Chapter 3 is here! But first, some responses…

Serendy4evr: I'm so glad you found it! I was a little worried that people wouldn't see it…Updates come pretty regularly, as I now have a university-free life (long story).

Neoen: Ahh! You're back!! *hugs* Yes, I loved the 'crazy Shippo' bit too…that was lots of fun to write! As for Naraku, well, you'll see. Ku ku ku… (For some angst that really leaves an impact, try my other fic 'Choice and Consequence'. People seemed to like that one…)

Sailorpsychosis: I'm glad you think the characters are good, it's kind of difficult sometimes! Especially if you've never seen the show, like me. I really am deprived….

Mattielover: Mm-hmm…. suspense rules! Woohoo!

PasoLover: Back again! I won't make you wait long between chapters, I promise!

Aamalie: I hope you had fun on your camping trip! Yes, I often find myself reading fics for crazy lengths of time too…

A/N: *Dances happily* No more university! I'm freeee! *Looks at the shocked reviewers* er, yeah. I'm sane, really! But you should be happy about this because I now have more time to devote to writing fics! While I'm at it, any requests for challenge fics, or whatever? A pairing you really want to see? C'mon, give me a hint! Or maybe I'll just surprise you…

Disclaimer: Get a clue! I don't own Inuyasha…so get off my back! Feh.

Under Control

Chapter 3: High Stakes

Although he hated to admit it, Inuyasha was getting tired. Once Miroku had snapped out of his daze, he had literally become a blur of action, racing back to the inn and grabbing his things. When the others had caught up to him, he had thrown their stuff at them and told them to 'get moving'. His one and only goal was to rescue Sango, and nothing as trivial as food or sleep was going to get in his way. The pace he set was incredible.

And now even the hanyou had started to feel the effects of it. Goodness only knew how Kagome and Shippo were coping. Half the time Kagome rode on his back, carrying the kitsune in her arms. Foolishly, in his opinion, she refused to stay on for their whole trip, saying that she didn't want to be too much of a bother.

Very privately, he thought that carrying her like that wasn't a bother at all. After all, the close contact was warm, and comforting, and…. He gave himself a little shake. Thoughts like that weren't going to help at all. He looked over at the houshi. His eyes looked almost wild, a frantic desperation etched into his countenance. Inuyasha doubted that he really 'saw' his companions at all. Judging by his expression, all he could see was the image of Sango's still form lying in the darkened alley. She had looked almost…dead.

And then Naraku had taken her. He growled in frustration. 'What does he want with her anyway?' Distracted, he didn't notice his claws gripping Kagome's leg a little harder than usual. She winced at the feel of sharp objects pricking her skin. "Inuyasha?" Startled, he twisted his head around to look at the human on his back. She was looking at him in concern. "Did you want me to walk for a while?" He bristled.

"Of course not! What do you think I am, some weak little human? I could carry you for days!" She nodded slowly. 'Good, she's going to let it go…' Her voice interrupted his relieved thoughts.

"Then what's the matter? You seem angry about something." 'But then, you're always angry about something,' she reminded herself wryly. She was surprised when he lowered his eyes from hers, looking away as though he were….shy?

"I just…wish I knew what was going on," he muttered. He mentally smacked himself on the head; even admitting that much had been difficult! 'Too much time spent around humans…'

"Is THAT all?" a high voice asked incredulously. "You looked like you were ready to kill something!" Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at the speaker, who promptly gulped and attempted to hide. "Shippo…I suggest you keep quiet."

"But Kagome –"

"Quiet."

The little kitsune pouted. All he had done was say that Inuyasha had looked mad! What was the big deal anyway? He huffed in annoyance, then snuggled in closer against Kagome's stomach. All this traveling was exhausting…

He fell asleep.

Oblivious to the touching little scene behind him, Miroku continued his headlong rush in the direction that he hoped would lead him to Sango. His mind would not let him forget what he had seen…

Naraku standing over Sango's motionless body…

He wasn't exactly sure how, but he knew that a large part of this was his own fault. He had known that Sango would be angry about his latest flirtations, but he had expected a few slaps, or a hit on the head from Hiraikotsu.

He hadn't expected her to leave without saying a word. 'You really did push her too far this time,' he berated himself furiously. 'Stupid hentai, you could have let it slide, but nooo, you had to go and invite his daughter along! Idiot!' And he hadn't even really wanted to go…but he had gone, and now Sango was missing, possibly dead –

He wouldn't allow himself to think like that. She had to be alive. There was no point in going on if she wasn't. Ignoring his screaming muscles, he pushed himself to even greater speed. The real problem here was that they didn't know where Naraku had gone. All they had was Inuyasha's sense of smell, and rumours from the villages they passed. Needless to say, the last two days had been fraught with anxiety, what with this odd little search party not knowing where they were going.

But while Sango's image still floated before his eyes, he would keep going until his last ounce of strength left him. He had failed her this time; he was determined not to fail again.

Naraku couldn't be more pleased with the way things were going. If he had ever had a superior, they most probably would have been most displeased with what he was planning. After all, this little scheme had little or no impact on the hunt for shikon shards, or with having his revenge on Kikyou and Inuyasha. Many youkai would consider this a huge waste of time.

But the opportunity to have a little fun with these pitiful humans was too good to pass up.

For over fifty years the key pleasure that Naraku had experienced in his life was the twisting of human emotions. People were so easily manipulated, and once their hearts were crushed it was embarrassingly simple to destroy them completely. This case would be no different from the others. His aim involved the boy and his sister. It had been pure chance that the houshi had shown up. All the better.

"They will never recover from this," he congratulated himself. The boy, Kohaku, was too mindless to appreciate the irony of the situation – but that could be fixed. As for the girl…she would know every detail. The only way for this to work would be if she went into this with both eyes open. It would crush her just that little bit more. And the houshi would get both sides of the deal, both the brother and the sister. Naraku laughed. "As if having the hole in his hand wasn't enough!" It was perfect.

He looked disdainfully down at his captive. She was still unconscious – Kohaku must have been a little too enthusiastic about subduing her. Never mind…she would wake up soon enough. He smiled, picturing what would happen then. Panic, shock, anger, then understanding and acceptance. A willing victim.

The hanyou jumped slightly as the girl began to stir, mumbling incoherently. Covering his fright with a dark scowl, he turned to the other person in the dank little room. "Make sure she wakes up completely, then bring her to me in the hall. Don't let her escape." He swept out of the jail cell, leaving Kohaku in charge of the prisoner.

He looked at the target curiously. It was very strange, but he did remember her from the day before. Usually a target faded from his mind within a few hours of the mission being completed. He didn't think there was any reason why this target should be different from the others…he clutched his head in pain. 'Not again…'

A blurred figure in the distance, kneeling in pain. His blade was in her back. As he watched, she turned to him in disbelief. Her face…

"Kohaku?" The weak whisper broke through his thoughts, bringing him back to the present. The target was trying to sit up, bracing her hands on the stone floor. Her face was scrunched up in agony at the movement, breath coming in pained gasps. "K-Kohaku, is that you?"

He took a step back in momentary alarm. 'Why does she call me that? How does she know?' Confused, he brought a hand up to the hilt of his sword. She seemed to notice his action – he didn't understand why that would make her sad. Her eyes had filled with tears. "Kohaku, don't you know me?" She scrambled over to where he stood, grabbing his hand and shocking him. "Remember – Ane-ue?" He pulled his hand roughly out of her grasp and turned away.

"I don't know you. My master wishes to see you in his hall. Get up."

'Ane-ue? My sister? No, that's impossible.' He turned back again, seeing her slump down on the floor. Her face was streaked with tears – over him? No matter, his master was waiting. "Come."

To his relief she got up without another word. He ushered her out of the cell, following her with his sword at the ready. Lord Naraku was expecting them.

When Kagome fell down and refused to get up again, Miroku was forced to call a halt to their journey. The group had stopped by a stream for a quick drink. At least, that had been the plan. That plan had been shot to pieces when Kagome stayed where she was, tearfully explaining that she couldn't move a muscle. Inuyasha had been beside her in an instant, snarling up at the houshi in his desire to protect the young miko. A forced march was no big deal for him, but for a frail human? Truth to be told, he was very angry that Miroku had ignored Kagome's condition in favour of continuing his fruitless search. The houshi had the grace to look slightly shamefaced about it all, but he made no apology.

Miroku was deep in thought when he suddenly found himself a foot up in the air, his feet dangling above the ground. He swallowed his angry exclamation when he found a furious hanyou glaring at him, one fist holding him up by his robes. "We're stopping here tonight. Understand?" Without another word, Inuyasha dropped him on the floor and strode back over to where he had laid Kagome on her sleeping bag. At any other time, Miroku would have been amused at the picture it made; the hanyou was tenderly brushing the girl's hair out of her eyes, murmuring at her to get some sleep. She, on the other hand, was tossing around restlessly, her aching muscles not allowing her to relax. He flinched when Inuyasha's accusing amber eyes turned back to him, clearly saying, 'See what you did?'

He sighed. He was sorry for her discomfort, he really was, but he couldn't rest while Sango was in the hands of his enemy. If the others insisted on accompanying him, they would have to keep up. As it was, staying here for the night would just about drive him mad. Who knew what that bastard might do to their friend while they were asleep? It didn't bear thinking about.

Inuyasha swung his head around sharply at the sound of rustling cloth. Miroku had started moving off into the surrounding forest. "Oi, bouzu, where do you think you're going?"

"I'm just taking a walk, Inuyasha. Look after Kagome-sama, I'll be back in a little while." The houshi slipped away into the darkness. Inuyasha grimaced; that didn't sound promising. He poked the red furred bundle that was huddled up next to Kagome. "Hey, runt, wake up!"

"I am awake, dog-breath. What do you want now?"

Inuyasha jerked his head in the direction their companion had taken. "I don't like him going off like that. Look, just follow him, okay? See what he's up to." Shippo puffed his chest out importantly. Finally, a job to do!

"Okay. You be nice to Kagome!" With that final jab, the kitsune leaped away into the shadows. Inuyasha snorted in amusement. 'You be nice to Kagome?' What did that brat think he was, a monster? The girl was hurt, of course he would 'be nice'. Feh.

His thoughts evaporated like mist when the object of his concern started moaning, holding her arm as though she thought it might fall off. He noted worriedly that the muscles in the limb were clenched tight, causing it to tremble uncontrollably. "Kagome?" When she gritted her teeth in answer, he moved closer to her and picked up her arm, knowing he had to get it moving to stop the spasms. It had probably seized up from holding on to him so tightly all day. "This is going to hurt, Kagome. Just don't yell at me, okay?"

Kagome arched her body, trying to get away from the burning pain that had rushed through her arm, yelling wordlessly in protest. Tears spilled out of her eyes as she forced them open, fixing her gaze on the person who was gently flexing her arm from side to side. Somewhere in her head she knew that he was actually helping her, but it sure didn't feel like that right now! However, she had no energy left to fight him, so she submitted to the torture.

Gradually she became aware that the slow shifting of her arm had stopped, to be replaced by hands cautiously rubbing up and down, restoring the blood flow. She closed her eyes again. Now that the pain had subsided, the rubbing felt really…nice. She cracked one eye open, wondering what he was thinking. To her astonishment his eyes were looking directly into her own, a faintly worried expression on his face. Had she really been making such a fuss? Suddenly, she looked away, embarrassed. "Ah…where's Miroku?" She felt him drop her hand – wait, he had been holding her hand? – and shuffle a little way back from her. "He said he was going for a walk, so I sent Shippo after him." She stared at him, then chuckled. "What's so funny?"

"Shippo?! I'm not sure he could stop Miroku from leaving!" she laughed. "That is, if he was really determined to go." She looked thoughtful.

"Someone had to stay here, and –" He stopped. Dammit, she was looking sad again. What had he done this time?

"I'm sorry, Inuyasha, I'm keeping you back again. If I hadn't been such a crybaby…" Oh, no, not the tears again. Anything but the tears…

"He can look after himself. You can't. That's just the way it is. So go to sleep." He winced as the words came out. He hadn't meant to snap at her like that. 'Moron.' When was he going to get anything right around this infuriating human female? To his surprise, she smiled.

"Well, thank you anyway, Inuyasha. Good night." With that she turned over and settled into her bed. Minutes later her breathing told him she had fallen asleep. 'Strange girl.' He stayed sitting beside her, one ear trained towards where he thought the houshi and the spying kitsune would be.

Shippo crept along on the forest floor, following the distinctive scent of the houshi. It seemed Inuyasha had been right to worry; his tracks led directly away from their campsite. Growling slightly, he put on a burst of speed. The hanyou would have his hide if he let Miroku evade him now. After a minute of running he finally spotted his quarry. "Miroku!"

The houshi stopped in mid-stride, his face going rigid in annoyance at having been followed. "What are you doing here, Shippo? You should be back at the campsite with Kagome and Inuyasha." He frowned. "Is everything alright back there?"

"Well, the fact that you seem to be running out on us isn't what I would call 'alright'."

Miroku sighed at the bitterness in the little youkai's voice. "I can't stop, Shippo. Sango could be anywhere."

"You need sleep, Miroku! You won't be any good to Sango if you're half-dead on your feet!" Indeed, as he watched the houshi was swaying wearily where he stood. "At this rate, she'll end up having to rescue you!" Giving up his struggle with gravity, Miroku crashed to the ground in exhaustion.

"This wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been such fool," he said tiredly. "That's why I have to try and fix it. Because I was being myself –" the self-loathing in the houshi's voice startled his kitsune friend – "she decided to find Kohaku rather than stay with the group. Did you know she had seen him earlier that day?" The kitsune shook his head, baffled. "Well, we all knew she was upset by something, we just didn't know what."

"She must have decided to track him down, hoping he was nearby. I think she would go to any lengths to get him away from Naraku. That's what scares me." Miroku stared at the ground in front of him, not seeing anything around them. Shippo moved closer to him, not liking the expression on his face. "She would die to save him…she's already come close to it a few times… I suppose I'd be flattering myself to think that she would want to hold on to life for my sake. Yes, I really think she would die for him." He held his hand up to his face, scowling darkly at it. "Just the same as I would die for her, if the circumstances required it."

Shippo gave a startled squeak, then dashed into Miroku's lap, hugging him around the waist. "You don't really mean that, do you? You would leave us forever?" Miroku looked down at him in faint surprise.

"You mean you would miss me?" Somewhere deep inside he had always thought that his importance to the group was not that great. He had tried to keep his distance, knowing that the hole in his hand would eventually claim him.

Shippo thumped him unexpectedly on the chest. "Of course, you jerk! Don't even think about it! Now," he growled, "come back to the camp before I drag you! You have to rest!" He jumped out of Miroku's lap and hooked an arm around his leg, pulling hard. Laughing, Miroku leaned over and patted the cub on the head. "Alright, alright, I'm coming. Don't worry about me." Shippo nodded at him, then started back to the camp. Miroku took one more look around the clearing where they had stopped.

'I would, though.' Slowly he made his way back to the others.

Sango walked along the dark hall, not daring to say a word. So Naraku was waiting to see her? With any luck, she would be the last thing he ever saw. Of course, she had no idea how she would do this – they had very sensibly taken her weapons away – but that didn't stop her from wanting to do it. The only trouble with that plan was, Kohaku would most likely die if Naraku did. She couldn't allow that. It wasn't much of a life he was leading, she knew, but it was a life!

She blinked as they emerged into a lighter space. 'I've really been in the dark too long,' she mused. Ordinarily she would have considered this to be murky. Now it seemed like bright sunlight. She squinted; Naraku was seated in some kind of throne at the end of the room. How fitting.

"Come closer, my dear," he smirked. "I can't see you properly from all the way back there."

"Keep your filthy endearments to yourself, you weasel!" she snarled. It was all bravado, though – a prod in the back from the tip of Kohaku's sword had her moving towards the throne reluctantly. Her enemy gazed at her almost fondly, making her feel ill. Why was he looking at her like that?

"How do you like what I've done with your brother, Sango?" he taunted her. "Isn't it appropriate? The sister wants to 'save' him, and all he can do is betray her in turn." He stopped, seeming to think over an idea. "But what if he could live again? What would you do, I wonder?" Naraku smiled coldly at her, obviously waiting for some kind of response.

Sango was stricken. 'What would I do? I already know that – anything!' He continued speaking – and what he was saying was nothing short of astonishing.

"You once made a deal with me, my dear – to steal the Tetsusaiga. Would you be willing to do that again? But without the whole 'sword' business…just you." She gaped at him. Had she heard him right? He smirked at her. "I'm quite serious. I'm willing to make an exchange. Your life for his. What do you say?"

Words failed her entirely. Was this the chance she had been waiting for?

*Phew!* That was a long one! Well, what will she do? Any guesses? Thanks for all your reviews! *hint, hint*

Next Chapter: Awakening