June 20, 2004 & June 27, 2004

Nube by Goddess of Anime

Disclaimer: Roses are red. Violets are blue. I no own so you no sue.

Claimer: Although I may not own Inu-Yasha I do own the following: Vira, Virisa, Butterfly, Kiri, and Zane. Thanks for listening to the Annoying One. Have a great day.

Insperation: 'On My Way Down', 'Echo', and 'Hold On' (don't own any of them).

RFC (Review For Chapter: 1

Kiddi Chi = Yay! I am so glad that you like it so far! Hopefully you are reading this and I am in awe that a better writer than I has put me on their Favourite's list. THANK YOU!

A/N: This came to me only today. Besides, not many people are reading this anyhow so why should I care that's been nearly a month since I've updated?

Scroll 13: Blood Sun
They were close now; she could feel their auras' brush against her's. Gripping the branch tightly she flipped back and landed in the dirty clearing, her lifeless eyes piercing through the trees. The flicker that came every so often had come and was brighter this time and lasted longer.

This time, she could feel somehting spur deep within her.

Her head bowed she whispered aloud, "Come and get me, Inu-Yasha."

Kagome stopped in mid-step and looked around. She swore that she heard someone call out. Sango noticed and stopped just ahead of her.

"What is it?" she asked, gazing in the direction that Kagome's eyes were locked on.

Raising a finger to her lips Kagome let out a quiet, yet noisy, breath. Both boys had stopped and walked back, standing near them. A voice, softly at first, chanted the same thing over and over again, the volume intensafying each time.

"I'll NEVER te-ell. I'LL NEVER TE-ELL. I'LL NEVER TE-ELL...."

As soon as the voice had invaded their bodies and souls it began to soften.

"....I'll NEVER te-ell. I'll NEVER te-ell. I'll never te-ell....

Everyone stood there, stunned. Inu-Yasha's ears had flattened against his skull, his teeth bared and his eyes shut tightly. Tentatively Kagome reached his left ear and rubbed it reassuringly, coaxing it back into its normal position.

Sango was the first to speak up: "What was that?" Her voice was shaky and her eyes revealed that she was more afraid than she ever felt. Kagome shrugged and slumped, shivering even though she had on a sweater and wind-beaker.

Suddenly, she felt as if a wire had been threaded through her stomach and was tugging her body to go down one way. She clutched her stomach, screaming at the pain. Without feeling it she fell to her side, curled up in a ball screaming so horribly that it made Inu-Yasha's blood curdle. The pain was terrible and she couldn't stand it. Tears streamed down her face and neck.

"IT HURTS. IT HURTS SO MUCH! HELP ME. STOP THE PAIN! STOP IT!" she shrieked, begging the heavens to do something. Kagome couldn't feel Inu-Yasha placing her on his lap or Sango pulling up her top layers to examine her stomach or that Miroku was gripping her hand.

It just hurt so much.

Sango slapped Kagome's cheek lightly, hoping for a response. She bit her lower lip nervously. Kagome couldn't hear them, see them, or feel them. Something was attacking her from inside her mind because her body was fine. Suddenly, Sango tugged up Kagome's pant legs and gasped at the sight.

Blood had begun to form in long ribbons and there was enough for them to blend together and rush to the ground. Some more had started at Kagome's thighs and inked her her jeans before dripping very slowly. Kagome continued to scream and Inu-Yasha looked helpless.

A thin trail of blood tickled out of the corner of her lovely mouth and then, abruptly, she ceased to scream and then the blood ceased to flow. They all let out a sigh of relief.

But that relief was short lived. They had realized that she had lost a lot of blood and she was barely breathing. "Do any of you remember how to do CPR?" Sango asked shakily. Inu-Yasha nodded while Miroku looked lost since Sango said 'C'.

"What are you waiting for?!" Sango hissed, clipping him in the head.

Inu-Yasha winced and hesitantly placed his mouth over Kagome's, gently breathing into it. Sango pressed against her chest, just below the hollow of her neck.

"Do you hear a heartbeat?" Sango asked nervously.

Inu-Yasha shook his head and breathed some more and Sango pressed. She looked up hopefully at him and after a minute or two he nodded. The three-some let out a breath that they didn't know they were holding. After a few silent moments Inu-Yasha, with the help of Sango, got Kagome onto his back.

Something had caught the hanyou's attention and he dashed off to his left with Kagome still on his back, leaving the other two behind.

He could feel the unknown presence growing stronger. Naraku's "touch" was faltering slightly and the other one was taking over. With a sigh he took a sip of wine and set it down, out of sight. The stuff tasted really bitter and wasn't of good age.

The thoughts that he had in the morning had sauntered off without protest but now they had returned with a vengeance. One fought the other to get the lord's attention and ended with the result of giving a head-ache to their now un-happy master.

Whilst he was battling against the noisy thoughts to quiet Butterfly slipped in unnoticed and perched on the table, watching Sesshou-maru curiously as he stared at his hands with immense concentration. There was a small crease between his eyebrows and a small frown souring his features. He narrowed his golden eyes until they were mere slits and then opened them slowly and narrowed them again. It was more interesting than it was amusing.

Lightly, she banged her ankle against the table leg and licked her dry lips. She had never noticed how his hair had small waves in it or how much emotion he could show.

Maybe that's why he covers them up?

She pondered the thought and found herself feeling as frustrated as he looked. Then he looked a little relaxed and she felt the same until he looked angered and she felt that as well. "What are you doing here?" he barked, causing her snap back into the real world.

"Rin was worried so I came in here to check on you," she stammered, gripping the edge for dear life. Sesshou-maru was towering over her. His claws dug into her forearm as he unwrapped the make-shift bandage.

"What is this?" he hissed, sounding a bit concerned.

"I cut myself."

"Why did you release poison?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"That is none of your concern."

"Neither am I, MY LORD."

He gripped her arm tighter and he didn't know that he had pierced her skin until he smelled the vile and sour stench of the venom. Butterfly looked alarmed and tried to wrench her arm from him but the blasted demon wouldn't let go. He loosened his grip but didn't let go. She then realized that he looked just as alarmed as she did.

Slowly, he rubbed the area and asked her if it was okay if he could lick it. She trembled but nodded, familiar the healing properties in his saliva.

His tongue was warm against her cool skin and the wetness of it left her skin shimmering. She smiled despite herself, no longer banging the table leg. Instead, she was lightly kicking his shin. He didn't seem like a heartless demon anymore. Far from it, in fact. This was probably the only way he could deal with his own emotions.

As fate would have it Rin ran into the room with a yelling Jaken chasing after her. "Sesshy!" she shrieked in delight and relief, restraining herself from latching onto his mid-section. Butterfly slowly slid off the table and took Rin out of the room with her leaving an alarmed and fuming Jaken behind.

"Jaken.... It was nothing. She was hurt," he stated simply, closing the door in front of the toad before he could get out a word.

Something was wrong. She had lost a lot of blood but he couldn't trace the injury back to the attacker. He growled in frustration. His woman was in trouble and there was no way that he could help her because now her scent -it had been fading rapidly for a while now- had dissapeared. But he knew she was there. Maybe this was a sign that they were meant for one another?

Maybe he should be looking for her?

Tenderly he shifted his weight onto his left leg and let out a painful hiss. His leg still needed time to heal and until then he couldn't do much of anything.

Thinking a bit he examined at the third shard and shook his head. He needed the leg to heal before placing the shard into it. He sat down on a rock and swung his leg back and forth, gritting his teeth against the white-hot pain shooting up his hip, spine, neck, and back down again to his knee.

Something was near-by and he could smell Naraku's scent cloaking it faintly. It had its own scent that was slowly taking over. He hoped he was wrong. If he wasn't then this opponent could be more dangerous than Juromaru was.

He stood up slowly and walked with a limp back to the cave. For now, he would rest and hope that the poison in his leg would go away in a day or two. After that, he would go and search for the other shard he lost to Kageromaru.

Miroku tried desperately to keep up with Sango. Even with the boomerang bone she ran faster than him. But due to his ego he would never admit it though he was sure that people could tell. He groaned and forced himself to go faster. For once he wished that Kagome had brought her bike.

Suddenly Sango let out a yell and tumbled to the ground. Miroku skidded to a stop and helped her up, asking her frantically if she was fine. She gave a weak nod and swatted him away. He watched as her ankle buckled and he eased her onto his back.

"Don't," she said sharply. "Kagome might be in trouble. Leave and go help." Miroku shook his head and tighted his grip around the backs of her knees. There was no way that he would leave her. Sure, she could look after herself but she was only human. Had she been a hanyou he would've left her, but not without reluctance. But as it happens she wasn't hanyou and so he wouldn't leave her in a forest teeming with demons with a sprained ankle.

As quickly as he could he ran up and then, to his great relief, saw the path ran down a hill. With a boyish grin he looked at Sango over his shoulder and said, "Hang on."

Sango opened her mouth to protest but ended up squealing in fright instead. Miroku was running at such a break-necking speed that she was sure he would fall face-first, tumble down the reast of the way, and then pass out. Somehow, the image in her mind turned out to be more funny than tragic. She suppressed her giggles as best she could, a few escaping every now and then.

"I can't tell is Inu-Yasha's there," Miroku announced, slowing down to Sango's great relief. Sango tried to register it but couldn't. After a moment she felt the blow of it and felt the panic creep up on her stomach and then seep through-out her body, crushing her calm demeaner.

"How's that possible?! They-they-they...."

Her body trembled and she bit the inside of her cheek, feeling the bridge of her nose tighten and her eyes blur. Without warning she gave a defeated cry. This surprised them both. Sango rarely ever cried this openly and when she did it meant that something horrible had happened.

Gently, Miroku set her down on a rock, kneeling in front of her. He rested his hands on her shoulders and looked at her, waiting for her to tell him what was wrong. If he had learned anything about women it was that they either would start talking right away without needing to be prompted and others won't say a word until someone asked.

Sango was neither. She took her time and talked when she felt ready. Sometimes this took probably a few minutes or a few days. At the looks of things she probably would take only a few seconds.

She rested her elbows on her knees and buried her head into her hands. She spoke loudly through them, her voice wet. "Ever since we're s-so close to comp-pleting the Shikon no Tama I d-don't know what will h-happen to us. K-Kagome might g-go back to h-her time and I don't think that Sh-Shippou will come b-back. My brother is d-dead, I-I don't have a family to go back t-to. I d-don't know wh-what to do! I don't know!"

She sobbed loudly and tears slipped through her fingers. She felt so helpless and this was the first time since her family's death that she felt truly alone. She didn't feel that Miroku's hands were off her shoulders and were gripping her hands. She shut her eyes tightly and repeatly applied pressure to her sprained ankle, willing to do anything to subdue the pain residing deep inside her.

Miroku saw her intetions and grabbed her leg, holding onto it tightly as she tried to kick him. He bent forward, his lips just barely brushing her ear. "Sango, don't do this. You are stronger than this. I know you. You are strong and don't you think otherwise."

Sango opened her eyes and tried to glare at him. Instead her face betrayed her and tears tumbled down her cheeks. She rested her head on his shoulder and sobbed, creating a wet circle on it. This feeling she felt was different. She felt needy and desperate and... something. There was something else. She hugged him tightly and wouldn't let go, clinging to him as if he was the last sane thing in her world.

She felt his hands on her back, rubbing it in circular motions. He than ran them up and down, hesitant when he began to go further down her back and surprised her by stopping them there. She sniffled and murmured a small 'Thank you'.

Sango let go of him and he pulled back, his hands resting on her knees. She gave a tiny, hiccupy laugh. "This feels familiar for some reason...."

Miroku grinned. "It should. I did this when I met you."

"Oh. Yeah. And you tried to kiss me later."

"I was doing CPR!"

"Yeah. Uh-huh. And I'm a monkey."

Miroku gaped at her and shook his head. "Never, Sango, could you ever be or look like a monkey."

"Is that an actual compliment?"

"Of course, Radient Sango."

"Says the pervert...."

Both were silent. Somehow the word 'Pervert' struck a chord in both of them. Sango took one of his hands and looked at him apolligetically. "I'm sorry, Miroku. I didn't really mean that. Honest."

"I know," he said, thinking how perfectly her hand looked and rested in his.

Inu-Yasha glanced over his shoulder to make sure that Kagome was still awake. She hadn't said a word the entire time and that wasn't like her. He had a feeling, no, he KNEW, that she was keeping something from him. Her fear was clinging to her, struggling to gain control.

He tightened his hold on her, hating that he couldn't help her. He felt her tense up and her fear rise, her hands fluttering uncertainly above on his shoulder-blades and then she relaxed, leaning into his back and loosely wrapped her arms around his neck.

Maybe she shouldn't have tensed but she couldn't help it. She had a daydream. It was more like a day-mare and in it she had been assaulted and violated by things not seen. All she knew was that one of the things had an aura so evil that she was sure to what it belonged but the answer floated out of her grasp every time she came close to it.

Even though she had felt a little frightened when she felt him hold her closer she now wanted to feel him close to her. She let out a small whimper and nuzzled his hair, seeking for warmth and safety. As she felt herself let the fear and anxiety go she heard a emtionless giggle and tensed up again.

A voice brushed her, soft and bearing no emotion. "I see you can hear me but can you see me?" Kagome looked around and realized that Inu-Yasha had stopped and that a mist had settled around them. Nervously, Kagome gripped his shoulders tightly and craned her head up to his ear.

"Can you see her?"

"It's a girl? Are you sure?" he hissed.

"Yes! I'm positive," she hissed back.

The fog had grown so thick that they couldn't see beyond the other. As quickly as the fog had come it dissipated, revealing an eleven year-old girl. She gave an odd smile, a smile with nothing behind it. Her hair was a honey-brown with a green sheen to it. Her skin was as white as the mist, little colour was allowed into it.

"I know your secrets. I know your fears. And-" She looked at them with souless green eyes and then said in a sing-song voice, "I'll never te-ell."

A shiver rippled down Kagome's spine and slid off Inu-Yasha's back, her hands never leaving his shoulders. She blinked and the girl was gone. Kagome felt slick, cold fingers brush the back of her neck and heard the whisper, "I can make your fears and desires come true."

Kagome felt herself grow lighter. She looked at her fingers and saw whisps of mist coming from the tips. Alarm rose in her when her hands slipped through his body. She cried out in panic. "Inu-Yasha!"

He spun around and saw her body, her hair, her clothes become a half-way fog. He could still see her but she wasn't solid. Desperately he tried to grab her hands. "Kagome...." His eyes grew wide in terror. This time, he truly couldn't help her and he knew where she was going.

Despite his fear and frustration he couldn't set aside the fact that she looked like a goddess with her hair down and fanning out behind her. Her hands were loosely curled into fists and hid her cheeks, but they didn't hide the tear-streaks. She looked regal, powerful, and confident. She also looked feared, panicked, and alone.

"I am Kiri," a voice whispered to him and then left with the girl and Kagome.

....left with...Kagome....

....left....

....Kagome....

....left...his Kagome....

His Kagome had left and she couldn't do anything and she looked alone when she realized that Inu-Yasha couldn't do a thing. That was the last thing he wanted; she was never alone.

"The mist.... It has lifted," Sango said quietly, puzzled. It hadn't been there for long and now it was gone. She listened, digging her fingers into Miroku's arms. An anguished scream tore the silence and not one thing living dared to make a sound.

Miroku cautiosly entered the clearing and saw Inu-Yasha. Inu-Yasha's shoulders were shaking violently and his chest heaved, bangs covering his eyes. Sango whispered, "What happened."

"Naraku," Inu-Yasha growled, saying the name like it was a curse. "Naraku."

Sango gasped and bowed her head. She said a quick prayed and then punched Miroku in the shoulder-blade. Instantly, he put her down and rubbed the sore spot. She was stronger than she looked.

Limp-running her came up to Inu-Yasha, boomerang in hand. "What are you waiting for, Inu-Yasha? We have to get her!"

When he didn't reply Sango slapped him, glowering at him. He looked surprised and so did Sango when she saw the trails down his cheeks that indicated he had been crying. With a shaking hand she touched his cheek and shook her head. Her arm flopped to her side and she felt the tears threatening to fall.

"I'm sorry, Inu-Yasha. But we have to pull ourselves together if we are to find Kagome. Who knows what...." She didn't need to finish. They knew what could be happening, knew what Naraku was capable of. They stayed silent for a moment, then Miroku broke it.

"I know we should start looking but Sango has sprained her ankle and it is nearly night-fall so we should rest for the night...."

Both of them mumbled in agreement and helped set up camp. It felt so quiet without Shippou and Inu-Yasha wreaking havoc and Kagome arguing with the stubborn hanyou. The atmosphere was forlorn and uneasy. Several times Sango burst out crying and she chose a different shoulder to rest her head on each time.

Miroku didn't grope her once.

The sky had turned a deep violet and the sun was a bright shade of blood. This was a sign of bad things to come, most likely death. The sun could predict horrible happenings.

So it had begun: the final battle against Naraku.

A/N: That was, um, dark. [cough] Erm, uh, yeah. Could someone e-mail me instructions on how to play strip poker? It's coming up later on and I don't know how to play even a regular game of poker. [gives Bambi eyes] Weview? Pwetty pwease? [lower lip quivers]

Is it okay if I aim for 6 reviews, or is that too high of a standard? And I love the role that gave our Sesshy!

Loves!

-Arrow

nube = hell