubbed her wrists. They had untied her before shoving her inside. Despite its ragged appearance she selected a futon and lay down. She was too tired to think and decided that sleep would be her best friend about then.
The sound of rusty hinges woke Kagome. The only light was from a torch in the hallway that cast a halo around the figures it the doorframe. There were three of them. One of the larger figures pushed the smallest one inside the cell and pulled the door shut again, Kagome heard the key in the lock and the retreating footsteps of the two men. The figure they had throne in lay still on the hard stone floor. Kagome carefully crawled over to darkened form. "Are you ok?" she asked softly reaching for the figure. She stopped her hand when she heard the sound of muffled crying coming from the figure. "Are you alright?" she pulled herself closer and put a hand on the figures shoulder. The person lifted her head to stare at Kagome. Tears were in her eyes, though one was swelled shut. Kagome gasped. "You're the one who was on the horse with me." The girl nodded and sat herself up, rubbing at her eyes. "Yes." She shuddered and started to cry softly again. Kagome sat next to her and hugged her tightly. The girl rested her head on her shoulder and slowly wept herself to sleep.
Kagome woke early the next morning. She was laying on one of the futons with the nameless girl. Slowly she sat up and stretched. Then she looked down at the girl. Tear marks were apparent on her cheeks and she was staring blankly at a wall. "Are you feeling better?" Kagome asked. The girl looked up at her slowly; her eyes were sad and full of pain. "Yes, thank you." Kagome helped her to sit. "What's your name?" the girl glanced towards the door. "My name is Rain." Kagome smiled "hi! I'm Kagome." Rain sighed and shook her head. "How can you smile in a place like this?" Kagome patted Rain's back. "No use getting down when it will only make matters worse." Rain chuckled, a hopeless sound. "Do you know why we are here?" she asked Kagome. "No, in fact I don't know where here is." Rain lay back against the cold wall. "This is the bandit fort Jigoku and we are here as entertainment." Kagome could guess what sort of "entertainment" they were to provide, hurry Inuyasha she called out mentally.
Inuyasha ran through the rocky terrain, following Kagome's scant scent. It was dull and fragmented, and at least four days old. "Hey Seven you find anything." He called. Seven emerged from behind a clump of trees running as well. He had left his case back with Toutousai but was still traveling well armed. "Not much over here, they must have camped near here though, there seems to be a lot of tracks." Inuyasha nodded. Seven had turned out to be almost as good a tracker as Inuyasha; the Hanyou's opinion of the man had just gone up. They had been running for almost a full day without rest and nightfall was coming fast. "Hey Inuyasha." Seven called after a while. "Not to complain or anything but I'm starting to get a little tired, do you think we could stop for the night?" Inuyasha growled, he would welcome a rest as well. "Sure thing, but only for a few hours." Seven smiled "right!"
They started a small fire near a stream and boiled some water for Ramen. Seven stretched and sat down next to Inuyasha. The Hanyou was deep in thought, there was something in the back of his mind that was bugging him, he just couldn't put his finger on it. Suddenly. "Hey Seven," he turned to face the man. "How did you heal so quickly?" Seven swallowed loudly "why do you mean Inuyasha?" Inuyasha glared at him. "The night Kagome was taken you should have died. You wee stabbed three times in the chest and lost allot all of your blood, and now your up and running." Seven coughed "well its nothing really, just some effects of the Dragon soul that's all." Inuyasha stared at him, he sensed there was more. "And?" Seven jerked up his head. "And what?" "There's more I can," he sniffed, "I cant smell you either, I just noticed that." Seven threw a stick into the fire. "That's because I don't want my scent broadcast, so I muffled it." Inuyasha blinked "I didn't know that was possible." Seven threw his empty Ramen into the fire. "Come on we've stopped long enough." He evaded that pretty well thought Inuyasha.
The sun was rising behind the two runners. Inuyasha and Seven had not stopped since their meal and were gaining ground quickly. "Inuyasha," Seven called "how far behind are we?" Inuyasha took a longer whiff of Kagome's scent. "Less than a full day I would guess." Seven ran closer to the Hanyou. "So we should be caught up by noon at the latest." Inuyasha smiled. "At the latest!"
Dawn light streamed into Kagome and Rain's cell. They had slept on the same futon for warmth but they were still cold. Mist wafted in through the small grated window. Kagome shivered. "Where are we?" she whispered through clenched teeth. Rain rolled over to face Kagome. "We're in the mountains." Kagome sat up slowly rubbing her arms for warmth. "Is it always so cold?" Rain chuckled it sounded actually lighthearted "only in the mornings, we are just below the cold rim." "How do you know all this?" Rain sighed. "Both of my sisters were taken here almost a year ago, my father tried to buy them back but because of that they cut off the hands and feet of my sisters and took me in their place, my father rests in a shallow grave." Kagome remembered the body she had seen. "I'm sorry Rain." She whispered. Rain buried her face in the futon and started to cry again.
Kagome was tired, they had made her and Rain does laundry at the stream in the fort. She was not good at it. Rain however was used to the task and helped Kagome as best she could. The sun was almost at its peak but the air was still chilly. The ice water was not helping either. She was shaking furiously; "well I don't think I'll have a problem faking sickness." She whispered to Rain. Rain smiled and kept working. It was going to be a long day.
Seven finished putting on the stolen armor. He and Inuyasha had acquired it from a scout from the fortress. The captured man was unconscious on the ground. "I still don't understand why I can't go in." Inuyasha growled pulling the man into the bushes. Seven strapped on his sword. "You would be spotted quicker, tonight I'll signal to you where you can climb the wall, but first we need to find out where Kagome is being held." Inuyasha pouted "why cant we just bust in there and get her now!" Seven shook his head. "There are at least three hundred men in there, chances are someone we know could get hurt, my way is better." Seven mounted the scout's horse and spurred it towards the fort. Inuyasha jumped into the trees to wait for nightfall.
Kagome was getting very tired. The laundry pile just seemed to get bigger. How was that when the men never looked clean? A stone plopped into the water in front of her. She turned and saw a soldier, his helmet pulled low and his face wrapped in a dirty scarf. He started towards her slowly but firmly. When he reached her he knelt behind her and pulled her up to him, her face to his. She squealed but he pushed his cheek against her mouth. "Be quiet Kagome, now is not the time." She gasped and pulled away; the scarf around his face fell slightly. "Seven!" she gasped. He quickly pulled her closer "just play along, you can hit me later." She nodded. "Listen I need to know where you are staying, tonight Inuyasha is coming in and we're gonna take you out." Kagome shuddered in relief. "Now I need you to take me to your room, nobody will question us because of." he paused. Kagome smiled "don't worry they haven't got me yet." Now Seven looked relived. "Good, Inuyasha would have killed me."
He stood and pulled Kagome up. Rain had been watching the exchange stood as well. Kagome nodded to her and started for her room, seven was holding her arm so it looked like he was leading. Rain followed close behind, but still keeping a safe distance. The walk to Kagome's room was uneventful. A man taking a woman was a common occurrence at the fort and Seven had made sure that is what it looked like. They reached Kagome and Rain's room and Seven opened the door, then he pushed Kagome inside and ducked after her, pulling off his helmet.
Rain followed quickly, brandishing a fist-sized rock from the stream. She was ignorant of the connection between Kagome and Seven. She thought he was a soldier taking a woman, her friend. CRACK! She brought the rock down hard on Seven's now unprotected head. With a grunt he toppled to the floor. Kagome shrieked "Seven! Are you ok?" she rushed to his side. Rain was confused "Kagome?" Kagome had tears in her eyes; blood stained his head and was pooling on the floor. "Seven say something." Rain knelt next to Kagome. "Do you, know him?" she asked slowly, she was starting to get worried. Kagome nodded, "he is my cousin, he came to rescue me." Rain gasped and clenched the rock, making her knuckles turn white. "Oh Kagome." she could barely whisper. A moan from the floor brought the attention of both girls. "What the hell hit me." Seven grunted as he pushed himself off the floor. Kagome and Rain gasped in shock. Rain recovered first "how are you still alive." She gasped; seven sat and rubbed the back of his head. "nice to meet you to. Do you always introduce yourself that way?" Rain blushed. Kagome had by that time found her voice. "Are you ok Seven?" Seven smiled "of course I'm fine, now who is your "friend"" he said friend with layers of sarcasm. Kagome smiled. "This is Rain, Rain meet Seven." Seven extended his hand and pulled the rock from Rain's hand, then tossing the rock aside he shook the now empty hand of Rain. "Nice to meet you, I think." He said. Rain blushed "oh yes, nice to meet you to." Seven leaned closer and whispered. "Let's stick to my greeting from now on ok." He winked at her, she smiled back.
Seven used the scarf that had been around his neck to clean up the blood on the floor and on the back of his head. "Now here's the plan," he explained the escape to the two girls. "You must be ready to go at any time." He continued "we may not have much time to escape once we get in so you MUST be ready." He threw the bloody rag into their toilet hole. Rain nodded, the plan was made without them knowing about her, would she be left behind? Kagome noticed her friends look. "Its ok Rain." She said patting her hand. "We won't leave you here." Rain smiled, "thank you." Seven stood. "I have to go now, see you tonight." He strode out and shut the door, leaving the girls alone. After a few minutes of thought Kagome noticed that Rain was still staring at the closed door. "Are you ok?" she asked. "Hmm?" Rain jerked her gaze away from the door. "Oh yes, of course Kagome." Kagome smiled, "let's get some rest, we have a big night." Rain moved to their futon. How had he survived? She asked herself. I ht him as hard as I could, and the blood! She lay down and stared at the low ceiling. "Kagome?" "Yes." "Is Seven human?" Kagome blinked and sat down next to Rain. "Well, yes, but." She paused trying to think of the right words. "He has a Dragon soul that gives him power, I don't know how or how much but I guess it helps him heal like a Youkai." Rain nodded, "at least he's human, I don't like Youkai." Kagome lay down. "Then watch out for Inuyasha." "Who, oh the guy Seven was talking about?" "Yeah" "is he a Youkai?" "A Hanyou." Rain shuddered "and he hasn't tried to kill you." Kagome smiled at the memory of her first night through the well. "Not in a long time."
Night came on quickly for Inuyasha. He had been crouching in the same tree all day and was starting to get bored. As the sun set the sky above the fort started to glow from the numerous fires inside. Inuyasha fidgeted anxiously and scanned the wall; it shouldn't be long now, he thought. There! On the far right of the wall a small flame flickered from side to side. Inuyasha dropped from the tree and ran low to the ground towards the fort. He reached it quickly and started to climb. The wall was rough and Inuyasha had no difficulty in reaching the top in seconds. He slipped over the wall where he had seen the flame and crouched against the cliff face where it met the wall. He peered around looking for any sign of Seven. Then, there again in the courtyard was the flash of the lighter. Inuyasha made his way stealthily along the wall top. He jumped down and slunk over to where the light had been. He was between two buildings near the cliff wall. The flash came once again from a low door in the face of the cliff. Inuyasha broke for it and ducked inside. Seven was waiting. "Can't you sit still?" Inuyasha growled. Seven smiled and put a finger to his lips. "We must be quiet and go quickly." He stuck his head around a corner before he beckoned to Inuyasha "come on." Seven darted down the hallway stopping every once and a while to clime a flight of stairs. Suddenly they stepped into a hallway that was better lit than the others. "Crap." Seven growled glancing at Inuyasha. "Hang your head and try to look like a girl." He muttered glancing from side to side. "What did you say?" Seven glared at him. "We won't attract attention if you look like a woman now move!" Inuyasha growled and pulled his hair to hide his face. He hung his head and tried to walk like he thought a girl was supported to walk.
They passed through corridor after corridor until Inuyasha was confused as to where they were. "Hey Seven, you know where we're going?" he whispered "yeah, were almost there now." He stepped into a low side corridor and went for one of the doors. He wrenched it open and stepped inside, Inuyasha followed on his heals.
Kagome and Rain sat up as they heard the door open Seven darted in followed by. a woman? Kagome frowned "Seven who.?" she stopped as the woman flew across the room to her "Kagome!" he cried "Inuyasha!" Kagome caught him in a rough hug as he pulled her off the floor. "Thank God." He whispered "thank." he paused realizing his position; quickly he pushed her back down. "Damn it woman!" he growled "what the hell do you think your doing going off like that." Kagome stared at him in surprise, he was blaming HER? He turned towards the door. "Come on wench lets get out of here before I loose it." He walked to the door. Rain leaned over to Kagome "so he hasn't tried to kill you eh?" Kagome blushed. Seven coughed "we really should go now." Rain stood and helped Kagome up "alright, let go." Seven smiled to himself. At least she had a sense of humor.
They reached the top of the wall without incident. The wall guards were mostly asleep and didn't pay attention to the small group against the cliff. Kagome peered over the side of the wall "eep!" she drew back. "Long way down isn't it?" she asked. Seven nodded "we'll go down one at a time on Inuyasha's back, Kagome you first." Kagome nodded and pulled herself onto the Hanyou's back. He climbed onto the wall top and stared down slowly as to not attract attention. Seven stared over the wall following the retreating pair. "He should be back in a minute." He whispered Rain nodded and glanced down the wall. She gasped and took a step back, right into Seven. "What's wrong?" he brought his head up and stared down the wall. "Oh." Coming towards them were several soldiers. Their weapons were out and they were staring at Seven and Rain.
Seven growled "crap!" then grabbing Rain around the waist her jumped onto the wall. "When we hit the ground I want you to leave me and run." He whispered. "What?" she stared up at him. "Just do it" she nodded. One of the advancing men shouted and raised a bow, pointing at Rain. The arrow made a hissing sound as it streaked for her unprotected back. Seven whirled at the last second, shifting so she was no longer in the arrows path. It struck him square in the chest instead. He grunted, Rain screamed. The men started to run as seven lowered himself off the wall. Another arrow loosed imbedding itself in his arm. Seven pushed away from the wall positioning Rain next to the arrow on his chest. "Remember, run." He growled as they fell towards the earth.
They hit the ground with a dull thud. Rain rolled off Seven's chest and tried to regain her breath. She stood unsteadily and started for the forest, he had said run, but. she turned back to Seven, he wasn't moving, was he alive? She knelt at his side peering at his face. "Are you ok?" she put her hand on his chest where the arrow was protruding. She heard the whistle of an arrow and two more shafts struck the ground near her. She stated to stand and looked up. The tip of an arrow was heading straight for her; she had no time to move.
SHUNK! She heard the arrow hit but. there was no pain. She opened her eyes. Seven! He was standing in front of her hand outstretched. Through his hand was a long bloody arrow. "I told you to run, now run." She nodded and started for the forest again, this time Seven followed. Arrows whistled around them as they ran the forest grew closer. They reached the edge and dove into its cover. Rain yelped in fear as strong arms caught her. "Quiet woman." She looked up and saw Inuyasha. He picked her up and started to run. "Wait for Seven." She cried peering over Inuyasha's shoulder. "I don't need to." He darted to the left and she saw Seven running close behind, the arrow still in his chest.