Hi there! I'm really glad that I got a chance to post this before the weekend. Why you ask? Because this weekend is my birthday! Yea for me! I'm going to be 19... I feel so old! But anyway, all of my friends are going to be back from college for Thanksgiving, so I probably won't have time to update. Which is why I'm glad I'm getting this up now. I'm sure you're glad too!
Reviewers ~*~
lilemmy - Thank you so much! *blushes* I'm really glad you liked it that much that you read all the chapters right away! It makes me feel very special!
comicfancat - I'm glad you liked it too! I hope you find what happens next interesting.
Litoasngyrl - I'm updating as fast as I can!! Speaking of updating-- ahem! When you gonna update yours?!
Yun Fei - Hey, thanks for coming back! Yeah, I like to end on cliffhangers... this chapter ends on a cliffhanger too, what a surprise, huh?!
Heather - Of course Sesshomaru came for Rin! Though he'd never openly admit it... ^_-
ejqHorseLady - I'm glad you think it's well done! You make me feel so good!
*disclaimer: No, Inuyasha is not mine *sob* I just like to play with his world. With no profit earned accept confidence, might I add.
______________________________________________________________
"Rin, I trust that you have not been harmed?" Sesshomaru said stoically.
"Alright, Sesshomaru, why the hell are you here?" Inuyasha broke in. "Were you the one who sent Rin to steal tetsusaiga? Teaming up with Naraku again, is it? I thought you were smarter than that to let him push you around."
"Dear little brother, do you honestly assume that I, Lord Sesshomaru of the Western Lands would send a human child to do my duty? Please, the mere suggestion insults the little intelligence you have."
"Then why the hell are you here?" Inuyasha snapped. "Not to save the kid."
"I came because I have business to settle with Naraku. When a member of my company is abducted I should like to know why," he said. Then turning to Kagura, "I see you still have yet to destroy Naraku. Didn't you ask me to do that for you a few weeks ago?"
"You boast so, Sesshomaru, but if you are truly that strong why don't you destroy him yourself?" Kagura said with contempt.
"I have no need to kill him. He is a burden to your pitiful lives, not mine."
Kagura desperately wished to send an attack his way, but she knew she could not win a fight with him. Sesshomaru was not her enemy at this point. Just a cocky bastard...
"Rin, get the tetsusaiga," Kagura said. Rin stared at her wide eyed. Sesshomaru made no attempt to stop her so she meekly obeyed. Kagome started to step towards Rin, but Kagura held up her fan, ready for the assault.
"Take it to the castle door, Rin," Kagura ordered.
"I've had enough of this," Inuyasha growled. He jumped and flew towards Rin. Kagura attacked once again. Inuyasha blocked as best he could. With Kagura busy Kagome grabbed Rin and took tetsusaiga from her. Rin flinched, thinking that Kagome would punish her, but instead she gave Rin a hug.
"It will be okay, Inuyasha will forgive you for taking his sword. They said you had to steal it or you'd never see Sesshomaru again, didn't they?"
"Yes," Rin said teary-eyed.
Inuyasha was still fighting a futile battle with Kagura. He couldn't get close enough to the sorceress to do any damage, and her wind blades were cutting him everywhere. Sesshomaru stood quietly on the side, watching his little brother get pummeled.
Kagome tried several times to return the sword to Inuyasha, but Kagura wouldn't allow it. Kagome nearly got hit herself, and soon she backed off hoping for the best, but knowing that nothing good come of this situation when Inuyasha didn't have tetsusaiga.
Inuyasha was sent to the ground once more and this time he didn't get up.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried.
Sesshomaru's senses picked up. He could smell the change of his brother's blood, and felt the terrible anger that welled up inside him. He sensed the desperate will to live boil, and the sweat on his brow increased. Inuyasha raised his head. His red eyes glowed, and he bared his fangs.
"Oh no! He's transformed again!" exclaimed Miroku.
Kagura had no wish to fight Inuyasha transformed. She had already lost the sword and there was no point to the plan anymore. She flipped up her feather and sailed over the castle. Inuyasha jumped and tried to follow her, but met with a barrier and flew back.
Sesshomaru could feel his younger brother's extreme need to kill. The red eyes turned to glare at him. Inuyasha charged, Sesshomaru now being the target. The two began to fight, Sesshomaru having the upper hand. Kagome turned her head away. She couldn't bear to see Inuyasha fight to the death like that, his blood spraying with every blow Sesshomaru dealt him. She had seen the brothers fight before, but it never had seemed as deadly and ruthless as this. It must be the castle's aura...
Rin noticed the older girl shaking.
"Kagome, are you all right?" Rin crawled into her lap.
"We must stop them... we must stop them somehow."
She watched in horror as the fighting continued. Finally, Sesshomaru had enough. He threw Inuyasha to the ground and grabbed his face. He poisoned Inuyasha's eyes, and then stood. Inuyasha growled and rubbed them furiously, but could not relieve the burning. He made feeble grabs at the air. Sesshomaru hit him on the back of the neck and Inuyasha fell unconscious. Kagome stood and ran over.
"This is enough! Please stop!" She knelt on the ground and cradled Inuyasha's head in her lap.
"When he wakes he should be back to his self," Sesshomaru said, and then turned to walk away. Rin got up and ran to his side. She gave one last look at Kagome before she and Sesshomaru disappeared into the trees.
The group then felt the ground tremble. Naraku's castle was disintegrating.
"No! I will not let you go!" Sango cried. She ran for the door but was repelled by the barrier before she could get there. "Damn it!"
"It is hopeless now. He will relocate somewhere else..." Miroku said.
"Please, help me take him back to the old woman's house," Kagome spoke up.
The three companions lifted the unconscious silver-haired hanyou and slowly made their way back to the old woman's dwelling.
~~~~*~*~*~~~~
Back in the house, Kagome sat with Inuyasha's head in her lap. She gently petted his ears, and watched his chest rise and fall unevenly. He seemed to be in pain. The others were in another room, letting Kagome have her space. Only little Kirara curled up beside her for company.
Inuyasha groaned, but still did not open his eyes.
*~
In a little village, one small child ran through the streets, ignoring the murmurs and sneers of the adults, and shoving down any kid who tried to trip him. He needed to get home, he needed to make sure she was okay...
He skidded to a halt in front of the door to his house. He slowly and respectfully went in. There his beautiful mother was, sitting against the wall. The room was dimly lit, with only a small fire burning in the fire place.
"Are you in pain, mother?" He asked worriedly.
"I will be alright, my darling," she replied, but the sound of her voice told otherwise. She was straining to hold onto her life. The little hanyou knelt beside her and she put her arm around him. It was only there beneath his mother's arm, snuggled into her kimono that he ever felt truly safe. She gently petted his small ears, and he felt peaceful. Suddenly the doorway was filled with a broad majestic silhouette. A large demon came into the room, followed by a smaller copy of him. The mother's arm fell away, and the little boy looked up into the caring face of his father. The large handsome demon gently stroked the feverish cheek of the boy's mother, and then brought out a sword to show her. The little hanyou watched intently, ignoring the look of disdain on his older brother's face. His mother looked pleased despite the pain she was in. His father laid his large hand on the small boy's head, and then took his leave with his other son following. The hanyou child went back to his mother's arms, and there she caressed his little ears.
"Inuyasha, wake up... please wake up...." she said gently....
*~
"Inuyasha, wake up... please wake up. I need you..."
The voice was worried...
"Mother, it's okay, I'm right here," he mumbled.
Kagome gasped. Did he just call her... mother?
She stopped petting his ears. But she noticed his breathing had become less labored.
"No, please don't stop," he whispered.
"Inuyasha, wake up," Kagome said urgently.
He slowly opened his eyes. His vision was blurry. There was a girl over him. She was upset... so worried... 'Kikyo?' A tear fell onto his cheek. 'She's... crying? No, it can't be Kikyo, she never shed one tear for me. Who...?'
As his vision cleared, he recognized her.
'Ka-Kagome," he said.
"Inuyasha!" she cried. "I was so worried! You're okay!"
He slowly glanced at his surroundings. Then the wave of his recollection washed over him. 'That happened so long ago. It was shortly after that when she died...'
"Inuyasha? What were you dreaming about? You- you called me 'mother'," Kagome asked.
"I did?" He said, dazed.
"Yes. I was just... wondering."
"It was something that happened a long time ago, right before my mother died," Inuyasha said shortly.
"I'm sorry," Kagome said, contrite.
"My father came to see her before she passed away. It's one of the few memories I have of him."
Kagome looked sad. "I know how you feel... I have very few memories of my father too. He died when I was very little."
Inuyasha looked at her with the sudden realization. He recalled that Kagome had never said anything about her father, and he had never seen him when he went to collect her in the future era.
"I'm sorry," he said.
Kagome smiled sadly at him, and then got up.
"I'll go tell the others you're awake."
Inuyasha watched her walk out the door.
~~~~*~*~*~~~~
Inuyasha would never admit it, but he was tired. The group had moved on and was resting in the beautiful rolling hills, filled thick with trees, brushes, rivers, hot springs, and pools of waterfalls.
Everyone had dispersed, each wanting to be in solitude after the trying process of laying to rest the many bodies of a village that had been massacred. They had recognized the wounds inflicted; all of them, men, women, and children had been slain by a chain sickle. Sango was horribly depressed, Inuyasha grim, and Kagome melancholy. Miroku had said a prayer over the grave sites. When there were no jewel shards to be found, the group moved on to the hills.
Inuyasha sat in a tree overlooking a cliff that had a waterfall pool at the bottom. He stared at the patches of vivid blue sky through the leaves and branches. It was an exceptionally clear day, and would have been perfect if not for the blood shed earlier. He shifted his gaze to the swirling pools below and noticed a woman underneath the waterfall. He observed that she was very beautiful... But then he almost fell out of the tree when he realized he knew that girl.
"Kagome!" His cheeks turned a shade of pink.
He felt strange. When had she gotten so... mature? What happened to the skinny knobby-kneed little girl he first met so many months ago? Her arms were now toned from pulling back the string of a bow, and her legs were muscular but still very feminine shaped. All of her was shaped, in fact. She had filled out quite nicely. How could this happen before his eyes and he never noticed it? Or had he? He admitted to himself that he had found Kagome attractive, but not like this. He descended from his tree and peered through the bushes up on the cliff.
Kagome came out from under the waterfall and shook her wet hair. She gazed up at the blue sky and took in a deep breath of fresh air. Then she spied a bright red kimono in the bushes above. Her eyes went wide as saucers, and she sat down quickly into the water.
"SIT!!!!" echoed off the walls of the small cliff as Inuyasha fell through the bushes and plunged over the edge down into the foliage below. He landed with a huge crash.
"It serves you right you peeping tom!" Kagome yelled angrily. "How can you do that, you pervert! You're as bad as Miroku!"
Inuyasha scrambled up. "Ya know what, I was wrong about you, you are still just a kid!" he shouted.
"Inuyasha," Kagome said, with an edge of hurt in her voice, "What did you mean by that?"
His cheeks blushed bright red, and he snapped, "Nothing. Just forget it." He stomped off towards their camp.
Kagome stared, confused, as he went off.
"What was that all about?"
~~~~*~*~*~~~~
Sango was sitting by a trickling brook, staring into the water. She hugged her knees and tried not to think about what her brother had done, but it wasn't working. She was so lost in thought that she didn't hear Miroku approach. He startled her when he sat down beside her.
"Oh, hello.." she trailed off.
Miroku smiled in return and then gazed over the water.
"I came to save you from your thoughts. I know these are very troubled times. But you shouldn't be so down, it's not healthy."
"Yes," she said quietly.
After a pause, she said, "If only there was something I could have done..." she choked.
"Sango, there was nothing you could have done. I know it's painful to watch your beloved little brother take so many lives. But while he's in the hands of Naraku we cannot stop him. We'll find his castle again soon. Myouga has already departed and he's searching for it right now. This time we won't be distracted. We'll get Naraku, and we'll get your brother back safe and sound."
Sango looked at him with tears in her eyes, and she abruptly laid her head on Miroku's shoulder. He raised his eyebrows at her sudden action, then slipped his arm around her waist. He resisted the temptation to slide his hand lower. But, she was just sitting there, in perfect reach. It would be so natural to just glide his hand down, and... 'No, don't do it. She's trusting you.' But she's in exactly the right position. Miroku wrestled with his inner conscious. In the end...
*SLAP*
Sango got up and huffily walked away. Miroku's lechery beat out his sensitive side.
~~~~*~*~*~~~~
Later on that evening the group had gathered together at their campsite. Nobody said anything much for a while, each of them still lost in their own train of thought. Kagome stared into the fire's leaping flames. Naraku's castle had been so close, and still he managed to get away. 'We didn't even get inside. Naraku never showed his face. What a coward.'
The group was startled however when they saw several soul catchers float by.
__________________________________________________________
Well, what does this mean?! Is it Kikyo? Find out in the next chapter!
Reviewers ~*~
lilemmy - Thank you so much! *blushes* I'm really glad you liked it that much that you read all the chapters right away! It makes me feel very special!
comicfancat - I'm glad you liked it too! I hope you find what happens next interesting.
Litoasngyrl - I'm updating as fast as I can!! Speaking of updating-- ahem! When you gonna update yours?!
Yun Fei - Hey, thanks for coming back! Yeah, I like to end on cliffhangers... this chapter ends on a cliffhanger too, what a surprise, huh?!
Heather - Of course Sesshomaru came for Rin! Though he'd never openly admit it... ^_-
ejqHorseLady - I'm glad you think it's well done! You make me feel so good!
*disclaimer: No, Inuyasha is not mine *sob* I just like to play with his world. With no profit earned accept confidence, might I add.
______________________________________________________________
"Rin, I trust that you have not been harmed?" Sesshomaru said stoically.
"Alright, Sesshomaru, why the hell are you here?" Inuyasha broke in. "Were you the one who sent Rin to steal tetsusaiga? Teaming up with Naraku again, is it? I thought you were smarter than that to let him push you around."
"Dear little brother, do you honestly assume that I, Lord Sesshomaru of the Western Lands would send a human child to do my duty? Please, the mere suggestion insults the little intelligence you have."
"Then why the hell are you here?" Inuyasha snapped. "Not to save the kid."
"I came because I have business to settle with Naraku. When a member of my company is abducted I should like to know why," he said. Then turning to Kagura, "I see you still have yet to destroy Naraku. Didn't you ask me to do that for you a few weeks ago?"
"You boast so, Sesshomaru, but if you are truly that strong why don't you destroy him yourself?" Kagura said with contempt.
"I have no need to kill him. He is a burden to your pitiful lives, not mine."
Kagura desperately wished to send an attack his way, but she knew she could not win a fight with him. Sesshomaru was not her enemy at this point. Just a cocky bastard...
"Rin, get the tetsusaiga," Kagura said. Rin stared at her wide eyed. Sesshomaru made no attempt to stop her so she meekly obeyed. Kagome started to step towards Rin, but Kagura held up her fan, ready for the assault.
"Take it to the castle door, Rin," Kagura ordered.
"I've had enough of this," Inuyasha growled. He jumped and flew towards Rin. Kagura attacked once again. Inuyasha blocked as best he could. With Kagura busy Kagome grabbed Rin and took tetsusaiga from her. Rin flinched, thinking that Kagome would punish her, but instead she gave Rin a hug.
"It will be okay, Inuyasha will forgive you for taking his sword. They said you had to steal it or you'd never see Sesshomaru again, didn't they?"
"Yes," Rin said teary-eyed.
Inuyasha was still fighting a futile battle with Kagura. He couldn't get close enough to the sorceress to do any damage, and her wind blades were cutting him everywhere. Sesshomaru stood quietly on the side, watching his little brother get pummeled.
Kagome tried several times to return the sword to Inuyasha, but Kagura wouldn't allow it. Kagome nearly got hit herself, and soon she backed off hoping for the best, but knowing that nothing good come of this situation when Inuyasha didn't have tetsusaiga.
Inuyasha was sent to the ground once more and this time he didn't get up.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried.
Sesshomaru's senses picked up. He could smell the change of his brother's blood, and felt the terrible anger that welled up inside him. He sensed the desperate will to live boil, and the sweat on his brow increased. Inuyasha raised his head. His red eyes glowed, and he bared his fangs.
"Oh no! He's transformed again!" exclaimed Miroku.
Kagura had no wish to fight Inuyasha transformed. She had already lost the sword and there was no point to the plan anymore. She flipped up her feather and sailed over the castle. Inuyasha jumped and tried to follow her, but met with a barrier and flew back.
Sesshomaru could feel his younger brother's extreme need to kill. The red eyes turned to glare at him. Inuyasha charged, Sesshomaru now being the target. The two began to fight, Sesshomaru having the upper hand. Kagome turned her head away. She couldn't bear to see Inuyasha fight to the death like that, his blood spraying with every blow Sesshomaru dealt him. She had seen the brothers fight before, but it never had seemed as deadly and ruthless as this. It must be the castle's aura...
Rin noticed the older girl shaking.
"Kagome, are you all right?" Rin crawled into her lap.
"We must stop them... we must stop them somehow."
She watched in horror as the fighting continued. Finally, Sesshomaru had enough. He threw Inuyasha to the ground and grabbed his face. He poisoned Inuyasha's eyes, and then stood. Inuyasha growled and rubbed them furiously, but could not relieve the burning. He made feeble grabs at the air. Sesshomaru hit him on the back of the neck and Inuyasha fell unconscious. Kagome stood and ran over.
"This is enough! Please stop!" She knelt on the ground and cradled Inuyasha's head in her lap.
"When he wakes he should be back to his self," Sesshomaru said, and then turned to walk away. Rin got up and ran to his side. She gave one last look at Kagome before she and Sesshomaru disappeared into the trees.
The group then felt the ground tremble. Naraku's castle was disintegrating.
"No! I will not let you go!" Sango cried. She ran for the door but was repelled by the barrier before she could get there. "Damn it!"
"It is hopeless now. He will relocate somewhere else..." Miroku said.
"Please, help me take him back to the old woman's house," Kagome spoke up.
The three companions lifted the unconscious silver-haired hanyou and slowly made their way back to the old woman's dwelling.
~~~~*~*~*~~~~
Back in the house, Kagome sat with Inuyasha's head in her lap. She gently petted his ears, and watched his chest rise and fall unevenly. He seemed to be in pain. The others were in another room, letting Kagome have her space. Only little Kirara curled up beside her for company.
Inuyasha groaned, but still did not open his eyes.
*~
In a little village, one small child ran through the streets, ignoring the murmurs and sneers of the adults, and shoving down any kid who tried to trip him. He needed to get home, he needed to make sure she was okay...
He skidded to a halt in front of the door to his house. He slowly and respectfully went in. There his beautiful mother was, sitting against the wall. The room was dimly lit, with only a small fire burning in the fire place.
"Are you in pain, mother?" He asked worriedly.
"I will be alright, my darling," she replied, but the sound of her voice told otherwise. She was straining to hold onto her life. The little hanyou knelt beside her and she put her arm around him. It was only there beneath his mother's arm, snuggled into her kimono that he ever felt truly safe. She gently petted his small ears, and he felt peaceful. Suddenly the doorway was filled with a broad majestic silhouette. A large demon came into the room, followed by a smaller copy of him. The mother's arm fell away, and the little boy looked up into the caring face of his father. The large handsome demon gently stroked the feverish cheek of the boy's mother, and then brought out a sword to show her. The little hanyou watched intently, ignoring the look of disdain on his older brother's face. His mother looked pleased despite the pain she was in. His father laid his large hand on the small boy's head, and then took his leave with his other son following. The hanyou child went back to his mother's arms, and there she caressed his little ears.
"Inuyasha, wake up... please wake up...." she said gently....
*~
"Inuyasha, wake up... please wake up. I need you..."
The voice was worried...
"Mother, it's okay, I'm right here," he mumbled.
Kagome gasped. Did he just call her... mother?
She stopped petting his ears. But she noticed his breathing had become less labored.
"No, please don't stop," he whispered.
"Inuyasha, wake up," Kagome said urgently.
He slowly opened his eyes. His vision was blurry. There was a girl over him. She was upset... so worried... 'Kikyo?' A tear fell onto his cheek. 'She's... crying? No, it can't be Kikyo, she never shed one tear for me. Who...?'
As his vision cleared, he recognized her.
'Ka-Kagome," he said.
"Inuyasha!" she cried. "I was so worried! You're okay!"
He slowly glanced at his surroundings. Then the wave of his recollection washed over him. 'That happened so long ago. It was shortly after that when she died...'
"Inuyasha? What were you dreaming about? You- you called me 'mother'," Kagome asked.
"I did?" He said, dazed.
"Yes. I was just... wondering."
"It was something that happened a long time ago, right before my mother died," Inuyasha said shortly.
"I'm sorry," Kagome said, contrite.
"My father came to see her before she passed away. It's one of the few memories I have of him."
Kagome looked sad. "I know how you feel... I have very few memories of my father too. He died when I was very little."
Inuyasha looked at her with the sudden realization. He recalled that Kagome had never said anything about her father, and he had never seen him when he went to collect her in the future era.
"I'm sorry," he said.
Kagome smiled sadly at him, and then got up.
"I'll go tell the others you're awake."
Inuyasha watched her walk out the door.
~~~~*~*~*~~~~
Inuyasha would never admit it, but he was tired. The group had moved on and was resting in the beautiful rolling hills, filled thick with trees, brushes, rivers, hot springs, and pools of waterfalls.
Everyone had dispersed, each wanting to be in solitude after the trying process of laying to rest the many bodies of a village that had been massacred. They had recognized the wounds inflicted; all of them, men, women, and children had been slain by a chain sickle. Sango was horribly depressed, Inuyasha grim, and Kagome melancholy. Miroku had said a prayer over the grave sites. When there were no jewel shards to be found, the group moved on to the hills.
Inuyasha sat in a tree overlooking a cliff that had a waterfall pool at the bottom. He stared at the patches of vivid blue sky through the leaves and branches. It was an exceptionally clear day, and would have been perfect if not for the blood shed earlier. He shifted his gaze to the swirling pools below and noticed a woman underneath the waterfall. He observed that she was very beautiful... But then he almost fell out of the tree when he realized he knew that girl.
"Kagome!" His cheeks turned a shade of pink.
He felt strange. When had she gotten so... mature? What happened to the skinny knobby-kneed little girl he first met so many months ago? Her arms were now toned from pulling back the string of a bow, and her legs were muscular but still very feminine shaped. All of her was shaped, in fact. She had filled out quite nicely. How could this happen before his eyes and he never noticed it? Or had he? He admitted to himself that he had found Kagome attractive, but not like this. He descended from his tree and peered through the bushes up on the cliff.
Kagome came out from under the waterfall and shook her wet hair. She gazed up at the blue sky and took in a deep breath of fresh air. Then she spied a bright red kimono in the bushes above. Her eyes went wide as saucers, and she sat down quickly into the water.
"SIT!!!!" echoed off the walls of the small cliff as Inuyasha fell through the bushes and plunged over the edge down into the foliage below. He landed with a huge crash.
"It serves you right you peeping tom!" Kagome yelled angrily. "How can you do that, you pervert! You're as bad as Miroku!"
Inuyasha scrambled up. "Ya know what, I was wrong about you, you are still just a kid!" he shouted.
"Inuyasha," Kagome said, with an edge of hurt in her voice, "What did you mean by that?"
His cheeks blushed bright red, and he snapped, "Nothing. Just forget it." He stomped off towards their camp.
Kagome stared, confused, as he went off.
"What was that all about?"
~~~~*~*~*~~~~
Sango was sitting by a trickling brook, staring into the water. She hugged her knees and tried not to think about what her brother had done, but it wasn't working. She was so lost in thought that she didn't hear Miroku approach. He startled her when he sat down beside her.
"Oh, hello.." she trailed off.
Miroku smiled in return and then gazed over the water.
"I came to save you from your thoughts. I know these are very troubled times. But you shouldn't be so down, it's not healthy."
"Yes," she said quietly.
After a pause, she said, "If only there was something I could have done..." she choked.
"Sango, there was nothing you could have done. I know it's painful to watch your beloved little brother take so many lives. But while he's in the hands of Naraku we cannot stop him. We'll find his castle again soon. Myouga has already departed and he's searching for it right now. This time we won't be distracted. We'll get Naraku, and we'll get your brother back safe and sound."
Sango looked at him with tears in her eyes, and she abruptly laid her head on Miroku's shoulder. He raised his eyebrows at her sudden action, then slipped his arm around her waist. He resisted the temptation to slide his hand lower. But, she was just sitting there, in perfect reach. It would be so natural to just glide his hand down, and... 'No, don't do it. She's trusting you.' But she's in exactly the right position. Miroku wrestled with his inner conscious. In the end...
*SLAP*
Sango got up and huffily walked away. Miroku's lechery beat out his sensitive side.
~~~~*~*~*~~~~
Later on that evening the group had gathered together at their campsite. Nobody said anything much for a while, each of them still lost in their own train of thought. Kagome stared into the fire's leaping flames. Naraku's castle had been so close, and still he managed to get away. 'We didn't even get inside. Naraku never showed his face. What a coward.'
The group was startled however when they saw several soul catchers float by.
__________________________________________________________
Well, what does this mean?! Is it Kikyo? Find out in the next chapter!