A/N: Lookie!! Chapter four! How are all those anxious reviewers out there? Well, hang in there! If this chapter doesn't give you some hints, then nuttin will.

As a warning, I have only seen up to episode 52, and therefore I haven't seen the episode where Rin is abducted. I have seen a few screenshots though, and believe me, I was majorly confused when I saw Kagome holding the crying Rin. Then I was REALLY confused and lost when Sesshoumaru was walking away from Rin and Kagome and at the bottom of the screen it said that someone was saying thank you. So, anyway, let's just say that this whole story takes place after like. . . episode 52 but before episode. . .55.

Hey, thanks, Frozen Lightning, for all your cheery reviews! They're very entertaining! ^_^ And I thank everyone else, too, who reviewed. You guys make my days brighter.

Oh, Tsume Yamagata, you'll find out in this chapter if he's gonna be evil or not, so hang in there, kay?

And, as a new tip you'll need ta know: by putting ~'s around a section of words, it means it's a flashback.

Enjoy!

*_*_*

Save Me

Chapter 4: Secrets Revealed

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"So you're saying that Naraku and Sesshoumaru joined together?"

Inuyasha glanced up at Sango from his place by the fire and replied, "Yeah." He laid Kagome's bow on his lap and ran his hand over it.

"But, why would you think that?" Sango asked.

Miroku cut in, "Because they've joined up before. Naraku had given Sesshoumaru a human arm with a Jewel shard imbedded in it so that he could wield the Tetsusaiga."

Shippo also joined the conversation, "Yeah, but eventually Inuyasha got Tetsusaiga back, and Sesshoumaru retreated." He pet Kirara. "But we didn't actually meet Naraku then; it was Sesshoumaru's vassal who had told us Naraku was the one who gave Sesshoumaru the human arm and the poisonous insects."

Sango thought for a while. She looked back at Inuyasha. "Then why would they join together now? Sesshoumaru has Tokijin; he doesn't need the Tetsusaiga anymore."

Inuyasha sighed. "Yeah, I know." He stared at Kagome's bow again.

"Hey, Inuyasha," Shippo said, noticing Inuyasha's gaze, "you've been obsessed with that bow all night. What's up with that?

Inuyasha froze.

Sango looked over at Inuyasha. "I've been wondering the EXACT same thing."

He looked up and blushed. "Uh. . ."

"Yes, you sure have been attached to her things today," Miroku observed.

"Do you really miss her that much?" Shippo asked. He started pouting. "Though I can't really blame you, I miss her too. . ."

Inuyasha stuttered, "Uh. . . who said I m-missed her? I never said that! I'm just m-makin sure it's in good condition so she can fight when I give it to her!" He set the bow down and folded his arms. "I'm only concerned about her, I n-never said I missed her."

Sango and Miroku looked at each other and grinned.

"Anyway," Inuyasha continued, still blushing, "you guys better get some sleep." He snatched Kagome's bow and quiver from the ground and sat on the nearest tree branch, folding his arms around the bow. He leaned against the tree trunk. "We'll be heading out first thing in the morning."

There was a silence, a shuffle, and a huge WHAP.

"PERVERT!" Inuyasha heard Sango yell.

Then he heard Miroku say, "You sure don't keep the same tune for very-"

SMACK.

"Will you guys quit fighting!" Shippo squeaked. "Miroku, can't you control yourself for at LEAST one night?"

There was more rustling and arguing, but Inuyasha simply sighed and ignored them, closing his eyes.

"Pervert. . ." he mumbled.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"You don't need to-ugh- tie me up!"

Kagome wriggled and struggled against the ropes that tied her hands tightly to the wooden pole. She looked around the village. (I can't believe they took me to the slayers' village,) she thought. (Why the heck would they be staying HERE?) She spotted the little toad demon, Jaken, standing by Sesshoumaru. That's right, she remembered that stinking toad, and now, since Sesshoumaru was deprived of one arm, Jaken had been the one to tie her up.

"Stupid toad. . ." she grumbled, shifting against the ropes again.

Sesshoumaru watched her intently through narrowed eyes. "Jaken," he said, without looking away from Kagome, "where is Rin?"

Jaken stuttered. "Well, uh, she uh. . . she left e-earlier to t-the f- forest."

"Alone? You let her go off ALONE?" Sesshoumaru growled, scowling at the demon.

"Y-yes, b-but she went w-with Ah and Un, and I g-guarantee that she will be safe with t-them."

"Sesshoumaru continued staring coldly at Jaken who cowered behind him.

"P-please forgive me," Jaken apologized, bowing.

Sesshoumaru turned and walked to the broken gates of the village. "Stay here." He ducked his head and walked under the crashed door and disappeared into the forest.

A few moments passed in silence. Kagome eyed Jaken evilly. (One day,) she vowed, (I'll kill that stupid little frog.) She groaned in disappointment. (Augh, Sesshoumaru will probably just bring him back with his dumb sword.) She looked up and gazed at the stars.

"I wonder who Rin is. . ." she said quietly to herself.

Jaken overheard her and snapped, "How dare you ask such a question! It is none of your business!"

Kagome shot a cold glare at him. "You don't need to be so rude. It wasn't even a question, I was just thinking out loud, you ugly turd!"

"Who are you calling ugly?" He aimed his staff at her. "You are the hideous human who is tied up. You're so helpless, I could-"

He was interrupted by a loud crash. They both looked toward the noise. There, at the village gate, stood Sesshoumaru, narrowed eyes that seemed to glow red with anger. He had kicked the broken door from the doorway. "That's enough."

"Y-yes, Lord," he bowed. "Forgive me."

Sesshoumaru growled, "Be quiet. Get out of my sight."

Jaken quickly scurried out of the area and into the nearest hut.. Sesshoumaru walked the rest of the way through the gates. Following him was a small human girl, pulling along a two-headed demon.

Kagome watched the girl following Sesshoumaru with wide eyes. (He really HAS gone soft,) she thought. (That must be Rin. She's so young. . .) In Rin's other tiny hand were two apples and a dead fish on top of the apples. She spotted Kagome and bowed respectfully. Kagome responded with a slight nod.

"Rin, do not talk with her," Sesshoumaru commanded calmly. Of course Rin, being the little angel who does everything Sesshoumaru tells her to, pretended that Kagome wasn't even there.

"Yes, my Lord," Rin replied cheerfully. She tied Ah and Un to the stump of a dead tree and carried her food over to the fire. She sat down on a log across from Kagome, jabbed a stick through the fish, and began cooking it over the fire.

Kagome stared at the little girl. "Are you Rin?" she asked.

Rin ignored her and continued frying her fish.

"I'll take that as a yes. . ." She looked down at the apples on the ground next to Rin. Her stomach started growling, and she realized how long it had been since she'd last eaten.

Attempting to make friends with the girl, she striked up conversation. "So, why are you here? Did Sesshoumaru kidnap you or something?" Kagome paused and thought about what she'd just said. (That was dumb of me to say. Why would he be so worried about her if he had kidnapped her?)

Rin still didn't answer. Now Kagome was frustrated.

"How rude!" she snapped. "The LEAST you could do is acknowledge that you heard me!" She still got no response. "Don't ignore me like that! ARGH!"

Sesshoumaru stood from a distance and watched the amusing Kagome go bizzurk.

Kagome finally gave up and hung her head, trying to doze off. However, she was too hungry to sleep, and instead just closed her eyes, thinking of things OTHER than food. She heard footsteps and opened her eyes, head still hung. There was an apple in front of her. She looked at the hand holding it, then up at the person's face.

It was Sesshoumaru.

He was crouched down in front of her, offering the apple to her. He put in on the ground, walked behind Kagome, and burned through the ropes with his claws. Then he silently walked away.

Kagome rubbed her wrists, shocked and confused. A sudden memory hit her. She had thought she was going to die. . . and. . .

~Yes, you are. But not by MY hands.~

(He's turned soft,) she thought, picking up the apple and staring at it. (He took in this little girl. And now, after trying to kill me all those times, he won't hurt me.) She watched Sesshoumaru walk away.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Sesshoumaru stopped walking and peered at Kagome out of the corner of his eyes. She was eating the apple slowly, deep in thought.

The still air turned into a sudden gust of wind. Sesshoumaru looked up at the night sky as the wind suddenly stopped.

"Naraku."

Kagome and Rin looked up from the fire. (That's odd,) Kagome thought. (I can't sense any Jewel shards.)

Sesshoumaru lunged over the gates and sliced through the trees with his poison whip. He landed back inside the village as the trees fell to the ground. The whip disappeared into his claws. He turned his gaze to the top of the fence.

There stood Kagura, who had apparently dodged Sesshoumaru's attack.

"You again," Sesshoumaru growled, placing a hand on Tokijin, ready to strike if necessary.

Kagome had dropped her half-eaten apple in her haste to stand. Rin's fish was now burnt as she stared at Kagura in fear.

"Lower your guard," Kagura said, fanning herself. She spotted Kagome by the fire.

(Oh great,) Kagome thought sarcastically, (now there's TWO villains. Gee, don't I just feel as safe as can be.)

Rin wasn't trembling anymore, but she still kept her eyes on Kagura. Her fish was long gone; she had dropped it in the fire. "She hasn't come back for me. . . has she?" Rin whispered to herself.

Kagome stepped in front of the girl protectively. Really, though, there was no point in protecting her because she knew Sesshoumaru would do that just fine.

"Have you come for her?" Sesshoumaru growled, hand still gripping Tokijin.

Kagura fanned herself again. "Not yet. You still have two days before your deadline." She covered pert of her face with her fan. "Unless, of course, Inuyasha gets here before that. Then we may have to bend our plans a bit. . ."

"Plans. . ." Kagome pondered. "Plans about. . . wait a minute. . ." She shouted to Sesshoumaru, "Hey you! You made a pact with Naraku, didn't you!? You jerk! You're gonna pay for this big time, mister! Get over here and-!"

"Silence!" Sesshoumaru roared, louder than ever. "You are only hastening your death."

Kagome lifted her hand to the collar of her shirt and took a step back. (I gotta get outta here,) she thought. (Maybe I could sneak away. . .)

Sesshoumaru pulled Tokijin from his sash and charged at Kagura. But she jumped out of the way and flew off on her feather.

"We shall meet again shortly," she called from the sky as she disappeared into the clouds.

Sesshoumaru sheathed his sword and jumped down from the fence. Suddenly he appeared right in front of Kagome. She gasped. Then he reached forward and lifted her off the ground by her throat. He narrowed his eyes in anger and growled, "Jaken! Where are you?"

Kagome started choking.

"JAKEN!" Sesshoumaru repeated, squeezing Kagome's neck.

"Y-yes, my Lord?" Jaken peeked around the corner of the hut he had concealed himself in.

"Tie her up." He threw Kagome, and she slammed against the pole. "I don't care how you tie her up and I honestly could care less what you use to tie her up. Just make sure she stays where she is."

Kagome laid face down in the dirt and coughed loudly. She looked up at Sesshoumaru and coughed again. Sesshoumaru continued walking away.

"Hey," she said coarsely, coughing yet again, "you jerk. . . what's with you?" Sesshoumaru stopped walking and looked back at Kagome, who rubbed her sore throat. "You continue to amaze me, you know that? One minute. . . you're this huge softie, and the next, you're throwing me around!"

"Be quiet," Sesshoumaru commanded.

Jaken wobbled over with some ropes. He reached for Kagome's hands, but she shoved him away.

"And what's with this Kagura thing?" she continued, ignoring the pain in her neck. "You joined with Naraku? Do you think you need HIM to kill me? What, you can't destroy me yourself?" She slowly climbed up on her hands and knees.

Sesshoumaru fully turned around and stared down at Kagome. "You-are a brave little girl."

Completely ignoring his comment, Kagome continued with the insults. "You must be scared, huh? Yeah, that's it! You're afraid of Inuyasha, so you became a sissy little ally of Naraku so he could kill me and defeat the weakened Inuyasha! You are so pathetic!"

Sesshoumaru advanced on the kneeled teen.

"That's right, you can do it! Just kill me! I'm a lousy human, right!?"

Rin couldn't bear it any longer. "Stop!" she screeched. She ran over to Sesshoumaru and stood next to him. "You must show Lord Sesshoumaru respect." She looked up at him. "He deserves it."

Sesshoumaru's eyes softened as he looked down at the small girl. It seemed sort of. . . fatherly.

(Wait just ONE second,) Kagome thought. (Fatherly? FATHERLY? Oh, I give up.) She sighed and slumped back against the pole. She folded her arms. Jaken ran over to her, determined to carry out his lord's order.

"Don't bother," she grumbled. "I'm going nowhere."

She reached forward and picked up her ant-covered half-eaten apple and threw it into the fire.

Sesshoumaru stepped toward Kagome.

"If you wish to know," he began, "why Kagura came this evening. . . then I will tell you."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Inuyasha looked down at the bow and arrows in his lap.

He couldn't sleep. Not with Kagome under Sesshoumaru's control. She was probably dead by now, with the way Sesshoumaru's mind works. He sighed and looked at the sky through the leaves of the tree. (No,) he thought. (I can't leave her there; I can't wait until morning.) He started standing up on the branch when a small figure jumped in front of him.

"WHOA!" He looked at the shape sitting in front of him on the branch. "Shippo! Why'd you scare me like that?!"

"Inuyasha, I can't sleep," Shippo whispered. "I miss Kagome." He jumped on Inuyasha's chest and said, "Let's go get her now! We gotta get there as soon as we can, or else Kagome might become dog food!"

Inuyasha swung the bow and quiver over his shoulder. "I was just thinkin' the same thing." He stood up. "Let's go."

Shippo jumped up on his shoulder, and Inuyasha jumped from tree to tree, following Kagome's scent, not realizing that he was leaping right into a trap.

*_*~~~~~{-------- *_*

A/N: Wow. Phew. That sure was a long chapter! Be proud! It's big and pretty and. . . not really that exciting, but hey, it's long, okay! And I'm feeling proud of myself. ^_^ Please review!!