Thanks for reading!
Okay, I'll tell you where every character is right now to keep you in the loop.
Inuyasha- Searching for Shippou and Sango until he smelled Kagome's scent in a forest.
Kagome- At Kouga's cousin's palace about to go to dinner with Kouaa's servant, Hakiro.
Sango- Just escaped from Picura's clutches, is wondering in forest searching for her friends and Kaede's village.
Miroku- With Kimisa, about to have his soul taken by Kanna next to broken down village.
Shippou- Still within Naraku's clutches, waiting for someone to rescue him.
Hopefully that helped you.
Finding What Was Lost
By: Sanci J
Chapter 18: New Friends and Old Enemies
Last Chapter…
Kanna smiled wistfully, but it was so small Miroku didn't see it. 'I hadn't believed Naraku would be right,' she thought, ' but he was yet again; Miroku had done exactly what Naraku had thought he would do. His plan was perfect.'
Miroku looked at Kimisa lying on the ground and was much relieved to see her soul hadn't been taken. Her eyes were closed tightly. Miroku looked back to Kanna, a low growl of irritation in his throat. Just as he straightened his staff and scrolls in a fighting stance, he did what he shouldn't have done.
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Sango paused at the sound of thunder. "I have to get there…fast. Before another storm hits."
She walked as stealthily as possible into the forest, a way she was sure to get her back to Kaede and her friends. Then they could find Shippou together.
"So long Picura." She whispered, disappearing into the mass destruction of trees and brush.
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A few minutes later Inuyasha stopped in his tracks. His nose smelled something mightily familiar, and it hit him like lightning who it was.
Kagome…!
End of Last Chapter.
Hakiro still held Kagome's hand as he led her down the long, cool corridor. It was so quiet she could hear her own heartbeat. Her feet thumped against the hard floor while Hakiro's made no sound. He was barefoot.
Kagome gulped and wished she didn't have to eat with them. She wanted to run away, back to Kaede's. Back to Inuyasha. Her hands felt clammy in nervousness. 'What will these women be like? Will they like me?'
She was reminded of the woman earlier and still felt guilty for being so rude. 'I can stay for dinner and apologize to her. Then I can be on my way. After all, it wasn't her fault Kouga brought me here against my will.' She sighed.
As they kept walking, Kagome heard giggles and talking in the distance.
Hakiro frowned and looked down at her.
She saw his face and stopped. "What is it Hakiro?"
"You're squeezing my hand Lady Kagome," he said neutrally. "Are you feeling ill?"
Kagome sweat-dropped and let go of his hand. "I'm sorry Hakiro. I'm just a little out of it right now." She refrained from telling him how nervous she was to meet the women.
"It's alright." They stopped in front of a door where the noises had come from. He noticed her hesitance. "Don't be nervous Lady Kagome. You will be fine."
Kagome's eyebrows went up in surprise and she smiled. 'Oh, how I wish Inuyasha were here.' She thought sadly. 'Oh, who am I kidding? He probably went to see Kikyou behind my back as usual. Does he even have feelings for me? Was the other night a part of his ploy when he was so nice to me and hugged me?'
Hakiro opened the door a little. "Lady Kagome, stay there. I will be back." He disappeared inside, leaving Kagome alone in the corridor.
"Ladies." Hakiro cleared his throat to get their attention.
They all looked at him, some blinking and some annoyed.
"There will be another guest for dinner. She was brought here by Master Kouga last night. She is to dine with you by his orders, and I will accompany her."
"Why would Kouga bring a girl here?" One asked curiously.
"She is his woman."
"Well, she must be very pretty for Kouga to have a mate." She sighed. This girl was the romantic out of the five. She was also a wolf-demoness who was currently visiting her relatives with her sister. Her dark green eyes stared dreamily into the air.
"His woman?! Lord Kouga is already promised to Ayame!" said another girl angrily. Her jaw was tight and her hands were fisted.
"He can have more than one woman if he wants, you know!" the third girl with short black hair said to the second sarcastically.
"Quiet!" Hakiro growled. "She's sensitive and standing just outside this room! If Master Kouga hears of how your talking about his woman, he will have you punished."
The fourth girl ignored his words. She narrowed her eyes. "She is a human."
"What?" The second girl shrieked. She was the one who had been against this 'woman' of Kouga's. 'He is with a human? He would never!' she thought. 'What would Ayame think?'
"Be quiet, dinner will begin soon. You will get her ready." Hakiro's eyes softened when another girl stepped into his sight. She was a slave like him, but while he was demon, she was a human like Kagome.
"Sir Hakiro, I shall help her." She said with a soft smile on her face.
Hakiro's heart constricted. "Of course, Lady Karina." Then he turned back to the other women either glaring at him or at the wall. "You will address her as Lady Kagome."
Kagome shuffled her feet nervously. She couldn't hear anything coming from the inside and considered going back to her room. 'I should just go back. That way I can leave while they're having dinner.'
"Lady Kagome, come in." she heard Hakiro say.
Kagome looked back at the door and saw him standing in front of it. She walked towards him cautiously. She looked in and saw five women standing around watching her warily. One of them smiled and put an arm around Kagome. "Hi. My name is Hareema."
Kagome noticed that this wolf-demoness was an aggressive one. She had long dark hair with four flowers decorated in it. This woman held a strong resemblance to the beautiful woman Kagome had seen earlier. Kagome smiled back tentatively. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Kagome."
"You are very pretty for a human." Hareema said bluntly, still smiling. "I'm not surprised you came with Kouga."
Kagome felt herself blush with so many eyes on her. "What do you mean by that?"
"The second girl stepped out of the shadows. She had waist length blue hair and looked very angry. "I am Yamuchi, Ayame's best friend." She said tightly.
Kagome noticed that Yamuchi disliked her, but she didn't know why. And why did she tell Kagome who her best friend was? She looked at Hakiro questioningly, but he was looking at one of the girls.
"Hello, Lady Kagome. I'm Cheriha. Master Kouga is a great catch. Isn't he handsome?"
Kagome let out a fake laugh. "Is he really?" she asked the girl with blue eyes and short black hair. Cheriha blushed and looked away.
The fourth girl, behind Cheriha, stared menacingly at Kagome. "I do not care if you are with Master Kouga or not, you are a human, and furthermore do not deserve my respect." She whispered in harsh tones.
Kagome's arms fell to her side in surprise. 'This girl does not like humans. Why?'
Hakiro apparently heard and he glared at the girl. "Lady Kagome, stay away from Tsubasa. She will only cause you trouble." He said to Kagome, but his icy eyes were on Tsubasa.
Karina took Kagome's cold hand and smiled. "Don't mind Tsubasa Lady Kagome." She looked at Kagome's clothing and her eyes grew huge. "What are you wearing Lady Kagome? Your attire is hardly presentable for Master Kouga."
Kagome sweat-dropped. What could she possibly say to that? Her fingers fiddled with Kouga's ring.
"Karina is right. You show so much skin, it's unearthly." Hareema said, not knowing how blunt she was being. "We can get you something to wear that will make Kouga take notice of you."
Kagome's face reddened yet again. 'He already takes too much notice of me…' "Oh, Kouga isn't going to eat with us. The Lord of the Eastern Lands invited him to a private dinner."
Hareema's face fell. "Oh." Then she brightened. "That's alright. We can still dress you in pretty clothing." She realized how that sounded and sweat-dropped. "Not that your- outfit…-isn't pretty or anything."
Kagome laughed. "I understand what you were trying to say." Kagome didn't really want to change clothes, but if she wanted to leave, then she might as well make a good impression first. 'Then I'll figure out why Inuyasha took my jewel shards.'
"Karina, get the others." Cheriha grinned at Hareema. "Lady Kagome is going to get the best outfit together if it kills me!"
Miroku had done what he shouldn't have.
He looked into Kanna's mirror.
Just then Kimisa groaned and lifted her head. She gasped, seeing Kanna's mirror taking Miroku's soul in. "No!" She got up from the ground without fault, grunting in pain. 'How could Kanna do this to me? I haven't had enough time!' "Miroku, fight it! Don't let her take your soul!" Her hand reached out to him.
He didn't reciprocate, but kept staring into the mirror. His pupils were small.
Kimisa was almost hysterical. 'He will not die like this!' As she held her damaged arm, her eyes narrowed and turned an evil red. "Damn you Naraku! I'll kill you Kanna unless you let him go!"
Kanna didn't look fazed. "So, you have turned your back on Naraku, as he thought. I was sent to kill you for your incompetence, not this monk. His time will come later."
Kimisa gasped. "What?"
Kanna lowered her mirror and Miroku fell to the ground.
"Miroku!" Kimisa went to his side and fell. She kept her gaze on Kanna. "Aren't you going to kill me?"
For the first time, Kanna smiled softly. "Of course. Accept your fate."
Kimisa growled and lunged at Kanna.
Kanna was knocked off guard and would have fallen if not for the sturdy tree behind her. "You insolent fool. You will pay for that Kimisa." Kanna aimed the mirror back at Miroku.
But Kimisa had interpreted her move. She angrily summoned her demonic power and jumped at Kanna, desperate to break that mirror.
Kanna disappeared and reappeared behind Kimisa. "You cannot beat me." The little white girl whispered.
"I'll try." Kimisa turned around and stared into Kanna's eyes. 'Hopefully I can get her under my spell. Then I can get rid of her and her nasty blood.'
Kanna blinked and smiled again evilly. "Dear Kimisa, did you actually think that your pathetic mind-control would work on me?"
Kimisa stared in astonishment. 'No! It can't be true!' Biting on her bottom lip, she looked behind Kanna at Miroku. A plan formed.
Kanna saw Kimisa gasp and she turned. 'What?'
Kimisa pointed behind Kanna. "M-Miroku, he's awake!"
'He can't be!' Kanna saw him still lying on the ground.
Kimisa grinned, her fangs showing. She grabbed Kanna by the neck and choked her in an effort to get the mirror. She grunted as she caught hold of it and threw it at the tree, breaking it.
She let Kanna go and laughed in delight when souls poured out of the mirror.
"No!" Kanna ran freely to the mirror and examined it. It was completely shattered. Broken.
"That was only a warning. Next time I will kill you." Kimisa threatened.
Kanna glared at Kimisa and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Breathing harshly, Kimisa fell to her knees next to Miroku. He stirred and she touched his forehead. Her demonic powers dissipated. "Miroku…" she murmured and gathered him into her arms.
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Hehe, I haven't been getting to all the characters in one chapter. Anyways, thanks for reading!
Overobsessy: Yes, that was definitely one long review! I'm about sixty percent sure it will be a Sango and Miroku pairing, but I haven't totally decided on that yet. For some reason, I think of both Kimisa and Picura as mainly good guys. Sure, they seem really bad, but Kimisa, for example is only obeying orders. She doesn't want to hurt Miroku because she is growing feelings for him. Picura hates who he is. He is a depressed creature as a vampire-demon. He doesn't like hiding out, and definitely sucking blood. Kimisa seems like more of a threat than Picura, but maybe it's because I created him with the wrong angle.
I'm still bewildered that you wanted me to be your beta reader, editor thingie. I never thought of being one before. Thank you!
KelKel13: Actually, you are close to the fluff. If you read farther there's a lot.
DragonRose13: Thanks!
Inu: Glad you think so! Thanks for reading!
chibiNeko192: The top of this chapter should answer that question considering where Kagome is. That's okay. I went a while without updating so its my fault you forgot. Thanks for still reading!
Thanks so much to whoever's reading and those kind enough to review. I really appreciate it! Please review for this chapter; I'll be waiting!
-Sanci
