A/N (chapter 5, reloaded to fix (author's notes) so they no longer look like part of the story. sorry, guys.)

Yay for reviewers!

Disclaimer: Maybe if I think about it hard enough.. it will come true.. I own Inuyasha. I own Inuyasha. I own Inuyasha. opens eyes dang.. didn't work..

Sango's horse is named Yume – dream. Don't ask me why; I don't know why either.

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Early the next morning, Sango was called to see Lady Higurashi.

"Sango.."

"My lady?"

"I'm going to assign you a mission. I need someone to find these youkai rabble. I would send some of the soldiers, but they are next to useless in uncivilized combat. You have such combat training, yes?"

"Hai." Sango had undergone training for the sole reason of protecting Kagome, if ever the occasion should arise. Fortunately, she had never had to do that, but it would seem the training had finally paid off.

"Good. Those soldiers are trained to fight in human fights, but I doubt that they would last longer than a second against youkai. I want you to track down Kagome, as fast as possible. Return here, and inform me of there location." She pulled out a scroll and tossed it to Sango. "That is authorization for your trip. Everything you need is out at the stables along with your horse. You should leave after breakfast. I apologize for the lack of preparation, but this is important." She nodded, dismissing Sango.

After breakfast, Sango hurried to her room. She was feeling a little put out, having been ordered to do something without even being asked.. but then, she was working for the Higurashis, and they did have the right to order her to do this. After all, she was supposed to be looking after Kagome, and this would count as part of her job.

There was nothing in her room she might need; she trotted to the stables. There, Yume her horse waited with supplies ready.

She sighed. It felt very dreamlike, this mission. Everything was just so abrupt. Whatever. She mounted the horse and set on her way, heading for the path she felt Kagome would have taken.

That one old path, leading into the woods. And, as luck would have it, straight to the mountains. Kagome had expressed interest in it several times, but she had never been allowed to explore it. In fact, none of them ever had. The mountains were home to bandits and rabble of both the human and demon kind, so Lord Higurashi had forbidden any of the Higurashi household or the villagers in their domain to travel near it. Too dangerous, was his reason.

Well, he was right. But that didn't help Kagome, who was probably sitting in some damp, dark cave, surrounded by dirty, unkempt dog youkai bandits. The thought made Sango shudder.

But there was another thing on her mind. She had no idea just how far this path went, or how far Kagome had gone. There were no visible tracks on the hard dirt path, and though broken twigs and mashed leaves lay across the path, it could be the work of any creature passing through. There were no clear signs that a horse and rider had passed through.

Sango was in for a long, tedious, and very risky mission.

- - - - - - - - - -

When Kagome woke, again, the pain made her earlier headache seem like a daisy. To say that she had a headache now was like saying you only had a mere scratch when you'd had your arm chopped off. anybody know where that came from?

So instead of trying to move, or escape, which seemed to result in an increase of pain, she drew her knees up as close to her chest as she could, and wrapped her arms around her legs in a deathgrip. A somewhat difficult thing to do when one was lying on one's side, but she managed it nevertheless. It didn't really make the pain go away, but at least she felt a little more secure this way. She squeezed her eyes shut until stars danced on the inside of her eyelids, and gritted her teeth.

There was no way around this. She was definitely in trouble. By now Kagome had figured out that it wasn't a dream, that she couldn't make the pain go away as easily as she wanted to, and that there was probably a snowball's chance in hell that she'd ever get away safely and without causing more pain to her poor head.

The slight motion of curling up did not go unnoticed. The same pair of golden eyes watched from the shadowy depths of the cave. White claws tapped impatiently on a red-clad knee.

Where is that messenger? I just want this to be over with. That's what our plan was. Grab the girl, get the money, go. That's what our plan has always been. The last time we tried this, we got to the 'go' part in five days. We're not even at the getting money part this time. The crawling pace of this kidnap was painful. Maybe, if it dragged on longer, they'd just dump the girl somewhere, and move on.

Somehow, that thought made something twang inside him. Like he didn't want to think of doing that. How very strange. It was like.. like part of him, the normal part, the part that had come up with that idea thought it was perfectly rational, perfectly good. And then there was some odd, small, insignificant but horribly persistent part didn't like that idea.

Agghhhh. Leave me alone! He pressed his claws lightly against his temples, frustrated. They'd done that before, dumped a girl off in the middle of nowhere when the mission had taken too long. And he had never had second thoughts about doing that. Until now.

Was some weird, morbid part of him attracted to this girl? Whatever the reason, it had better go away. And fast. He removed one hand from his head and clenched it into a fist, letting the claws dig into his palm.

Blood dripped onto stone, splattering into black-red marks in the shadows. Golden eyes watched the immobile girl, anger and frustration glowing in their depths. The fist relaxed, white claws darkened at the tips in deep crimson.

The faint sound of rapidly moving feet started the fist's owner into action. He stood up and strode over to the opening of the cave, sunlight gleaming in his white hair. Down on the path below, a demon sped towards the cave.

In a few moments, a very out-of-breath messenger stopped at the front of the cave. "Inuyasha-sama."

Golden eyes returned the gaze of the messenger. "Yes?"

"The message was delivered, sir."

"So we now have a week. Let's hope they're as anxious to get back their girl as we think they are. I don't want to stay here longer than necessary." He looked down over the forest below. "The wolves are getting restless. You know, that mangy wolf-boy Kouga was planning to marry her." He grinned, showing sharp teeth. "I'd just love to see what he thinks now. Ain't so high and mighty now, is he?" A laugh, dark and reckless. Rivalry ran deep between the wolf demons and this small but efficient and dangerous pack. So, too, did anger, and the wish for anything that might cause pain to the other. Most of it stemming from this young leader, all but brimming with hatred.

It was definitely a dangerous situation, no less so to the girl currently curled up and silently wishing herself to be dreaming. Which, given the situation, was a perfectly sane idea. If only it was true.

- - - - - - - - - -

The only thing Sango hated more than being forced to wear pretty but uncomfortable kimonos in a pretty but uncomfortable room full of pretty but uncomfortable nobles was being forced to bear the presence of a pretty but uncomfortingly comfortable man. Which this guy most definitely was.

Oh, pretty, that was true. Deep indigo eyes, almost-constant-smile, etc, etc. Not only that, but quite to her surprise, she was quite comfortable in his presence.

Which was what made it such an uncomfortable situation. Having served the Higurashi's for the better part of her life, and been Kagome's friend even longer, she had little contact with boys, at least not after she entered the Higurashi's household. So generally she avoided boys like the plague. Her life was expected to be spent entirely in Kagome's service, as her personal maid. It didn't allow much space for contact with members of the male gender. What little contact she had with those close to her age was short, impersonal, and rather awkward. I mean, at least when they actually noticed she was there.

So now that there was this guy, who was indeed very attractive, and Sango actually felt comfortable in his presence.. was a very strange and unusual thing.

She wasn't sure she liked it.

Not to mention, she wasn't exactly sure that having someone else around while she was on this mission was a good idea. Besides, would you really trust a monk who wandered around in the woods? No less, the woods that so many said was haunted by demons and human rabble.

So when he had shown up at her camp one night, she had been somewhat unsettled.

She growled under her breath. Even his horse was unsettling her. It kept nosing at hers, kept trying to edge closer. In response, her own mount edged away, or shook its head, annoyed.

"So." She nearly jumped. They had managed not to say anything at each other all morning, and she had become content in the silence.

"Yes, houshi-sama?"

"What brings a lovely lady like yourself all the way out here?" He flashed her a bright smile, indigo eyes twinkling.

She spared him a quick glance. "I am on a mission." She kept her eyes on the path ahead. This man was a charmer, who probably flashed his pretty smile at every female he came across. She could bet her life on that. She wanted to give him no indication whatsoever that she was in any way open to him. She was Kagome Higurashi's handmaiden. It was better to simply leave it at that.

"Really? Well, I would be most happy to offer you my services. I'm sure you can tell that I am a monk. And this is a very dangerous part of the world, haunted by demons and the like. For a small fee, I can escort you and ensure your protection from such dangers."

Yeah, and I can bet I know what that "small fee" would be. "No, thank you. I am quite capable of protecting myself." Sango kept her head high, careful to avoid even glancing in his direction.

"Then perhaps.."

"No."

Silence followed their tracks, all the way to the hasty camp they set up that night.

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Sango settled comfortably into the warm side of her horse and tilted her head to rest against its belly. Stars could be seen through the tree canopy, occasionally thrown into obscurity by the thin trail of smoke rising from the dying campfire. They shone like ethereal diamonds against the twilight sky.

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Across the fire, the young priest settled his back against a tree, leaning his staff against a large root. His gaze wandered to the lovely woman whose eyes blinked with fatigue.

His hand twitched; wanting to reach out to her..

He tore his mind away from his current train of thoughts. It was just this kind of mindset that had gotten his ancestor, and thus himself, into his predicament. Violet eyes strayed to the string of beads wrapped around his hand and forearm.

He came from a long line of priests. The profession was passed, taught from father to son. Unfortunately, an unquenchable love for women also ran through the blood. Somewhere along the line, so he was told, one of his ancestors had been surprised in the presence of several women, unprotected and unable to defend completely defend himself. The demon who attacked him had cursed him with a hole in his hand. The hole was, in essence, a black hole that would suck everything in range into itself. Every time it was used, it would grow bigger. Eventually, it would grow strong enough that its final use would suck the user into it as well, effectively vanquishing itself.. and the unfortunate who had once wielded it.

The string of beads was wrapped around his arm, pressed against the hole. It protected him, and everything around him, from being sucked into it. His life's goal, everything that he lived for, was to kill the demon who had cursed his ancestor. Such had been the life of his father, and his father's father, all the way back to that single incident. Should he fail in this, his son would carry on the burden of revenge.

This led to his asking the question to every woman he met – with the exception of this one. Somehow, he felt that the answer would not be a blushing, femininely shy one. So he told himself he'd wait until he thought she'd say yes. So far, she hadn't said much at all. In fact, she hadn't even told him his name, but to be fair, he had completely forgotten to give her his too.

He would ask tomorrow.

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Sango woke early, determined to be up and ready before the monk awoke. As it was, she was surprised to find him fully dressed and munching on some of his own provisions when she returned from washing up at the river's edge. Her long hair, cold and wet from the washing, hung limply down her back. She stopped at the edge of the makeshift camp and quickly squeezed out what water she could.

Feeling better, she dug out some breakfast from her bag and wrapped the loose ends around her shoulders, then looked over at the monk. He was had finished eating, and being a monk, had nothing to pack up. He picked up his staff and looked expectantly at her.

"Shall we begin?"

Instead of answering, she mounted her horse and nudged it down the path they were following. He followed suit, and soon they settled into a quiet pace.

Sango bit into her breakfast hungrily. It didn't consist of much, just some of the dried foods Lady Higurashi had given her when she left. There wasn't very much left, but she hoped to find someplace where she could buy more.

As if reading her thoughts, the monk spoke up. "You know, there's a village a short way from here. We could stop there tonight and get some rest. Besides, if they're this close to the forest, I'm sure they'll be in need of my services."

She ignored him. She didn't trust him much; she had learnt over the years that strangers on the road were not to be trusted. Never mind strangers in the demons' forest. She pressed on without speaking, frowning when he drew up beside her.

"I thought that if I were to travel with such a lovely woman such as yourself, we should at least be introduced. My name is Miroku." He stuck out a hand to her, flashing a brilliant smile, violet eyes twinkling.

"Sango." She ignored his hand, pointedly keeping here eyes on the path ahead.

"Sango! What a beautiful name, perfect for such a beautiful woman. I am most delighted to be in your company."

She ignored him.

- - - - - - - - - -

Everything on the table clattered, sending splatters of food onto those too slow to move out of the way.

Kouga lifted his hand from where he'd slammed it onto the table, rose and stalked away. He was angry. He was mad. He was downright furious. (please, please, please don't let my Writer's Craft teacher see that!)

Not only had his fiancée been kidnapped – right before their wedding – but it had been at the hands of the despised dog youkai. They were his most hated enemies, the blot in his picture of the world. He hated them with every fibre of his being; now he hated them even more.

He vowed revenge. He would get back his woman, and he would slay every single last of the damnable dogs.

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Sorry about the really long wait, guys. You'd think I'd have more time during the summer, but I actually didn't (actually, I did, but suffice it to say I was really, really lazy for the most part and then work hit me.) Ok! I will do my best to keep things back up and running, but university applications are rearing their ugly heads and keeping marks up is my first priority. (For those who graduated before or graduate this year.. I feel your pain!! Ugh.

So, I hope this slightly-longer chapter makes you feel a little better, and don't forget – review!!