A/N: I'm SOOOOOOOO Sorry! My computer broke, and I couldn't get on the Internet, so I had to redo everything, but I saved my stories (YAY) but on a better note, I HAVE MICROSOFT WORD! ^-^ Ok, on to the story. Oh, and Happy New Year!!

P.S: Trinity Kirara: I only changed the spelling of a certain 'someone's' name, so you know who he is ^-^

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha...

Chapter VII

Escape

*~^~*

The creaking of old wooden boards filled the cold dismal air, the room seemed frozen and it was nearly too dark to see anything, dead or alive. The only source of illumination was a small spark of flickering flame held in cold, white, pale hands. Those hands held no candle, nor a holder; the flame suspended above them, flickering in the light wind coming through the porthole on the left side of the ship. No moon floated majestically in the air that night, illuminating everything it touched. It was the new moon.

Suddenly, golden light flowed into the room, the flame in the cold hands disappearing with a wave as the figure holding it looked up, clothed in a black cloak. Someone stepped through the open door, smirking as the figure turned a cold glare on him.

"I'm sorry Kikyô, did I startle you?" He asked pleasantly, leaning on the doorframe.

"I am never startled by the mere opening of a door Naraku." The figure replied tersely. Naraku just shrugged.

"I'm paying you to do this job Kikyô, you are one of the last Necromancers." He said as rubbed his chin. Kikyô glared icily.

"I may be 'one' of the last, but my kind will never die out completely. We live on in scum like you, with cold black hearts." She told him, her expression never changing. Naraku smiled down at her.

"Now, now. You don't want that heart totally diluted do you? If that happens you wi-"

"I know!" She cut him off sharply, a flicker of pain passing through her eyes just before it was replaced by her usual cold expression. "That is why I volunteered to kill that son of a demon." Her gaze was now trained on the creaking floorboards beneath her.

"Ah, there's the Kikyô I know. You were almost as you were before." He chuckled darkly, exiting the room with a smirk, closing the door behind him; rendering the room in darkness once again. If he'd stayed a few seconds longer, he would have seen the cold tear running down Kikyô's cheek, her eyes never changing.

*~^~*


It was pitch black, cold night, in the Southern kingdom the perfect time in the world to raid a building, or kidnap someone. When not even the wind was blowing, or the townsfolk wondering the streets. Where all the night creatures wandered the Earth, and the favorite time for a demon to go hunting. It was the New Moon.
Inuyasha hated the New Moon.

"Inuyasha, if you keep up that ranting we'll never get in undetected." Sango sighed as she followed the angry half-demon, a perverted monk, and two demon kids through the streets of the Southern kingdom. After she'd punished the monk she followed him down the road and figured that he was trying to kidnap the princess, which was a good thing for everyone. Except the king maybe...

"Keh!" He growled, but his ranting stopped for the time being. She'd been surprised to learn that Hanyou did transform, and had decided that would be a helpful if they crossed a bad guy Hanyou. And amazingly, for once in his lifetime Inuyasha actually had a plan that might work, though he didn't give them much of a hint about it.

Miroku opened his mouth to add but clamped it shut when an icy glare was sent his way. He just shrugged and continued entertaining himself with the back view of Sango's body. Soon he was grinning perversely and gone to some world in which all perverts went when they zoned out. The two kids, one in which was sitting on his shoulder, gave him a hopeless look.

Inuyasha strode ahead of all of them. Before now, the only one's who knew about his monthly transformation were his brother, and Kagome, who'd found out on accident. He was late to leave one day when they were playing a game of chess, and had transformed as the sun set, only noticing it when his senses lowered to a human's, but by that time it was too late. He hadn't noticed the decreasing of his yuki, nor did he notice the gradual lowering of his Hanyou senses.

Kagome... how had she changed? Was her personality the same? Was she still fun to hang around? Did she still like his ears? Only one way to find out.... He thought, looking up at the huge castle. He smiled a bit, something he hadn't done in nearly five years. Shippo suddenly ended his thoughts abruptly as he jumped on his shoulder, pointing ahead.

"Look! There are guards over there! I don't think we should go in that way." He told them, gripping Inuyasha's haori tightly. Said Hanyou turned human looked up quickly, cursed, and grabbed Miroku's arm, pulling him, along with Sango, into a dark ally. He peered around the corner and glared angrily at two guards who were pacing in front of the castle gates.

"What do we do now?" Sango asked, glancing at the houshi to make sure he didn't try anything. Inuyasha pulled away from the corner to join his friends near the back of the ally.

"We'll find out soon enough." Miroku muttered, looking around the ally.

"Don't tell me you haven't figured out a way to get to Kagome in all these years Sango." Inuyasha commented wryly. Sango glanced up at him and smacked her forehead.

"Why didn't I think of that sooner?" She groaned quietly. She looked down at the little cat sitting silently in the dark beneath her feet. When she noticed she was being watched, Kirara looked up at her master and mewed softly. "Okay Kirara, let's get Kagome out of here!" Sango smiled at the cat.

Kirara jumped up and mewed, flames enveloping her small form and transforming her body into that of a saber tiger. She hissed as the fire dissolved, and turned to her master, as she climbed on board. She turned to her companions and raised an eyebrow.

"What're you waiting for? Hop on!" She told them. Miroku took a step forward, but Inuyasha's arm flew out, stopping him in his tracks.

"You're not coming. You stay here with the brats and distract the guards while we go get Kagome." He ordered, climbing onto Kirara's back and gripping her fur so he wouldn't fall off. Miroku crossed his arms and resembled a pouting child.

"But I want to meet this maiden Kagome as well" He whined. Inuyasha snorted and pointed to where the guards were pacing.

"Distract them." Was all he said. Miroku grumbled, but did as he was told, taking the two demon kids with him. 

After Miroku had disappeared around the corner Sango leaned forward on Kirara and the giant demon cat shot upward, straight towards Kagome's balcony.

I hope that damn houshi doesn't do anything-stupid…Inuyasha thought, gripping Kirara's fur tighter.

*~^~*

Kagome sighed and fell onto her bed, completely exhausted. The king had decided it was time for her to begin training with a bow and arrow. So, before the sun even rose he sent a servant to wake her and send her to the courtyard to practice. Her trainer was Kaede, who used to own a shop in town, but now she worked for the castle, training people with a bow.

She rolled over and stared at her ceiling, trying to make out shapes in the stone of the roof. Other than sleeping, eating, and now training, it was very boring here in the castle. She'd even considered naming all the animal shapes she found on her ceiling.

Right now she just wanted Sango to come around and maybe play a game of chess with her. It was at least entertaining…

Just as she turned to her side to fall asleep (not bothering to change) there was a tap at her window. She blinked and turned around to face it, wondering if she was psychic or something. Getting out of bed she padding over to open it, no one other than Sango would ever come to her balcony window.

She opened the door as quietly as she could, and peered outside just to make sure. She couldn't see anything out there, only three black blobs. One was standing by what looked like the railing to her balcony, a small figure on its shoulder, and the other was standing behind it. The figure with the blob on their shoulder waved, and she beckoned them in. The candlelight from her desk didn't even illuminate their faces.

She stepped aside and let them in, curious to see who Sango had brought with her. Said demon exterminator entered, the other following. Once they were inside Kagome shut the door, and Sango lit more of the candles around her room, only one candle wasn't enough to see a person in a room this size.

After locking the door to the balcony Kagome turned around and smiled at the newcomer. But as soon as she saw his face her mouth dropped to the floor and she stared like a gaping fish.

The boy fidgeted slightly under her penetrating gaze and smiled a wobbly smile.

"Hey…you remember me?" He asked, looking into her eyes. She answered by tackling him to the ground, her arms wrapped around his chest, nearly bursting his lungs.

"Inuyasha!!" She said happily, holding him tighter. He patted her back after a moment, and tried to push her off of him. His human body could only go so long without air.

"Kagome…. can't…breath…!" He rasped. She quickly pulled back and smiled sheepishly. Sango stood behind them, grinning in amusement at Kagome's greeting.

"Where have you been?! I've been waiting for you for nearly five years!" She said, crossing her arms over her chest and giving him a look that said 'talk-boy'. He fidgeted again under her gaze and stood up, walking over to sit on her bed.

"Well… after Kagura came to get me she knocked me unconscious and brought me to the Northern Lands to work as a slave. And I did; till I could get out, which was a couple days ago." He told her. Kagome looked at him as if she expected him to say more. Once again he began fidgeting. "What?" He asked defensively. Kagome grinned.

"That's a good one Inuyasha, a slave! Never heard that one!" She said, looking as if she was holding back laughter. Inuyasha looked at her in all seriousness.

"It's true Kagome." He said flatly. Kagome stopped her laughing and looked at him, his serious expression and the way he told her couldn't have been a lie. She blinked, her expression suddenly turning into that of concern. Quickly she closed the distance between her and the Hanyou-turned-human and kneeled in front of him. He blushed slightly at the quick change in proximity and leaned back a bit. Her concerned gaze penetrated his own, making his face flame even more.

"Are you okay? Did they hurt you? You didn't walk all the way here with a bad wound did you?" She asked, looking at the red of his haori trying to spot any dark red spots.

"Y-yes, I'm fine." He assured her, leaning back a bit more. She sighed in relief.

"Good… I hope those people didn't do anything horrible to you." She muttered standing up and turning to Sango, who had been watching the scene in front of her with growing amusement.

You don't know the half of it…He thought.

Sango looked over to him. "So are we ready to take Kagome away from this place?" She asked. Kagome smiled brightly. "You guys came to get me out?!" She said excitedly. Inuyasha and Sango both nodded. "Great! Let's get out of this place!"

*~^~*

"Think of the most beautiful girl you're mind can dream up, and Shippo can show her to you!" Hitori grinned, as the guards all exchanged excited looks. Even Miroku was sitting on the sidelines, nearly drooling as a transformed Shippo turned to the side, a beautiful princess in extremely skimpy clothes. The only fault was a bushy tail that waved behind the kitsune. But the guards seemed to be ignoring that…

"Change into princess Kagome!" One of the men shouted suddenly, and the others agreed. Now Hitori got nervous. Neither he, nor Shippo had seen the princess. He fidgeted slightly.

"Um…we don't really know what she looks like…" He told them sheepishly. "We just entered the kingdom yesterday, and haven't caught a glimpse of her…" He hoped they wouldn't be angry.

"Aw, that damn king. He won't let her out of the castle, so no one can see her…" One grumbled, the others muttered things as well. Hitori sighed in relief, and just as he looked up he saw a flash from one of the balconies. Grinning he turned to Shippo, who was making kissy faces to one of the guards, and winked. The fox demon transformed into his balloon form, Miroku getting the hint quickly, both the monk, and the demon kids waved at the guards.

"Nice talking to ya! We're off to kidnap the princess-oops." Hitori covered his mouth and looked at the monk apologetically.

"What?!" All the guards yelled in unison, standing up and grapping their spears and swords; whatever weapon they had, and chased after the threesome.

"Go tell the others that princess Kagome is being kidnapped!" One of the men ordered, grabbing a bow and notching an arrow. He aimed and shot, hitting the poor kitsune's back. The fox wailed in pain and detransformed, falling to the ground. Miroku landed before the kit and caught him easily, pulling the arrow from his side he began running down the street, Hitori following.

"Great, I had to open my big, stupid, idiotic mouth…" The demon Hanyou growled, glaring in self-hate.

"Don't worry, Inuyasha will meet up with us before the guards have time for reinforcements." He told the boy. He looked down at the unconscious kit in his arms and winced. That might take a while to heal, even for a demon.

Hitori suddenly cursed and stopped beside him, making him halt as well. In front of them stood five guards, all carrying spears, swords, and bows. Miroku cursed and turned around to flee back the way they came, but that way was blocked as well.

"Miroku, what do we do?" Hitori asked, gripping the bottom of the monks' long robes.  Glancing down at the frightened boy he knelt down, handing him the kit.

"Watch Shippo while I take them out." He informed the boy, who nodded unsurely, holding his unconscious friend close to him.

Miroku stood and smirked as the guards closed in around them. "You should never mess with a monk on a mission." He said, dodging a guards' spear and slamming his staff into the guards' stomach. Turning quickly he blocked another's sword, using his sandaled foot to push him away so he could block another sword coming his way.

He moved his staff down a bit to gain access to the man's face, most of which was hidden in a helmet, and slugged him in the jaw, knocking him unconscious. He turned around and blocked another sword, barely dodging a spear sent his way.

If I keep this up there won't be much of me left when Inuyasha finally arrives… He thought darkly, dodging another spear.

"Oi Miroku! Grab the brats and let's get out of here!" A voice suddenly ordered. He looked up and was met with Sango on a flying tiger, with Inuyasha and another girl, who was looking at him nervously. Quickly grabbing Hitori and Shippo, Miroku followed Kirara as she slowly came closer to the ground. When she was in his reach, he grabbed a tuft of fur and held on as tightly as he could. Kirara growled softly and rose higher from the ground. The guards tried to keep up with the cat, but she was too fast.

"Hurry Kirara, before they use their arrows!" Sango whispered to her companion. Kirara growled in acknowledgement and flew faster, Miroku dangling from her side.

The guards around the kingdom used their arrows to try and get Kirara down, but she was just too high and too fast, making their efforts worthless. Soon the small group was out of range, and descending to let Miroku rest his arm. There wasn't enough room on the cats back to carry anyone else.

Kirara landed with a soft 'thud', and Miroku could finally let go of the giant cat. He dropped to the ground and sat, caressing his aching arm. He had to carry both of the demon kids, along with his staff, for about half a mile ride on Kirara. That would make anyone's arm hurt.

Sango slid off her companions back, waited for the other two to get off, and patted Kirara's head.

"Good job my friend." She told her, and the cat reverted to that of a small kitten. Miroku looked up at her with an expression that could only be described as 'betrayed'.

"Didn't I do a good job?" He asked, rubbing his arm and putting the Youkai kids down in front of him. Sango gave him a dry look.

"The guards still came after us." She stated. Miroku sighed and muttered something under his breath.

Kagome and Inuyasha walked over to the monk, and Kagome kneeled before him, concern written in her expression.

"Are you okay?" She asked. He looked up and smiled.

"Ah, at least someone cares for my welfare." He said happily, and before she could protest, he'd grabbed her hands and looked very grave. "You must be princess Kagome I assume?" He asked. Kagome nodded, confused at his actions. "Well then Kagome-hime, will you do me the honor, of baring my child?" He said, face serious.

Kagome slapped him.

But not before Inuyasha slugged him on the head.

The monk fell backwards, unconscious. Kagome's face flamed, and she turned around, glaring at her Hanyou friend.

"Why didn't you tell me he was a lecher?" She growled. Inuyasha shrugged, a hopeless look on his face.

"I only thought he did that to pretty girls." He said. Kagome stiffened.

"What do you mean pretty girls?!" She shouted. He looked at her innocently.

"You're not pretty." He stated. Sango had to hold the raven-haired girl back before she smashed the boys' skull in.

"Hey you guys shouldn't be fighting!" Hitori's voice cut in from where he stood next to the fallen Shippo. "Shippo looks dead, and all you guys can do is fight!" He shouted angrily.

Kagome stopped struggling and looked over to the boy, just now noticing the fallen kitsune. Sango let her go, and she went over to him, along with Inuyasha and Sango. Miroku was still lying unconscious, Kirara nudging him to wake him up.

Kagome kneeled near the boy, looking at the bleeding wound in his side concerned. Taking part of her kimono, she ripped off a strip long enough to wrap around the boys stomach. Picking him up carefully, she wrapped the makeshift bandage around him, tying it off tightly. Shippo flinched, but did not wake up. She stood up, cradling the kit in her arms.

"We have to get to a village or something. It might take this wound a while to heal." She told her companions. Sango looked at the small kit and frowned.

"Yes, I agree with Kagome. Even for a Youkai that wound is pretty bad. He's also very young, so it may slow his healing." She said. Inuyasha scoffed.

"I don't see any villages nearby, do you?" He said sarcastically, gesturing around the area. "Well camp out here until don, when I get my powers back and it isn't so dark. We could travel faster that way." He ordered, taking off his haori, leaving only his undershirt and hakima, and throwing it over to Kagome, who caught it awkwardly in her free hand.

"Use that to keep the brat warm, I'll go look for some fire wood with the monk." And with that, he grabbed the awakening Miroku and dragged him off into the darkness.
Kagome blinked at the boys' kindness to the kit but shook it off and wrapped the kit in the haori. With that done she set him on the ground gently, telling the other kid to look over him. Sango walked over to her and smiled.

"Want to help me get dinner ready? Even though we don't have a fire yet we can still get things ready." She asked. Kagome smiled and nodded, following her friend over to the pack of supplies she always brought with her. They'd grabbed it at the old couples' house before they went after Miroku and the kids. Sango was doubtful about leaving her brother alone, but the couple promised to take care of him once they saw Kagome and Inuyasha. She couldn't figure out why though…

Soon, the girls had gotten out everything they needed for a meal, and were now waiting for the boys to return with the firewood. So while they were waiting, they decided to do something to pass the time.

"I spy, with my little eye something…" Kagome put a finger to her lips in thought, looking around for something other than a gray blob. "White!" She grinned. Sango looked around for the specified color, squinting in the darkness.

"Um… is it Hiraikotsu?" She asked, looking back at Kagome. She snapped her fingers.

"Darn! On the first try too!" She said. Sango grinned.

"Okay my turn." She looked around in the darkness. "I spy, with my little eye…" She caught site of something in the distance. "Two strange people we both know." She turned to Kagome with a grin.

"Inuyasha and Miroku!" She exclaimed, standing up and waving to the two boys who were loaded down with wood. "We got the food ready! All we need to do is cook it!" She told them. Inuyasha came into view and scoffed, dropping his pile of wood next to the rock that Hiraikotsu was propped against.

"Good. Less work for us." He muttered plopping down next to a small pit the girls had dug while they were gone. Miroku dropped his bunch of wood in the pit, and looking thoughtful, he kneeled next to it.

"How are we going to light it? I don't really want to rub sticks together for hours." He said. "Do we have any flint?" He asked. Kagome smiled.

"Sango always brings flint along." She said, looking at her friend as she reached into her robes and pulled out said substance. Soon they had a fire going, and dinner cooking.
Sango stirred the broth and looked up at her friends. Inuyasha was looking at the soup as if he'd rather eat dirt, Miroku just looked thoughtful, Kagome was making sure the kids had a place to sleep, and Hitori was just staring into space.

In other words, everyone was bored to death.

She sighed and sat back.

"You guys want to do something? And why are you looking at the soup like that Inuyasha?" She asked, eyeing him.

"I just hope you cook better than the monk. He made the same thing. It tasted like shit." He snorted. Miroku looked at him dryly.

"I had to use vegetables that were growing around us you idiot." He told him. Kagome ignored them and smiled at her friend.

"Sure! What do you want to do?" She asked. Sango looked thoughtful.

"How about a joint story? I've heard about them from traveling soldiers that passed through the village." She began. "It's where someone starts a story and the others add onto it until the story ends. Wanna try it?" She asked.

"Yeah!" Kagome exclaimed. "Can I start?"

"Sure!" Sango smiled.

"Okay…um, once upon a time there was a girl named Kiri, and nobody liked her cause she had magical powers and they thought she was evil. The only person who didn't mind her was a boy named Crono, who had magical powers too. So one day while they were walking in their village and she accidentally bumped into him." She told them happily.

"Okay Miroku you go next!"

Miroku cleared his throat and smiled. "The boy had never seen such beauty in his life, and helped the girl get to her feet. 'You are the most beautiful creature on the face of the Earth' He told her. She looked up at him with beautiful sky blue eyes and smiled. 'You are the most charming person in this world' she whispered, leaning so close that her lips nearly touched his. He-"

"Stepped on her foot!" Sango cut in, saving Hitori's innocent mind. "And she jumped back. He looked at her and said sorry. She said it was okay, and turned around saying goodbye. Before she had a chance to walk away there was a loud rumble from the other side of town. They both went to investigate, and there stood a gigantic Youkai centipede." She told her part. "Okay You're turn Inuyasha."

Said Hanyou scoffed, but continued the story. "Crono took out his sword and jumped up at the demon, impaling it and watching it squirm. The girl used her magical powers and made the demon freeze, so the boy could take it out easier. He cut off each of its legs one, by, one and then cut it's body into sections. Because its body was frozen he didn't get centipede guts all over himself. When he finished he used his magical powers to make its body disappear." He looked up. Everyone stared at him as if he was insane. He fidgeted.

"What?! I told my part!" He said defensively.

"Ah, okay. You're turn Hitori." Kagome said, smiling at the kid.

"Okay!" He grinned. "After the battle the boy invited the girl to his house to talk about their powers. It turned out the girl was an ancient Miko, come back to destroy an evil force. So, he asked if he could help and she agreed, after a lot of fighting. The next day they set out to go kill the evil guy, and met a…. um… a… monk! Yeah a monk by the name of…" He looked over to Miroku. "Zuru! And as soon as he saw Kiri he asked her to bear his child!" The little boy grinned as Inuyasha began cracking up, and Miroku glared at him. "Okay Kagome, you're turn again."

She grinned; this was getting interesting. "So after Crono beat the heck out of the monk he joined them to the village. There they met a girl wearing black clothes and a huge boomerang. She was fighting another centipede demon, and a soon as she threw it the giant demons head was cut off and it died. She turned to the group and they asked for her name. Her name was…uh… Hane! And soon she joined their group also." She grinned at her friend, who grinned back. "You're turn Miroku." She eyed him wearily.

And so, they played that game until dinner was ready. When they finished they continued. The group in the story ended up fighting many battles, curtsy of Inuyasha. They defeated their enemy, and had many children, one curtsy of Miroku. The story ended happily with them all living happily ever after.

"The next village shouldn't be that far away," Kagome said, curling up beside a rock.

"We'll get there quickly with Inuyasha and Kirara." She yawned and pulled her kimono sleeves around her arms.

It was cold out, but there wasn't anything else to keep her warm. Shippo was using a blanket that Sango had brought along, and Inuyasha was back in his haori. She shivered slightly and curled up more. Suddenly she felt something warm fall over her body. Looking up she saw Inuyasha, wearing his undershirt once again, sitting up on the rock and staring into the distance.

"Inuyasha? Don't you need this?" She asked, pulling the haori into her arms. "It's cold out." She looked concerned. He scoffed.

"Keh, I don't need it. We don't need you getting sick while were out here." He grumbled, turning away from her. She smiled and hugged the garment to her chest.

"Thanks Inuyasha." She muttered, laying back down and covering herself with the cloak. Inuyasha sighed and shook his head.

The things I do for friends…

*~^~*