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Author's Notes: Okay, so I know I'm a little slow at the switch lately with updates, but let me explain myself before you all get mad at me. I have this small problem of getting migraine headaches, complete with nausea, visual disturbances, and, of course, the pounding headache on my left temple. Normally, when I get one, it lasts for about a day, and then it's gone, but last week I woke up and went to bed with one for six days. When I wasn't in pain, I was so drugged up I could barely think straight, and when I wasn't drugged up I was in pain. What I'm trying to say is that my brain wasn't exactly in a creative mood these past few days, but I finally managed to put up this chapter, and I hope it doesn't disappoint.
As always, thank you for your wonderful reviews, they mean the world to me. And I love the continued guessing over who the new enemy is, and I am happy to announce that you will find out in this chapter. Many of you will not be surprised, because you've guessed correctly already, but for those of you who haven't, surprise!
I'm going on vacation for spring break starting Thursday afternoon (we're going to New York City), so I don't know if I can get out another chapter before then or not. I will try, I promise, but I can't guarantee anything. So just bear with me, and know that I have in no way lost any of my enthusiasm for this story. Thanks again for all your continued support, and now on with the show!

Miko Sakura-Sama: Feel free to IM me any time, I have it posted for a reason. Just let me know who you are, because I won't recognize your screen name. And thanks for all the reviews!

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Title: Soldiers in a Timeless Battle

Author: dolphingirl0113

Chapter: Six

Rating: PG-13 (for language and, at times, sexual implications)

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

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Sesshoumaru had caught her scent the moment she came through the well, and was already keenly aware of her presence before he heard the scream of 'Holy Shit!' If he hadn't been so concerned for her safety, he would have smirked hearing such a familiar voice use such Inuyasha-like vocabulary.

But as it was, the demon lord was off in a flash, literally, and arrived on the scene only seconds too late to save Kagome, but as a consolation prize found Nancy peeping from behind the well at a large patch of shrubbery.

"Nancy?"

She jumped a mile high in the air when she heard his voice, but once the blonde realized who it was launched herself into his arms in a gesture that was extremely uncommon. Sesshoumaru only added to the strange situation by putting his arms around her slim waist and pulling her to his chest.

Inuyasha was the next to appear on the scene, his ears straight up, and when he stopped he looked just like a dog poised to hunt down the enemy, his nose in the air, trying to catch a scent of something amiss. He had heard Kagome's voice, though he hadn't quite made out the words, and she had sounded very afraid.

Seeing Nancy in the arms of his older brother didn't help the situation any, because he knew enough about the lawyer that she wouldn't be so easily unsettled, and the fact that Kagome was not with them was proof enough that something bad had happened.

"Where's Kagome?" Inuyasha called over to the pair, and Nancy turned to see Kagome's extremely protective husband glaring at her with a trademark scowl in place.

"I-In-Inuyasha," she stammered, for the first time in her life at a loss for words. She was still in shock over what she had witnessed, most of all when that man had carried, or rather flown, off with Kagome in his arms.

The hanyou flared his nostrils in irritation. "Did you hear me, wench? I asked you where Kagome is!"

"Watch your mouth, brother, when you speak to her," Sesshoumaru spoke coldly, reminding the hanyou that he wasn't alone. He growled low in his throat.

"Just butt out, Sesshoumaru, this doesn't concern you."

"It does when you take it upon yourself to insult Nancy," he replied, which surprised Inuyasha. Since when had his brother ever been so protective of anyone outside of Rin?

But he wasn't one to be left speechless for long, and so Inuyasha shouted back, "I wasn't insulting her, baka, I was asking her where Kagome is! Is it so wrong to inquire about my mate?"

At that both men turned to face the poor, pale blonde woman who was currently shaking from head to toe. Sesshoumaru put a comforting hand on her shoulder, and Nancy nodded, gathering her courage to speak without a tremor in her voice.

"This man attacked us," she said softly, but Inuyasha with his sensitive ears heard her perfectly.

"Who?" His voice contained an edge of panic. "Who attacked you?"

"Well, we just got here when I turned around to see this hideous looking, um, thing coming at me." Suddenly it was like a dam broke, and no one could shut up Nancy White if they had tried. "So I did the only natural thing a girl thrown 500 years into the past would do: I screamed. That got Kagome's attention, and she turned around and fired this arrow that turned pink, and when it hit the, um, thing, it dissolved. Then this voice started talking from the bushes, and Kagome told me to get down behind the well, so I did. The voice was obviously a man's. Anyway, they fought a little, but then all of a sudden he attacked Kagome without warning and hit her with some kind of gas, I don't know what it was really, that caused her to faint, and then he, well, I think he flew off with her."

She went silent, her eyes wide blue orbs of utter confusion. But Inuyasha didn't care, more intent as he was on stopping his nails from drawing blood where they were clenched into tight fists at his sides.

"Kagome," he whispered, shooting his amber gaze at Nancy once more. She hesitated slightly at the fire in his eyes. She had only seen that look once before, when Ted Wilkins had taunted Kagome and insulted her in court.

"Inuyasha, I'm sorry, I don't know what else to say." Nancy looked down at her hands. "I don't know how I could have saved her."

Sesshoumaru stepped forward and narrowed his eyes. "You have nothing to feel sorry about, Nancy. You aren't exactly used to the enemies of this era. What could you have done?"

He meant for his temperamental younger brother to hear his words, but it was obvious that Inuyasha was in a different world. He just stared at the well for several seconds, his ears flatting against his head, though whether it was in despair or anger his two companions could not tell.

"You said you saw the man who took her?"

"What?" Nancy looked up, surprised at how calm his voice suddenly sounded. "Yes, though I didn't really see his face, he was wearing a white, hooded cape."

Inuyasha nodded with a grunt before turning to Sesshoumaru, his eyes devoid of anything other then determination. "What do you make of it?"

"Hn," Sesshoumaru grunted. "Are you honestly asking my opinion?"

"Would I have asked you if I felt otherwise?" Inuyasha couldn't hide the irritation from his voice. "Trust me, asking you for advice is the last thing I ever want to do."

Most brothers would have been offended by such a comment, but not Sesshoumaru. In fact, if Inuyasha had been anything other then cold he WOULD have been offended.

"I understand," he looked away for a minute, apparently thinking long and hard about the situation, before turning to Nancy, his face softening ever so slightly. "What exactly did he say to Kagome?"

"Um, he first said that she was more beautiful then he had thought she would be, and then taunted her for loving Inuyasha."

"Inuyasha?" Sesshoumaru seemed genuinely surprised, as he had yet to know about the enemy that his brother, Kikyou, and Gideon had been tracking for the past ten days.

"Yeah, I think he said something like he couldn't understand why powerful women were so attracted to him, and he mentioned that woman called Kikyou."

Inuyasha tensed, and Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. Nancy just continued to look clueless.

"What?" She raised her arms, obviously having relaxed enough by now to revert back to her usual personality. "Is there something about all of this that I'm missing?"

But Sesshoumaru ignored her for once, instead turning to his brother, who was brooding over something silently in his mind. "This new enemy clearly knows a lot about you to bring up something as far in the past as your relationship with Kikyou."

"Who said he was necessarily a new enemy?" Inuyasha asked in reply, to which the older demon lord raised his eyebrow even higher, a frown on his face.

"Are you suggesting that he is still alive?"

"Who else would you suggest could know all of this?"

They lapsed into silence, the younger brother glaring at the ground while the older glared at the younger. It was a rather interesting situation, and Nancy was beginning to feel a little suffocated by all the tension in the air.

"Well, I don't know much about anything you two are talking about," she began, "But from what Kagome told me about all this, I'm going out on a limb and guessing you are talking about that Naraku guy?"

They turned and stared at her as though she had suddenly appeared, and she sighed, rolling her eyes. "Yes, I'm still here."

Sesshoumaru almost cracked a smile at her attitude, but prevented such a foolish display of emotion in front of his brother. "It would seem that is who Inuyasha thinks is still alive, yes."

"But I thought Kagome said she killed him."

"She did," he agreed, "Because I could sense his soul leaving this world. Which is why I doubt he lives now, considering I would be able to feel his presence."

Inuyasha felt his irritated temper snap. "So would I, baka, but I don't know who else it could be, so you come up with a better idea!"

"Yelling won't do you any good, Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru continued in his usual cool tone, and the hanyou fell silent once more, crossing his arms like an overly indulged child. Really, Nancy thought, how did Kagome put up with him?

Finally he turned around and began stomping off in the direction of Kaede's village. "Where are you going?" Sesshoumaru called.

"To tell Sango and Miroku what's going on," Inuyasha replied over his shoulder, though inwardly he felt a slight pang at having to bring them back into conflict again.

"You think a human and a monk will do you any good in this case?"

"It did before," he replied in irritation, and took off before his brother could say anything else to fuel his temper.

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Her head hurt.

That was about all Kagome could really think about at the moment. It was like she had a hangover, but without the nausea and toilet-hugging ritual.

When she opened her eyes finally she found herself gazing up through a thick mass of trees to the blue sky beyond, and there were even birds singing. She chuckled, thinking how that was a nice touch.

"If you think the nice setting is going to put me at ease, you're wrong," she called out to whoever had kidnapped her. "I'm not that stupid, you know."

A chuckle drifted by her ears in reply, and Kagome turned her head to try and see where the voice was coming from, a groan escaping her lips as she did so. Damn, what had that man given her that made her head hurt so much?

"I didn't expect to fool you, Kagome," The voice responded coolly, "I just wanted you to be comfortable."

"How kind of you," she snapped sarcastically, the pain in her head combined with the fact that she didn't know where the hell she was giving her a temper even Inuyasha would have been frightened of.

"Now, now, there is no need to be upset."

"Whatever, just tell me what you want with me."

"Not one for conversation, I see."

"Not in this case, no."

"I see." The voice paused for a moment. "So you want to know why I kidnapped you, is that it?"

"Yeah, I think that's what I asked already." Man, she thought, where have I picked up this attitude? Clearly Kagome had spent far too much time with Inuyasha in dangerous situations.

"The jewel was destroyed when Kikyou made her wish, was it not?"

"Yes." Kagome became wary. "Why?"

"But you still hold the power of the jewel to be able to use the well?"

Kagome felt her body jolt. How on earth did he know about the well? "I managed to harness the power of the jewel, it is true, before it was destroyed, and somehow that has made it possible for me to use something similar to its power, even though it is gone from this world."

She could almost hear the owner of the voice nod. "But you cannot grant wishes?" There was a slight glimmer of hope in the voice.

"No." Kagome was relieved to dash this man's hopes, at least a little. But when he spoke again, the mystery man didn't seem phased at all.

"But you still wield power."

"Sort of."

"Excellent." Again, it was like she was almost hearing the man smirk. "Then I wasn't foolish in taking you for myself."

Kagome felt a shiver run up and down her spine at that comment. What did he mean by that?

"You haven't answered my question yet," she started nervously, though suddenly she wasn't sure she wanted that question answered.

"Oh, you mean what I intend to do with you?" Kagome only nodded, knowing the man was probably watching her. "It's quite simple. You'll be quite useful in my plans, considering the amount of power you have. I plan to use that power to my own advantage."

So at least he wasn't planning on using her as some sort of sacrifice, Kagome thought. In fact, in a strange, demented way she was almost flattered. Except for Kouga, no one had ever captured her before for the sake of her powers. They had always simply wanted to lure Inuyasha into a trap. At least this time she had a purpose other then being the bait.

"Who are you?" she found herself asking before she could stop herself, and again felt that smile.

"Wouldn't you like to know." Kagome crossed her arms.

"So you're not going to tell me then?"

"I didn't say that." There was a moment of silence. "In fact, since we have a while to spend together, I suppose it wouldn't be fair to remain in hiding."

"So you are going to tell me?"

"I think I shall. You should count yourself lucky, I'm in a rather generous mood this afternoon."

Kagome didn't dignify the comment with a response, choosing instead to cross her arms moodily. He sure did like toying with his victims, and she didn't appreciate it one bit.

She was surprised to hear the sound of footsteps on the soft earth of the forest floor, and Kagome began turning her head slowly in the direction of the sound. She watched as a shape appeared in the shadows, the outline becoming clearer as the figure stepped into the light of the sun.

She gasped.

Enemy or no, outside of Inuyasha he was possibly the most handsome man she had ever seen, with clear green eyes and sandy blonde hair that fell across his face in a mess, albeit a seductive mess. His face was well formed, with high, proud cheekbones that sported a color of life she had not expected, and full lips that were currently curved upward in a slight smirk.

He wore robes of a deep blue, but hid most of his masculine figure beneath a white hooded cloak. All in all, it added an air of mystery, and Kagome couldn't help but wonder how many poor, unsuspecting women this man had seduced, because he wouldn't find it very hard.

Trying not to be caught staring, she looked away rather sharply, causing the man to chuckle. "Something tells me you were expecting something else."

Kagome chose not to respond to the comment, instead trying to take charge of the situation by asking another question. "So who are you, exactly?"

"Who did you think I was before you saw me?"

"I don't know."

"Don't insult my intelligence, Kagome."

She sucked in a breath, not wanting to utter that other monster's horrible name, but doing so anyway. "Naraku."

"Ah yes, Naraku." The man stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I hear much of him, of his great power, of how he planned to take over the world with his power and wish for immortality from the jewel." He flashed his stunning green eyes on Kagome. "And I've also heard of how you, a simple little girl, managed to foil all those plans."

"The bastard deserved it," she replied simply, feeling more confident just for saying that. The man shrugged.

"I'm not here to argue with you. Frankly, I never met the man, and am not one to sympathize with the losing side. But I do care in the sense that I know you pose a great risk to me now, and I can't have you just out there roaming freely."

Kagome sighed and sat back on her knees, fast growing tired of this battle of wits he was trying to engage her in. She just wasn't in the mood.

"Just tell me who you are, and we'll be done with it, okay?"

"You truly enjoy taking all the fun out of a situation, don't you?" Kagome shrugged and remained silent. "Very well. My name is Sukiono, and I am Naraku's son."

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Sango sat staring at her hands, the warmth from the fire playing against her skin gently, the flames crackling as they burnt up the logs in the hearth. It did nothing to soothe her mood, and no matter how much tea Kaede offered the poor woman could not fall asleep.

"What ails you, child?" She looked up to see the older miko staring at her intently from across the fire, Kagome's friend Nancy at her side. The men had all gone out to discuss what the course of action would be, leaving the women alone to brood.

"I fear for Kagome," Sango replied, taking up the cup of tea and sipping again.

"Is that all?"

The demon exterminator looked away, her warm brown eyes full of dismay that night. "I don't wish to fight again."

"No one ever does, child." Kaede's voice was soothing when she spoke like that. "But you have been chosen to bear these burdens, and you cannot back away from what fate has handed to you."

Sango nodded, but still she looked upset about something. "What if we can't save them all this time?"

"What?"

She blinked and sighed. "What if we don't have the strength to save everyone again? I mean, I haven't practiced any fighting skills since Naraku was destroyed, and that was almost nine months ago. And Miroku no longer has the wind tunnel at his disposal. He's just an ordinary monk."

"Would you rather he still carried his curse?"

"No," Sango looked away in shame, "But at the same time it helped us win in the past, whereas now it's just one more thing we no longer have on our side."

"You will adapt, child," Kaede soothed. "All five of you have stuck together through much worse then this, and I have confidence that you can overcome anything. Besides," she looked at Nancy, "You have a sixth member now."

Sango couldn't help but smile at that. "Then you'd better make our total number seven, because I doubt Sesshoumaru will let her go off with us alone."

Nancy resisted the urge to blush, and Kaede chuckled. "Indeed, I don't know what you've done, Nancy, but I've never seen that stoic stone of a man be so inclined to help anyone in all the years I've known of him."

Smiling, Nancy nodded her head in appreciation at the comment. But then she frowned. "You said I would join the group. What does that mean? I'm no good in a fight, the closest I've ever come to battle was turning on the occasional football game."

Kaede raised her eyes at the unfamiliar term, but chose to ignore that for now as Sango rose to her feet and disappeared into the back room momentarily. "It means you will travel with Inuyasha and the rest of Kagome's friends to find her and bring her back home safely."

"But why me? I think I'd just be in the way."

"Child, you might be more resourceful then you realize. Besides, you might as well make yourself useful seeing as how without Kagome you cannot return to your time."

Realizing the truth to the woman's words, Nancy decided to remain silent after that. After all, it wasn't like asking pointless questions would do any good. Being a lawyer had taught her that.

Sango reappeared carrying her exterminator armor in one arm, and the giant boomerang, Hiraikotsu, in the other. She set the weapon against the far wall so that the shadows from the flames danced across it's creamy surface, and then sat down on her knees again, touching the black garments gently.

"I never thought I would have to wear this again," she sighed, sounding very melancholy. Even though Nancy hadn't known her very long, she sympathized with the woman, and felt her eyes go soft.

Tears suddenly rolled down the demon exterminator's cheeks, and she sighed, wiping them away. "I thought I was passed the pain of losing him, but seeing this armor reminds me of everything it stands for, and everything I have used it to do." She buried her face in her hands. "Oh, Kohaku."

Kaede rose to her feet and walked to Sango's side, her slim frame shaking with silent sobs. The older woman placed a hand on her shoulder, and the woman seemed to relax slightly.

"There, there, child, he would not have wanted you to cry like this."

"I know, but that doesn't make the pain go away."

Kaede nodded. "Indeed, some piece of your pain will never fully go away. I know, because in a way I still mourn the death of my sister, even though she is alive and well again."

There was a rustle of wind, and the flames danced wildly for a moment as the three women in the hut directed their attention to the door, where Kikyou stood silently, watching them, almost as though she could appear the instant someone mentioned her presence.

Nancy was thrown for a loop at how much the woman truly looked like Kagome, knowing it must be Kikyou. She stared, her mouth hung open shamefully, but she made no move to close it. Sometimes, gaping in shock was all that made sense.

Sango merely gave the woman a blank stare. She felt nothing for Inuyasha's former love. It used to be she had actually hated the woman for causing Kagome so much pain, but now she truly felt nothing, and it was obvious in her eyes.

But Kikyou seemed oblivious to the less then warm welcome she was receiving, instead remaining all business, as usual. "Come you three, it's time we got to work."