A/N: Hi, I'm back! Oh and wow, I got reviews! Yay! I've got to admit, they are not as many as those that other authors got but they were great, so I have got to continue this!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.. Ok, whatever..

SEVEN WEEKS

Unraveled Secrets and Strengths

-----/---@

"I'll take your word for that.. Kagome," Inuyasha murmured softly to himself, staring at the point where Kagome had disappeared from his view.

-----/---@

Kagura grinned as she kept her eyes on the scene. She stood downwind and noticed that Inuyasha was still ogling at the spot where that woman had gone to. He seemed to be particularly taken with her, and it only meant one thing: her plan was working perfectly.

She continued to watch the well-built man as he gathered his forgotten wits and started to walk towards the direction opposite from that of Kagome. She held back a laugh as the man tripped over a sliced off limb of one of the bat creatures.

'Those creatures were so useless to me. I never thought they could be of help someday. Neither was that stupid woman,' she thought gleefully as she went over the things she had observed of the man from the fight she had witnessed.

She had used her minions to see how Inuyasha did in battle so that she could easily calculate her next move. He was impressive alright, and to think that he didn't even use that sword of his.

Taking a feather for flight out of her elaborate hair, Kagura flew off on her transformed vehicle and proceeded to think of exactly how she would get rid of Inuyasha.

-----/---@

'Damn, what a chick,' Inuyasha thought as he turned to walk in the opposite direction. He stopped momentarily as he sniffed the air around him and realized that the woman's scent still hung in the air.

It was the most fragrant thing in the world. A clean scent of jasmine and plum seemed to surround him as he took another deep breath, imagining the girl. Unlike Sango and Miroku, who wore traditional clothing, she had on her a short black dress with red trimmings around the skirt's flared edge and v-shaped neckline.

She was truly gorgeous. And that was something, since Inuyasha was very picky with women. It was one of the few times when he felt particularly smitten with a woman. Her black hair was cleaner than a raven's hue, her full lips of a perfect rosy shade and her gray/blue eyes bore holes into his soul.

'Gray/blue eyes?' he thought suddenly. 'Now that I think about it, her eyes look just like that princess' eyes. Cool.'

He stopped abruptly as he realized that some invisible force seemed to be leading him to where he should go. He peered into his robes at the gold mark and saw that it was glowing slightly.

'Miroku was right. My mark seems to be leading me to the princess somehow. I could just feel a pull towards the right direction,' he thought, quite amazed. And to think that he thought it was a silly birthmark!

He kept on walking, contemplating the events of the day, until he noticed that it was starting to grow dark. He noted that the sunset had a hue similar to the color of his communicator's gem.

'Oh damn, I forgot,' he thought as he remembered that the last thing he had called the palace for was to report the attack. 'They must be worried.. Keh! Good for them,' he thought as he pulled out the amulet.

"Oi, Miroku!"

As soon as Miroku's worried face appeared in his communicator, he yelled at him.

"Teme! You never told me that youkai would attack me! You didn't even tell me that they exist in your fucking world!"

"But Inuyasha, I thought you knew.."

"No, I didn't know, you fucking idiot!" Inuyasha snarled at him. "I nearly DIED from that attack!"

"Thank the gods that you didn't! We were so worried! We couldn't reach you through an amulet like you could do to us. You suddenly closed up the amulet after I told you to use the Tetsusaiga and you didn't call us back.."

"And about that 'use the Tetsusaiga' thing. Let me tell you something: I CAN'T USE IT! If that girl hadn't come along I would be digging myself a fucking grave by now."

"A girl?"

"Yes, a girl. She helped me get rid of the fucking bat things. And where are all the fucking people? I've been walking for fucking miles and I haven't seen a single damn person other than that girl."

"Well Inuyasha-sama, the town nearest to the palace is a few hours away from the palace. I regret not telling you those things sooner." Miroku said sheepishly. "It's late. Do you see any place where you could spend the night?"

"I dunno.." Inuyasha said as he peered ahead. He saw, quite a short distance away from his current place, a small settlement. It was just over a couple of hills.

"Yeah, I think I see a town up ahead," he assured Miroku.

Miroku heaved a sigh of relief. "That's great! Just one thing though: don't trust ANYBODY. In times like these, people tend to turn away from the good so that they could be better off."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll talk to you again tomorrow." Inuyasha said curtly as he closed off the amulet again, heading for the said town.

-----/---@

Inuyasha just sighed as he entered the town's gates.

'I should have known,' he thought bitterly as he looked around to find the town painted in a now familiar, barren hue. It was getting dark and Inuyasha was rather tired.

'Maybe I should run all the way tomorrow to save time and get it over soon,' he mused as he found someone he could ask for directions to the town's inn.

He walked up to a man who seemed to be trying to plant on the draught- stricken soil. The man was shaking his head disgustedly, muttering to himself, though Inuyasha could hear.

"Why did they let her get abducted? This village was great until.." he stopped his muttering when he caught sight of Inuyasha. The guy suddenly screamed.

"Aaah! Yo- youk- YOUKAI!" he said hysterically, scrambling away as quickly as he could.

People started to peer out the doors of their houses in curiosity, then quickly dashing back inside as soon as they see Inuyasha.

"Youkai!"

"Damnation, run everybody run!"

"Hide, my son!"

Everybody was in such a panic and Inuyasha simply stared in shock as the people hurried to go back to the safety of their houses.

When his brain finally registered what was happening, he tried to object to the people's fear of him. "Hey, wait! I won't hurt anyone, I just.. oh, damn," he said when he finally realized that they were too terrified to listen to reason.

'I guess I can't stay here,' he thought glumly as he turned to leave the town.

It was already fairly dark and he was stumped. 'Where am I supposed to sleep, up on a fucking tree? Damn, I probably would if there WAS one around here. There are just dry trunks,' he thought rather angrily. 'Stupid humans.'

He paused to consider when he heard Miroku's voice in his head.

*Only those who work at the palace know of the prophecy. Outsiders do not. So. you may frighten them but.*

'I guess they hate youkai. They must get attacked quite frequently,' he suddenly felt pity for the people, but it was dashed when he thought of his present predicament. 'Damn.'

Just as he decided to run back to the village and beg the townsfolk for lodging, he smelled a familiar, fragrant scent in the air.

'Kagome?' he thought, wildly looking around to make sure that his nose wasn't fooling him.

Surely enough, there she was, walking towards the town he had just left. He could have sworn that she had gone to the opposite direction when they parted, so he was pleasantly surprised to see her there. He wasn't complaining, though.

"Oi! Kagome!" he called out as he broke into a jog towards her. She turned at the sound of his voice.

"Inuyasha? I didn't expect to see you so soon," she answered with a tiny smile that sent his heart somersaulting in his chest.

"Neither did I. What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you that. What are you doing near a ningen settlement? These people are horrified of youkai. Even more so since the princess was taken," she remarked.

"Yeah, I know. They acted all loony when they saw me," Inuyasha answered, turning annoyed eyes at the town.

"Well they have reason to be. The youkai attack town people when they get the chance. When the princess was here she stopped them just fine but.. when she got abducted.." she trailed off as she looked around and sighed.

"So, Inuyasha. No place to stay?" Kagome asked.

"Nope. I was trying to go for the inn when everybody went ballistic on me."

"Neither do I. Let's go find a cave."

She started walking and Inuyasha followed her. Something was nagging at him though. For one, she seemed to trust him so quickly. And why was she around here when all the people were hiding away at home?

"Hey, you're human. Why don't you go over to them and ask for shelter?"

"They won't let me in," she said patiently. "They fear anybody who seems strange to them, and I'm not exactly an ordinary girl."

'You can say that again,' Inuyasha thought as he watched the steady sway of her hips as she walked. She looked confident about herself, but Miroku's last words to him bugged him to no end. He liked her alright, but it wouldn't hurt to be more cautious.

"Say, Kagome. Where are you headed off to?" he asked.

"None of your concern, really. But since you saved my hide.. I'm off to try to find the princess. In case the one they tasked doesn't make it," She answered testily.

"Huh? What are you talking about wench?" Inuyasha exploded, more than a little surprised. "You can't go around looking for the princess. You're not even a royal warrior, are you?" he added, then thought to himself, 'Besides, that's MY job!'

Kagome stopped abruptly at his words. She turned back to glare at him hotly. "How dare you say that! I am a citizen of this kingdom and I want to bring it back to how it was before that bastard Naraku took Lady Azalea. And so what if I don't have your stupid marks?! I may not have been blessed with the mark of a warrior, but I am blessed with the spirit! This is my quest as I have tasked myself, and I am gonna finish it! And from what I see, you are a hanyou. You might not make it so.."

Inuyasha looked at her in disbelief. Suddenly, she wasn't so cute anymore. "What the fuck?! Look girl, this is dangerous! You saw what happened today! You may be experienced or something, but this is MY fight now! They dragged me from my land for this mission! So, I won't fight your battles, and don't fight mine, bitch!"

"YOUR battle?! Don't even say that, you idiotic, swellheaded gold star! You have no idea what you're talking about! This has been my fight before you even got here, and though you've been tasked to do this, I can still find her if I want to. That's MY choice! Besides, it's not as if I'm asking for your permission. I just saved your hide this morning!"

"Oh yeah? Well, I saved your ass as well, remember? That makes us even," Inuyasha snapped back. Was this girl suggesting that he was not good enough? He'll show her..

Just as he thought that the girl was readying a smart comeback, he saw a thin flash of light heading towards Kagome from behind. Without even thinking, he pushed her to the side and the sharp slice of youki hit him square in the chest.

The pain was almost unbearable, and had he been human, he would have surely died. Kagome screamed as he fell to his knees, clutching at his bleeding chest.

"Inuyasha, daijobu?" Kagome asked worriedly as she ran over to him and tried to hold him up.

Inuyasha, however, was swearing upon his father's grave that he could smell something familiarly putrid in the air. His pain-clouded brain worked hard to figure out why it was so familiar when it hit him.

"Bats.." he said as he looked around.

"Nani?!"

"The bats from this morning.. I smell them.. just one or two of them.."

"But didn't we get them all?" Kagome asked, rather surprised.

"It's either we didn't, or there is one person around who smells as bad as they do."

They turned as a high-pitched laugh broke the silence of the night air. The laughter belonged to a woman in a lovely kimono, her red eyes flashing as she tried unsuccessfully to hide her wide grin behind a paper fan.

"So THIS is the mighty Inuyasha from the legends?" she asked in a loud, mocking voice. "I am Kagura, mistress of the evil gales."

Kagura's smile widened when her eyes met Kagome's fury-glazed orbs. "Why hello there, lady Kagome," she said with a sneer as Kagome seethed.

"Kagura.. you bitch!" Kagome snarled as she helped Inuyasha stand. "I will never forgive you for what you and that bastard of a master of yours did to me! I swore that I will take back what you stole from me, and I swear upon Souta's grave that I will!"

"Oh really, now? And what will you do about it?" Kagura smiled slyly and looked back to find a furious Inuyasha. He was glaring at her, his hand on the hilt of his 'useless' sword.

Inuyasha gripped the handle of Tetsusaiga as he studied the woman before him. He was right in what he suspected. Kagura and the bats reeked the same odor. It must mean only one thing..

"You work for that hell-bound Naraku, don't you? You and those bats smell the same, so it must come from your master!" he shouted. "I will kill you for trying to kill me, and for taking the princess and leaving this land to rot!"

"Give me all you've got! Fujin no mai!" Kagura said as she released a wave of wind blades similar to the ones that wounded Inuyasha.

As if acting on instinct, Inuyasha pulled Kagome into his arms and jumped up onto the nearest tall boulder to avoid the attacks. He winced as the impact of the jump racked his body and caused his wound to hurt further.

"Stay here," he instructed a reluctant Kagome. He bolted down and headed for Kagura, his hand still on his sword. He didn't even know why he was considering the possibility of his rotten old sword being helpful, but he figured he should at least try it.

With his mind set on surviving and on completing his mission, he took his sword out of its scabbard and took pity on himself at the sight that greeted him.

The sword was rusty and worn and if he wasn't in such peril he would have laughed at it. He took a mad swing at Kagura and hit nothing but the space of air in which she stood moments ago.

Kagura took one look at the sword and laughed. "You expect to use that horrid old thing on ME?" she asked sarcastically as she jumped away from his desperate blows and made another set of wind blades set for Inuyasha.

-----/---@

Inuyasha was plain stumped. He had been dodging and blocking attacks with Tetsusaiga for what seemed like ages, and the bursts that managed to get near him cut up parts of his red kimono. He took another swing at the youkai and found his sword colliding with air and nothing else. He was unconsciously standing between Kagura and Kagome, and the star-less woman was burning with repressed hatred.

He threw a mad punch at Kagura and his fist simply connected with a dry tree. He was in a rage, but there was nothing he could do. The blood loss was making him weak and he felt like he would pass out at any minute from exhaustion. Inuyasha was practically swaying. He had stopped moving for a moment to take a breath, his eyes cast upon the ground.

Kagura used this moment to her advantage. "Fujin no mai," she said calmly as she swung her fan in a great arc to form her blades.

"Inuyasha, look out!" Kagome shrieked at Inuyasha.

Inuyasha turned abruptly and in panic, grabbed the thing closest to him to use as a shield in desperation. He was surrounded by nothing but rocks, so he ended up just grabbing Tetsusaiga's scabbard.

Shock was an understatement. He was more than stunned to discover that his useless sword's case had just blocked Kagura's strongest attack yet. He was unscathed as he emerged, and so was Kagome who sat stunned behind him. The scabbard had somehow formed some sort of barrier when he tried to use to block the Fujin no mai.

"Whoa. How did you.." Kagome asked.

"No idea," he replied as he picked up the Tetsusaiga.

"Look hanyou," Kagura said suddenly as Inuyasha turned back to her. "Why don't you just run away for now, and we can finish this some other time. You see, I just got this wonderful idea.."

Kagome stood right behind him, eying Kagura angrily.

"I was thinking of how much I like that girl's dress, so I would take her and let you off for now. I just can't guarantee life for HER.." Kagura continued, referring to Kagome. Kagome just gawked at her.

Inuyasha seethed. 'I am going to kill that slutty bitch.' He swore to himself as he readied his sword unconsciously.

"I ain't leaving her, teme," he said harshly, though he knew at the back of his mind that he was practically helpless against Kagura.

"Inuyasha, just go!" Kagome said suddenly. "You need to stay alive for the princess! You can't die! Go! Let that bitch take me. I can take of myself!"

"Are you crazy, bitch? She'd kill you in a flick!" Inuyasha yelled back, not taking his eyes of Kagura's sneering face.

"I don't care! You have a mission, remember? You can't beat Kagura yet! Leave me here! At least if I die, I'll die knowing that you are still there to rescue Lady Azalea.."

"Shut up!" Inuyasha said, his eyes blazing. "I'm not leaving you here! I would die before I let her have you in her mercy."

"But Inuyasha.."

"I said shut up!" Inuyasha practically barked (^_^). "Don't you get what I'm saying yet, wench?!" He paused to regard her momentarily. "I said I would fight her to keep you fucking safe! Now, just sit there and let me protect you!"

Kagome stared at him, speechless. Had he just told her that he'd protect her?

Just as the words left Inuyasha's mouth, however, a bright light started to grow and envelop the sword. The bright flash lasted for just a bit more than a moment, but when it was gone, it left a huge fang-like sword in his hands. A tense youki seemed to hover around the sword's sharp edges and Inuyasha, who stared at his newly transformed sword in shock, could smell a weakly blowing wind around his sword.

Kagura and Kagome also stood in a shock, but both had different thoughts running through their heads.

"Wow, this is incredible, Inuyasha," Kagome said as a smirk formed around the hanyou's lips as he faced Kagura squarely.

Kagura tried to look brave as she stood her ground, but was failing miserably. Knowing that she stood a small chance against the sword and that she should report this to her master, she began to pluck a feather out her hair and transformed it into a giant feather that would help her fly back to Naraku.

Inuyasha, however, who was furious at the woman for wounding him and even daring to touch Kagome, made a mad dash for her as she flew and managed to strike her arm before she went completely out of reach.

Kagura shrieked and looked down at her arm. Blood was flowing from a large cut that ran from her shoulder to the back of her hand and shouted in a rage at the offenders.

"I'll be back for you, hanyou!"

"Give it all you've got!" Inuyasha shouted back, quoting Kagura.

Just as Kagura went out of sight though, Inuyasha's wounds finally took a toll on him. He was wounded head to toe, and he fell to the floor, dropping the now flimsy Tetsusaiga as Kagome ran to him.

"Inuyasha!" A familiar voice cried before the darkness took over him.

-----/---@

A/N: Well, how was it huh, how was it!? That chapter took me soo long to write. About three and a half hours! Dang! Anyway, Sorry for all the typos in the last two chapters.

Oh yeah. Before I forget:

Laura-chan: I'm glad you think it's ok. No, actually, I'm VERY glad. And about rayearth.. I've got to admit, I've never seen the anime, nor read the manga. They're similar? I'll look up the story of rayearth so I could write this without accidentally being TOO similar. You wrote "Infinito" and "Inside a Water Bubble", right? Wow, I loved those fics! I reviewed under a name. I can't remember, what the name was, though.

Zephor: I'm glad you like it! So, here I am.. continuing!

Jubilation: Oh, wow, thanks! I'm so glad you like it!

Ginagurl1234: Yeah, I guess all that eye-exercise on fics got me wound-up. Thanks for the review! And I'm glad you like it!

I hope you guys keep on reading and reviewing! Arigatou, minna! Ja matta ne!

ScarletRaven1001