After a short rest, Sango glanced over at a very anxious, irritable Inuyasha. His ears would twitch, and then he would scuff at the dirt with his feet. He hadn't said it, but Sango could tell what he was thinking… They were slowing him down.

"Ah, Inuyasha…" Sango began, her voice soft. Inuyasha's head snapped up and he gazed sharply at her. The worry for Kagome was written all over him; even in the way he held himself. Sango smiled inwardly. All this worry, and the two of them have never even admitted to how they feel about each other. To each other's faces, anyways, she amended.

"What is it?" Inuyasha grumbled.

Night had fallen some time ago, and although the first sheer cliff had been left behind, the journey through the rocks had become too difficult for the two humans in the group. They needed rest.

"Go," Sango said, a smile on her face. "After Kirara has rested and eaten, we'll follow you. You can travel much faster without us. So, hurry." Sango hated to not be there when Inuyasha found Kagome, but she knew time was of the essence. There were endless possibilities as to the captor's intentions… None of the ones which flitted through Sango's mind were good ones, either.

"Sango… Thanks." Inuyasha gave a nod, and then gathered himself for a leap.

"I want to go!" Shippou demanded in a shrill voice, leaping onto Inuyasha's shoulder. Inuyasha growled with irritation, and glared at the fox cub.

"Look, brat…" he began.

"No, Inuyasha! I don't care how dangerous it is. I won't be scared. I want to help get Kagome back," Shippou said, eyed wide and pleading.

Sango and Miroku marveled at the cuteness emanating from those big eyes.

Inuyasha sighed. "Fine, Shippou. Let's go."  Shippou grinned with triumph.

Inuyasha launched into the air, finding the occasional foothold in order to continue his flight. His keen hanyou eyes let him travel easily through the night, each crevice in the rocky landscape visible. Shippou held on tightly as Inuyasha moved with the speed of a man crazed.

He traveled throughout the night in this fashion, and into the morning… The sun's rays began to spread their long fingers into the horizon, lighting the nearby clouds on fire with vibrant reds and oranges. The landscape had become much easier to navigate, and tough grasses, then patches of maple trees began to show themselves. Inuyasha ran past them all, face set with determination. He felt the weariness of his travels all through his body, but refused to stop.

When Inuyasha came over a high rise in the mountains, he came to a halt. Seemingly from nowhere, a garden had appeared. It was not just a small vegetable garden or orchard some villager would have by the side of their house. This garden was more forest than garden, with a path of cobblestone rocks meandering through it. 

"What is this place?" Shippou mumbled, peering about. Exotic trees they had never before seen grew next to native plants. Vines laden with brightly colored flowers hung from the branches, and birds flew above. Between the morning songs of the birds, and the gurgling of a nearby fountain, Shippou almost found himself relaxing.

"Keh." Inuyasha continued along the path, senses geared and waiting.

They found their way through the gardens and were soon standing before the entrance to the palace. Inuyasha immediately picked up Kagome's scent. He ran to the door and grabbed the golden handles. He shoved, then pulled mightily, but the doors did not budge.

A sudden roar nearby caused Inuyasha to abandon the door and wheel about, Tetsusaiga already drawn.

An enormous youkai stood at the entrance to the gardens, all three heads baring rows of sharp teeth. It was a gigantic cat, with several whip-like tails, and scaly black skin. Hateful red eyes glared from three separate heads.

Shippou jumped down from Inuyasha's shoulder, not needing to be told.

"I take it you're not here to take me inside," Inuyasha grumbled. The cat heads screeched, and the creature galloped forward on six legs. The tails came forward, and smashed into the ground where Inuyasha had been only moments before. A massive crater was left behind, carved into the earth as if it were butter.

Inuyasha angled himself from where had had leapt into the air, and wasted no time in using a powerful attack. Energy began to swirl about the blade of the sword as he called upon its strength.

"I don't have time for you! Kaze no kizu!" Inuyasha yelled, bringing the sword down. Tetsusaiga released an onslaught of howling energy toward the cat demon. To Inuyasha's complete astonishment, the creature moved with an unthinkable speed and the attack Inuyasha had unleashed went crashing into the trees. Within moments the cat had renewed its own attack, and Inuyasha slashed angrily at the whip like tails. His sword could not even pierce them. One tail suddenly whipped around Tetsusaiga, and Inuyasha struggled to get the sword from its grasp. Teeth snapped dangerously close, and another tail was aiming for his head.

"Heeeeeyyyy! Over here! Kitsune bi!" Shippou was jumping up and down, desperate to be of some help. His fox fire impacted the hide of the cat demon and disappeared, showing no lasting effects. The cat heads turned about and three sets of eyes narrowed at the little fox demon. Shippou's eyes widened and hs moment of courage quickly faded.

"Errrgghhh…." With the demon distracted for the moment, Inuyasha finally worked the sword free, and leapt back. The tails were already in the air, aiming for Shippou…

"RUN SHIPPOU!" Inuyasha yelled, and used the opportunity to unleash another kaze no kizu. Shippou ran for it, but not before one of the tails caught him in the chest and sent him flying into the gardens.

This time the creature had no time to flee, and Inuyasha's attack tore savagely into its body, bright blue streams of power impacting ferociously. "Got him!" Inuyasha growled. His eyes widened when he saw that the creature was still standing. It threw back its massive heads and let loose a horrendous roar that left Inuyasha's sensitive ears throbbing.

"Shit…" Inuyasha glared at the creature, taking a moment to cast an anxious glance toward where Shippou was lying.

With a cacophony of screeches, the cat demon lunged for Inuyasha once more, teeth snapping and tails whipping his way. Inuyasha dodged the attacks, leaping into the air and against the trunk of a tree before leaping once more. He surveyed the creature from above, slashing his sword at the tails which followed him. They were moving too fast for him to avoid them all… He searched desperately for the chance to unleash Bakuryuuha…

While preparing to attack, one tail lashed through his counterattacks and crashed into his back. An explosion of pain spread all throughout his body, and he cursed vehemently. Inuyasha crashed to the ground, and Tetsusaiga flew from his grasp. In a flash it returned to its smaller size.

"Bastard," Inuyasha growled, and tried to rise. A massive set of jaws closed in on him.

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Sango and Miroku rode upon Kirara, making their way quickly over the terrain below. Miroku smiled at the way Sango's dark hair was blown back in the wind. She noticed his glance and blushed.

"Have I mentioned lately how beautiful you are?" Miroku asked her, giving her shoulder a playful squeeze. She blushed even more. "Stop it, monk," she mumbled, but couldn't keep the little bit of pleasure she felt out of her voice.

"You're calling me by my title again? I liked it much better when you were calling my name…" Miroku lamented, face drawn into a mock pout.

Sango's blush crept ever further along. "You said we wouldn't talk about what happened last night until Kagome was saved," she told him, and grabbed his lower lip. He kissed her finger, and she sighed at him.

Kirara gave out a sound similar to a snort, and if Sango had been in a situation to see the fire cat's face, she would have seen a rolling of large eyes.

They found themselves approaching the large palace, and spotted Inuyasha in battle.

"Hurry, Kirara!" Sango cried. Then she noticed another figure in battle… And soon recognized it as that of Chikara, the supposed father of Kagome.

As they approached, the giant demon that had been fighting Inuyasha and Chikara fell in a pool of its own blood, slashed cleanly from throat to stomach. Chikara cracked his knuckles and shook the gore from his claws.

"I didn't need your help," Inuyasha growled at the tiger demon, before hurrying over to check on Shippou. Chikara merely raised an eyebrow.

Shippou stood shakily from where had fallen. "I'm okay, Inuyasha… Did I help?" he asked in a little voice

"You idiot! You could have been killed!" Inuyasha yelled at him. Shippou's eyes began to fill with tears. The scowl actually left Inuyasha's face. "Yes, Shippou you helped. But don't do it again, okay?" Inuyasha said gruffly.

Shippou beamed and nodded in reply.

 "Inuyasha! Shippou! Are you alright?" Miroku asked, jumping down from Kirara's back and running over to them.

"Keh."

The group all stared at each other and then at Chikara for a long moment.

"So how…"

"Why..."

The questions about to be asked by Sango and Miroku were interrupted the sound of shattering glass and a voice screaming a name they all knew.

"KAGOME!"

There was no hesitation; everyone ran into the gardens and toward the part of the building where the yell had come from.

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Ryu's outstretched hand failed to reach Kagome's in time, and he found himself falling with her, several stories down...  They crashed painfully to the ground. Kagome was still for a moment, then moaned and rose to her feet, hands clutching her head. She saw Ryu climbing to his feet and her lips pulled back into a snarl once more. She lunged.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled her name, and ran to her. She turned away from Ryo to face this new threat, then froze when she saw him.

"Kagome…? Is that you? What happened to you?" Inuyasha stopped in his tracks to openly stare at her, mouth slack and eyes wide. The rest of the group all stared at her, wondering if this was really Kagome… Except for Chikara. He stood back and watched quietly.

Kagome's body began to shake as she stared at the hanyou before her. She felt as if her head was about to explode… She screamed, and then lunged at him.

"What?!" Inuyasha brought up an arm to stop her, too confused to do anything else. Her claws tore into him, and he flinched in pain.

"Kagome! What are you doing?" he demanded. She backed away, holding her head. Then her eyes locked onto his.

As if a heavy curtain had been lifted, Kagome's eyes cleared of the pain and madness, and she began to sob.

"Inuyasha," she managed to say, before falling into his arms.