Disclaimer:I do not own Inuyasha. I do own Sakura, Suzuran, and Hokiboshi.

Kiniro Sakura

Chapter Eight: Nigai Torikaeru

Sakura, Suzuran, Kagome, and Sango brought out their towels and started walking towards the hotsprings. Suddenly Sango turned around and glared at Miroku who was still eating breakfast.

"We had better not catch any monks near the hotspring or else!" Sango warned as she turned back around to the giggling females.

"Good job in telling the monk off, Sango!" Suzuran congratulated. Sango smiled and looked at Sakura who was staring off into space. She walked over to Sakura and nudged her.

"Ne, what's wrong Sakura-chan?" Sango asked. Sakura jumped out of her thoughts and smiled at Sango and Kagome who had wondered what the two were doing.

"No, nothings wrong. I'm just thinking, that's all." Sakura said as she went back to her own little world. Sango and Kagome shrugged and went to ask Suzuran about Sakura's weird behavior. Meanwhile...

Sesshoumaru, Rin, and Jaken had been following Inuyasha's group for two days now and Sesshoumaru still had no idea why he was following instead of attacking. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice Rin pulling on his leg.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, when are we going to stop? Rin is tired." She said as she yawned to emphasize her point. Sesshoumaru stared at her for a minute when he realized that they were almost upon Inuyasha's camp. He nodded and stopped. Rin jumped up and down and thanked him. He just nodded at her with a small smile on his lips. Jaken was already on the ground sleeping. Sesshoumaru looked in disgust at the toad and kicked him in the side. Jaken squawked and jumped up, bowing at his master's feet. Sesshoumaru just threw him into a tree and turned to Rin.

"Rin, go take a bath. You stink." He said in a monotone voice. Rin smiled happily and nodded.

"Yes Sesshoumaru. Rin thinks she stinks too. Rin will go to the hotsprings she saw. Rin says bye!" She waved to Sesshoumaru as she ran off into the woods where the hotspring was located. Since Jaken was knocked out and Rin was gone, he had some time to think about the situation at hand. That female kitsune, Sakura.

~Back at the hotsprings~

Everyone was enjoying their bath, except for Sakura. She was still spaced out and even when Suzuran was dumping water over her she just sighed. Suddenly the girls heard a noise in the trees a little ways away and ducked down into the water. Sakura narrowed her eyes at the shaking trees.

"Come out now!" She commanded. They watched as a little girl around six timidly walked out of the trees. She stood on the bank of the hotsprings and looked at the girls hopefully. Suddenly everyone squealed and swam over towards her.

"You are so cute! What's your name?" Suzuran asked as she scooped the child up. The girl giggled.

"My name is Rin! You are very funny, pretty ladies!" She said as she giggled again. All the girls squealed again and played with her in the water. Even Sakura was paying attention and playing with Rin. About half an hour later, all of them were relaxing in the springs and just thinking. Suddenly Sakura and Suzuran tensed up. Their eyes shot open and they both growled. Sango, Kagome, and Rin looked at them questionably. Sakura turned her head towards Kagome and Sango.

"Get Rin and stay behind us. I sense an evil presence and it might be Naraku." She instructed. Kagome nodded and gathered Rin into her arms and went behind Suzuran. Sango did the same and stayed behind Sakura. An evil laugh filled the air.

"Kukuku! I am surprised that you sensed my presence, Lady Sakura." It said. A figure in a baboon pelt slowly melted out of the trees and stood before the girls. Suzuran growled and flexed her claws.

"What do you want, Naraku?" Sakura snarled. Naraku laughed again and started walking towards them. Rin was shaking and crying while Kagome tried to comfort her.

"I am here to kill you, Lady Sakura. But first I shall kill everyone else and make you watch as they suffer pain that you inflicted upon them." As he said this he drew out a sword that was glowing black. Rin screamed while Kagome backed up onto the bank. Sango and Suzuran backed up a bit also but Sakura stayed where she was.

"You will not harm them Naraku." She said in a deadly quiet voice. She glared at Naraku as Kagome, Sango, and Rin got dressed. By now she figured that Inuyasha and Miroku were already on their way here after hearing Rin scream. She took a glance back at the others and noticed that everyone was dressed. She slowly backed up while keeping her eyes on Naraku. She pulled on a yakuta and pulled out her sword. She and Suzuran were growling now while Sango protected Kagome and Rin. Suddenly Miroku and Inuyasha burst into the area with Hokiboshi and a transformed Kirara.

"What's going on? We heard someone scream." Miroku asked. Inuyasha was now growling too with his Tetsaiuga out.

"Naraku you bastard!" He yelled. Sakura gave one last glance back at the group before jumping up into the air with her claws poised for attack. She brought them down upon Naraku but he blocked with his sword. She landed on the ground in a squat before jumping up again. This time she brought her sword down and effectively cut off one of Naraku's arms. Naraku gripped his arm tightly and concentrated. Soon a new arm was in the old one's place. He smirked.

"I will kill you, Lady Sakura." He said as he brought his sword down upon her. She dodged but a huge gash covered her arm. She winced and held it close to her body. Naraku attacked again but she dodged. The same thing kept happening and Sakura got more and more gashes on her body. She was healing them as fast as she could but it was using up a lot of her energy. Naraku noticed this and decided on a different tactic. He disappeared just as he was about to attack her and reappeared next to Kagome and Rin. He grabbed Rin and Kagome screamed. Naraku appeared a few feet away from Sakura and held his sword at Rin's throat. The color from Sakura's face drained as she looked on helplessly. Naraku smirked. He knew he had this one won. Suddenly the trees parted and Sesshoumaru and Jaken stood there.

"Put the human down Naraku." Sesshoumaru said coldly. Everyone's heads whipped around and stared at Sesshoumaru. As far as anyone knew, Sesshoumaru hated humans. Naraku chuckled and pushed the sword against Rin's neck harder. A thin line of blood was trickling down now. That was the last straw for Sakura. She hated it when someone was hurt, especially a child. She charged at Naraku with her sword pointed in front of her. Naraku laughed and dropped Rin as he dodged. Sesshoumaru quickly grabbed her with his tail before she was hurt anymore. He, as the others, watched the battle with interest. Sakura was dodging most of Naraku's blows but she was weakening fast. She was now leaning against her sword and breathing heavily. Blood soaked her clothes and large cuts were visible through the clothing. Sesshoumaru decided that it was time to step in.

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End of chapter seven! Please review! Animechick8