Hunting Fear

Sango cried out in an agonized scream. A red-hot lead bullet had punctured her leg. Tears ran down her cheeks, which were smudged with the dirt from the ground. She had fallen to the ground minutes before as her captor viciously lashed at her. He seemed to experience vast pleasure from her screams and pain. He felt no sympathy or mercy towards her.

"Please stop," she pleaded through gritted teeth, clenching her fist. He laughed bitterly, kneeling beside her. She let out a sob and thrust her face into the dirt, hiding herself from his acidic stare. He ran his finger down her neck, receiving a gasp. He seductively lifted her chin and fixed his eyes on hers, trapping her in his ensnaring gaze.

"You have no right to ask me for anything." He slapped his hand across her face as he had several times before.

"STOP IT!" she cried loudly, no longer able to conceal her emotions. He threw back his head and chortled. She narrowed her eyes and locked them on his, only to become mesmerized by his deep violet ones.

"I love it when you're angry. Your lips become so full and red, your cheeks glow with a pink glaze, and your breathing becomes so soft and labored..."

"STOP!!!" she shook her head violently, covering her ears. She would not succumb to him. She had to resist him. She wished he would just kill her...

Inu-Yasha studied the criminal record of Naraku Omnigumu, trying to extract all the facts he could. The man had never been caught or left a crumb of evidence, but he was a well-known kidnapper. He preyed on women exclusively, but he would kill any gender that stood in his way. He had long, wavy dark hair, and no one had seen his face and lived, but it was believed he had deep red lips and blue markings over his eyes. He was merciless, and usually tortured victims, then killed them, if they survived the initial treatment. He had been spotted in many cities all across Japan, and after his sighting, a series of kidnappings spread across the city. No bodies or victims had ever been recovered. Inu-Yasha sighed. He wasn't getting anywhere on the case or on Naraku.

"Have you found anything?" Koga asked, poking his head in through the door.

"Yeah, loads...I found everything. I practically solved the case." Inu-Yasha muttered in a monotone. Koga laughed and walked in.

"I'm sorry you're having a hard time. I think I can help you, though."

"Yes?" Inu-Yasha asked, raising an eyebrow but not looking up from his work.

"Here, this is a file on Naraku. It was in the newspaper this morning. I don't know if it'll help, but I figured you couldn't get any worse on a case like this." Inu-Yasha looked up and grabbed the paper from him. He skimmed through the paper quickly.

"Thanks." He turned his eyes back to the criminal file.

"Read it! I promise it will help you!" Inu-Yasha sighed in an annoyed tone. He glared at Koga and looked at the paper. He was immediately intrigued by the screaming head lines on the front page.

Infamous Kidnapper Naraku Spotted in Tokyo!!!

"What?" Inu-Yasha demanded, angry with himself for not taking Koga's advice immediately. He read through the article carefully, hoping to find even the smallest clue embedded deeply within the report. He found just what he was looking for...a location. Though he didn't always trust a journalist's words, they were sometimes his greatest lead in particularly puzzling cases.

"Did you find anything of interest?" Koga asked, looking at the article over his friend's shoulder.

"As a matter of fact, yes," Inu-Yasha replied. "Thank you very much, Koga. This has helped."

"I read it myself...I know the case isn't mine, but I was wondering if I could come along on an investigation of the location?"

"I wouldn't normally take an unauthorized person such as your self on such a large-scale case, but since you found this for me, I'll make an exception."

"Thank-you! You won't regret this. I'll help as much as I can."

"Koga, if you don't mind me asking, why do you want to come along?" Koga hesitated before replying, biting his lip and reviewing his reasons mentally.

"Well..." he paused momentarily, restraining his tears. "About two years ago, my beautiful fiancé Ayame was kidnapped by Naraku. She...she was never found, no matter how hard everyone tried to find her. I think the worst part was not being able to know where she was, if she was dead, or if she was still alive in deep pain, calling my name..." he trailed off, not able to go on any further. Inu-Yasha wrapped his arm around his shoulder.

"I've never given up on a case, or left one unsolved. We're going to find this girl, and it will be a major break-through. Maybe...we'll find things on Ayame, and your mind can finally be at peace." Koga smiled through teary eyes.

"I know, that's why I was so happy when you said I could come along."

"So we both helped each other."

"Yeah."

Thirty minutes later, Inu-Yasha, Koga, and a bunch of other crime scene investigators had arrived at the supposed crime scene, a national park a couple miles away from a small town.

"Everyone, quiet." Inu-Yasha warned.

"Why keep it down? Sango and I are having a great time out here. Why don't you join our party?" Inu-Yasha cursed under his breath, keeping a sure grip on his gun that he'd stuffed into his belt just in case. They'd been outsmarted; they'd fallen right into his trap. Naraku was to their back, they did not know what awaited them when they turned. Holding his breath, Inu-Yasha motioned to the men to cautiously turn and face the suspect.

A gun shot thundered.