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Chapter 2

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Here are some quick review responses... I don't normally do this, cause I usually get allot of reviews so I don't have the time... but since this story is just starting out, I can answer the first couple...Look for your name and see if I replied...Then go on and Enjoy chapter 2!!

Reviewers: Thank you all so much for your reviews!! You all rock soo much!!

Fairy: I'm so happy you enjoyed my fic. I promise to continue it!

FieryFoxDemon: I like this, I like this too! ; )

remix-69er: Soon...very soon...::wink wink::

CrzyGrl: I'm hurrying, I'm hurrying...please be patient lol

Dolphin-Slam: I know, it's so hard to think of Inuyasha as a 'monster' in a cage...

HailFireSano: I don't want to spoil anything...but he will...don't worry.

MichelleAnneSummers: Glad you do!! Enjoy!

Kage Kitsune27: Thanks for taking interest in this story. Your review was inspiration enough...thanks and Enjoy!!

Spot: Thank you very much...I hope you liked chapter 2...3 is coming soon.

Sakurascent: Yes, it will...I hope...keep reading

Kitsunefire: Thanks for the tip, you're right it does sound like I'm talking about fabric...lol...I'm glad you think it's original, keep reading!

Purplepeopleeater: Answer to question 1: Yes; Q2: I haven't figured that out yet...lol Q3: Yes, eventually; Q4: Kouga not Shippo; Q5: Not really, but good idea!! Thanks!!; Q6: No...sadly...no; I hope I answered all of your questions thanks for being such a devout fan!!

EvilRyuA13: Really? I didn't know that... I just kinda guessed at the voltage thing...I wasn't really looking for accuracy. Your right I don't know much about electric fences...sorry...I guess just kinda go with it...Thanks for the advice!

Tsunami001: Thank you so much; I'm happy to hear that you read my other fic's; Thank you for the inspiration...I hope you enjoy ch. 2

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Disclaimer: I no own...so you no sue... : )

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Kagome ran through the sideshow tents, her heart pounding, and her legs straining under the speed she was attempting to run.

When she was about ten feet away from Sango's tent, she began to shout: "Sango! Sango! Sango!"

She continued to run forward and into the tent, she half ran into Sango as she was exiting at the sound of Kagome's voice.

"Kagome?!? Kagome, what's wrong?" Sango cried out.

"The...the...the...hanyou!" Kagome cried, pointing franticly in the direction of the animal tent.

"What about the hanyou? Did he escape?!?" Sango asked hysterically.

Kagome calmed down, "No." she said bluntly.

"Then what's wrong?!?" Sango cried.

"He's...he's...he's..." Kagome stuttered.

"He's what? Out with it already!" Sango cried.

"Soft." Kagome finally said.

"SOFT?!?" Sango shouted.

Kagome nodded.

"What do you mean soft?!?" Sango cried. "Kagome, what did you do?"

Kagome ducked her head in shame, "His ears...their soft...like velvet."

"Kagome have you gone mad?" Sango asked. "How do you know his ears are soft?"

"I touched one." Kagome said proudly.

"KAGOME!!" Sango shrieked. "What the hell did you think you were doing? The hanyou could have ripped your arm off!!"

Kagome dug the toe of her boot in the ground, she felt stupid.

"Kagome, do you realize what could have happened to you? If your father knew about this...I...I don't know what he would do! You're lucky the cage didn't electrocute you! Heck, you're lucky the hanyou didn't rip your arm off!"

"You said that twice..." Kagome reminded her.

Sango raised an eyebrow, "That's cause I'm making a point!" she hollered.

"I couldn't help myself..." Kagome whined.

"Well try!" Sango thundered. "You forget, Kagome, he is just like the big cats and elephants. He is a WILD ANIMAL, you have to use caution. Extreme caution!"

Kagome glared up at her friend, "Sango, are you afraid of him?" she asked.

Sango sighed, "It's not about being afraid Kagome...It's just...I know what kind of damage these creatures can do...I've had to face them before. They are merciless hunters; they prey on people who try to overpower them."

Sango placed her hands on Kagome's shoulders, "Kagome, promise me you wont try and 'pet' the hanyou ever again!"

Kagome stared at the ground again.

"Kagome! Promise me!" Sango said.

"I promise, Sango..." Kagome said quietly.

"That's good, now...I have work to do and I'm sure you do too." Sango said, turning away.

"Sorry Sango..." Kagome said when she turned her back.

Sango smiled over her shoulder, "It's alright Kagome. Just don't go pulling anymore 'crazy' antics. You might not turn out so lucky next time..." With that, Sango headed back inside her tent, leaving Kagome alone outside.

'"You might not turn out so lucky next time..."' Sango's words reechoed in Kagome's mind. Kagome shook slightly, '...next time...' She was getting another chance. Another chance not to make the same mistake...a second chance...an extra chance...the chance her brother didn't get to have. '...not turn out so lucky...' Luck? What did luck have to do with it? She had luck...she was lucky...her brother...Souta...was unlucky...Souta...

......Flashback..........

"Why not let your brother do the high wire act this time?" Naraku said, grabbing a hold of Kagome's elbow before she could ascend the ladder to the platform.

"Souta? But he's not ready yet..." Kagome told him. "He still can't balance he weight right, he still needs more practice..."

"Then use the guard wire, so he won't fall. He's got to learn sometime; practice makes perfect." Naraku told her.

"Alright father," Kagome said, "I'll tell him." And she began to climb the rope ladder to the platform.

"Kagome," Her father called up to her as she climbed.

"Yes?" she called down to him.

"Make sure to tie it good and tight." Naraku said.

"Ok!" Kagome said.

She continued up the ladder, ten feet up...twenty feet up...thirty feet up...

Her brother stood already on the platform, dusting chalk onto his hands. Kagome pulled herself up and said to him, "Father want you to practice on the high wire, today."

Souta turned to her with wide eyes, "The high wire?"

Kagome nodded, putting chalk on her own hands.

"But only you do the high wire show..." Souta said.

"Well now he wants you to learn. You've seen me do it tons of times, Souta; you'll be fine, it's just practice." Kagome said. "And besides, you'll be hooked to the guard wire."

"Oh, alright then." Souta said. He turned and walked to the other end of the platform. His toes stretched over the edge as looked over the long, thin wire that extended out over to the other platform.

"Hold it Souta!" Kagome said, as she strapped him into the harness, she tied the guard wire around one of the loops on the harness and pulled the knot tight.

Souta flashed her a 'thank you' smile. Kagome smiled back and handed him the balance pole.

Souta clasped it with both hands and then turned to his eyes to his task.

"You'll be fine Souta!" Kagome called to him.

"I know!" he called back; he nudged his head toward the guard wire around his harness, "No worries!"

Kagome turned and busied herself with one of the trapeze swings. She cast small glances over at her brother, who began to make his way out across the high wire. She was so impressed with her little brother, he was a natural.

She watched as he made it out half way across the wire. Holding the balance pole out in front of him. Now, came the tricks.

The first one, was to let go of the balance pole. Which always felt like an extra lifeline out on the wire.

Her brother dropped his right arm from the rod. His weight changed and he wiggled a bit. But he kept his back straight and the wire still.

Next, he would have to stand on one foot, and hold the position.

Kagome's eyes widened as her brother lifted a shaky foot off of the wire. He held it out directly in front of him, keeping his heel parallel to the wire, to keep his balance straight.

Kagome wanted to clap for her brother, but she didn't want to break his concentration. It would still be awhile before he could perform in front of an audience, but still he was doing extremely well.

Souta replaced his lifted foot back down on the wire, and reclasped the balance pole with both hands.

Now, a hard trick. He would have to turn around and face the other direction. The spin around had to be quick and precise; your footing, accurate to the point.

Kagome could see a line of sweat on her brother's brow; he was concentrating extremely hard on his goal. Kagome's heart warmed for him.

Souta gingerly took a step backwards on the wire, letting his back toe touch the wire. He fixed his toes to support his weight when he would need them too. Then, with a deep breath, he pushed off the wire and brought his knee up towards his chest as he spun around.

His back foot landed straight on the wire, as he spun the full 180 degrees. His knees wobbled slightly as he stopped the spin. But his weight stayed straight, until his other leg fell back down in front, and he now could support his weight on both legs.

He had landed it beautify. Souta let out a drawn in breath with a gasp.

"Wonderful Souta!" Kagome called to him. This boosted his confidence and he flashed Kagome a half smile.

"Can I try it without the bar?" Souta called to her.

"Sure Souta!" Kagome said, "Toss it here." She moved closer to the edge of the platform.

She waited for when Souta was ready. Then, he pushed his arms out and thrusted the bar at her. Kagome caught it and laid it to the side.

Souta now stood on the wire, facing her, with his arms out for balance. Gently, he lowered his arms and stood normally. His chest heaved in and out with small gasps.

"I'm gonna try walking backwards!" he told Kagome.

"Go for it Souta!" Kagome called.

Souta's face turned stern again, as he refocused. He picked up his left foot and slowly ran it along the wire. His big toe scanning the length behind him. Once it was a comfortable distance behind him, Souta fixed his toes and lowered his heel down.

He distributed he weight to his left foot, as he did this, the wire shook slightly.

Kagome watched as his arms flung out instantly to balance himself. "Hold it Souta," she whispered, "Hold it..."

She watched as Souta waited for the wire to stop shaking. His nervousness only made the wire swivel more. He's knees began to bend low, as he searched for balance. His right leg was holding all his weight and it began to twitch under the pressure.

Then, he made a wrong move.

Kagome watched as he tried to take his left foot and put it back in front of him, to start over again. He moved to quickly, his mind nervous. He didn't think to place his toes to balance him.

He removed his left foot from behind him, and quickly swung it in front of him. His body leaned...leaned to far...his toes missed the mark...he swayed...tilted...his arms flailing about in small circles...then he fell.

Kagome's heart jumped into her throat. Falling was always scary. No matter how good you were, you always fell. It was like almost dying over and over again.

Souta would fall for about 8 or 9 feet before the guard rope would stop him. Kagome was seeing everything in slow motion. "Oh Souta!" She cried out to him as he fell.

Kagome waited for the snap of the guard rope to come. He had certainly fallen far enough.

....but it never came....

Kagome fell to her knees and screamed, "Souta!!"

Then, it came.

The snap, the pullback...it echoed in her ears.

Yet, as her brain registered the sound, it didn't fit. The rope pullback would sound low against Souta's weight. This snap was louder. Like the sound when you broke a bone.

The rope hadn't pulled back...it...

...it...had...

...snapped!!

A part of Kagome wanted to throw her body down with her brother's. She felt foolish as she extended her hand towards his falling form.

She never knew she could scream so loud, as she did when the sound of Souta's body hitting the hard pavement reached her ears.

................End Flashback................

Kagome sunk to her knees under the memory. She clasped her hands on the sides of her head, and tore at her hair. Her mouth hung open and dry. Her body twitched violently as she fell onto her side.

....

The hanyou lay on the floor of his prison. He lay on his back and staring up at the bars above him. He twisted a piece of straw between his pointer finger and thumb.

He sighed and sat up, throwing the piece of straw to the side.

Suddenly, he heard a faint noise come from far off. His ears twitched slightly as he focused on the sound. The harder he concentrated on it, the clearer it became.

It was a cry, a screaming cry...from...from a female.

He soon realized that he wasn't the only one who heard it, a few people who had been in the animal tent suddenly stopped working, listened for a few seconds, then threw down their tools and ran in the direction of the scream.

He picked himself up and walked to the far end of his cage, his ears spinning like satellites on his head to listen to the scream. He stayed away from the damn electric bars and only listened.

It was a cry...a cry of pain, suffering. Something he was used to hearing...but this time...the screamer was not pleading for their life...but for the life of another.

His golden eyes flashed in wonder, as he watched other shadows, behind the tent cloth, running in the direction of the screaming.

....

Kagome's scream brought Sango out to her. It brought others running to her aid.

Sango saw Kagome on the ground, screaming out her brother's name. She ran to her and knelt down. Kagome resisted all forms of comfort from her. She only kept screaming her brother's name over and over again.

Sango pulled her friend up into a deep hug and whispered to her, "Kagome...Kagome...calm down...Souta's dead, Kagome...Souta's dead...It's alright...Kagome please... it's alright...calm down..."

Kagome fought to get away from Sango's hug, her voice was turning hoarse from screaming, yet she still continued.

Miroku and a few others had appeared. Sango snapped her head up when she heard them coming, "Miroku!" she called, "Miroku, help her!"

Miroku threw himself down on Kagome's other side. He lowered his head and pulled his hands into a prayer position. He mumbled and ancient spell under his breath. The wind began to pick up around their bodies; their hair was sent flying into their faces.

Miroku opened his eyes, "There is too much emotion...I can't penetrate it!" he shouted.

"Well do something!!" Sango yelled. "Kagome! Kagome, please stop this! Can you hear me? Kagome?!?"

Suddenly, Naraku appeared from amongst the gathering crowd. Sango's scared eyes fell on his placid ones, "Naraku! It's Kagome, she's in another one of her fits over Souta!"

Kagome still continued to scream her brother's name, her chest heaved in long sobs, her eyes practically rolling back in her head.

"Put her down!" Naraku ordered Sango. Sango hesitantly eased her friend to the ground and Miroku moved away to allow Naraku closer to his daughter.

Naraku stood over Kagome shuddering form. Quick as a flash, he grabbed Miroku's golden staff and struck Kagome in the head.

The blow caused Kagome to roll over and cry out in pain, but then she wailing stopped as she drifted into unconsciousness. A deep gash on her head emitted a rich stream of blood.

The crowd gasped as the screams stopped. Naraku stood over Kagome's body as if he had just defeated a horrible monster.

...

The hanyou leaned forward a bit, the sound was gone. The paining scream, had vanished; as if it had never existed.

He drew in a deep breath through his nose, before he exhaled, a scent stuck him. He hadn't been meaning to smell anything, he was just breathing. But the scent was unmistakable.

It was blood. A thick rich...human...blood.

The demon inside him stirred a bit, blood was something it lusted. Blood was in the air, blood had been shed. The hanyou's mouth hung open slightly as his senses came alive by the potentate smell. His fangs dripped with saliva.

He shook the demonic feelings away and shut his mouth. But, the blood smell was...intoxicating. Yet, the human within him urged emotional pity.

...

Sango knelt back down and raised Kagome's head onto her lap; she placed her own hand over the bleeding gash on her head. She glared up at Naraku, "Couldn't their have been another way?" she said coldly.

Naraku didn't hear, or else didn't care to hear. He thrusted Miroku's staff back into the monk's arms and walked away from his unconscious daughter. The crowd parted to let the man through. They all murmured and whispered to one another. Then, as if they had just witnessed a murder, they slowly walked away.

Only Sango and Miroku stayed with Kagome.

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I know I promised long chapters... but I think this is a really good stopping point for right now...sorry I know it's a pretty evil cliffy. But, its 2:30 in the morning and my fingers hurt...

Next chapter, Inuyasha and Kagome...talk. That's all I'm saying. It will be up in a day or so...I promise.

Oh! Real quick, if any of you all are interested... please read my other stories. You may find them as enjoyable as this one. I try and write about situations that wouldn't normally be written about on FanFiction. So yea, give them a quick look and see if any of the spark your interest ; )

Review! You know my policy! Reviews are my inspiration to write quicker!! And, they make me feel loved... XD