Sorry if this chapter's a little short, I thought that a short one was better than none at all.

Chapter Eighteen: Unknown Occurrences

She awoke with a jerk, clutching her stomach. Last thing she remembered, she was in the forest...and she was... 'I died,' she thought. 'He... Inu Yasha killed me.' Kagome felt a clench in her stomach and turned to her right, emptying the contents of her half empty belly. The acids burned her throat as she vomited over and over.

Kagome brought a hand to her mouth, wiping the corners of her lips. 'It must have been a dream,' she thought. 'Why would Inu Yasha kill me?' Her hand lightly rubbed against her face as it headed to her hair, preparing to run her fingers through the strands. She stopped, feeling something wet on her flesh. Half dried blood coated her hand. She searched herself for a wound, finding a large bloodstain on the front of her shirt. With trembling fingers, she lifted her shirt.

Kagome almost passed out from what she saw when she looked down. Her skin had been cut and removed from her body. The gash was vertical, about three inches long and two inches wide. She guessed it was one inch deep because she could easily see muscles and it hurt like hell. 'When did that happen?' She made her way to the wall where her foot shackles were attached. Kagome crawled into the fetal position, careful of her newly found wound. Her upper thighs ached and she felt groggy.

Why did she feel so sick? Though her stomach was now vacant, she still felt like she would vomit more. What had happened? Tears started flowing from her eyes as she remembered. Naraku had taken her. 'That would explain the shackles and the room,' she thought as she looked through the water in her eyes. On the wall not four feet from her was a window... a high, barred window. 'He kidnapped me and,' Kagome's mind went into shock as she began to gag from her position on the ground. Right here, on the stone cold ground she was laying on, Naraku had rapped her. From the condition of her thighs, he hadn't cared much about her comfort. He had used chloroform, so Kagome didn't remember much.

She rubbed her legs with her left hand, wincing at the discomfort. He was rough about it, that she could have been sure. She placed her right hand on the wall for stability as she stood. Her shackles wouldn't allow her to go far, but if she could just make it to the window and see what was happening. Kagome heard the snarls from inside her room and she was interested in knowing the festivities outside. Both her hands on the wall, she made her way to the area just below the opening. She'd have to jump if she wanted to see what was happening. With a gulp and a heavy breath, Kagome readied herself for the launch.

"Awake, are you now?" Kagome turned, completely abandoning her original reason for being at the window. All she wanted now was to escape. If she was here, then Naraku was too... "Scared, young miko?" Kagura said, covering her smirk with her fan. She approached Kagome with grace and nobility. 'What a poor pathetic human. But, as weak and pathetic as she may be, her group can still free me...'

Kagome backed up against the stonewall as Kagura came, standing face to face with her. "You have beauty, I'll give you that,' she whispered, running a smooth finger down Kagome's tear stricken face. "You shouldn't cry."

Kagome turned her left cheek to the wind sorceress as she came upon her. 'What is she getting at? Why is she being so nice?' Kagura turned from Kagome. Looking over her shoulder, Kagura beckoned the young girl.

"You're friends still have a chance to win, you know. They just have to realize Naraku's weak spot. Come, I have been instructed to dress you when you woke." Kagome looked down at the tattered school uniform on her body. She didn't even realize how torn up it was. 'Must have been from Naraku,' she thought darkly. She followed Kagura out the door, the shackles breaking open when Kagura snapped her fingers.

---

He watched as they all started stirring. All at once, it seemed, they brought a hand to one part of their body or another, mainly their heads. His wings folded behind him, their leathery texture scraping against his light green skin. A crooked, smile-like shape formed around his yellow teeth. (A/N: obviously this guy's never heard of personal hygiene ::lol::.) He looked on as the youkai's were getting over the after effects of grogginess. Not a thought crossed his mind. Dereamu wasn't made for a brain. Ability and invincibility were his field of expertise.

Inu Yasha and Sesshomaru stood, the hanyou a little more clumsily than his older brother. Koga gained his footing a few seconds later; Sango and Miroku wasted no time in gaining their stanz. They were each on their guard, not fully knowing what was real considering what each had just witnessed. Sesshomaru looked at the others as they all stood, but he was really looking beyond them. Hundred of youkai were gathered here in this small courtyard. Some were small and moving around, waiting for the perfect time to attack while others were large and moved around slowly. One in particular stood out to him.

Naraku stood in front of his home, on the steps just beyond the porch. Near the group of five, Dereamu sat, waiting for them to gain their strength. His attack wasn't the most pleasant to wake up to: not knowing what was real, having all recollection of what you dreamed about, leading to not knowing of the one you saw was ok. All in all, the side effects were heart wrenching if there was nothing to do to see about the where abouts of someone. The victim's eyes would blur and their head would get dizzy. All the side effects were merely speculation. Naraku had only theorized what they would be. Not even he knew the full potential of his incarnation.

Sesshomaru and Koga, being youkai, were hardly affected. Their strength would be a great crutch to lean on when the nigens fell to the spell. No one knew how Inu Yasha would be, seeing as to how he was a hanyou. 'I guess we shall see,' Sesshomaru thought, following everyone's gaze to the evil half demon before them.

"Are we ready to play now? Dereamu was looking bored." At the mention of his own name, the incarnation's wings fluttered out around him. The torn skin dangling off the bones flapped in the gently moving breeze. His teeth broke through the green skin around them and seemed to make the skin bleed as this tongue became visible with his evil grin. Naraku laughed. "He seems ready and willing. You may begin at any time, that is, if you feel like you still want to. I could just kill you now if you wish."

It was Inu Yasha's turn to laugh." I didn't come all this way for nothing to have a fucking kid fuck with my head and you laugh at me. I will tear your heart out with my own hands and feed it to you till you die, you bastard."

"You talk big, but can you back it up?" The ghostly voice echoed through the air. It sent chills down every spine in the place. Vivid scenes flooded each mind at the sound. At the reaction, Dereamu simply closed his orange eyes and did a flip in the air. "Lets go," he said.

END CHAPTER

THE BATTLE SHALL BEGIN!! Hehe. How long have you all been waiting for it? How long have I maid you wait day after agonizing day? Oh, but maybe I shall just have the next chapter be with Kagome, and maybe even go back to the village and check up on Keade, Shippo, and Kirara!! Should I make you all wait another chapter before the 'final' battle commences? ::puts hand on chin thoughtfully:: Hmm... What should I do? Decisions decisions.

Inu Face