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Author's Notes: Hello everyone, sorry for being a little slow with the updates lately, but I'm currently studying for my upcoming AP exams, so just get used to it until next week is over. It's certainly not my first choice as something to do, but hey, what choice do I have, right? Also, tomorrow I have the state solo competition, and will be competing as a mezzo-soprano so, think good thoughts for me, everyone!
In this chapter we basically watch as the group starts working together to find Kagome and Kikyou, and check in on how the two mikos are doing. It isn't really a super action-paced chapter, but I think it's necessary, and so far you guys haven't ever seemed upset about these kinds of chapters. And I promise we'll start having action again starting in the next chapter.
As always, thanks for the reviews, I love getting them. And I hope this story continues to please. Thanks, and enjoy the chapter!
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Title: Soldiers in a Timeless Battle
Author: dolphingirl0113
Chapter: Twelve
Rating: PG-13 (for language and, at times, sexual implications)
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.
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Smoke billowed up from the hearth, smelling of the spices Kaede had sprinkled into the flames only a few minutes earlier. They were meant to relax the body and clear the mind, two things that were essential if the group of friends had any hope of finding Kagome and Kikyou.
It was eerily silent inside the hut, no one having the heart to speak, because no one wanted to admit that they were out of ideas.
Sango was lying on the ground with her head in Miroku's lap, having felt very sick earlier that day, and the monk was absentmindedly twirling his fingers through her long brown hair. Kouga and Ayame were sitting cross- legged on the floor, side by side, Kouga with his head in his hands and Ayame looking forlorn. Gideon was massaging his temples in slow, deliberate circles, obviously trying to focus, and Sesshoumaru was sitting, surprisingly, with Nancy in his lap, her head leaning back against his chest.
Kaede walked around giving everyone a cup of tea, everyone that is, except for Inuyasha, who was currently asleep, having been given a sedative about an hour ago that had finally taken effect.
Even after he had woken up with tetsusaiga in his hands, the poor hanyou had been extremely distraught, pacing madly back and forth, refusing to listen to reason, his whole body shaking from an adrenaline high, his whole persona barely holding off his demon personality. Sesshoumaru had been on the verge of punching his brother again, but thanks to Kaede's intervention, he had simply been given a sedative so that he could sleep.
"So what do we do now?" Everyone glanced at Kouga, always the one to ask the obvious questions, before looking away again.
"I don't know," Miroku replied, for once not sounding even the least bit playful. He looked distraught, and everyone knew he feared for Kagome, who was probably only behind Sango in the monks affections.
"Gideon, do you remember where he lived in the forest?" It was Sango who spoke, still lying down, and to her disappointment, he shook his head.
"I've already been to check, and he's not there."
"Clearly, he's more like his father then we've given him credit for," Kouga commented dryly. "At least in the sense that he likes to move all over the place so you can never find him."
"But he can't have vanished into thin air," Ayame reminded, "So he's out there somewhere."
For once Sango looked annoyed as she glanced at the redhead. "As logical as that sounds, it doesn't help us one bit. He could be anywhere, and if he is like his father, he won't have left any clues for us to follow."
Ayame looked away with a slight blush, and Kouga sent the demon exterminator a warning stare. "You don't have to be so hard on her, it's not like she was accustomed to battling Naraku."
But Sango just looked away, closing her eyes as another wave of nausea hit her like a ton of bricks. Of all the times to get sick, she cursed, it had to be now, when her friend needed her help.
"I think we all need to calm down," Kaede offered, always the voice of reason. "I know you're all worried about Kagome," She glanced at Gideon, probably the only one besides Inuyasha concerned for Kikyou, "And my sister, but arguing about it won't find them any faster. We have to work together."
Everyone remained silent, choosing not to respond, even though they all knew the old miko was right. But tensions were high, and it would be impossible to avoid a little bit of argumentation.
"Alright, so I know I'm new to all of this, but I'd like to help out as much as I can." It was Nancy who spoke, and everyone looked at her as though she were speaking gibberish.
"What can you do?" It was Kouga who spoke. "This isn't your world. What do you know about dealing with demons?"
The blonde gave the wolf-demon a hard stare. "In my job I deal with criminals every day, and I assure you, they are no different in this time or mine."
"But we're not dealing with a simple criminal, as you call it," Miroku reminded her. "This is a man who is modeling himself after the cruelest man we have ever fought, and that means he is unpredictable."
"Do you think we don't have evil men in my time?" Nancy was starting to sound irritated, and Sesshoumaru put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. She sighed and looked at everyone in the room. "What do you think cereal killers are? Or axe murderers? Or," her eyes grew hard, "Rapists?"
Her point hit home as everyone, save Gideon who had not been involved, recalled the trial Kagome had went through to put Ted Wilkins away in jail. Looking down, Miroku nodded.
"Alright, you've made your point. But do you have any ideas?"
"As a matter of fact, yes." Suddenly she was no longer simply a woman in another time, she had shifted into professional mode, and no one could ignore that she suddenly seemed to carry an air of authority. "Criminals always follow a pattern, its how their minds work. They need the routine."
"And your point is?"
Nancy rose to her feet and glared for a moment at Kouga who, for once, was not being very helpful. "You say that this man models himself after Naraku, who Kagome said is his father."
"So?"
"So, what were Naraku's habits when he would disappear? You've already mentioned one, that he would move around a lot so you couldn't find him. Are there any more? Like, what kinds of places would he use as hideaways? Or where they usually were? Or the signs you would receive to indicate where he was?"
Everyone seemed to think for a few minutes as Nancy paced the room, having completely switched into lawyer mode.
"He would always use castles guarded by barriers, so that you couldn't see them unless you were looking for them," Sango finally offered.
"That's right," Miroku agreed, "And once the barrier was destroyed, the castle would always disappear, because it was usually just an allusion created by his evil, and he would move on to his next hide out."
Nancy nodded. "Okay; and how was he about confrontation?"
"What do you mean?" Miroku looked perplexed.
"Did he, um, did he like to pick fights with you guys?"
Sango nodded emphatically. "Oh yeah, he'd always send his minions out to head us off whenever we got too close to the truth. In fact," she paused, "That was how we knew when we were close to his hideout. Either Kagura or Kanna would appear."
Nancy had started pacing more frantically, almost like she was getting excited, and everyone was recalling the fierce lawyer who had nailed Kagome's rapist to the wall ten times over during his trial. They began to realize that perhaps this woman could help them more then they'd given her credit for.
Sesshoumaru, for his part, just smiled slightly as he watched the blonde woman move about, as though none of her actions were surprising.
"You say he would always send his minions?" Nancy clarified, and Sango, Miroku, and Kouga nodded.
"Yeah, it was Kagura who was responsible for murdering so many members of my wolf pack."
"So, he'd never attack you himself?"
Everyone recalled all the puppets he would use, and how Kagura would always sweep onto the scene on one of her feathers to deliver a message and then fly away.
"Not usually," Miroku finally replied. "It got really aggravating, actually, because we could never end the battle. Even once all the shikon shards had been found, he would never face us in open conflict. It was only once he had no other option then to steal Kagome's shards, and his minions failed, that he came to do it himself. That was right after Kagome had been raped."
Nancy nodded, clearly puzzling over something in her mind. "So, he liked to hide away in castles, you say? Castles that were really just allusions?"
"Well, they weren't exactly allusions," Sango corrected, "But more like they were tied to him, like once he left, they disappeared."
"Okay," Nancy shrugged her shoulders, "So it was some kind of magic."
"It wasn't exactly magic either-"
The blonde threw her hands in the air. "Whatever it was, it was something I don't understand, so we'll just call it magic for now. Anyway, since this Sukiono has disappeared from where Gideon and Kikyou first met him in the woods, could it be safe to assume he's hiding away in some castle too?"
A long pause filled the room as everyone looked at one another, trying to decide if that was a probable theory, before Sesshoumaru, surprisingly, spoke up.
"Sukiono clearly had contact with his father to know how to use the bees, and since we had no knowledge of his existence before now, Naraku was probably hiding him away. And since they worked so well for him, he probably hid his son away in a castle as well."
Miroku was nodding, obviously agreeing with what he was hearing. "But that doesn't solve the question of where he is. It used to take months to find Naraku, and we can't afford to take that long."
"Yeah, who knows what Sukiono will do to Kagome and Kikyou," Ayame finally spoke, but Miroku shook his head with a slight smirk.
"I wasn't talking about their well-being, I'm talking about mine." Everyone gave him a puzzled stare, and his smile broadened. "Do you honestly think Inuyasha will just let us put him to sleep every day until we find where Kagome is?"
Suddenly everyone got his point, and in unison turned their eyes to gaze at the sleeping hanyou, who was currently sprawled out in the back room, his silver hair strewn all over the floor.
"He's got a point," Kouga conceded, and everyone else nodded, returning to the conversation at hand.
"So how do we find Sukiono faster?" Nancy asked, always the one to bring the discussion back on topic.
Everyone went silent again before Miroku shrugged his shoulders, looking slightly defeated. "I don't know."
"Well, there can't be any harm in starting to look, can there?" Sango interjected. "I'm not going to just sit around and do nothing while my friend, who is like a sister to me, is held prisoner against her will, at the mercy of a crazed man."
Nancy nodded and smirked. "I've never been one to sit back and do nothing either. So we need to come up with a plan."
"Should we split up?" Kouga offered, but Miroku shook his head.
"How would we get word out if we found something? Our strength lies in numbers. None of us could face Sukiono alone."
"But don't forget that Kagome and Kikyou will be there," Ayame offered, "And they aren't exactly weak, especially Kagome. If she defeated Naraku once, she can certainly defeat his son, who is less of a demon then he was."
Miroku was shaking his head again. "We can't assume that they will be in any condition to fight when we find them."
"But we would cover so much more ground separately," Kouga pressed, obviously not wanting to drop the issue.
Sesshoumaru rose to his feet to offer an opinion. "It could work, so long as we could devise a means of communication."
Miroku made a face. "Isn't that what I just said?"
The demon lord glared at him, and Miroku quavered slightly, wishing he'd bit his tongue. "I wasn't finished yet, monk." He returned his attention to everyone else. "We could create a map for everyone, and decide who will go where to search, every couple of days rendezvousing at a designated place. That way, we're never completely out of touch."
Everyone paused and waited for someone to respond. It was a reasonable plan, but then, how complicated would it be to construct maps of the surrounding area? They knew the names of some villages, but not all.
"Well I think it's a great idea," Nancy finally said, walking over and clapping Sesshoumaru on the shoulder. That seemed to unsettle him slightly, because his cheeks were suddenly stained slightly pink. Obviously, around Nancy White he still lost a lot of his composure.
"You would," Kouga replied with a grunt.
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
"That you're going to support the man you love," the wolf-man retorted, and it was Nancy's turn to blush, looking at the ground and finding it suddenly very interesting. Everyone noted that she didn't deny the accusation.
"That doesn't mean anything in this case," Miroku finally said, gently moving Sango into a sitting position so that he could rise to his feet. "It's a good plan, Sesshoumaru, but we'll need someone to make the map who knows the area really well."
The demon lord smirked. "That won't be a problem. I've lived on this earth for many generations, and have had plenty of time to learn the lay of the land. I will make the maps."
Everyone nodded, deciding that was a good plan, and just as they all began to move in to settle down for the night, they noticed that the hanyou in the back room was starting to stir.
"We'll never sleep if he wakes up now," Sango moaned, picturing the enraged hanyou that would burst into the room once the sedative wore off.
"I'll take care of it," Kaede replied, walking over to Inuyasha's side and managing to get a certain amount of liquid down his throat. She looked back at the group, who was watching anxiously. "He'll sleep through the night, but tomorrow you all have to tell him your plan."
They nodded, and with that settled in for the night.
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Kagome sighed, pacing the small room for at least the hundredth time in the past hour. She had slept for a good part of the last two days, but now that the drugs had completely worn off, and her body was fully rested, she couldn't keep still.
"Pacing won't do you any good," Kikyou commented from where she was still sitting primly near a far wall. Kagome rolled her eyes.
"Yeah well, I can't help it. If I don't get out of here soon, I'll go mad."
"It could be worse."
"How so? I'd rather be fighting my enemy then being kept away."
Kikyou gave Kagome a hard stare that caused the younger woman to stop moving. "It could be worse in that you could be lying in a bed with your enemy tormenting you, taunting you by letting enough soul-stealers through to keep you alive, but not enough that you can move and escape."
Kagome went silent for a moment, feeling absolutely foolish. But she also felt angry. Why did Kikyou have to treat her like a child? Why did she always have to minimize her own struggles by bringing up her own?
"You know, I don't dispute that you've had a hard life," she started, and Kikyou looked away again. "But that doesn't mean that you have the right to belittle me like that. Just because I don't know your pain doesn't mean I don't have pain of my own."
There was a long pause, and Kagome watched to see if she could get any reaction out of the miko at all. But it was no use, Kikyou continued to sit, perfectly still, and perfectly silent.
With a sigh of frustration, Kagome collapsed on the wall opposite her incarnation and glared with all her might, wishing, just once, to get a reaction out of the woman.
"You know, you could make this easier on both of us by actually trying to have a conversation with me," she finally commented.
"I don't see what there is to talk about," Kikyou replied simply.
"Lots of things!" Kagome sighed. "I mean, obviously you still hold some kind of grudge against me, or else you wouldn't look at me like you want to kill me at any moment."
"I don't want to kill you, Kagome." Her voice was monotone, and it was driving Kagome insane.
"I know that! That's not what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?"
"Why won't you talk to me? Why can't we," she paused, "Why can't we be friends?"
"Friends?" Kikyou turned and met Kagome's eyes, and again Kagome was witness to all the pain the miko felt in her heart when it came to her past. "How can I be friends with a woman who does nothing more then remind me of what I've lost, and everything I've done wrong in my life?"
"What do you mean, what you've lost?" Kagome swallowed. "I thought you were happy being married to Gideon."
"I am," the miko replied, "That's not what I meant."
"Then what-"
"When I knew Inuyasha, I was a different person. I was young and innocent, but still wise. I liked that person, because she was simple and easy to understand. Now, thanks to Naraku, I'm so full of painful memories I don't know what to think any more. I can't just love my husband in the carefree way I did Inuyasha, because I'm no longer that carefree girl. And you," she stared pointedly at Kagome, "Only remind me of all of that."
Kagome looked away with a blank expression, not sure what to say in response. "Oh, she finally managed to croak out, "I see."
"And," the miko continued, "I will never fully forgive myself for what I did to you, or rather, what I tried to do to you."
"What do you mean?"
"Don't act stupid, you know what I mean."
Kagome swallowed. "You mean that time you stole the jewel shards from me and left me in that pit to die? Or the time you trapped me against the tree while you kissed Inuyasha and tried to drag him to hell in front of me? Or-"
"And the list just goes on and on, doesn't it?" Kikyou interrupted, an actual half smile on her face. But somehow, Kagome doubted the woman was amused by their conversation.
"I didn't mean it like that."
"I know."
"Then if you know I don't hold a grudge, why won't you talk to me? Are you really not over Inuyasha? Is that all? Do you hate me for being the one he married?"
Kikyou sighed. "I don't hate you, Kagome."
"Then what is it?"
"I wouldn't expect you to understand, and frankly, I'm glad that you don't. Pain like the kind I've known I would not wish on anyone, save perhaps Naraku, and now his son."
Kagome couldn't help but smile at that. It was almost like the normally stoic miko had attempted to make a joke.
"So, basically you're saying that we won't be talking much? There's nothing I can do to change that?"
Kikyou shrugged. "You can talk all you want since you seem inclined to do so, but I'm not promising that I'll respond."
Kagome shrugged her shoulders. "I guess that's better then nothing. But now that I've been given permission, I don't know what to talk about."
Before Kikyou could reply, the door opened, and Sukiono walked in, looking as confident as ever. Both women eyed him suspiciously, Kikyou with her usual cold, blank stare, and Kagome with a little more emotion behind her eyes.
"Come on you two," he commanded, "On your feet."
"Why?" Kagome asked, and he smirked.
"You'll see."
She didn't much like that answer, and Kagome glared at him. "The last time you took me anywhere, you put me to sleep and when I woke up I found myself forced to jump in front of an attack to save my husband. You must forgive me if I'm reluctant to come with you willingly."
He just laughed at that. "I promise Kagome, this time, you won't be hurt. And if that's not good enough, I'll tell you the truth: we're going to get you two some food."
Her growling stomach gave her away, and she blushed slightly, placing a hand over her abdomen. Inuyasha, she thought as she rose reluctantly to her feet, after all, what choice did she really have unless she wanted to starve to death, please hurry and find me.
Author's Notes: Hello everyone, sorry for being a little slow with the updates lately, but I'm currently studying for my upcoming AP exams, so just get used to it until next week is over. It's certainly not my first choice as something to do, but hey, what choice do I have, right? Also, tomorrow I have the state solo competition, and will be competing as a mezzo-soprano so, think good thoughts for me, everyone!
In this chapter we basically watch as the group starts working together to find Kagome and Kikyou, and check in on how the two mikos are doing. It isn't really a super action-paced chapter, but I think it's necessary, and so far you guys haven't ever seemed upset about these kinds of chapters. And I promise we'll start having action again starting in the next chapter.
As always, thanks for the reviews, I love getting them. And I hope this story continues to please. Thanks, and enjoy the chapter!
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Title: Soldiers in a Timeless Battle
Author: dolphingirl0113
Chapter: Twelve
Rating: PG-13 (for language and, at times, sexual implications)
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.
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Smoke billowed up from the hearth, smelling of the spices Kaede had sprinkled into the flames only a few minutes earlier. They were meant to relax the body and clear the mind, two things that were essential if the group of friends had any hope of finding Kagome and Kikyou.
It was eerily silent inside the hut, no one having the heart to speak, because no one wanted to admit that they were out of ideas.
Sango was lying on the ground with her head in Miroku's lap, having felt very sick earlier that day, and the monk was absentmindedly twirling his fingers through her long brown hair. Kouga and Ayame were sitting cross- legged on the floor, side by side, Kouga with his head in his hands and Ayame looking forlorn. Gideon was massaging his temples in slow, deliberate circles, obviously trying to focus, and Sesshoumaru was sitting, surprisingly, with Nancy in his lap, her head leaning back against his chest.
Kaede walked around giving everyone a cup of tea, everyone that is, except for Inuyasha, who was currently asleep, having been given a sedative about an hour ago that had finally taken effect.
Even after he had woken up with tetsusaiga in his hands, the poor hanyou had been extremely distraught, pacing madly back and forth, refusing to listen to reason, his whole body shaking from an adrenaline high, his whole persona barely holding off his demon personality. Sesshoumaru had been on the verge of punching his brother again, but thanks to Kaede's intervention, he had simply been given a sedative so that he could sleep.
"So what do we do now?" Everyone glanced at Kouga, always the one to ask the obvious questions, before looking away again.
"I don't know," Miroku replied, for once not sounding even the least bit playful. He looked distraught, and everyone knew he feared for Kagome, who was probably only behind Sango in the monks affections.
"Gideon, do you remember where he lived in the forest?" It was Sango who spoke, still lying down, and to her disappointment, he shook his head.
"I've already been to check, and he's not there."
"Clearly, he's more like his father then we've given him credit for," Kouga commented dryly. "At least in the sense that he likes to move all over the place so you can never find him."
"But he can't have vanished into thin air," Ayame reminded, "So he's out there somewhere."
For once Sango looked annoyed as she glanced at the redhead. "As logical as that sounds, it doesn't help us one bit. He could be anywhere, and if he is like his father, he won't have left any clues for us to follow."
Ayame looked away with a slight blush, and Kouga sent the demon exterminator a warning stare. "You don't have to be so hard on her, it's not like she was accustomed to battling Naraku."
But Sango just looked away, closing her eyes as another wave of nausea hit her like a ton of bricks. Of all the times to get sick, she cursed, it had to be now, when her friend needed her help.
"I think we all need to calm down," Kaede offered, always the voice of reason. "I know you're all worried about Kagome," She glanced at Gideon, probably the only one besides Inuyasha concerned for Kikyou, "And my sister, but arguing about it won't find them any faster. We have to work together."
Everyone remained silent, choosing not to respond, even though they all knew the old miko was right. But tensions were high, and it would be impossible to avoid a little bit of argumentation.
"Alright, so I know I'm new to all of this, but I'd like to help out as much as I can." It was Nancy who spoke, and everyone looked at her as though she were speaking gibberish.
"What can you do?" It was Kouga who spoke. "This isn't your world. What do you know about dealing with demons?"
The blonde gave the wolf-demon a hard stare. "In my job I deal with criminals every day, and I assure you, they are no different in this time or mine."
"But we're not dealing with a simple criminal, as you call it," Miroku reminded her. "This is a man who is modeling himself after the cruelest man we have ever fought, and that means he is unpredictable."
"Do you think we don't have evil men in my time?" Nancy was starting to sound irritated, and Sesshoumaru put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. She sighed and looked at everyone in the room. "What do you think cereal killers are? Or axe murderers? Or," her eyes grew hard, "Rapists?"
Her point hit home as everyone, save Gideon who had not been involved, recalled the trial Kagome had went through to put Ted Wilkins away in jail. Looking down, Miroku nodded.
"Alright, you've made your point. But do you have any ideas?"
"As a matter of fact, yes." Suddenly she was no longer simply a woman in another time, she had shifted into professional mode, and no one could ignore that she suddenly seemed to carry an air of authority. "Criminals always follow a pattern, its how their minds work. They need the routine."
"And your point is?"
Nancy rose to her feet and glared for a moment at Kouga who, for once, was not being very helpful. "You say that this man models himself after Naraku, who Kagome said is his father."
"So?"
"So, what were Naraku's habits when he would disappear? You've already mentioned one, that he would move around a lot so you couldn't find him. Are there any more? Like, what kinds of places would he use as hideaways? Or where they usually were? Or the signs you would receive to indicate where he was?"
Everyone seemed to think for a few minutes as Nancy paced the room, having completely switched into lawyer mode.
"He would always use castles guarded by barriers, so that you couldn't see them unless you were looking for them," Sango finally offered.
"That's right," Miroku agreed, "And once the barrier was destroyed, the castle would always disappear, because it was usually just an allusion created by his evil, and he would move on to his next hide out."
Nancy nodded. "Okay; and how was he about confrontation?"
"What do you mean?" Miroku looked perplexed.
"Did he, um, did he like to pick fights with you guys?"
Sango nodded emphatically. "Oh yeah, he'd always send his minions out to head us off whenever we got too close to the truth. In fact," she paused, "That was how we knew when we were close to his hideout. Either Kagura or Kanna would appear."
Nancy had started pacing more frantically, almost like she was getting excited, and everyone was recalling the fierce lawyer who had nailed Kagome's rapist to the wall ten times over during his trial. They began to realize that perhaps this woman could help them more then they'd given her credit for.
Sesshoumaru, for his part, just smiled slightly as he watched the blonde woman move about, as though none of her actions were surprising.
"You say he would always send his minions?" Nancy clarified, and Sango, Miroku, and Kouga nodded.
"Yeah, it was Kagura who was responsible for murdering so many members of my wolf pack."
"So, he'd never attack you himself?"
Everyone recalled all the puppets he would use, and how Kagura would always sweep onto the scene on one of her feathers to deliver a message and then fly away.
"Not usually," Miroku finally replied. "It got really aggravating, actually, because we could never end the battle. Even once all the shikon shards had been found, he would never face us in open conflict. It was only once he had no other option then to steal Kagome's shards, and his minions failed, that he came to do it himself. That was right after Kagome had been raped."
Nancy nodded, clearly puzzling over something in her mind. "So, he liked to hide away in castles, you say? Castles that were really just allusions?"
"Well, they weren't exactly allusions," Sango corrected, "But more like they were tied to him, like once he left, they disappeared."
"Okay," Nancy shrugged her shoulders, "So it was some kind of magic."
"It wasn't exactly magic either-"
The blonde threw her hands in the air. "Whatever it was, it was something I don't understand, so we'll just call it magic for now. Anyway, since this Sukiono has disappeared from where Gideon and Kikyou first met him in the woods, could it be safe to assume he's hiding away in some castle too?"
A long pause filled the room as everyone looked at one another, trying to decide if that was a probable theory, before Sesshoumaru, surprisingly, spoke up.
"Sukiono clearly had contact with his father to know how to use the bees, and since we had no knowledge of his existence before now, Naraku was probably hiding him away. And since they worked so well for him, he probably hid his son away in a castle as well."
Miroku was nodding, obviously agreeing with what he was hearing. "But that doesn't solve the question of where he is. It used to take months to find Naraku, and we can't afford to take that long."
"Yeah, who knows what Sukiono will do to Kagome and Kikyou," Ayame finally spoke, but Miroku shook his head with a slight smirk.
"I wasn't talking about their well-being, I'm talking about mine." Everyone gave him a puzzled stare, and his smile broadened. "Do you honestly think Inuyasha will just let us put him to sleep every day until we find where Kagome is?"
Suddenly everyone got his point, and in unison turned their eyes to gaze at the sleeping hanyou, who was currently sprawled out in the back room, his silver hair strewn all over the floor.
"He's got a point," Kouga conceded, and everyone else nodded, returning to the conversation at hand.
"So how do we find Sukiono faster?" Nancy asked, always the one to bring the discussion back on topic.
Everyone went silent again before Miroku shrugged his shoulders, looking slightly defeated. "I don't know."
"Well, there can't be any harm in starting to look, can there?" Sango interjected. "I'm not going to just sit around and do nothing while my friend, who is like a sister to me, is held prisoner against her will, at the mercy of a crazed man."
Nancy nodded and smirked. "I've never been one to sit back and do nothing either. So we need to come up with a plan."
"Should we split up?" Kouga offered, but Miroku shook his head.
"How would we get word out if we found something? Our strength lies in numbers. None of us could face Sukiono alone."
"But don't forget that Kagome and Kikyou will be there," Ayame offered, "And they aren't exactly weak, especially Kagome. If she defeated Naraku once, she can certainly defeat his son, who is less of a demon then he was."
Miroku was shaking his head again. "We can't assume that they will be in any condition to fight when we find them."
"But we would cover so much more ground separately," Kouga pressed, obviously not wanting to drop the issue.
Sesshoumaru rose to his feet to offer an opinion. "It could work, so long as we could devise a means of communication."
Miroku made a face. "Isn't that what I just said?"
The demon lord glared at him, and Miroku quavered slightly, wishing he'd bit his tongue. "I wasn't finished yet, monk." He returned his attention to everyone else. "We could create a map for everyone, and decide who will go where to search, every couple of days rendezvousing at a designated place. That way, we're never completely out of touch."
Everyone paused and waited for someone to respond. It was a reasonable plan, but then, how complicated would it be to construct maps of the surrounding area? They knew the names of some villages, but not all.
"Well I think it's a great idea," Nancy finally said, walking over and clapping Sesshoumaru on the shoulder. That seemed to unsettle him slightly, because his cheeks were suddenly stained slightly pink. Obviously, around Nancy White he still lost a lot of his composure.
"You would," Kouga replied with a grunt.
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
"That you're going to support the man you love," the wolf-man retorted, and it was Nancy's turn to blush, looking at the ground and finding it suddenly very interesting. Everyone noted that she didn't deny the accusation.
"That doesn't mean anything in this case," Miroku finally said, gently moving Sango into a sitting position so that he could rise to his feet. "It's a good plan, Sesshoumaru, but we'll need someone to make the map who knows the area really well."
The demon lord smirked. "That won't be a problem. I've lived on this earth for many generations, and have had plenty of time to learn the lay of the land. I will make the maps."
Everyone nodded, deciding that was a good plan, and just as they all began to move in to settle down for the night, they noticed that the hanyou in the back room was starting to stir.
"We'll never sleep if he wakes up now," Sango moaned, picturing the enraged hanyou that would burst into the room once the sedative wore off.
"I'll take care of it," Kaede replied, walking over to Inuyasha's side and managing to get a certain amount of liquid down his throat. She looked back at the group, who was watching anxiously. "He'll sleep through the night, but tomorrow you all have to tell him your plan."
They nodded, and with that settled in for the night.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kagome sighed, pacing the small room for at least the hundredth time in the past hour. She had slept for a good part of the last two days, but now that the drugs had completely worn off, and her body was fully rested, she couldn't keep still.
"Pacing won't do you any good," Kikyou commented from where she was still sitting primly near a far wall. Kagome rolled her eyes.
"Yeah well, I can't help it. If I don't get out of here soon, I'll go mad."
"It could be worse."
"How so? I'd rather be fighting my enemy then being kept away."
Kikyou gave Kagome a hard stare that caused the younger woman to stop moving. "It could be worse in that you could be lying in a bed with your enemy tormenting you, taunting you by letting enough soul-stealers through to keep you alive, but not enough that you can move and escape."
Kagome went silent for a moment, feeling absolutely foolish. But she also felt angry. Why did Kikyou have to treat her like a child? Why did she always have to minimize her own struggles by bringing up her own?
"You know, I don't dispute that you've had a hard life," she started, and Kikyou looked away again. "But that doesn't mean that you have the right to belittle me like that. Just because I don't know your pain doesn't mean I don't have pain of my own."
There was a long pause, and Kagome watched to see if she could get any reaction out of the miko at all. But it was no use, Kikyou continued to sit, perfectly still, and perfectly silent.
With a sigh of frustration, Kagome collapsed on the wall opposite her incarnation and glared with all her might, wishing, just once, to get a reaction out of the woman.
"You know, you could make this easier on both of us by actually trying to have a conversation with me," she finally commented.
"I don't see what there is to talk about," Kikyou replied simply.
"Lots of things!" Kagome sighed. "I mean, obviously you still hold some kind of grudge against me, or else you wouldn't look at me like you want to kill me at any moment."
"I don't want to kill you, Kagome." Her voice was monotone, and it was driving Kagome insane.
"I know that! That's not what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?"
"Why won't you talk to me? Why can't we," she paused, "Why can't we be friends?"
"Friends?" Kikyou turned and met Kagome's eyes, and again Kagome was witness to all the pain the miko felt in her heart when it came to her past. "How can I be friends with a woman who does nothing more then remind me of what I've lost, and everything I've done wrong in my life?"
"What do you mean, what you've lost?" Kagome swallowed. "I thought you were happy being married to Gideon."
"I am," the miko replied, "That's not what I meant."
"Then what-"
"When I knew Inuyasha, I was a different person. I was young and innocent, but still wise. I liked that person, because she was simple and easy to understand. Now, thanks to Naraku, I'm so full of painful memories I don't know what to think any more. I can't just love my husband in the carefree way I did Inuyasha, because I'm no longer that carefree girl. And you," she stared pointedly at Kagome, "Only remind me of all of that."
Kagome looked away with a blank expression, not sure what to say in response. "Oh, she finally managed to croak out, "I see."
"And," the miko continued, "I will never fully forgive myself for what I did to you, or rather, what I tried to do to you."
"What do you mean?"
"Don't act stupid, you know what I mean."
Kagome swallowed. "You mean that time you stole the jewel shards from me and left me in that pit to die? Or the time you trapped me against the tree while you kissed Inuyasha and tried to drag him to hell in front of me? Or-"
"And the list just goes on and on, doesn't it?" Kikyou interrupted, an actual half smile on her face. But somehow, Kagome doubted the woman was amused by their conversation.
"I didn't mean it like that."
"I know."
"Then if you know I don't hold a grudge, why won't you talk to me? Are you really not over Inuyasha? Is that all? Do you hate me for being the one he married?"
Kikyou sighed. "I don't hate you, Kagome."
"Then what is it?"
"I wouldn't expect you to understand, and frankly, I'm glad that you don't. Pain like the kind I've known I would not wish on anyone, save perhaps Naraku, and now his son."
Kagome couldn't help but smile at that. It was almost like the normally stoic miko had attempted to make a joke.
"So, basically you're saying that we won't be talking much? There's nothing I can do to change that?"
Kikyou shrugged. "You can talk all you want since you seem inclined to do so, but I'm not promising that I'll respond."
Kagome shrugged her shoulders. "I guess that's better then nothing. But now that I've been given permission, I don't know what to talk about."
Before Kikyou could reply, the door opened, and Sukiono walked in, looking as confident as ever. Both women eyed him suspiciously, Kikyou with her usual cold, blank stare, and Kagome with a little more emotion behind her eyes.
"Come on you two," he commanded, "On your feet."
"Why?" Kagome asked, and he smirked.
"You'll see."
She didn't much like that answer, and Kagome glared at him. "The last time you took me anywhere, you put me to sleep and when I woke up I found myself forced to jump in front of an attack to save my husband. You must forgive me if I'm reluctant to come with you willingly."
He just laughed at that. "I promise Kagome, this time, you won't be hurt. And if that's not good enough, I'll tell you the truth: we're going to get you two some food."
Her growling stomach gave her away, and she blushed slightly, placing a hand over her abdomen. Inuyasha, she thought as she rose reluctantly to her feet, after all, what choice did she really have unless she wanted to starve to death, please hurry and find me.
