Author's Note: If any of you readers out there know how to draw, I would love to post your work on my new website. So if you're interested in drawing some fanart for this story, I'd loooove to receive it. Make sure you put your name on it though, so that I can give you credit for it. I'm going to post one of my own pics. Um.it's basically what Sorikata looks like in his chosen form, you know, since he can morph into other things and all, lol. I guess this would be his disguise or something, kinda like Naraku except there aren't 1000+ demons inside of his body, lol.

Also, like I was saying, you can see what he looks like, but I probably won't have any of that up until late tonight or Thursday.tomorrow. Anyway, here's the next chapter, and please email me some fanart, I'm a crappy artist and I'm sure ya'll could do better than me.

Pammi

Chapter Six: Escape From the Satsubatsu

Sango ran through the forest, sensing that something wasn't right. She had to hurry. She looked down to see her feet moving faster than she thought possible. She looked up and halted her sprint abruptly when she came upon the sight of where camp was supposed to be.

Sango looked around. There was nothing there, or more correctly no one there. Her eyes darted from the ground to the tops of each tree. "Inu Yasha!? Kagome!? Kirara?!" she yelled for them, but received no answer. She looked closely at the ground, searching for something-anything that would give her a clue.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Sango noticed a tiny spot of blood on the side of a tree. She scraped some off onto her finger to see if it was fresh. When it touched her skin it was warm. 'It's fresh alright.' She then lifted it to her mouth and slightly licked it from her finger tip.it was human blood. "Kagome."

Taking off toward the direction the tree hinted toward, Sango ran like the wind, praying she would not be too late. She prayed that Inu Yasha, Kirara, and Kagome were alright. She wondered what kind of a fight she would be able to put up against these foes by herself if Inu Yasha hadn't managed to defeat them.

While Sango wanted to believe there was some sort of fight, there was no evidence of a battle at the old campsite. She began to wonder what exactly did happen if not a battle, and how Kagome managed to get cut open and leave that blood on the tree. Sango pushed those questions aside and turned her focus back to the task at hand.

She would be able to ask questions later when she found them. Right now, however, she need to focus on formulating some kind of plan. As she ran, hot on the trail, she began to think of ways to sneak up on the satsubatsu and see if she could spot her comrades. As she continued to run at top speed, she saw a shadow pass over her. She looked up, "Kirara!!" she yelled happily when her friend descended, allowing her to jump onto it's back.

~~~

Inu Yasha squinted as he opened his eyes. 'Where am I?' he thought to himself as he glanced around the space with half open eyes. He felt that his hands and feet were bound and his mouth gagged. He turned his head slowly not to alert any one of his waking. Kagome was laying beside him, nasty scrapes on her knees. 'Bastards. They'll pay for that.'

He had to keep himself from smirking. Did they really think that rope was going to hold him? Kagome, sure. Himself.what the Hell did they take him for? He mentally rolled his eyes, and tried to remember how this happened.

He remembered hearing some kind of incantation, but barely. He vaguely remembered a pair of red eyes coming toward him as his eyes disobediently closed. It was strange, but at the time, he didn't even notice it. He didn't know how he could recall it now. 'A sleeping spell! That had to be it! It makes you fall unconscious, but it leaves your subconscious intact. That's how I remember now.'

'Now all I have to do is figure out a way to get out of here.' Inu Yasha looked around for his sword. 'There!' he spotted it over by a tree on the other side of the clearing. It was laying right beside Kagome's yellow bag. Once again, he had to hold back a smirk.

Inu Yasha made quick work of the rope that bound his wrists by simply pulling swiftly and with some force. He looked around at the positioning of he and Kagome's captors. 'They sure aren't very keen watch guards,' he observed, 'cocky bastards, thought they wouldn't have to watch over the half-demon and the human; thought there was nothing to fear. Well, they better rethink that assumption. Oh yah, it's too late for that now.'

Inu Yasha was about to leap up and undo the rest of his binds when he heard a muffled voice beside him.

"Inu-Inu Yasha." Kagome said louder than she had planned.

Inu Yasha let out a sigh. She had just alerted all of the surrounding satsubatsu to their awakened state. "Kagome, I'm here," Inu Yasha confirmed as he sat up and broke out of his ropes and faced the approaching demons. "Just stay low, Kagome. I'll handle these amateurs."

"Inu Yasha.be careful!" Kagome yelled after him as he charged the demons.

With that, the slashing began as Inu Yasha called out, "IRON REAVER!!!" He slashed through several demons, shredding them to pieces. He made a dive toward his Tetsusaiga only to be cut off by a set of five claws digging into his skin. "Damn it! There's a lot of them." It was obvious that even though they lacked in strategy, they had undeniable strength in numbers. 'How did they get to be so many without anybody ever noticing?' It was annoying to him actually, and it did nothing save piss him off.

Inu Yasha growled as he attacked again, "IRON REAVER SOUL STEALER!!" He didn't see the three demons set to attack him from behind, but just as they were about to deliver the blow to a panting Inu Yasha, Hiraikotsu came soaring through the air, and right above Inu Yasha's head, slicing through the pouncing satsubatsu and sending their decapitated bodies and heads to the ground.

"Sango!" Kagome yelled out.

Sango hopped off of Kirara's back and ran toward Kagome to cut her lose while Inu Yasha made for his sword. She noticed the scrape that was more like a nasty gash on Kagome's left knee and figured that one the demons must have bumped her into a tree when they carried her off in such a hurry. "Go get your weapons. We've got your back!" Sango instructed. Kagome took off toward her bow while Sango and Kirara killed anything that got in her path.

Kagome felt much more confident now that she had her weapons again. She couldn't stand sitting on the sidelines. Being able to help Inu Yasha and Sango made her feel more like part of the team. Kagome put on a determined look as she aimed and fired over and over again until there were no demons left to attack.

When the battle was finally over, they took off toward the South again. Kirara carried the three adventures on her back as she flew through the air. Only when they were sure they had gotten far enough did they stop to rest and take care of Kirara, as she was exhausted, and to tend their wounds.

Sango chose this time to speak with them about her encounter with Sesshoumaru. "I have something I need to tell both of you," she announced, immediately gaining their attention.

"What is it, Sango?" Kagome asked as she and Inu Yasha came to sit near her, Kirara in tow.

"When I went to the stream to think I bumped to someone unexpected."

"Who was it? Was it a demon?"

"Well, yes," she nearly laughed, "but not the kind we just fought. At least they weren't there at first. I bumped into Sesshoumaru."

"Sesshoumaru?" Inu Yasha questioned, his brow furrowed.

"Yes. It seems he followed me to question me. He noticed that we had changed direction from West to South."

"So he knows I was able to see into his head? That we're after the leader?"

"That's right. I also told Sesshoumaru that we wanted his aid in the battle that was coming. He was considering it when we were attacked. I would give you the details on the battle, but that's not what's important. He said that he would fight by your side, but only if you can get there when he does. I think what he means by that is, if you can get there before he kills Sorikata himself."

Inu Yasha let out a huff, "Some things never change."

"You're right about that," Kagome chided in, making a comparison.

Inu Yasha narrowed his eyes, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing," she said light heartedly giving an award winning smile.

Sango smirked, "You're right, Kagome. Some things never do change."

Inu Yasha and Kagome stopped their staring contest to look over at Sango, "What do you mean?" they both asked in unison, knowing full well what she was implying.

Sango simply shook her head and stood up. "Come on you two, we better get going if we want to get there before Sesshoumaru."

Inu Yasha and Kagome exchanged odd glances before getting to their feet and following after Sango. The after effects of the spell the two were under ultimately benefited them. They each felt renewed strength and focus. Sango's short interlude at the stream also helped to refresh her. Even after the fight with the demons her feet were still without pain.

There was also something about killing that demon with her bare hands that left her feeling.'What do I feel?' she questioned herself. She wanted to be disgusted with herself for committing such a gruesome type of kill, but she couldn't. It left her body full of adrenaline and it invigorated her. Snapping it's neck made her feel.powerful, like she could do anything. She hated herself for feeling that way. She was not savage, and to take any kind of pleasure in killing something the way she had was wrong.

However, that wasn't the thing that bothered her the most. Sango could also feel something else. Something that happened after the battle. She could still feel Sesshoumaru's cold lips against hers. She could still feel the slight bumps where his fangs pushed against his upper lip against her own lips.

Sango felt the heat rising to her face as she remembered how badly she had wanted to feel those fangs with her tongue. Only when he had pushed her away had she been able to come back to reality. She had told him she was sorry, but in truth, she was not. She wasn't sorry. If she hadn't done something, he would have died, and also, because deep down inside she had always wondered what it would be like.

Her father had told her on several occasions that the most dangerous demons were the ones that posed in the form of humans. They were the ones to be feared the most. Sesshoumaru was one of them and although she hated to admit this, even only to herself, she had always secretly wanted to touch him. Just one light touch was all she had wanted.

He fascinated her. He seemed so powerful, strong, and determined. Yet, at the same time, he reminded her of something fragile. As if to steal one touch would be like shattering him into millions of pieces. In a way, it was exactly like that. She knew that her touch, to Sesshoumaru, would be like tainting something pure. How she was able to describe him as pure, she had no clue. He was anything but pure. Something pure was something innocent, and he was not innocent.

Sesshoumaru had no doubt lived for many years. If her father was right about his type of demon, then he had slaughtered many people throughout his long life. If indeed he was pure, he was pure evil. In fact, because of this, Sango knew she should be disgusted with herself for thinking of him the way she was. She was an exterminator, protecting all that mattered to her, however she couldn't help but feel somewhat hypocritical.

The demons slaughtered her kind, and she slaughtered theirs. Did that not make her just as filthy as they? Was she not just as sinful, just as horrid? Sango shook her head. No. She had never killed a demon that didn't deserve it.not ever. She wasn't pure or innocent, not in that way, but she was not filthy and she was not horrid.

Why was she even thinking this way? Why did that kiss affect her like it did? Why did she long to touch him again? Sango forced the thoughts from her mind. There was no use longing for that which she could never have. She was human and if there was one thing she knew Sesshoumaru despised, it was humans. She ignored the fact that he allowed one to travel with him, and made herself believe again that the only reason she wanted him alive was so that he could help them defeat Sorikata.

~~~

Sesshoumaru quickened his pace. He was only five days from Sorikata's location. He could smell it; sense it. He could also smell her. She was coming, and so were the rest of them. Inu Yasha and his friends were right behind him, and if he could help it, that's where they would stay. He would not allow them to beat him to the kill.

His desire to make Sorikata suffer was strong, but even stronger was his desire to kill the bastard for hurting Rin. The image of her mangled body was still fresh in his mind. 'He will pay. I will kill him.' He had tried to find another reason for his animosity toward Sorikata. He hadn't wanted to admit that the human girl had become so important to him, but he no longer cared. He knew that if he did not retrieve her, he would never see her again.

Sesshoumaru had lived may years without her in his life. He had lived well enough before without listening to her light foot steps behind him, without her affectionate stares and hearing her songs about him. However, now that he had been exposed to it, he did not wish to be without it again. He didn't understand how this came to be, but it had.

He pushed that thought aside as he continued to press forward. 'Sorikata will die by my hand,' he swore to himself determinedly.

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Okay, there it is.six pages. I'm trying, lol. C'mon now, if you want more please REVIEW. I can't seem to get motivated without reviews, lol.

Also, please feel free to send in fanart. I think it's so cool to see stuff illustrated from a story. I've been to so many of the other author's websites, and most of them have pictures either they have drawn themselves, or pictures that their readers have drawn. I would draw it myself, but like I said, I'm a horrible artist. It takes me hours just to draw a face, and it still looks like crap, lol.

Pammi