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Chapter two



Inu-yasha ran along the forest, searching for Kagome. He had gone to her time to retrieve her, after she'd been gone for an extra day, only to discover that her scent was days old. He had rushed back to his time and searched all over for her, but her scent was gone, since it had rained recently. His panic had risen and he felt like he was going to crack from the dread of Kagome being in danger.

"Kagome!" he shouted again into the night, hoping and praying that Kagome was ok and wasn't hurt. He feared the worse, he feared that she had been kidnapped, or killed, or worse. He shivered at all the different scenarios that Kagome could be going through right now. He skidded to a stop and smelt the air for Kagome.

He sighed when he couldn't smell her. He felt all his rage, his worry, and his pain of not finding her boiling within her. He clenched his fists and punched a nearby tree. The poor, unsuspecting plant came tumbling to the ground, but its crash was drowned out by the hanyou's scream. "KAGOME!!!!"

He collapsed to his knees and banged the ground with his fists. He grinded his teeth together and his eyes flashed red with grief. What if Kagome was dead, and he'd never know?



Kagome stood, hunched over against the wall, her feet were dangling a little above the ground, but she was unable to move. It had been days since Naraku had told her his plan to kill Inu-yasha by taking her form. Kanna and Kohaku had given her food that would keep her from dying of hunger but she still felt empty. Inu-yasha was going to die, and she couldn't do anything about it.

Kanna's mirror had been set up in front of her, it floating in mid-air, just to torture her. It showed her flashes of Inu-yasha searching for her frantically and she had even just witnessed Inu-yasha screaming for her, begging for her to be all right. Something she'd never seen before. Normally, she would have felt touched, but now...now the regret and remorse of knowing that he was going through all this trouble for her, only to be killed by 'her' hand, was too much.

She felt more tears fall down her cheeks. Inu-yasha didn't deserve that. He deserved to live and to die in an epic battle, not by the hand of the one he used for jewel shards.

Naraku had said that Kagura's new power, thanks to the jewel shards, would even fool the greatest of noses. Her physical appearance was exactly like the real thing. Her scent, her posture, the way she walked, talked, all that needed to be done by Kagura was act like her.

Kagome closed her eyes and allowed the tears to continue to drain from her eyes. Maybe Inu-yasha would be able to tell the difference?



Inu-yasha returned to the hut, broken hearted and his spirit disheartened. The fact that Kagome was out there somewhere was nagging at his senses. He looked to the setting sun with a weary heart and sighed deeply. He turned away and glared at the ground, as if it were its fault Kagome was missing.

Sango and Miroku shared a knowing look and Shippou blinked in confusion. Miroku finally cleared his throat, "Inu-yasha?"

Inu-yasha looked at him, his golden eyes pained, "I can't find her."

"Don't worry, Inu-yasha," Sango said softly, "We'll find her, after all, this is Kagome, I'm sure she's fine. Relax."

"Relax?" Inu-yasha snapped angrily, his fists clenched, "How can I relax when Kagome's-"

"We know, Inu-yasha," Sango said angrily, "But fretting about it won't help her any! We'll look for her tomorrow!"

Inu-yasha turned away from the group, not wanting them to see his saddened expression. "Kagome," he whispered softly, pathetically.



Kagura cursed as she pulled at the skirt that belonged to Kagome. She'd taken it before leaving and had given her kimono to the girl in return. Now, she wished that the Miko had some decent clothing. Her legs were bare and her sleeves were tight against her arms. She felt naked...

Not to mention she was lost, too. Who knew finding Inu-yasha's village could be so hard! Once her transformation was complete, she had lost control of her feather and it had flown away from her, like a dandelion seed in the wind. She also discovered how feeble and clumsy the human girl was. She couldn't see well, smell well or do anything well! She was a useless piece of flesh.

She waved her fan in her face, casting cool air over her sweaty skin. To say she was angry was an understatement. She was pissed at Naraku and at Inu-yasha.

Her anger towards Naraku was because of this stupid mission in the first place and Inu-yasha for being so damn far away so she couldn't complete the damn mission that Naraku had made her do in the first place to find Inu-yasha and kill him. It was a continuing cycle. On and on and on it went.

Sighing, she plopped down on a rock to rest and massage her weak ankles. The air suddenly shifted in an abnormal pattern and Kagura cast her know blue eyes towards the west, where the wind seemed to be turning into a small whirlwind. Raising an eyebrow, she stood and watched as a small twister came tumbling towards her.

She crossed her arms and watched in amazement as the tornado stopped and there stood the wolf prince. She recalled slaughtering his men and fighting him so long ago, but the name escaped her.

He reached forward and clutched her hands in his and looked at her with sparkling blue eyes. "My fair Kagome!" Kagura felt her beating heart stand still and she mentally sighed. Of course, she was Kagome now, not Kagura. "I am so pleased to see you."

"Um..." Kagura racked her mind furiously, "I, erm, Koku?"

Kouga looked at her with a deadpan look, "My darling Kagome, do not play such tricks on my heart!"

"Koko, kuku, kopo, koho," Kagura started naming off names, "gogo, kogo, oh yes, of course, Kouga!"

"Kagome, are you ill?" The wolf prince asked in concern, he felt her forehead tenderly and sniffed her neck. Kagura froze, would he recognize the scent as her own and not of the human girl's? "Well, you seem fine."

Kagura mentally grinned. If she could fool the prince of the wolf youkai, then she could trick a worthless mutt.

"Oh Kouga, I was returning to Inu-yasha when," Kagura thought for a moment, "When I was carried away by a giant bird demon and dropped here. My feet hurt terribly."

"Say no more, my love, I shall take you to my den where you shall be healed," Kouga said with a wave of his hand.

"No!" Kagura said, "I mean, please, Kouga, I just want to return to Inu- yasha."

Kouga snorted, "Mutt face won't take good care of you."

Kagura glared and clenched her fist, "Excuse me? I believe I just told you that I wanted to return home. Now, you're either going to do so or I'm going to go on my own. Got it?"

Kouga looked alarmed for a moment before picking her up bridal style and running along the countryside towards the opposite direction she'd been traveling.

Kagura mentally cursed again.



Inu-yasha looked down the well sadly; it was his fault that Kagome was lost. If he had been at the well sooner, maybe he could have saved her. He rested his chin against the wood sadly and looked down into its depths.

Closing his eyes he whispered, "I'm sorry."

That's when his ears perked up and his nose twitched. His eyes snapped wide open as the unforgettable smell of Kagome filled his senses and he felt a burst of energy shimmer through him. But then, the foul stench of wolf polluted his nose and he growled. Of course, Kagome was taken by Kouga.

He growled darkly and stomped towards the twister that appeared. It disappeared and Kouga stood with Kagome snuggled in his arms, her own arms wrapped around his neck. He felt his insides bristle in jealousy as he stomped forward.

"Let go of her, bastard!" Inu-yasha barked as he pulled out his sword.

"Inu-yasha!" Kagome cried happily and scrambled out of Kouga's arms so fast it was almost like she was disgusted with the idea of being near the wolf.

Kagura had decided as she came closer to Inu-yasha that it was best to act all touchy-feely towards the hanyou, that way her betrayal would be all the more hurtful.

She flung herself into Inu-yasha's arms and snuggled as close to him as she could. "I was so scared, Inu-yasha," she whispered so only he could hear, "I was carried away by a bird demon! And then abandoned near the road. If Kouga hadn't been there."

"Shh," Inu-yasha whispered soothingly and ran his hands along her back. Kagura felt herself tense up, but not enough for the hanyou to notice. This was just too disgusting. "Are you ok?"

Kagura nodded.

"As long as you're not hurt, Kagome," he said softly.

Kouga glared, "Oi, dog turd, do you mind releasing my woman?"

Kagura pushed away from Inu-yasha and mentally smirked. Time to earn some respect. "Excuse me?"

Kouga and Inu-yasha both blinked at Kagome.

Kagura' glared at Kouga. "I am not a possession. If I ever hear you say something like that ever again, I'll make sure that you'll never be able to feel the pleasures of having a woman in your bed!"

Kouga and Inu-yasha's jaws dropped open in a mixture of shock, approval or fear. Kagura smirked and turned towards Inu-yasha, "Shall we go, Inu?"

She grabbed Inu-yasha's hand and walked towards the village, leaving Kouga standing in bewilderment.



The real Kagome stared in shock at what Kagura disguised as the schoolgirl just did. She had totally disrespected Kouga-Kun and then basically rubbed herself against Inu-yasha. What was she trying to do?

The fact that Inu-yasha was hanging onto Kagura like it was really Kagome was slowly wearing at her senses and she felt raw and bitter.

The door slid open and Kagome looked up to see Kikyo walk in. She felt her eyes shut and a groan of annoyance to escape her throat.

Kikyo walked silently to Kagome and gave her a thin slice of bread. "I'm sorry I could not get more," she said softly.

Kagome blinked in shock before regarding the bread with suspicion. "What did you do to it?"

"I did nothing," Kikyo said, "I was aware of your lack of nutrition and felt it my responsibility to feed you."

"Oh," Kagome said, feeling a little guilty, she took a hesitant bite of the bread, "Thank you."

Kikyo merely nodded and sat down next to Kagome silently. She looked at the mirror where Inu-yasha was currently walking back to the hut with Kagura. She looked at Kagome and sighed, "You know what Naraku is doing, correct?"

"Yes," Kagome whispered sadly as she looked at Inu-yasha again. He was walking silently and didn't say a word to the Kagome with him.

"It's a shame," Kikyo said, her eyes saddened and cold, "that his trust for you shall be broken like it was for me."

"Shut up," Kagome said softly, "Do not compare me to you. I'm nothing like you."

Kikyo said nothing but continued to look at the mirror with a far off expression on her face.



Kagura was angry. Naraku's hide out was extremely close to where Inu-yasha's village was. She had just been going in the wrong direction. With her feather, it would have merely taken her a few hours to come to his village. She sighed and walked silently behind Inu-yasha.

Inu-yasha was relieved to see Kagome safe, but, the fact that he'd gotten worked up over nothing was a little blow to his pride and so he'd chosen to remain silent for the trip back to Kaede's hut.

"Inu-yasha?" he turned at his name to see Kagome looking at him with a weird expression on her face.

"What is it?" he said gruffly.

Kagura raised an eyebrow, first he was concerned and now he was being a bastard? Odd.

"I...I'm just," Kagura paused and thought for a moment before smiling, "I'm sorry I made you worry."

"Me worry?" Inu-yasha snorted, "FEH! I was just worried that my shard detector was dead."

Kagura mentally rolled her eyes. For loving her he sure had an odd way of showing it.