Well, here I am again, I FINALLY updated. It's a short chapter, but well what can I say? Inspiration is a fleeing sprit. My muse have obviously decided it was as good a time as any to take a vacation, and she's STILL not back yet. sigh Well, I'll do what I can. I already have another chapter well on its way. So if I haven't updated in a month someone e-mail me to check if I haven't died or something. Okey dokey! And for those of you wondering, I still need votes for the coupling. This is looking to be a Kag/Inu or a Kag/Nar so I need votes or I'm going to make it something weird, like a ...well I don't know.
Kagome, where are you? Please....please tells me that you haven't forgotten us. Inu-Yasha was in the same spot since the last time Sango and Miroku checked on him. Sitting in the abandoned hut that they found on the outskirts of another one of Naraku's fake castles. Since discovering that Kagome was rumored to be engaged to Naraku, Inu-Yasha forced the group to cover more land during the day.
"Sango, I'm afraid that if we don't find Kagome soon Inu-Yasha's likely to revert to his full-demon form. This stress in finding Naraku's castle is beginning to take its toll on him. We haven't told Shippo but I think he has the general idea." The monk tried to sound cheerful but the fact was the group was slowly losing hope.
"Inu-Yasha will suffer until Kagome is returned to us." Sango looked mournfully at the sullen and distraught hanyou.
If only we knew where Naraku is holding Kagome, Sango thought. All the leads had dried up and it left them with no way to know if they were headed in the right direction. They knew that the castle was roughly in the northern part of Japan, and then it was blank. Sighing to herself Sango picked up her boomerang. Just knowing that Kagome was somewhere with Naraku made Sango sick to her stomach.
Inu-Yasha was perched on a tree. Closing his eyes he conjured up a picture of Kagome, with her green school uniform and big yellow backpack. Now she was with Naraku, and it was his fault. Suddenly his eyes snapped open as he sensed the scent of someone he could do without.
Sesshoumaru was coming, and with him Inu-Yasha could smell the human girl Rin and Sesshoumaru's retainer, Jaken.
Damn, why are they here? Inu-Yasha jumped from his perch and ran toward the small clearing where Sango and Miroku were waiting. Stopping, Inu-Yasha saw that they must have sensed Sesshoumaru coming, Sango had her boomerang ready to throw and Miroku was holding his staff in a defensive posture.
"Inu-Yasha, you sensed him too?" Sango search the forest to catch any glimpse of Sesshoumaru.
"Yeah, I don't know why he's here though." Inu-Yasha didn't understand; his older half brother never came around just to socialize.
Giving everyone a cold look, Sesshoumaru spoke. "Inu-Yasha, I am only here at the request of Rin," He gestured to the little girl behind him. "It seems she has become rather, fond, of that wench of yours."
Recognizing the little girl Kagome had befriended before, Inu-Yasha dropped only a fraction of his guard.
"What do you know about Kagome?!" Miroku interrupted.
"I know nothing, human. Jaken here is the one that heard the rumor." Sesshoumaru stepped aside to let his retainer tell what he had heard. "Jaken tell them quickly. The sooner we leave the better."
"Hai, my lord. Well it seems a village near the border of the
Iwate mountain ranges there have been reports of a castle with a barrier of miasma surrounding it and..." Jaken was suddenly cut off when Inu-Yasha interrupted.
"Wait a minute. We've seen these castles with a miasma barrier before, how do we know that it isn't another false trail?" Inu-Yasha inquired of the small toad demon.
"Because, there also have been reports of a miko maiden with black hair and blue eyes with formidable purification powers."
"Who told you of these rumors?" Sango stared at Jaken. Although she knew that Sesshoumaru was only here to have Jaken divulge what he knew she still dropped her guard.
"A number of demons happened to make the mistake of trying to retrieve the legendary Shikon No Tama from the maiden. They were skilled enough to break the miasma barrier with evil magical scrolls. Whilst attacking the fortress the lord of the castle, Naraku, had the priestess try her new fighting ability on the demons. Apparently he had been training her himself. Needless to say the demons were mostly eradicated, although most were eliminated a few survived. Those who managed to survive fled and spread stories of the powerful priestess's ability to purify demons into non-existence." Jaken ended the story with a shudder.
"That's her. Inu-Yasha we must begin our way to the Iwate Mountains, they are a week long journey north." Miroku picked up his staff and started for their belongings. "If we travel quickly then the trip might only take 4 days."
Sango followed Miroku. "Inu-Yasha, we must leave now if we want to get to Kagome before Naraku..." She took a deep breath and let the sentence hang, unable to continue.
"Alright, lets get going." Inu-Yasha looked at his older brother. He forced himself through the next sentence. "Sesshoumaru? We appreciate this information."
"You overestimate your worth to me. I merely did this as a favor to Rin; I won't be dropping by to engage a cordial conversation with you or your humans." The demon lord gestured to Rin. "Let's go before you take a liking to another one of Inu-Yasha's worthless creatures.