O-hayo, minna! I was inspired, but it might get a little rocky from here. Just goes to show you, you should write down things as soon as you think of them. Oh, well, enjoy this next chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own Inu Yasha. Quit running after me with those ugly lawsuit sticks, you bad lawyers!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Well, I hope you're proud of yourself, Inukkuro." Kouga sniffed. "Maybe now she'll come with me."
Inuyasha glared at him. "It's all your fault, you damned wolf! Why couldn't you just keep your trap shut?" He sighed. "Now Kagome's even angrier with me, and I gotta go apologize."
"What?" The wolf youkai stared at him in disbelief. "You think you can just up and apologize for two-timing her like that? Kami! How can she stand it?"
"I ain't two-timing anybody! Why does she keep thinking that?"
"Well, Inuyasha, maybe you should have made it clearer to her." Miroku tapped him on the head with his staff, and the rings jingled seriously.
"Wha? Where'd you come from?"
The houshi opened his mouth to answer when an angry voice piped up.
"Miroku!" Sango marched up to him, and he stepped behind Inuyasha. "I told you to leave them alone!" She stopped and looked around, startled.
"Inuyasha, where is Kagome?"
"Inukkuro made her mad, so she took off running," Kouga answered, jerking his head in the direction Kagome had gone.
Sango glared at Inuyasha. "Why haven't you gone after her yet? Don't you know it's dangerous out there?"
The hanyou clenched his teeth, clearly getting frustrated out of his mind. "I would've gone, if people didn't keep getting in my way!" he declared, shoving past Miroku.
"Now now, Inuyasha," the monk scolded. "There's no need to take your anger out on us. We'll all go look for Kagome-sama."
"Way ahead of you!" A cloud of dust rose in front of them, and the wolf youkai was gone. Inuyasha growled.
"No way is he getting to her before me!" he muttered, before jumping into a tree and disappearing after him.
"Wait, Inuyasha!" Miroku called after him, but it was no use. With a huff, he started off after him. "Come on, Sango! She couldn't be very far."
Sango looked back, considering whether or not she should go back and get Kirara.
"Right behind you!" She turned and followed the monk into the forest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inuyasha was going so fast he almost didn't see the clearing ahead of him. With a yelp, he managed to avoid falling headfirst off the branches when they stopped.
Just ahead of him, Kouga was sniffing along the ground. He stood up when he caught the hanyou's scent. "She was here," he said quietly. "But something's wrong." He looked up, his nose wrinkling in disgust.
"Smells like Naraku, doesn't it?" Inuyasha stood beside him, following his gaze toward the sky. Kouga nodded.
"That creep took her," the hanyou growled. "He's gonna pay for it!"
"Don't you mean 'they'"? Kouga turned cold blue eyes on him. Inuyasha shrugged.
"What are you babbling about?"
"Take a deep breath, Inukkuro," the youkai said bitterly.
Inuyasha breathed in, still confused. "I don't smell…," he started, but then it hit him.
"Smell familiar?" Kouga bent down to pick something up. He stood and tossed it at Inuyasha, who caught it easily. It was a Soul Gatherer.
"No," the hanyou mumbled, staring at the limp demon in his clawed hand. "Kikyo wouldn't…."
"Well, it sure looks like she had something to do with it," the wolf youkai muttered.
"Had something to do with what?" Just then, the monk and the taijiya broke into the glade. Sango looked worried. "Inuyasha, did you find her?"
Miroku frowned, and looked around the clearing suspiciously. "Inuyasha, I sense Naraku's evil energy here. Where is Kagome-sama?"
When the hanyou didn't answer, Kouga spoke up. "Her scent stops here. We think she's been taken by Naraku, since his scent is all over the place." He looked pointedly at Inuyasha. "But those aren't the only ones."
"What do you mean?" Sango seemed to notice the small youkai in Inuyasha's hand for the first time. Her eyes narrowed. "Kikyo?"
Inuyasha looked at her fiercely. "No! Kikyo wouldn't help Naraku. I won't be tricked again!" He threw the Soul Gatherer at the ground.
Instead of splattering against the forest floor as he had intended, the youkai wriggled once and shot into the air. It had only been stunned.
Miroku was the first to react. "Follow it!" he told Kouga. The wolf prince nodded and sprinted off. "Sango, go get Kirara!" he ordered, and the taijiya quickly complied.
"I'm going after her too," Inuyasha said quietly. Miroku looked at him for a moment, a frown crossing his face.
"Inuyasha, you have to brace yourself for any possibility. Remember that the Kikyo that walks the earth now may not be the same Kikyo that you once loved."
Inuyasha turned glittering golden eyes toward the houshi. Kikyo's words rang in his head. *Kill Kagome. She has my soul.*
"I know, Miroku. That's what I'm afraid of."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There you go. I think I know where I'm going now. I know Kikyo might be a little OOC, but it's for the sake of the storyline, so bear with me. I hope you enjoyed this!
