Hunting Fear

Inu-Yasha was having an internal conflict. As he got deeper into the woods, he became deeper in his thought. It seemed unethical that they had caught Naraku so easily, with such ease. The infamous kidnapper was scheming something, he was sure of it. But what was the plan? Was he simply formatting an escape, or a future attack on the police department? Or, perhaps, did he have compliances? What was the plan?

He was somewhat tempted to let the suspect go, so that he would limit the danger of an ambush on his colleagues. But was it one of Naraku's mind tricks? Is this what he wanted him to think? Was he using reversed psychology? Surely a criminal with his reputation was doing something. He had to be. Or was he simply outsmarted?

He decided to abandon the subject for now so he could focus on the task at hand. As Koga had informed him, there were many other girls that Naraku had taken that had not been found. This bothered him. Why had he not heard of Naraku until Sango's kidnapping and he had pulled up his record? Naraku seemed to move around. It was a smart tactic. He would be harder to find, and there would be "fresh" victims. Tracing Naraku's line of kidnappings could prove to be difficult. But that was for the later investigation. Chiding himself for going off the subject, he hurried into the woods, his beam of light from his flashlight guiding him.

"Sango," he called softly. Naraku said he had hidden her safely away, but he believed it was another mind trick. She was nearby, he could feel it. If there was one thing he had learned throughout his service, it was to trust your gut. Hunches of his often turned out to be right and helpful. So when he had a feeling Sango was within his reach, he knew he would find her. He walked slowly and circled around, not wanting to miss a single detail or possible clue.

He jumped as he heard loud sobbing. The cries were obviously from a female, he judged from the high pitch. Was it Sango? He hurried off to the source of the frantic sobs.

"Sango? Is that you?" he called. The only reply was continuous wailing. Soon, only a thick thicket of branches stood between him and the source of the sound. Unconsciously holding his breath, he pushed the trees away. The trees parted to reveal a small child crying. Her clothing was stained with blood, and she seemed to be in hysterics.

"Little girl?" he asked tentatively. The girl shot up, startled.

"Please don't hurt Rin." She pleaded, wiping her cheeks dry and trying to look tough. He walked towards her, and she flinched.

"I'm not here to hurt you, sweetheart. I'm here to bring you back home. Naraku..." She froze at the name, in fear and hatred. Her eyes narrowed and she studied him intently.

"Naraku..." she hissed.

"Yes, we have captured him. We came here to rescue you and any of his victims."

"How can Rin trust you?" He held out his police badge for her to see. The golden star gleamed in the light of his flashlight.

"My name is Rin," she sighed, after several minutes of studying the badge. He glanced at her. She seemed only seven, but he could not tell because of the smudges of dirt across her features. Her black hair was mussed, her clothes were ragged and dirty, but her eyes shone brightly through it all. She spoke in third-person.

"Rin." He repeated.

"There are others girls. Rin is the youngest, but Rin's been here for awhile. A new girl came in a day or two ago."

"Do you know her name?" he asked excitedly.

"Rin don't know her name yet. But Rin known others here for years."

"How many women are here?"

"A lot. We used to have more, but some died because of their injuries, and others he just killed."

"Are they all in the same place?"

"No."

"Are they in this forest?" She shook her head.

"He moves us around a lot; he separates us and scatters us all over the place."

"Hmmmm...." He scratched his chin thoughtfully. This added a problem. "How many women are here other than you?"

"Two, at least, Rin think two. The new girl and Ayame."

"Ayame?" The name rang a bell. He remembered Koga mentioning her.

"Can you lead me to them?"

"Rin can tell you where Ayame is, but Rin have no idea where he's keeping the new girl. Naraku seemed quite fond of her. He's a stupid womanizer."

"I see. Well, bring me to Ayame." The two walked confidently forward.

"Ayame is hurt really badly. She tried to escape, Rin think. She has the strongest will I've ever seen. She never gives up, but Naraku doesn't either, unfortunately. Rin don't know what he did to her as punishment, but Rin think she's close to death." He was amazed that the child could talk about death so easily. She must have been used to seeing it. He wondered how long she had been in Naraku's custody.

"Rin, how long have you been Naraku's captive?"

"Rin not really sure. Rin never really learned to count, so Rin couldn't tell you. Rin was brought here with my mother, according to the women that witnessed Rin's capture. Rin was still a baby, but not an infant. Rin was a year or so old, Rin could walk, and Rin knew a few words." She shrugged. "Rin don't really know. Rin's mother died sometime ago."

"I'm sorry."

"Apologies won't bring her back." The two walked in silence. Rin seemed to know her way around the forest, even though his flashlight was dimming. He was glad of that, though he didn't enjoy her company. Her way of speech was somewhat unique, and she had a sour attitude. Inu-Yasha's sensitive nose instantly picked up the scent of blood, making him gag.

"You're a Hanyou, aren't you?"

"Don't start me on demonic blood purity."

"Fine. Rin won't."

"Is Ayame here?"

"Yes."

A/N: The grammatical mistakes in Rin's dialogue were intentional. Please review! My friend has an adorable Miroku and Sango chibi for me if I get fifty reviews. I will display it on my author's page for all of you to see. Please review! Also, I have a poll. Should this fic be a Sango/Miroku romance, or and Inu/Sango romance? Or perhaps a love triangle? Send a review with your vote, and the results will be posted and used for the story!!! Please review. Updating will began soon, sooner if I get a lot of reviews. Thanks for reading and all the reviews I've gotten already! They are appreciated.