Miyu: okay, apparently some people don't understand the meaning of dark. When I say dark, I mean freaky. Disturbing. Unusual. Possibly even disgusting. It's about a rape! It happens! I'm sorry! It's what I feel like writing about, so deal with it! I rated this pg-13 for a reason!.....meh…..

Ryuu: whoa…kinda scary there.

Miyu: if you want the blasted disclaimer, go back to the first chapter!! ::glare::

Ryuu: O.O I'm going to go hide now…

Miyu: ::dark aura….::

"Hey, Miroku? Wasn't Kagome supposed to come back tonight?" Sango turned an inquiring eye to the monk. "Or…maybe not." She glanced back at the ground, a concerned look on her face.

"No, no…I think you're right. I believe she said she might be able to make it back tonight." Miroku glanced up at the nearly full moon. "Do you suppose she was delayed?"

Sango sighed. "I don't know." Turning to her right, she glanced over at the silver-haired demon who pretended to be asleep. "Yo! Inuyasha! Maybe you should go check on her!"

Inuyasha sprung to his feet, and irritated glare in his eyes. "I'm trying to sleep here!"

"So?" Miroku kept his gaze pointedly on the moon.

Inuyasha clenched his fist at his side, wanting desperately to take a swing at the annoying monk and his aggravating comments. "Fine! If it will keep you from getting on my back!" Inuyasha spun around and was off in a flash, leaving a confused Sango and amused Miroku to stare at his shrinking figure. "What was that all about?" Sango asked Miroku without looking at him.

"I dunno. He's been more testy tonight than he usually is. Maybe it's a demon thing."

Sango swallowed. Her eyes remained glued to the trees wherein Inuyasha had previously disappeared as she mulled over the strange feeling she had. "I don't know. Something…I don't know."

The brown eyes of a certain demon slayer turned to gaze at a nearly complete white orb in the dark sky, and a certain soft hand slowly reached to grasp a surprised monk's hand tightly.

She didn't like this. She didn't like this one bit.

"Kagome! You here?" Inuyasha's loud voice echoed down the empty well. He sniffed the air softly, and shook his head. "Her smell is too fresh…she had to have been here not too long ago." He shook his head once again and turned to head back towards the village.

'Funny,' he thought to himself. 'Her smell keeps on going…and what's the other scent? It stinks of alcohol.'

He stopped.

On the ground before him was Kagome's backpack.

A shudder went through him.

He turned and sniffed the air again, harder this time, searching for a specific direction. He glanced to his left, into the trees, and muttered, "Kagome…what the hell have you gotten yourself into this time?" Dashing off in the direction of her scent, he felt his stomach flip-flop when he realized the stench of alcohol followed.

"Kagome?" He hollered as he jumped into the air, desperately trying to find the lost priestess. "Kagome!" He landed back down and paused, sniffing the air again. He darted to the right, running on the ground this time, the scent of his…his…whatever getting stronger.

"Kagome! Answer me!" he screamed, not noticing the shakiness in his voice, nor the panicked pounding of his heart.

The night was calm, the moon was bright, the forest was peaceful, and why, oh why, couldn't he find Kagome? Why was her sent here, and her body not? What was it that had his gut twisted in knots, his heart dancing in his throat?

Clothes.

Inuyasha froze.

There were clothes here. They were ripped, torn, practically shredded into unrecognizable pieces. And they were hers.

"Kagome?" this time his voice barely came out in whisper.

There.

He heard it. It was the faintest sound, barely audible, and certainly not capable of being heard by normal ears. But his ears were hardly normal, though definitely cute.

It was breathing…sort of. It was as though someone had recently forgotten how to breath and was trying to figure it again.

He moved slowly towards the noise, his mind telling him he had to see what it was and his heart screaming at him not to. 'Oh god, oh god, oh god…'

A muscled, quaking arm reached out and moved aside the bush that disguised the miniscule sound. And there, beyond the bush and its sorrowful thorns, lay a dark-haired beauty, pale and naked, curled up by a tree in the moonlight. All over her body were bruises, some not fully there, other's dark and bitter. Deep cuts blanketed her body and seemed to glare at the red-clothed intruder in the moon's silver rays. Along her neck were vicious marks of a horrible injustice, an angry reminder of the cruelty's that hid amongst the world's beauty.

Inuyasha struggled to swallow, but failed miserably. "Ka…go…"

He whipped around, turning his back on the quivering girl, on the scene that he never could have fathomed in his life. He collapsed on the ground and threw up repeatedly, even until after his stomach had relinquished all there was, leaving him with dry heaves. It was disgusting, it was awful, it was horrifying, it was sickening (obviously), it was…it was…

"Inu…yasha…"

It was Kagome!

He whirled around and dashed over to the still beautiful woman who lay on the soft earth. He pulled her into his arms, warm tears he didn't even recognize falling down his face and onto hers, clutching her as though the earth itself wished to steal her away. He slowly laid her back down on the earth and removed his outer clothing, covering her with it. She was his! He punched the tree, a loud crack echoing through the forest. His Kagome! His responsibility! He failed! He should have known, he should have listened to his gut instinct and not let her go alone! He—

Kagome's eyes opened.

Inuyasha looked down at her. "Oh, Kagome…" He slowly reached down, intending to brush the hair gently out of her face and…

She flinched.

He froze.

She stared at the bushes just beyond him, never once looking at him…at all.

'What…' Inuyasha stared at her for a moment. 'She…she's scared! Of me!'

"What…the hell…did they do to you?" Inuyasha's teeth ground out the words that he felt inside, the anger, the rage, the…hurt.

Kagome continued to stare blankly at the bushes.

"Inuyasha? Kagome?" Inuyasha didn't budge as Sango and Miroku came running up to them, Shippou and Kirara in tow.

"Inuyasha! Did you find Kagome? We were worried when you didn't come back after—"

"KEEP SHIPPOU BACK!"

Shippou froze where he was, sheer terror in his eyes at the tone of Inuyasha's voice. It was…disturbing.

"Inuyasha, what…?" Sango came through the bushes with the question on her lips, but it quickly died when she saw the scene before her. "Oh god, no…" Sango's eyes widened in shock as she took in the state of Kagome, and her silent gasp was quickly followed by tears. "Oh, Inuyasha. What happened?"

Inuyasha's face remained hidden. "Sango, take Kagome back to the village."

"But—"

"Now."

Sango's eyebrows wrinkled in worry, but she nodded nevertheless. Miroku came over to help her lift Kagome.

"Don't touch her, Miroku."

Miroku blinked, a hurt look well hidden from his face, save for in his eyes. "What? Why?"

Inuyasha said nothing and began to walk away.

"Wait! Inuyasha! Where are you going?" Sango hollered to Inuyasha, a limp and senseless Kagome dangling in her arms.

Inuyasha never slowed his pace. "There are some people I'd like to meet."

And in the soft, silvery light of the moon above, no one noticed the slight shift of Kagome's gaze…

Miyu: well…there it is. The second chapter. If you like it, good. If you don't…oh well. No rope around my neck.

Ryuu: okay, you are REALLY creepy tonight. I mean, you're defining the term "bitch"…am I allowed to say that in here?

Miyu: who the hell cares? ::walks away::

Ryuu: hey, um…wait! Ya know…you're kinda sexy like this.

Miyu: ::sparkling eyes:: really???

Ryuu: and, it's gone.