A/N: *Reads the last chapter over* OMG! Just look at all these errors! I
can barely count the number of spelling errors in this chap! UGH! But
ladies and gentlemen, I have an alibi... No really, this is valid. For some
reason, the stupid spell-checker on my PC wouldn't work. And I heavily
depend on my spell-checker, because I am the official leader of the
careless typists' club. I don't really suck at spelling... I am just dog
gone careless. It's just that I think a bit faster than I type. I'm only up
to, what, 45 words per minute? Gaaah!
Anyway, gomen for the mistakes. I really ought to have my PC upgraded. Ooooh... I've been DYING to get my claws on an XP. Maybe I'll ask my dad to get me a new computer for my 18th birthday! Maybe a good laptop... Dream on, Scarlet!
Anyway, to those who asked, yes, this will be the last chap before the lemon. According to my PC files, this chap is chapter19. The lemon would be chapter20. I'll be posting the citrus on mm.org and aff.net. The non-lemon version of chapter20 will be posted on ff.net. No lemon in this chap. I'll be posting the chaps in 2 or 3 days at best. My professors have once again deicded to lay hell on my shoulders, and I've got too much to do. Gomen ne.
I know, enough with the dumb author's note. On with the show!
Disclaimer: I own nothing. I don't like it, but what can I do?
-----/---@
SEVEN WEEKS
Rage and Reunions
-----/---@
"Son of a bitch!!!" Inuyasha yelled in panic as he realized that he was a few inches short of the ledge. He was gonna fall, and looking down, decided that whatever would happen once he fell would NOT be pretty.
He tried to scrabble with his hands, and soon found himself holding narrowly onto the edge of the ledge. Only three of the fingers on his right hand managed to take a nearly futile grasp of the earth.
"Shit... SHIT!" he yelled yet again, kicking about to find anything at all that he could step on to get up on the edge of the cliff. The sun was setting in the horizon, marking the end of another one of his days in Crystallia.
'Fuck it! I am NOT gonna die! Kagome...'
-----/---@
Kouga stared as he saw the hanyou take a few steps back. 'Is the idiot gonna try to jump the ledge?' he thought in wonder, and gasped loudly as Inuyasha ran for the side of the cliff. 'He IS gonna jump!'
He saw Inuyasha take a large leap, only to unsuccessfully fall a couple of inches short, screaming obscenities all the way down.
'The idiot...' he thinks as he takes off to see where Inuyasha was. He knew he would survive. The man was too bull-headed to die just like that. Besides, he was a sorcerer.
'But he sure is determined to save Kagome. I'd have to thank him for his efforts to save my woman,' he told himself before he leapt off. He too, fell a few inches short, but with his speed, managed to maneuver himself into a horizontal position in the air, bracing his feet against the rock and running up the vertical earth.
-----/---@
'God dammit!' Inuyasha thought as he saw Kouga running up the cliff wall. 'He's gonna get to Kagome before me!'
Just sh the wolf passed by him though, he shocked the pants of Inuyasha as he reached down and pulled him, by the arm, up the wall with him. It took a second before the information sunk into Inuyasha's shocked consciousness - the ookami had just saved his ass.
He looked at Kouga in shock as the wolf prince let go of his arm as one would a piece of dung. Kouga was shaking his head to himself as if he barely believed that he had just saved his own opponent.
"Oi," Inuyasha began. "Why'd you do that?"
The wolf just looked at him impassively. "I couldn't let you die like that... you were supposed to die by MY hands," he responded and Inuyasha immediately gripped Tetsusaiga. "Besides, you were on your way to save MY woman, weren't you, sorcerer?"
Inuyasha bristled at that, growling slightly as he cracked his knuckles. 'HIS woman? Why this fucking piece of... wait a sec.'
"And just WHY the fuck do you keep on calling me a god damn sorcerer?" he demanded. "I don't even know any magic you asshole!"
"You think you can fool me? I know your secret. That bitch told me so!"
"Which bitch told you WHAT?"
"About you being a sorcerer!"
"I'm NOT a sorcerer!!!"
Both canine youkai started growling at each other once again, trying their best to look more intimidating than the other. They just ended up looking really, really silly, but neither would ever admit that.
"What the hell made you think that I am a fucking sorcerer, and WHO told you so?!" Inuyasha asked angrily.
Kouga made a slightly annoyed face and answered. "Kagura told me. She said that you had hypnotized Kagome into going with you after she had fallen in love with me!"
Inuyasha face-faulted. "NANI? And you believed her? What kind of idiot are you?!"
"It makes a LOT of sense," Kouga said to himself, ignoring Inuyasha. "She had already cozied up to me... then I left for a while and she had disappeared..."
"OI!" Inuyasha shouted in Kouga's face. "What are you talking about?"
Kouga looked at him in irritation. "Sorcerer. She went outside the cave looking for me, and you took her. You made her stay with you! Kagura told me so!"
Inuyasha gaped. 'This guy is dumber than I thought!' he thought incredulously. "And you believed that?"
Kouga nodded vigorously. "Of course! Why would she have left me if it weren't true?"
"And you STILL believe her after seeing that she just took Kagome from right under our fucking noses?!"
Kouga thought that over. "You're right! You mean, she tricked me?!"
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner," Inuyasha said in a voice full of sarcasm.
Kouga fumed. "That woman fooled me and took my Kagome! Just she wait... I am going to wring her neck!" he yelled as he sprinted off towards the direction where Kagura had disappeared to a few minutes ago. Inuyasha stared at him incredulously.
Kouga suddenly stopped in his tracks. "Oi, Inu-kuro! You coming?"
Inuyasha shook his head in disbelief. 'Man, he's weird,' he thought before sprinting off in the same direction.
'Just wait for me Kagome... I'm coming to get you,' he promised her mentally.
-----/---@
"Naraku, you have already done enough damage. Just give it up, Naraku! I don't love you. And you know as well as I do that I can never love anyone... it just isn't allowed and you know it!" Kagome shouted in anger.
Naraku shook his head, mocking her. "To go back to being princess, you will need this, ne?" he asked rhetorically, holding up the Shikon no Tama. He had strung the Shikon no Tama onto a long piece of golden string and tied it around his neck.
Kagome said nothing. He was right, and she cringed mentally at that.
"So your quest is to take this back. HIS is to take back the princess, and he doesn't even know that he has already accomplished it. Maybe I should inform him?" Naraku mocked her again.
Her hair was standing on end in anger. "Don't you DARE, Naraku."
"And what do you intend to do if I do? Kill me? Why, Azalea-hime..." Naraku laughed as she cut him off with a sharp retort.
"Don't call me that! I am Kagome... I am not the princess, not so long as I do not bear the Shikon. That's what you want, isn't it? The Shikon? You have it now... why don't you leave me alone and just take the damn power for yourself?!" Kagome yelled shrilly in pure fury.
"I'm sure you can figure out how to use it," Kagome wheezed, her voice hoarse from her furious outburst. "You figured out how to use the forbiodden power in the Garnet Tower. Using the Shikon would be easy enough for you."
Kagome can barely think. Her anger was getting the best of her and she knew that she should be trying to take the Shikon no Tama from Naraku, not encouraging him to take it! But no... here she was, practically begging him to take the power just so she would be left alone with Inuyasha.
She was selfish - she would rather not serve her land and leave with Inuyasha to his world... but she was only human! Her feelings were confused, warring with her desperate mind.
Naraku suddenly stood reigid at what she said. He stepped down from the spot where he was sitting and bent down to take her chin in his hand.
She furiously pulled her face away from his fingers. "Don't touch me," she said in a threateningly low voice.
Naraku backed away slightly. He knew when his princess was mad. And right then, she was radiating fury. "My dear princess, don't you understand? I don't want the shikon... I became strong for YOU... because I knew that the princess could only be touched by one who is stronger than herself. I intended to share my powers with you, maybe even help you rule the land, but you refused me... so I had to take you away."
Kagome was not touched. She just seethed even more. "And you thought that you could make me love you by abducting me and letting my land rot?! You are crazy, Naraku. I will never marry you. I never even gave you a second glance, and you know it."
Naraku's eyes darkened. "I don't understand you... I was a dedicated warrior. All I wanted to do was please you..."
"YOU KILLED MY BROTHER!" she yelled once again, ignoring the burning pain in her throat. "You have always been jealous of Souta... you wanted to be the head guard more than anything else. And you want to share control over Crystallia, admit it!"
Naraku bowed his head, shaking it slightly. "I want you to be my wife... there is nothing else."
Kagome would never believe his lies. He was an overly ambitious warrior. Before he suddenly disappeared from the palace, he seemed to have an obsessive need to lead... she noticed his lust-filled stares at her all the time, and he always irked her to no end... but he was her warrior. He wouldn't dare do anything improper.
Kagome tensed as she noticed that he was approaching her once again. He was taking small steps towards her and she backed away with every forward step he took. She gasped when she saw him take off his haori.
"What do you think you're doing?!" she asked in panic as he raised his usual lustful eyes to regard her.
"If I take you now... that dog warrior wouldn't have any claim on you..."
Kagome paled considerably at that. She backed away again, only to meet the hard wall of the cave. 'He's gonna... he's gonna rape me!' her mind screamed out in frantic fear.
She screamed shrilly when he pressed her to the wall with his body. He licked his lips and grinned evilly whwen she cringed.
"Naraku... stay away from me..." she said, anger and fear combining in her usually soft voice. She clenched her eyes in disgust when she felt his breath upon her face.
"Bite me," he said softly, using his right hand to pull apart his inner robe. The Shikon no Tama glowed on his chest, and Kagome tried to gather her holy powers into her hand to blast him away. To her shock and displeasure, nothing happened.
'The cave... the cave is spell-bound. It is blocking my powers!' she thought in panic as Naraku leaned even closer to her, holding her waist tightly in his right hand, chuckling slightly at the sight of her terror- stricken eyes.
"Iya..." she said softly. "Naraku... onegai... don't do this!" she cried frantically as he licked the pulse on her neck. She tried to push him away, but he was much too strong. A second later, she was shocked that he had somehow managed to pin her hands down between them.
"And who's gonna stop me?" he said with a smirk.
"Iya! Let me go!" she screamed again. 'No... I don't want him to be the first... no, I don't want him at all!'
"Gods, help!" she cried, tears of anger and disgust for the man before her floeing down her cheeks as she felt his hands start to roam beneath her clothing, reaching the bandages that bound her breasts. "Get your filthy hands of me!"
Naraku just chuckled cruelly.
"IYA! Help me!" she screamed again as his fingers splayed on the material covering her chest. 'This can't be happening!'
"INUYASHA!!!" she yelled, but her next shout for help was cut off when Naraku roughly pressed his lips against hers.
-----/---@
Inuyasha was keeping up with Kouga. A BIG accomplishment for him.
"Which way?" Kouga asked anxiously as they came to a narrow fork in the road. Inuyasha pleasantly found that he had a very good advantge over the wolf - he was a better tracker. His sense of smell, despite the fact that he was a hanyou, was stronger than the ookami's.
Th place was full of strange tunnels that twisted this way and that, and it was driving the two canines crazy. Kouga was so intent on crushing Kagura for tricking him and making him look like a fool, and Inuyasha wanted nothing else but to take back his girlfriend.
Inuyasha sniffed, and was about to point in one direction when he stopped. Kagome's scent wasn't just coming from one direction... it was coming from both!
"Chikuso," he swore softly, sniffing again.
"What?" the ever-patient ookami prince asked.
"Kagome's scent... it's fucking everywhere!" he yelled.
"NANI?!"
Both youkai looked at each other for moment, before dashing to the ground on their hands and knees, noses touching the ground as they frantically sniffed aroud. They spent a few seconds going all over the floor before Kouga let out a discombobulated shout.
"You're right. Her scent is all over the place! Where do we go?!" he shouted.
Inuyasha stopped sniffing as he noticed a tiny piece of white bandage lying hidden on the floor of the left tunnel. He discreetly walked up to it and sniffed.
'So this is where Kagome's scent is coming from!' he thought, enlightened. He noticed that the whole tunnel didn't smell of Kagome after all. 'The other tunnel, on the other hand... but wait! What if they are just setting this up?'
"Kouga, we have split up," he said anxiously. "You take the left tunnel. I'll take the other one."
Kouga seemed happy with that. They ran to opposite directions and Inuyasha was just about to go into the right tunnel when Kouga called.
"What?" he called irritably, sticking his head out to regard the wolf.
"Be careful, you ass."
It was rude, but the warning surprised Inuyasha. Before he could catch himself he answered, "You too, shit-eater."
Both youkais then ran off.
Inuyasha's path was dark, and he could faintly smell another scent mixed-in with Kagome's. It was the scent that came off Kagura and the stupid bats that he had fought on his first day in Crystallia.
Naraku.
He sped his steps when the realization hit him... Naraku was in there with Kagome, and he hated to think that his Kagome was in danger.
He thought he could distantly hear Kagome's voice and that spurred him faster. She was shouting something, but he could only make out two words - "Naraku... onegai...!"
Inuyasha's blood ran cold. He ran faster, his feet pounding heavily on the stone floor. 'To hell with stealth!'
The scent of arousal filled the air and he desperately ran to the direction of the combined scents of Kagome, Naraku and the scent of arousal.
He sprinted off more desperately, and he sighted a strange light from somewhere ahead. The scent was much stronger now. He was near... he can feel it.
He rounded a bend and was about to call to Kagome when a ghastly sight greeted him.
His Kagome was kissing someone else... someone who smelled like Kagura.
Kagome was kissing Naraku.
-----/---@
Sunset.
It was something that Sango had rarely ever paid any heed, but right now, as she sat before the large window in her room, she found it absolutely breath-taking.
For one, the colors in the sky were nothing short of stunning. All the colors of fire merged into one, creating a golden, almost ethereal scene in the sky.
Secondly, the fall of night would end the day. The end of the day meant that she only had a few hours to wait for until she could finally leave the castle.
"Kagome..." she murmured for perhaps the hundredth time that day. She sincerely missed her best friend.
She heard soft footsteps coming from right outside her door. 'Miroku,' she concluded. She knew it was him... she always did. It almost seemed as if she had a special sixth sense that only felt him.
She mentally ticked off what the houshi was doing outside her door. Three more steps and he would be standing right before her door. He would transfer his weight from foot to foot before finally deciding to just stand steadily on both legs.
He would then do something to cause a little more shuffling - sometimes he just pulled at his sleeves. At other times he would take his staff in his right hand, only to pass it back to his left. Then he would raise his right handto her knocker. But he won't knock yet. He would hold the knocker for a while longer, then, almost hesitantly, he would knock on her door.
She knew what he did by listening to him in her room as he stood by her door, and it was always the exact same thing, the exact same sequence. She giggled lightly at the confirmation of her prediction, but just for the sake of enjoyment, she went up to the door and opened it before he had the chance to knock.
Oh, the look of surprise on his face was priceless! She tried to act surprised. "Why, Houshi-sama... what are you doing here?"
Miroku stuttered and Sango had discretely to pinch her own behind to keep from laughing. He looked up and down, everywhere but her, then let his eyes settle on Sango again. Only, he wasn't looking at her face.
*SLAP*
"Hentai!" Sango barked after slapping him. He had conveniently decided to rest his eyes on her bosom. "I swear... your eyes and hands are wandering wonders."
"Ah, gomen, Sango-sama! Haha!" he said laughingly as he rubbed his hand- printed cheek. "I just came here to bid you goodnight, actually."
"And you expect me to believe that?"
"Actually, no," he replied, scratching the back of his head in a bit of embarrassment.
"So?"
"So... what?"
"So why did you come over?" Sango asked impatiently.
Miroku grinned. "Kirara wants to see you. Actually, she wishes to show you something."
Sango looked at him strangely. She had already spoken to Kirara about leaving the palace and the cat had agreed enthusiastically. "What is it?"
"You'll see! Come on, she's in the garden."
'The garden?' she thought in astonishment as the priest headed away from her room. Sango fell into step after him.
She saw Kirara standing in her untransformed form in the middle of the garden. Her legs, that had practically been bandaged since Naraku had attacked, were now completely devoid of even the tiniest scratch.
She was mewing softly, looking at her mistress expectantly. Snago ran up to her pet and smiled. "Oi, Kirara. You need to rest. We have a very long way to go, you know," she said as she leaned down and scratched behind Kirara's ears.
Kirara lazily went around her legs and and stood securely beneath her feet. She leaned down questioningly, but had no time to voice her concerns as he cat suddenly transformed beneath her, efficiently taking her onto her back.
Sango let out a small squeal of surprise as Kirara flew off, lifting off the ground as rapidly as lightning. She watched as the people on the ground seemed to become smaller as they rose steadily. Miroku waved at them, and Kirara took a sudden maneuver and headed for the monk.
Kirara dipped low enough for the monk to reach. He reached up and held on to a large patch of her fur as she swooped down, and Sango laughingly helped him up onto the neko-youkai's back.
Sango felt wonderful as they flew swiftly around the castle. "Kirara, Miroku! This is fun!" she shouted in glee.
Miroku noticed that she had called him by his name, and grinned. "The best is yet to come, Sango!"
Sango also noticed that he had been calling her by her first name more and more each day, but let it slide. Besides, she loved the way her name sounded from her beloved's lips.
They were flying higher, and Sango realized that they were heade straight for the barrier that concealed tha palace. She began to panic and just as they were about to collide with the barrier, she shouted, "Kirara, watch out! We'll hit the... eh?"
She blinked when they easily went through the place where the barrier should have been. She turned to the man who was sitting right behind her.
"I told you the best was yet to come!" he answered her questioning gaze.
The barrier was down! "Since when?" she shouted over the roar of the wind.
Miroku grinned. "Since late this noon," he replied.
They flew around a bit more until Sango felt like her pet had enough. Sango's cheeks wer flushed with exhilaration, and she was laughing as she slid off Kirara.
"That was great, Kirara. Now go to sleep. We have a long way to go," she said as her pet turned back to her kitten-like form.
"Hai, we do," Miroku agreed. "Shall we go to sleep now? I would be delighted to escort you to your room."
"That would be nice," Sango replied. She began to lead her way to her room when she felt a familiar hand rub her backside.
*SLAP, SLAP, SLAP!*
"HENTAI!"
-----/---@
Inuyasha's breath caught in his throat as an agonizing pain tore through his heart. Her hands were between them... she wasn't even trying to push him away. He tried to turn away from them but he couldn't seem to pull his gaze away from the kissing pair.
His hands were hidden beneath her shirt and he guessed that he was touching her intimately. His back was to him, his dark hair keeping their faces from his sight. Inuyasha wanted to close his eyes and believe that this was a deception, but he could clearly see that it WAS Kagome.
His chest began to constrict and he clenched his fists tightly, angrily, but not at Kagome. He was mad at himself... he didn't know why, but he just couldn't be mad at Kagome.
He had begun to turn away when he heard a small sob. He turned again and nearly gasped. Naraku had twisted a bit, letting Inuyasha see Kagome's face. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and he saw that her hands were trapped tightly between her and Naraku, but she was still fighting to free herself furiously. That's when it hit him - the bastard was forcing himself on HIS girlfriend!
Inuyasha grabbed hold of Tetsusaiga and yelled, "Keep your hands off my girlfriend!" as he swung at Naraku.
Naraku seemed to have sensed him somehow, because he managed to dodge his attack at the very last moment, releasing Kagome's shaking form.
Inuyasha stepped up to Kagome, worry etxched upon his face as he stared at his shivering companion. "Kagome, daijobu?"
No sooner had the question left his lips when Kagome suddenly reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing uncontrollably. He reached up to smooth back her hair as he clutched him to herself, whispering frightened words into his ears. Her face was buried in his hair as she cried, and he warily watched the furious Naraku from where he stood on the opposite side of the cave.
"Inuyasha..." she sobbed. "Arigatou. If you hadn't come, he would have... oh, Inuyasha!"
Inuyasha felt his anger rise, and he gently pushed Kagome away from himself as he turned to glare at Naraku. "So you're Naraku. I finally met you, you fucking bastard of a coward. What have you done with the princess?!"
He didn't see Kagome cringe behind him at the metion of the princess. "How could you do this to your own princess, to your own world!? Let Azalea go and I promise to kill you quickly. I'll even make considerations, despite the fact that you damn near raped the woman I love!" he yelled out the last part of that, cracking his knuckles.
"Ku ku ku... you don't know half of it, half breed,' he replied enigmatically.
Befroe he could swipe at him, Naraku disappeared, just like that, into a cloud of dark smoke. Inuyahsa coughed violently and held his nose, hearing Kagome do the same behind hm.
"I'll get you Naraku!" he hollered. "You'll pay for everything you've done!"
He turned to Kagome just in time to see her fall to the ground. "Kagome!" he shouted in alarm, not knowing what had happened. One moment, she was standing there, and the next...
Kagome was deathly pale, andhe noticed that she was absently trying to reach down her thigh, and he looked down to see what it was. There, right on her leg, was a small scratch that was rapidly changing color.
"What the fuck..." he began.
"Poison... liquid miasma... he had injected it at me when he kissed me... Inuyasha..."
Her loss off consciousness prevented her from saying much else.
-----/---@
A/N: Another chap finished! Yay! I actually finished typing this at three in the morning. Oh well... so I lost track of time!?
As I said, this is the last chap before the lemon, so watch out for it. ^_^
Responses:
TheWraith: Ooooh... DBZ! I absolutely adore Trunks. Anyway, I'm glad you like my fic, and I actually have an idea as to what to do about Kagura and Kanna at the end of the fic. Japanese pronunciations can be quite queer, but that's what's so fun about their language, lol! BTW, you have GREAT ideas! Anyone would want to co-write with such a witty person. Heck, I'd do it if I had the time and if you would agree. ^_^
KrysTheAngel: Hehehe... what can I say... I love fluff! I'm glad you liked it, and I hope I got you into a fluffy-enough mood to write your fluff chaps! Whatever your problem is, I hope you can get past it asap. Problems suck. Good luck in solving it! BTW, you're a working student?! How cool is that?! I wanted to work for my college fees, but my dad is too protective and won't let me. He said he'd rather pay for everything coz it was his duty and all that crap. But I REALLY want to work. And don't skip work! That would be less pay!
Kinara: Yay! ^_^
Sparkling_aura: I was actually a bit late in emailing you, gomen! But I guess you don't mind, ne? ^_^ I'm glad you like my fic. You live in Canada? Cool! My boyfriend is leaving for Canada FOR GOOD on October... maybe you can keep an eye on him for me, lol! I don't know how he would survive there... he doesn't know a single word of French. ^_^
BlazinRuby: I'm glad you liked my last chap! Here's the update!
Blubber: The lemon is coming, don't worry! I'm glad you like my fic!
DragonStar03: I'm glad you like it!
Litwolf689: Oooh, I simply detest power outages. It makes me feel so useless. BTW, it's not really 'almost done', but I'm only about ten chaps away... that's still a lot and besides, I hate to admit it but I've got the end of this fic all planned out, and I'm anxious to write it! About the movies, an exclusive anime store sells them here in the Philippines, and that's mostly where I get 'em. You could even get posters and lots of other fanstuff there. I don't have to go through the agony of waiting on the internet for their release. The store does that. But they mostly sell DVD's. And No, your reviews don't bug me. I love long reviews!
Hanamaru285: Here's the chap!
Niku: Thanks! I'm glad you like my fic. And oh yeah... they are catching up real quick, too.
Trina: Salamat! I hope you received my email... Glad you like my story!
Justmeh: I just HAD to get her kidnapped one more time. It's so much fun to write those scenes! ^_^ I'm glad you like it!
Hyperchica11: If you happy, me happy too!
A/N: Thanks again for all your reviews! I love reviews, and they make me feel all fuzzy inside! Please tell me what you think of this chapter. Ja ne!
ScarletRaven1001
Anyway, gomen for the mistakes. I really ought to have my PC upgraded. Ooooh... I've been DYING to get my claws on an XP. Maybe I'll ask my dad to get me a new computer for my 18th birthday! Maybe a good laptop... Dream on, Scarlet!
Anyway, to those who asked, yes, this will be the last chap before the lemon. According to my PC files, this chap is chapter19. The lemon would be chapter20. I'll be posting the citrus on mm.org and aff.net. The non-lemon version of chapter20 will be posted on ff.net. No lemon in this chap. I'll be posting the chaps in 2 or 3 days at best. My professors have once again deicded to lay hell on my shoulders, and I've got too much to do. Gomen ne.
I know, enough with the dumb author's note. On with the show!
Disclaimer: I own nothing. I don't like it, but what can I do?
-----/---@
SEVEN WEEKS
Rage and Reunions
-----/---@
"Son of a bitch!!!" Inuyasha yelled in panic as he realized that he was a few inches short of the ledge. He was gonna fall, and looking down, decided that whatever would happen once he fell would NOT be pretty.
He tried to scrabble with his hands, and soon found himself holding narrowly onto the edge of the ledge. Only three of the fingers on his right hand managed to take a nearly futile grasp of the earth.
"Shit... SHIT!" he yelled yet again, kicking about to find anything at all that he could step on to get up on the edge of the cliff. The sun was setting in the horizon, marking the end of another one of his days in Crystallia.
'Fuck it! I am NOT gonna die! Kagome...'
-----/---@
Kouga stared as he saw the hanyou take a few steps back. 'Is the idiot gonna try to jump the ledge?' he thought in wonder, and gasped loudly as Inuyasha ran for the side of the cliff. 'He IS gonna jump!'
He saw Inuyasha take a large leap, only to unsuccessfully fall a couple of inches short, screaming obscenities all the way down.
'The idiot...' he thinks as he takes off to see where Inuyasha was. He knew he would survive. The man was too bull-headed to die just like that. Besides, he was a sorcerer.
'But he sure is determined to save Kagome. I'd have to thank him for his efforts to save my woman,' he told himself before he leapt off. He too, fell a few inches short, but with his speed, managed to maneuver himself into a horizontal position in the air, bracing his feet against the rock and running up the vertical earth.
-----/---@
'God dammit!' Inuyasha thought as he saw Kouga running up the cliff wall. 'He's gonna get to Kagome before me!'
Just sh the wolf passed by him though, he shocked the pants of Inuyasha as he reached down and pulled him, by the arm, up the wall with him. It took a second before the information sunk into Inuyasha's shocked consciousness - the ookami had just saved his ass.
He looked at Kouga in shock as the wolf prince let go of his arm as one would a piece of dung. Kouga was shaking his head to himself as if he barely believed that he had just saved his own opponent.
"Oi," Inuyasha began. "Why'd you do that?"
The wolf just looked at him impassively. "I couldn't let you die like that... you were supposed to die by MY hands," he responded and Inuyasha immediately gripped Tetsusaiga. "Besides, you were on your way to save MY woman, weren't you, sorcerer?"
Inuyasha bristled at that, growling slightly as he cracked his knuckles. 'HIS woman? Why this fucking piece of... wait a sec.'
"And just WHY the fuck do you keep on calling me a god damn sorcerer?" he demanded. "I don't even know any magic you asshole!"
"You think you can fool me? I know your secret. That bitch told me so!"
"Which bitch told you WHAT?"
"About you being a sorcerer!"
"I'm NOT a sorcerer!!!"
Both canine youkai started growling at each other once again, trying their best to look more intimidating than the other. They just ended up looking really, really silly, but neither would ever admit that.
"What the hell made you think that I am a fucking sorcerer, and WHO told you so?!" Inuyasha asked angrily.
Kouga made a slightly annoyed face and answered. "Kagura told me. She said that you had hypnotized Kagome into going with you after she had fallen in love with me!"
Inuyasha face-faulted. "NANI? And you believed her? What kind of idiot are you?!"
"It makes a LOT of sense," Kouga said to himself, ignoring Inuyasha. "She had already cozied up to me... then I left for a while and she had disappeared..."
"OI!" Inuyasha shouted in Kouga's face. "What are you talking about?"
Kouga looked at him in irritation. "Sorcerer. She went outside the cave looking for me, and you took her. You made her stay with you! Kagura told me so!"
Inuyasha gaped. 'This guy is dumber than I thought!' he thought incredulously. "And you believed that?"
Kouga nodded vigorously. "Of course! Why would she have left me if it weren't true?"
"And you STILL believe her after seeing that she just took Kagome from right under our fucking noses?!"
Kouga thought that over. "You're right! You mean, she tricked me?!"
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner," Inuyasha said in a voice full of sarcasm.
Kouga fumed. "That woman fooled me and took my Kagome! Just she wait... I am going to wring her neck!" he yelled as he sprinted off towards the direction where Kagura had disappeared to a few minutes ago. Inuyasha stared at him incredulously.
Kouga suddenly stopped in his tracks. "Oi, Inu-kuro! You coming?"
Inuyasha shook his head in disbelief. 'Man, he's weird,' he thought before sprinting off in the same direction.
'Just wait for me Kagome... I'm coming to get you,' he promised her mentally.
-----/---@
"Naraku, you have already done enough damage. Just give it up, Naraku! I don't love you. And you know as well as I do that I can never love anyone... it just isn't allowed and you know it!" Kagome shouted in anger.
Naraku shook his head, mocking her. "To go back to being princess, you will need this, ne?" he asked rhetorically, holding up the Shikon no Tama. He had strung the Shikon no Tama onto a long piece of golden string and tied it around his neck.
Kagome said nothing. He was right, and she cringed mentally at that.
"So your quest is to take this back. HIS is to take back the princess, and he doesn't even know that he has already accomplished it. Maybe I should inform him?" Naraku mocked her again.
Her hair was standing on end in anger. "Don't you DARE, Naraku."
"And what do you intend to do if I do? Kill me? Why, Azalea-hime..." Naraku laughed as she cut him off with a sharp retort.
"Don't call me that! I am Kagome... I am not the princess, not so long as I do not bear the Shikon. That's what you want, isn't it? The Shikon? You have it now... why don't you leave me alone and just take the damn power for yourself?!" Kagome yelled shrilly in pure fury.
"I'm sure you can figure out how to use it," Kagome wheezed, her voice hoarse from her furious outburst. "You figured out how to use the forbiodden power in the Garnet Tower. Using the Shikon would be easy enough for you."
Kagome can barely think. Her anger was getting the best of her and she knew that she should be trying to take the Shikon no Tama from Naraku, not encouraging him to take it! But no... here she was, practically begging him to take the power just so she would be left alone with Inuyasha.
She was selfish - she would rather not serve her land and leave with Inuyasha to his world... but she was only human! Her feelings were confused, warring with her desperate mind.
Naraku suddenly stood reigid at what she said. He stepped down from the spot where he was sitting and bent down to take her chin in his hand.
She furiously pulled her face away from his fingers. "Don't touch me," she said in a threateningly low voice.
Naraku backed away slightly. He knew when his princess was mad. And right then, she was radiating fury. "My dear princess, don't you understand? I don't want the shikon... I became strong for YOU... because I knew that the princess could only be touched by one who is stronger than herself. I intended to share my powers with you, maybe even help you rule the land, but you refused me... so I had to take you away."
Kagome was not touched. She just seethed even more. "And you thought that you could make me love you by abducting me and letting my land rot?! You are crazy, Naraku. I will never marry you. I never even gave you a second glance, and you know it."
Naraku's eyes darkened. "I don't understand you... I was a dedicated warrior. All I wanted to do was please you..."
"YOU KILLED MY BROTHER!" she yelled once again, ignoring the burning pain in her throat. "You have always been jealous of Souta... you wanted to be the head guard more than anything else. And you want to share control over Crystallia, admit it!"
Naraku bowed his head, shaking it slightly. "I want you to be my wife... there is nothing else."
Kagome would never believe his lies. He was an overly ambitious warrior. Before he suddenly disappeared from the palace, he seemed to have an obsessive need to lead... she noticed his lust-filled stares at her all the time, and he always irked her to no end... but he was her warrior. He wouldn't dare do anything improper.
Kagome tensed as she noticed that he was approaching her once again. He was taking small steps towards her and she backed away with every forward step he took. She gasped when she saw him take off his haori.
"What do you think you're doing?!" she asked in panic as he raised his usual lustful eyes to regard her.
"If I take you now... that dog warrior wouldn't have any claim on you..."
Kagome paled considerably at that. She backed away again, only to meet the hard wall of the cave. 'He's gonna... he's gonna rape me!' her mind screamed out in frantic fear.
She screamed shrilly when he pressed her to the wall with his body. He licked his lips and grinned evilly whwen she cringed.
"Naraku... stay away from me..." she said, anger and fear combining in her usually soft voice. She clenched her eyes in disgust when she felt his breath upon her face.
"Bite me," he said softly, using his right hand to pull apart his inner robe. The Shikon no Tama glowed on his chest, and Kagome tried to gather her holy powers into her hand to blast him away. To her shock and displeasure, nothing happened.
'The cave... the cave is spell-bound. It is blocking my powers!' she thought in panic as Naraku leaned even closer to her, holding her waist tightly in his right hand, chuckling slightly at the sight of her terror- stricken eyes.
"Iya..." she said softly. "Naraku... onegai... don't do this!" she cried frantically as he licked the pulse on her neck. She tried to push him away, but he was much too strong. A second later, she was shocked that he had somehow managed to pin her hands down between them.
"And who's gonna stop me?" he said with a smirk.
"Iya! Let me go!" she screamed again. 'No... I don't want him to be the first... no, I don't want him at all!'
"Gods, help!" she cried, tears of anger and disgust for the man before her floeing down her cheeks as she felt his hands start to roam beneath her clothing, reaching the bandages that bound her breasts. "Get your filthy hands of me!"
Naraku just chuckled cruelly.
"IYA! Help me!" she screamed again as his fingers splayed on the material covering her chest. 'This can't be happening!'
"INUYASHA!!!" she yelled, but her next shout for help was cut off when Naraku roughly pressed his lips against hers.
-----/---@
Inuyasha was keeping up with Kouga. A BIG accomplishment for him.
"Which way?" Kouga asked anxiously as they came to a narrow fork in the road. Inuyasha pleasantly found that he had a very good advantge over the wolf - he was a better tracker. His sense of smell, despite the fact that he was a hanyou, was stronger than the ookami's.
Th place was full of strange tunnels that twisted this way and that, and it was driving the two canines crazy. Kouga was so intent on crushing Kagura for tricking him and making him look like a fool, and Inuyasha wanted nothing else but to take back his girlfriend.
Inuyasha sniffed, and was about to point in one direction when he stopped. Kagome's scent wasn't just coming from one direction... it was coming from both!
"Chikuso," he swore softly, sniffing again.
"What?" the ever-patient ookami prince asked.
"Kagome's scent... it's fucking everywhere!" he yelled.
"NANI?!"
Both youkai looked at each other for moment, before dashing to the ground on their hands and knees, noses touching the ground as they frantically sniffed aroud. They spent a few seconds going all over the floor before Kouga let out a discombobulated shout.
"You're right. Her scent is all over the place! Where do we go?!" he shouted.
Inuyasha stopped sniffing as he noticed a tiny piece of white bandage lying hidden on the floor of the left tunnel. He discreetly walked up to it and sniffed.
'So this is where Kagome's scent is coming from!' he thought, enlightened. He noticed that the whole tunnel didn't smell of Kagome after all. 'The other tunnel, on the other hand... but wait! What if they are just setting this up?'
"Kouga, we have split up," he said anxiously. "You take the left tunnel. I'll take the other one."
Kouga seemed happy with that. They ran to opposite directions and Inuyasha was just about to go into the right tunnel when Kouga called.
"What?" he called irritably, sticking his head out to regard the wolf.
"Be careful, you ass."
It was rude, but the warning surprised Inuyasha. Before he could catch himself he answered, "You too, shit-eater."
Both youkais then ran off.
Inuyasha's path was dark, and he could faintly smell another scent mixed-in with Kagome's. It was the scent that came off Kagura and the stupid bats that he had fought on his first day in Crystallia.
Naraku.
He sped his steps when the realization hit him... Naraku was in there with Kagome, and he hated to think that his Kagome was in danger.
He thought he could distantly hear Kagome's voice and that spurred him faster. She was shouting something, but he could only make out two words - "Naraku... onegai...!"
Inuyasha's blood ran cold. He ran faster, his feet pounding heavily on the stone floor. 'To hell with stealth!'
The scent of arousal filled the air and he desperately ran to the direction of the combined scents of Kagome, Naraku and the scent of arousal.
He sprinted off more desperately, and he sighted a strange light from somewhere ahead. The scent was much stronger now. He was near... he can feel it.
He rounded a bend and was about to call to Kagome when a ghastly sight greeted him.
His Kagome was kissing someone else... someone who smelled like Kagura.
Kagome was kissing Naraku.
-----/---@
Sunset.
It was something that Sango had rarely ever paid any heed, but right now, as she sat before the large window in her room, she found it absolutely breath-taking.
For one, the colors in the sky were nothing short of stunning. All the colors of fire merged into one, creating a golden, almost ethereal scene in the sky.
Secondly, the fall of night would end the day. The end of the day meant that she only had a few hours to wait for until she could finally leave the castle.
"Kagome..." she murmured for perhaps the hundredth time that day. She sincerely missed her best friend.
She heard soft footsteps coming from right outside her door. 'Miroku,' she concluded. She knew it was him... she always did. It almost seemed as if she had a special sixth sense that only felt him.
She mentally ticked off what the houshi was doing outside her door. Three more steps and he would be standing right before her door. He would transfer his weight from foot to foot before finally deciding to just stand steadily on both legs.
He would then do something to cause a little more shuffling - sometimes he just pulled at his sleeves. At other times he would take his staff in his right hand, only to pass it back to his left. Then he would raise his right handto her knocker. But he won't knock yet. He would hold the knocker for a while longer, then, almost hesitantly, he would knock on her door.
She knew what he did by listening to him in her room as he stood by her door, and it was always the exact same thing, the exact same sequence. She giggled lightly at the confirmation of her prediction, but just for the sake of enjoyment, she went up to the door and opened it before he had the chance to knock.
Oh, the look of surprise on his face was priceless! She tried to act surprised. "Why, Houshi-sama... what are you doing here?"
Miroku stuttered and Sango had discretely to pinch her own behind to keep from laughing. He looked up and down, everywhere but her, then let his eyes settle on Sango again. Only, he wasn't looking at her face.
*SLAP*
"Hentai!" Sango barked after slapping him. He had conveniently decided to rest his eyes on her bosom. "I swear... your eyes and hands are wandering wonders."
"Ah, gomen, Sango-sama! Haha!" he said laughingly as he rubbed his hand- printed cheek. "I just came here to bid you goodnight, actually."
"And you expect me to believe that?"
"Actually, no," he replied, scratching the back of his head in a bit of embarrassment.
"So?"
"So... what?"
"So why did you come over?" Sango asked impatiently.
Miroku grinned. "Kirara wants to see you. Actually, she wishes to show you something."
Sango looked at him strangely. She had already spoken to Kirara about leaving the palace and the cat had agreed enthusiastically. "What is it?"
"You'll see! Come on, she's in the garden."
'The garden?' she thought in astonishment as the priest headed away from her room. Sango fell into step after him.
She saw Kirara standing in her untransformed form in the middle of the garden. Her legs, that had practically been bandaged since Naraku had attacked, were now completely devoid of even the tiniest scratch.
She was mewing softly, looking at her mistress expectantly. Snago ran up to her pet and smiled. "Oi, Kirara. You need to rest. We have a very long way to go, you know," she said as she leaned down and scratched behind Kirara's ears.
Kirara lazily went around her legs and and stood securely beneath her feet. She leaned down questioningly, but had no time to voice her concerns as he cat suddenly transformed beneath her, efficiently taking her onto her back.
Sango let out a small squeal of surprise as Kirara flew off, lifting off the ground as rapidly as lightning. She watched as the people on the ground seemed to become smaller as they rose steadily. Miroku waved at them, and Kirara took a sudden maneuver and headed for the monk.
Kirara dipped low enough for the monk to reach. He reached up and held on to a large patch of her fur as she swooped down, and Sango laughingly helped him up onto the neko-youkai's back.
Sango felt wonderful as they flew swiftly around the castle. "Kirara, Miroku! This is fun!" she shouted in glee.
Miroku noticed that she had called him by his name, and grinned. "The best is yet to come, Sango!"
Sango also noticed that he had been calling her by her first name more and more each day, but let it slide. Besides, she loved the way her name sounded from her beloved's lips.
They were flying higher, and Sango realized that they were heade straight for the barrier that concealed tha palace. She began to panic and just as they were about to collide with the barrier, she shouted, "Kirara, watch out! We'll hit the... eh?"
She blinked when they easily went through the place where the barrier should have been. She turned to the man who was sitting right behind her.
"I told you the best was yet to come!" he answered her questioning gaze.
The barrier was down! "Since when?" she shouted over the roar of the wind.
Miroku grinned. "Since late this noon," he replied.
They flew around a bit more until Sango felt like her pet had enough. Sango's cheeks wer flushed with exhilaration, and she was laughing as she slid off Kirara.
"That was great, Kirara. Now go to sleep. We have a long way to go," she said as her pet turned back to her kitten-like form.
"Hai, we do," Miroku agreed. "Shall we go to sleep now? I would be delighted to escort you to your room."
"That would be nice," Sango replied. She began to lead her way to her room when she felt a familiar hand rub her backside.
*SLAP, SLAP, SLAP!*
"HENTAI!"
-----/---@
Inuyasha's breath caught in his throat as an agonizing pain tore through his heart. Her hands were between them... she wasn't even trying to push him away. He tried to turn away from them but he couldn't seem to pull his gaze away from the kissing pair.
His hands were hidden beneath her shirt and he guessed that he was touching her intimately. His back was to him, his dark hair keeping their faces from his sight. Inuyasha wanted to close his eyes and believe that this was a deception, but he could clearly see that it WAS Kagome.
His chest began to constrict and he clenched his fists tightly, angrily, but not at Kagome. He was mad at himself... he didn't know why, but he just couldn't be mad at Kagome.
He had begun to turn away when he heard a small sob. He turned again and nearly gasped. Naraku had twisted a bit, letting Inuyasha see Kagome's face. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and he saw that her hands were trapped tightly between her and Naraku, but she was still fighting to free herself furiously. That's when it hit him - the bastard was forcing himself on HIS girlfriend!
Inuyasha grabbed hold of Tetsusaiga and yelled, "Keep your hands off my girlfriend!" as he swung at Naraku.
Naraku seemed to have sensed him somehow, because he managed to dodge his attack at the very last moment, releasing Kagome's shaking form.
Inuyasha stepped up to Kagome, worry etxched upon his face as he stared at his shivering companion. "Kagome, daijobu?"
No sooner had the question left his lips when Kagome suddenly reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing uncontrollably. He reached up to smooth back her hair as he clutched him to herself, whispering frightened words into his ears. Her face was buried in his hair as she cried, and he warily watched the furious Naraku from where he stood on the opposite side of the cave.
"Inuyasha..." she sobbed. "Arigatou. If you hadn't come, he would have... oh, Inuyasha!"
Inuyasha felt his anger rise, and he gently pushed Kagome away from himself as he turned to glare at Naraku. "So you're Naraku. I finally met you, you fucking bastard of a coward. What have you done with the princess?!"
He didn't see Kagome cringe behind him at the metion of the princess. "How could you do this to your own princess, to your own world!? Let Azalea go and I promise to kill you quickly. I'll even make considerations, despite the fact that you damn near raped the woman I love!" he yelled out the last part of that, cracking his knuckles.
"Ku ku ku... you don't know half of it, half breed,' he replied enigmatically.
Befroe he could swipe at him, Naraku disappeared, just like that, into a cloud of dark smoke. Inuyahsa coughed violently and held his nose, hearing Kagome do the same behind hm.
"I'll get you Naraku!" he hollered. "You'll pay for everything you've done!"
He turned to Kagome just in time to see her fall to the ground. "Kagome!" he shouted in alarm, not knowing what had happened. One moment, she was standing there, and the next...
Kagome was deathly pale, andhe noticed that she was absently trying to reach down her thigh, and he looked down to see what it was. There, right on her leg, was a small scratch that was rapidly changing color.
"What the fuck..." he began.
"Poison... liquid miasma... he had injected it at me when he kissed me... Inuyasha..."
Her loss off consciousness prevented her from saying much else.
-----/---@
A/N: Another chap finished! Yay! I actually finished typing this at three in the morning. Oh well... so I lost track of time!?
As I said, this is the last chap before the lemon, so watch out for it. ^_^
Responses:
TheWraith: Ooooh... DBZ! I absolutely adore Trunks. Anyway, I'm glad you like my fic, and I actually have an idea as to what to do about Kagura and Kanna at the end of the fic. Japanese pronunciations can be quite queer, but that's what's so fun about their language, lol! BTW, you have GREAT ideas! Anyone would want to co-write with such a witty person. Heck, I'd do it if I had the time and if you would agree. ^_^
KrysTheAngel: Hehehe... what can I say... I love fluff! I'm glad you liked it, and I hope I got you into a fluffy-enough mood to write your fluff chaps! Whatever your problem is, I hope you can get past it asap. Problems suck. Good luck in solving it! BTW, you're a working student?! How cool is that?! I wanted to work for my college fees, but my dad is too protective and won't let me. He said he'd rather pay for everything coz it was his duty and all that crap. But I REALLY want to work. And don't skip work! That would be less pay!
Kinara: Yay! ^_^
Sparkling_aura: I was actually a bit late in emailing you, gomen! But I guess you don't mind, ne? ^_^ I'm glad you like my fic. You live in Canada? Cool! My boyfriend is leaving for Canada FOR GOOD on October... maybe you can keep an eye on him for me, lol! I don't know how he would survive there... he doesn't know a single word of French. ^_^
BlazinRuby: I'm glad you liked my last chap! Here's the update!
Blubber: The lemon is coming, don't worry! I'm glad you like my fic!
DragonStar03: I'm glad you like it!
Litwolf689: Oooh, I simply detest power outages. It makes me feel so useless. BTW, it's not really 'almost done', but I'm only about ten chaps away... that's still a lot and besides, I hate to admit it but I've got the end of this fic all planned out, and I'm anxious to write it! About the movies, an exclusive anime store sells them here in the Philippines, and that's mostly where I get 'em. You could even get posters and lots of other fanstuff there. I don't have to go through the agony of waiting on the internet for their release. The store does that. But they mostly sell DVD's. And No, your reviews don't bug me. I love long reviews!
Hanamaru285: Here's the chap!
Niku: Thanks! I'm glad you like my fic. And oh yeah... they are catching up real quick, too.
Trina: Salamat! I hope you received my email... Glad you like my story!
Justmeh: I just HAD to get her kidnapped one more time. It's so much fun to write those scenes! ^_^ I'm glad you like it!
Hyperchica11: If you happy, me happy too!
A/N: Thanks again for all your reviews! I love reviews, and they make me feel all fuzzy inside! Please tell me what you think of this chapter. Ja ne!
ScarletRaven1001
