Can Inuyasha and Miroku make it in time? Just read the darn thing. Things are gonna get ugly!

-Randall Flagg2

(1)

Both of them were running as fast as they could. They both new where Naraku's residence, which would make it easy to find Kagome. Finding Kagome was top priority above all else. Inuyasha would never forgive himself if something happened to her. Even more, he would never forgive Naraku if something happened.

"Kagome and me have known each other since we were little! I can't let anything happen to her!"

Inuyasha suddenly skidded to a halt. An image had appeared in front of him. That day he had seen Koga's body taken away after he had been savagely murdered by Kagome's sick father. He could see in front of him the image of Koga being carried out on a stretcher. Kagome was behind him crying, saying that she knew her father was behind this and that they were in deep trouble. It was all the same as it had been on that terrible day.

"Seeing things. That isn't a good sign." Inuyasha thought.

Suddenly something different happened. In his mind, Koga got up from the stretcher. There was a bloody gash on his throat where Isamu had cut him. His face was a frozen mask of shock and fright. Inuyasha covered his eyes in an attempt to block out this hideous scene, but even that didn't work. Everything in reality was drowned out by this sight. Koga began to walk towards him. Stagger was more like it though. His body kept tipping from side to side and his legs seemed to twist as he came forward. Inuyasha wanted to scream but he couldn't bring himself too.

Koga stopped right in front of him. For a few moments he was silent. Then he began to speak.

"You'd better hurry Masaki." Koga said. "You'd better hurry because you're not only saving Kagome. You're also saving yourself. So hurry!" Then he smiled and Inuyasha did scream. Thank goodness he did since the moment he found his voice, the image faded. He also became aware of Miroku's hand on his shoulder.

"Inuyasha snap out of it!" Miroku shouted. Inuyasha snapped around to face his friend. The image was gone completely, thank god. Inuyasha stopped screaming and caught his breath. He didn't know how much longer he would have been able to stand it if that image in his mind had not disappeared.

Inuyasha was a nervous wreck. He was trembling and sweating profusely. His eyes were twitching nervously. That sight had not been pleasant. Furthermore, it worried him. It was never a good sign when a person started seeing things. That was one of the surest signs of lunacy. But he wasn't going insane, was he? What sort of thing could possibly be traumatic enough to cause that?

"No Inuyasha, you're wrong. You've seen a lot of horrible things lately. Do you remember Kagome showing you all the bruises on her stomach? Or when she explained how her father had been treating her behind your back? Or her father knocking on your door and attacking you? You've been through quite a bit, perhaps too much at once. And you have to admit, you haven't been yourself since this whole thing started."

"Inuyasha? Is something wrong?" Miroku asked.

"No! I mean, no. Nothings wrong." Inuyasha said quickly. "Let's just keep moving. We need to save Kagome."

They resumed their trek down the road.

(2)

They had finally made to Naraku's house. As one could expect from people like Naraku and Kagura, it was very run down. The paint was chipped and falling off and the garage was filled with junk among other things. Also in the garage was a motorcycle (Naraku and Kagura's no doubt).

"Here it is. You ready?"

"Yeah. If we're lucky we can get Kagome out without a fight. Then we can just wait for the police to come and this whole thing will end."

They began to walk towards the entry door. As they drew closer, they could hear laughter. It was definitely not Kagome's laughter either. Inuyasha could feel something in him starting to give way. Something which had taken a lot of abuse and was getting ready to crumble, like the Berlin wall. All those images and memories threatened to be unleashed at once. Kagome with the bruises on her body, Koga's body being carried out on a stretcher, Sango with the cut across her stomach, all of it. He didn't know what would happen if he witnessed anything else as bad as the previous things had been. The laughter was getting louder as they drew ever closer.

"Stop. Hey. What's that sound? Everybody look what's going down." Inuyasha thought randomly.

He reached for the door and opened it.

(3)

For a moment, Inuyasha thought he was going to scream. In fact he felt a scream rising in the back of his throat. Yet he was not surprised he would be greeted by a sight like this. It should have been expected.

There, on the ground, was Kagome. It was clear Naraku and Kagura had done a number on her. Bruises littered her face. Both of her arms had jagged cuts on them. Her blouse had been wripped apart. More bruises were on her stomach. Part of her skirt had been slashed up, revealing a small bit of her panties. Her legs also had bruises and dagger marks on them. She was clearly unconscious. In simpler terms, she was a mess.

Inuyasha was just about to let loose with the screaming festivities when a harsh voice snarled "What the fuck are you doing here Masaki?!"

Inuyasha and Miroku spun around to face Naraku and Kagura. Here they were, at long last.

"You came here for the bitch I presume?" Kagura snorted. "Well we're not letting her go, now go back to where you came from!"

Inuyasha said nothing. He simply sprinted towards Naraku and his sister.

(4)

Naraku was not prepared for Inuyasha's attack. The white haired boy tackled him and fell upon him. Kagura was behind Naraku and was crushed underneath him and Inuyasha, knocking her unconscious. Inuyasha fell on Naraku and punched him across the face. Before he could get in another hit, Naraku somersaulted and flipped him off of him. Inuyasha charged at Naraku and fought with him. The two of them moved up the nearby stairs launching multiple punches at each other. It was amazing that neither of them fell.

"I'll make you pay Naraku! I vowed to protect her and I won't let a scum sucking asshole like you hurt her!" Inuyasha snarled, taking a punch to the stomach. For ten minutes, the two of them fought at the top of the stairs, trading blow after blow.

Then Inuyasha punched Naraku in the chest, knocking him back. Naraku stumbled at the brink of the steps leading down. Inuyasha realized just what he had done and reached out to grab him but it was too late. Naraku tumbled down the steps, head over heels. He landed at the ground floor with a sickening crack.

Inuyasha looked down the stairs with wide, disbelieving eyes. Had he really done that? He was hoping Naraku wasn't dead. He couldn't bear the idea of having the burden of murder on his soul. Even though Naraku deserved death for what he had done to Kagome, he couldn't afford such a thing.

It was then he saw Miroku checking Naraku's neck. When he looked up, he smiled.

"His neck isn't broken and he isn't dead Inuyasha! Just unconscious! So is Kagome! Their both going to be alright!" Miroku called from downstairs.

Inuyasha sighed in relief. Whatever was threatening to fall in his mind, was fine again. Kagome was safe. Naraku and Kagura were knocked out.

Everything had worked out.

To be continued…

It's still not over. Next chapter, things really start to intensify. How? Like I'm gonna tell you! Be ready for it though!

-Randall Flagg2