Hey, all. I am EXTREMELY sorry for the long wait, I swear. Things have been really confusing and hectic here, starting with the fact that my best friend is moving away. She informed me a few months ago and things have been going downhill for her, her family, and me ever since, so I've been having kind of a rough time dealing with that. However, things have finally taken an upward turn and hopefully things will get better now, so very, very, very sorry for the really long wait and please be understanding. Thanks.

Review responses:

Puffin: Thanks! - Also, thanks for being patient with me, I know I've been slow.

Dragon Man 180: Yeah! Hooray for the Kouga-haters!

GranolaBar: No, I'm not dead. Lol.

YusukeFreak: Oh, man… You're making my head spin…

Dragon'skitty: lol… :sweatdrops:

Oogaboogabooga: I'm sorry for taking so long! I'm not dead!

Gilbertfan: Um… Thanks, but I'm sure I'm NOT as good as Rumiko… If not for her, my stories wouldn't exist! (my inu plushies! OO)

Yasha Chan 38: Yes, Sessho-maru is a demon. Everyone is pretty much the same species they were in the original anime.

Frisbee: Thanks for understanding! Quality over speed!

SakuraLuna: Fanart would be awesome! Please do!

Dark-wolf-soulX: lol… updation nation… Do you have that patented?

FictionLuverkdm: Don't worry. All will be explained in this chapter.

Kristen Sharpe: Yes, Sessho-maru is Inuyasha's brother. Thank you!

ShadowMagicks: You'll see… MWAHAHAHAHA:ahem:

Zimmer: Please don't worry about me not finishing my stories! I PROMISE I will always finish them, even if it takes me forever! I don't like my peeps to stress about that!

Angel-tears-16: eheheh… Thanks!

Also, thanks to: kirara, Emiri the Strange, Rykokitty, remix-69er, Dark Padme, a, punkkagome, WolfKeeper989, Lady Netiri, Crystal Aquarius, Happy youkai, atth99, moonsacrifice, kiki, shaq, Ryuu no Taiyo, chandie, One More Thing, Baka Psycho, Tsubaki, ObsessedChild, mistique, and subaru.

And now, excuse me while I bite someone's head off…

Flame response to Sammuri Kitty: IF you had bothered to read the author's note, I TOLD you why it took so long for me to update, and if you don't have time to read it, then I don't have time for you to cuss me out about something I gave an explanation for. From now on, if you're going to keep reading my stories, READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE TOO! I do my best to keep it short enough to read in under a minute. And if you're gonna get so pissed at me, quit reading.

Thank you…

Chapter 10

"I spy with my little eye something that is… green!"

"Um… The grass?"

"Nope. Guess again."

"The leaves."

"You got it! Your turn."

"Ok. I spy with my little eye something that is brown."

"The tree trunks?"

"You're good!"

"Thanks! Um… I spy with my little eye something that is red."

"Red? Hm… That bird over there!"

"That's right!"

"Can I have a try?"

"Sure."

"Okay, I spy with my little eye something that is round and…"

"Miroku!" Smack!

"What? What did I do?"

And so our travelers continued.

Kouga ran through the forest, not having any idea what he should do next. Naraku would most assuredly have his head if he ever returned to the carnival, so that wasn't an option. He couldn't get a job elsewhere, because who would hire someone wearing a bunch of firs and who had a bunch of wolves following him? And Kagome… Kouga shook his head angrily.

'You're a fool, Kouga. She already has Inuyasha… I mean, she's got to like him, right? Why else would anyone stick around with that dog turd? You don't have a chance… Stupid mutt-face… He doesn't deserve someone like Kagome.' Kouga stopped dead in his tracks as a thought occurred to him. 'That's right! He doesn't deserve someone as good as Kagome! And Kagome doesn't deserve someone as low as him! I… I have to save her from making the worst mistake of her life! I have to go back and save her from a terrible fate! I have to show her that she deserves only the best! She deserves me!'

With his mind made up, Kouga was about to turn around and go after Kagome again, but before he could take a step, a silver-haired figure, accompanied by a white tiger, stepped through the trees and approached Kouga.

"Kouga," Sessho-maru said calmly. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"I could say the same of you, Sessho-maru," Kouga replied.

"You smell of Ikari."

"Figures that mutt would leave his stench all over me," Kouga snorted. "I-"

"You also smell of a human girl…"

Kouga tensed. "Really? I wonder why that would be. I don't-"

"Silence. Obviously you have seen Ikari. And this girl… I presume she is the one who helped him to escape. Naraku will be pleased with this. And I suppose I should be thanking you for leaving me a fresh trail straight to them both."

"Don't you touch her!" Kouga snarled, aiming a punch at Sessho-maru.

Sessho-maru easily caught Kouga's attack and sent him flying straight into a tree. Kouga, determined not to let Sessho-maru through to Kagome, attacked again, but it ended up having the same result. As Kouga struggled to get up again, Sessho-maru appeared in front of him and grabbed Kouga's neck, effectively holding him down. As Sessho-maru held him there against the tree, Kouga caught a glimpse of movement behind Sessho-maru. A quick glance told him that the movement was caused by his wolves, who had finally caught up with him. Kouga smirked up at Sessho-maru.

"Get him!" he yelled.

The wolves, anxious to please their master, leapt forward without hesitation. They were stopped short by an enormous white tiger more than twice their size. The wolves shrank back, growling.

"Jaken. Finish them."

The tiger obeyed and killed all of the wolves swiftly, then returned to its master's side, its white coat stained with blood.

"Don't make the mistake of interfering, wolf tamer," Sessho-maru said icily. "Especially over a petty human girl."

Sessho-maru then picked Kouga up by the neck and threw him into yet another tree. This time, Kouga did not try to get up. Satisfied, Sessho-maru set off, following Kouga's trail back to Kagome and Inuyasha. After he disappeared through the trees, Kouga sat up, wiping blood from his mouth. He stared at his dead wolfs' bodies. Slowly, a determination formed in his mind.

'I can't let him have Kagome. I have to warn her!'

With his goal in mind, Kouga set off as fast as he could through the forest, cutting a wide circle around Sessho-maru.

The group had just stopped for lunch when Kouga found them. He burst through the trees and stumbled up to the group, completely out of breath. The entire group had been shocked to see him so soon and in the state that he was. Kagome had rushed up to help him while Inuyasha glared. As Kagome offered a seat to Kouga, he looked up and met Inuyasha's gaze.

"Sessho-maru," he gasped out. "He's coming."

Inuyasha's eyes widened in surprise. "Lie…" he said.

Kouga shook his head and tried to regain his breath.

"Sessho-maru?" both Sango and Miroku asked in confusion.

Kagome thought for a moment before she remembered. "He's the one from the carnival! The one who was supposed to be your 'tamer,' Inuyasha! Naraku must have sent him after you."

Inuyasha nodded growling in distaste.

"I suppose this is a bad thing," Miroku said.

Inuyasha nodded again.

"Wait!" Kagome said. "It can't be that bad, can it? I mean, you took the guy's arm off! You can beat him again, can't you?"

"No."

"What?" Kagome said, stunned.

"That was just luck, Kagome," Kouga cut in when he had recovered enough to speak. "Sessho-maru is much more powerful than you think."

"Then what do you suggest we do if we cannot fight him?" Sango asked.

"I suggest you run. It would probably be a good idea to split up, as well. Naraku wants Inuyasha, but he also wants the people responsible for helping him to escape. If we all split up, hopefully we'll have a chance of escaping. But we'd better hurry. Sessho-maru isn't far behind me."

Kagome ran as fast as she could, distancing herself from the others. Her heart pounded furiously and her breaths came short. She kept seeing strange shapes in the shadows that the light cast through the trees. She was terrified of what was going to happen. From Inuyasha's reaction and Kouga's words, Sessho-maru was a force to be reckoned with and couldn't be overcome as easily as all of the other obstacles that had come their way. She knew that this plan to split up was a desperate one. She had no idea what the outcome of this encounter was going to be and it terrified her. She wished there was something she could do to turn the tables, but there was nothing she could do but keep running…

A short distance away, Inuyasha was also running. He, too, knew that this was a desperate plan, but he had no hope that he would escape. He knew that Sessho-maru would come after him first and he knew that he didn't stand a chance. Kouga knew this as well. Kouga knew that Sessho-maru would be focused on capturing Inuyasha rather than wasting time chasing after Kagome, Sango, or Miroku. Kouga knew that splitting up spelled certain capture for Inuyasha, but that if they had stayed together, they might have stood a chance against Sessho-maru. Kouga also knew that if they had stayed together and fought Sessho-maru, Kagome was at risk for getting hurt, and that's why Kouga had suggested splitting up: to protect Kagome. For that, Inuyasha silently thanked Kouga as he ran. He wouldn't be able to stand it if anything happened to Kagome.

Suddenly, something hit him from behind and he fell to the ground. Inuyasha struggled to get up, but there was a weight on his back holding him down. He turned to see what it was and saw white fur shot through with black stripes. A white tiger. A pair of shoes appeared in front of his face and a cold voice addressed him.

"Hello, brother."

Inuyasha continued to struggle against the tiger.

"Half… brother," Inuyasha growled. He saw something moving off to the side and spared a quick glance. Sango was creeping silently through the trees, heading for a place where she would be able to attack Sessho-maru undetected.

"So… You can speak. Good. Then you can tell me where the girl is."

The tiger's paw lifted off his back and Inuyasha slowly pulled himself up into a crouch, watching Sango out of the corner of his eye. "Never."

"You should know better than to defy me, brother. When you split up, did you think you were protecting her?"

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed.

"Did you think that I would be too preoccupied with you to go after her? Did you think that when I brought you to Naraku he would be too overjoyed with you to care about your little girl?"

Inuyasha growled threateningly, trying to refrain from attacking. Sango just needed a little more time…

"Naraku wants your rescuer just as much as you, Inuyasha, and when I'm through with you, don't think that I won't go after her." Sessho-maru smirked. "And I'm sure that Naraku has a special surprise for her when I bring her to him…"

Inuyasha couldn't hold back any longer. He launched himself at Sessho-maru with a furious howl. Sessho-maru was expecting his attack and hit Inuyasha in the face, leaving a gash just below his left eye and sending him skidding backwards into the ground. Just then, Sango sprang from the trees with a fierce cry, swinging her boomerang at Sessho-maru. Sessho-maru barely had time to get out of the way before the boomerang came crashing down on the spot where his head was just seconds before.

"Run, Inuyasha!" Sango cried.

Inuyasha didn't hesitate. Now that he knew that Sessho-maru would go after Kagome no matter what, he had only one aim. He had to get to Kagome to protect her from Sessho-maru.

Once again, so sorry for the wait. As it turns out, when I finished writing this chapter, my computer decided to delete it. Completely. So I had to write the whole thing over again. I swear, someone doesn't like me.

By the way, since you guys have been so good to me, I'm going to post a new chapter in a few days, once I have it finished. Thanks peeps! Review!