After Yojikin and his retainers had departed, Inuyasha and company decided to put as much distance between themselves and the lord as possible. They pressed on for another half an hour before finally giving in to Shippo's hungry cries and stopping for lunch.
"Quit your whining already!" Inuyasha yelled as he threatened to hit the young kitsune. It was the first thing he had said since the encounter with the lord earlier that afternoon, and Kagome, concerned, took a seat next to the hanyou.
"Relax, Inuyasha. He's just hungry. To tell you the truth, I was getting pretty hungry myself." To illustrate her point, Kagome began rooting through her yellow backpack. "Here we go," she said as she removed several packages of instant noodles.
Inuyasha's eyes lit up at the sight of the Ramen, momentarily banishing the worry that had been lingering there. "I thought you said you didn't have any more?"
Kagome smiled at the hanyou. "I only said that to keep you from digging through my backpack. It's not nice to go through a lady's things, you know." She winked at the half-demon, briefly throwing him off-balance.
While Kagome began to prepare lunch, Miroku moved to sit beside Sango. The demon exterminator turned her eyes on him, suspicion whirling in their brown depths. "Can I help you?"
"Sango," he asked quietly, his own eyes reflecting purity and innocence. "why must you be so distrusting of me? I only came over here to offer you my company and speak with you, and immediately you assume the worst. I am hurt."
The exterminator rolled her eyes. She doubted that the monk was truly insulted, but she decided to go against her better judgment and listen to what he had wanted to say anyway. "If you don't want people to think the worst, monk, maybe you should try and live your life as your title implies. Now, what were you going to ask me?"
Inuyasha, who had been waiting patiently while Kagome prepared his lunch, looked up when he heard a thump from the other side of the rest site. He heard Sango yell something about bearing children, and watched as she stalked off. Miroku, who was smiling broadly, sat with one hand rubbing at his reddened face. The hanyou snorted as he pieced together what had happened between the pair. "Hey you two," he called. "Quit messing around and get over here. Lunch is ready, and we need to get back on the road as soon as possible. You guys can kill each other when we set camp tonight."
Sango turned and shot him a glare, while Miroku calmly stood and made his way to the small fire. The group settled in and ate their light meal in comfortable silence. The demon exterminator, who had chosen a seat far from Miroku, ate her noodles as she watched Kilala clean her cream-colored coat. Kagome also kept her eye on someone, but it was not the small cat-demon. The young miko stole occasional glances at Inuyasha, concern etched on her features. Inuyasha had been brooding about something since their run-in with that obnoxious nobleman, leaving Kagome with an uneasy feeling as the hanyou became more and more distracted. She was about to ask the half-demon what was bothering him when he stood and announced that they were moving on. Kagome sighed, and then began packing her things into her yellow backpack.
Something's definitely bothering him, but I guess bugging him won't help any. The girl thought as she repacked her few belongings.
"Wait...Kagome?"
The miko stopped when Inuyasha laid a clawed hand gently on her shoulder. "Yes?"
He hesitated slightly, and then asked her, "I need you to do something."
Her brow furrowed in worry, Kagome nodded. Inuyasha let his golden eyes meet hers for a moment before he continued. "Tonight, stay close to the camp, ok?"
Kagome waited for him to finish, but the half-demon did not intend to complete the thought. Perplexed, the girl nodded, promising that she would not wander away from camp that night. That seemed to satisfy Inuyasha, and he moved his gracefully body into his usual point position at the front of the departing company.
The remainder of the day slipped by, and soon the splendor of the sun's departure was upon them. The sky lit up in a beautiful display of colors, leaving its final impression on the earth below before giving way to the night's velvety blanket of darkness. The evening found the six wanderers settled in a small glen far from the path. A tiny stream trickled by their chosen campsite, making it ideal for the travel-weary companions to remove the dust from the road and to refill their empty water skins.
The group gathered around the small campfire, lost in their own thoughts. The demon exterminator and the monk had made peace, as they always did, and now sat next to each other by the crackling fire. Sango polished her weapon, while Miroku sat talking quietly with Shippo. Inuyasha, seated just beyond the immediate glow of the fire, brooded in silence. Since this was normal behavior for the temporarily human hanyou, his friends simply let him be.
Kagome was kneeling next to the stream, rinsing the dust and grime from her ebony hair. After two 'rinse and repeats', the girl seemed satisfied and settled back on a small rock to comb through the wet strands. She reached for her brush, only to find that it was missing.
"Looking for this?"
The miko jumped, nearly falling backwards off her rock. "Inuyasha! Don't scare me like that!"
"I told you not to wander away from the campsite. I could've been a bandit, you know," he scolded as trained his dark eyes on her.
Kagome snatched the brush from his hands and began running it through her damp hair. "I promised that I wouldn't wander off, and I didn't. The stream is only a few feet from the campsite! Why are you being so paranoid today, Inuyasha?"
Inuyasha shrugged his strong shoulders, and the motion caused his black hair to spill down his back. "Look, all I asked was for you to be careful! When I go through my transformation, I can't protect you like usual. So just don't wander off and get caught by a demon or something, ok?"
The girl stared up at Inuyasha, her large brown eyes filled with questions. She wanted to drag a clear answer from the hanyou, but the way that he stared down at her warned her against pushing too much. "Ok," was all that she could manage to say as his dark eyes shone down on her like twinkling stars in the night.
He looked at her for a moment more, then silently turned and walked back over to the fire. Kagome watched as his black hair swung across his back, and she blushed slightly as romantic thoughts crossed her mind. With a quick self-admonishment, Kagome began gathering her things and headed back to the fireside.
The night deepened, and soon five of the weary travelers made their way to their beds. Inuyasha refused to sleep, as he always did when the moon was absent, and so he continued to sit by the fire. The stars shone high above, and the lone human searched their sparkling expanse for some small measure of comfort to ease his tired heart. After a while he gave up, knowing that the only thing the heavens could offer him were memories. He turned his gaze instead to the sleeping forms of his companions, sprawled out in their beds next to the tiny flames of the fire. Each of them looked peaceful, as though they had found their personal salvation behind the lids of their closed eyes.
Finally, his eyes drifted to Kagome, and Inuyasha allowed himself a small smile. If their was anyone left on this earth who could save him, it was the frail-looking girl who lay fast asleep before him. She was lying on her side, facing him as she hugged close a small ball that he recognized as Shippo. The hanyou's eyes memorized her features in the firelight, and his mind drifted back to all of the times that she had been there for him. With quiet certainty, Inuyasha knew that without Kagome, he would have been dead long ago.
The moment was interrupted when Inuyasha heard a noise from the near-by forest. Though he was in his human form, his ears were still sharp that he heard the footsteps even before several dark figures emerged from the trees.
"I knew it..." he whispered to himself as he moved to rouse the others. "Come on guys! Looks like tomorrow's startin' early!"
The sleepy company rose from their beds and quickly snatched up their weapons. Kagome grabbed her bow, even though she knew that the enemy was too close to shoot. In her other hand she hugged Shippo close, for the little kitsune was still trying to rub the sleep from his eyes. Miroku and Sango, now wide-awake and aware of the ring of bandits forming around them, unconsciously moved to flank the young miko.
Inuyasha drew forth the Tetsusiaga, which looked worn and battered in the firelight, stuck in its normal form while its wielder was human. As the half-demon crouched into a battle stance, the ring of bandits grew tighten around them.
The dark figures did not speak as they lifted their weapons menacingly. There were at least a dozen of them, possibly more, and their faces remained hidden by the night as they stopped just outside the ring of light cast by the fire.
"Who are you, and what do you want?" Inuyasha growled as his eyes scanned the group.
"Give us the girl, and maybe we'll kill you quickly. Maybe." The goon who spoke pointed to Kagome and laughed evilly.
"What would you want with Kagome?" Miroku asked as he lowered his staff even with the leader of the bandits.
"That's none of your concern, monk. Just hand her over!"
Inuyasha had heard enough. He charged the bandit who had spoken, locking swords with the man. Sparks flew as the two weapons collided, and for a moment, everyone watched as the men struggled back and forth.
Then the moment had passed, and chaos broke out across the small campsite.
The bandits swiftly moved in, each trying to reach Kagome. The girl had dropped Shippo and was arming her bow with an arrow. Miroku and Sango were soon facing several opponents, and they were quickly being overwhelmed.
Inuyasha finished off the bandit that he had been squaring against and rushed to help his friends. Miroku had disappeared under a crowd of men, and Sango was barely holding her own. Inuyasha caught sight of Kilala in her larger form trying to make a path to her mistress, and Shippo sat upon her back blinding the thugs with his foxfire. In the middle of it all stood Kagome, who had somehow managed to knock one of the men senseless, Most likely smacked him with her bow, Inuyasha thought as he finished off another man and fought his way toward where Kagome fought.
"Let go of me!" Kagome cried as another man grabbed at her arm. She closed her eyes and slammed her sturdy bow into the outlaw, hoping that she would strike a lucky blow again. However, this time the man was ready, and he deflected the blow easily. "Inuyasha!"
"Hang on, Kagome!" The half demon leapt over the last thug in his way and reached the girl's side in time to pull the bandit away. "We have to get out of here!" he yelled as he scanned the crowd for his friends.
"Miroku!" Sango hollered as she caught sight of the monk under a pile of men. She slammed the hilt of her sword into the nearest man and ran to where she had last seen the blue robes. With an effort, the demon exterminator fought her way to Miroku's side just as Kilala and Shippo managed to breach the circle of men.
The three cleared the clump of bandits that had gathered around Miroku. The monk lay on the ground, unconscious as blood tricked down the side of his face. "Miroku! Shippo, check on him!" Sango shouted the order even as Shippo leapt from Kilala's back. Her dark eyes burning with anger, the demon slayer turned to the bandits that were gathering close. "Damn you! Where do you keep coming from?"
On the other side of the tiny camp, Inuyasha and Kagome were having problems of their own. The bandits seemed to pour from the forest, and as fast as Inuyasha could knock them down, another appeared. "There's too many! We have to get everyone together, or we'll never defeat these guys!" He searched for the others, and found Sango locked in combat with another bandit. "Sango! Grab Miroku and get over here already!"
"I can't!" her answer was strained as she devoted her concentration to the battle before her. "Miroku's hurt, and Shippo and Kilala just went down!"
Inuyasha growled, and batted away another outlaw. "This is just great!" Another man came running toward him, only to be knocked senseless by the half-demon's fist. "We've got to get out of here! Grab on, Kagome!"
The young miko did as she was told and clutched at the hanyou's sleeve. Once he felt the pressure of her hand on his arm, he leapt into the air.
"Inuyasha!"
Panic gripped the hanyou's heart as he felt Kagome let go of his arm. While he soared through the air, he caught a glimpse of the bandits dragging Kagome to the ground.
"Kagome, no!" He landed gracefully next to Sango and turned back to where he had last seen the girl. She had disappeared from view, but he could hear her screaming his name.
The group of bandits suddenly seemed to thin, confident that they were close to completing their task. Inuyasha and the demon exterminator moved back to back against the ramaining six men. "There's Kagome! We have to help her!" Inuyasha yelled as he spotted the girl, slung over one of the bandit's shoulders.
Sango nodded, jumping forward to finish off her opponent. She was about to say something when she heard the hanyou gasp behind her. Sango whirled in time to see Inuyasha fall. "Inuyasha!" There was blood spilling from his abdomen as a nearby bandit pulled his sword from the hanyou's body.
Kagome heard Sango's scream and stopped struggling long enough to see what was happening. "Oh no...Inuyasha!"
The demon exterminator locked eyes with Kagome. Both women were in shock as a realization hit them...in Inuyasha's human form, a wound like this could kill him...
"No!" Sango screamed as she tore her eyes away from her friend and raised her sword once more. She had barely turned when something struck her in the back of the head and the world went black around her.
Kagome's eyes filled with tears as she stared at the spot where Inuyasha lay unmoving in a pool of blood. "No...Inuyasha..."
The girl barely noticed when the bandit who carried her dropped her to the ground. She was completely oblivious to everything around her, still caught up in the shock of watching Inuyasha and her friends fall. The young miko was forced to tear her eyes from the scene as a large form moved to block her view. Unseeing eyes trailed up the figure before her until they came to rest on what appeared to be a face. The world came back into focus as Kagome recognized the person before her.
"You..."
"So my lord," said the bandit who had run Inuyasha through. He had moved to stand over Sango, and now looked over the unconscious slayer with hungry eyes. One greedy hand grabbed the woman's hair and lifted her until Kagome could see the half-open eyes. "What should we do with this one?"
Yojikin turned his cold gaze on Sango, as though he were inspecting a piece of meat at the market. "Leave her- she has the weapons and skill of a warrior, would only prove to be a nuisance."
The man snorted and released Sango. The girl fell back to the earth with a thud and did not move again. "Sango..." Kagome whispered as she watched the bandit give her friend a kick for good measure. "Hey! Leave her alone!"
The men turned to look at Kagome, who was standing defiantly before them. As their cold eyes trained on her, however, her resolve began to slip and she hurriedly searched for her bow and quiver.
"Looking for these?" Yojikin laughed as he held the miko's weapon out like a child's toy. He slowly strode forward, his strong legs quickly bringing him face to face with Kagome. "I told that pitiful half demon that I always get what I want." He turned his face to look at Inuyasha, and the fire cast an evil glow across his smooth features. "The fool should have listened. If he had, he might not be dead.
"As for you, my beauty," Yojikin continued, "you now belong to me." The lord reached forward and grabbed her chin with a rough hand. He turned her face into to the light, studying her fine features.
Before she even realized it, Kagome had brought her hand up to strike the lord. The sound of her hand making contact with flesh rang throughout the small clearing. Stunned, the other bandits froze in place. They stood in silence, waiting for their lord's reaction.
Yojikin's eyes narrowed into slits. He reached one hand out and grabbed Kagome by the neck, lifting her into the air as his steely blue eyes bore into her. "You will pay for that, wench!"
Kagome let out a strangled scream as the lord threw her to the ground. She tried to back away from the towering figure standing over her, but two men had moved in behind her. The lord stared down at her for a moment, and then stooped so that his lips were next to her ear. "I shall enjoy breaking you!" He said through gritted teeth. Then he straightened, motioning to one of the henchman that stood behind her.
Kagome felt a blinding pain on the back of her head, and the world suddenly began to spin. Her last thought before losing consciousness was that her friends were dead, and now there was no one left to save her.