Chapter Ten: Hurry, Inuyasha!

Indecision tore at Inuyasha as he watched the soldiers head back through the woods. Every part of him screamed to follow them; to find where the bastards were keeping Kagome and then blast the place to hell with his Tetsusaiga. But his conscience urged him to first go to the village and warn Sango and Miroku of the soldiers' plans.

The voice of reason won out, and Inuyasha found himself speeding toward the village. He would warn the others, and then catch up with Yojikin's men.

Dinner came and went, and the people of the little village began settling themselves into bed for the evening. As the last of the village's windows went dark, a peaceful silence draped its soft hand over each home. Nothing moved in the night. Well, almost nothing.

One dark figure crept through the stillness, a silent shadow blending in with the other shadows. Finally the moving piece of night arrived at the edge of the town; the place designated for the training grounds, where yet another shadow waited.

"You're late."

The girl bowed her head in apology. "I'm sorry; Father wouldn't let me alone. I came as soon as I could."

Sango shrugged and tossed Aniko a practice sword and shield. "Come on then, we won't have much time tonight.

"Show me what you know so far," she instructed as she pulled out her own katana. The drawn weapon gleamed in the moonlight as she placed it into a ready position.

Aniko launched into a slow series of offensive thrusts, all of which were easily deflected by Sango. Once she had worked through her repertoire she pulled back, lowering her sword.

That was her mistake. Sango lunged forward, pressing the surprised girl backwards immediately. The flat of the exterminator's blade found first the girl's ribs, and then the side of her sword arm before Aniko could even think of bringing her own weapon up to parry. Confused, she slowly brought the blade up in an attempt to block the flurry of movement. But the sword was batted aside, and the attacks continued.

Aniko's confusion quickly grew to anger. She glared at Sango, who was clearly visible in the moonlight. A look of concentration left her face an iron mask, and the fact that she didn't even appear to be breaking a sweat as she humiliated her student brought the light of anger into the girl's blue eyes. Strengthened by a sudden fury, Aniko whipped her sword up into a defensive position and began employing the parry techniques taught to her by the village men.

She soon found that Sango's attacks were tailored to the beginner's moves, and the two settled into a rhythm. As she became more comfortable with the feel of the katana, Aniko felt her anger turn into complacency. This wasn't so difficult.

Another mistake. Aniko's confidence drove her sword forward, leaving her left flank wide open. Sango dropped low, sweeping one foot behind Aniko's legs and dropping the girl to the ground.

Sango had to stifle her laughter as she straightened and looked at the girl before her. She was in the same position her father had ended up in earlier; on her rump, looking up in amazement with those same oceanic eyes.

Even though she wanted to laugh, Sango forced her face to assume a disapproving look. She stared down at the girl as she sheathed her sword. "There are several very important lessons. Number one; always fight with a clear head. Anger, terror- strong emotions like these will cloud your judgment and slow your reflexes. And over-confidence, pride…" she paused, letting her words sink in, "these will blind you, letting you think that you are winning. In reality, you are just giving your opponent the opening they've been looking for."

A silent moment passed before Sango reached her hand down to help the girl up. As Aniko gained her feet, she cast a questioning glance to Sango. "So…how am I supposed to feel?"

Now Sango did smile, remembering when she herself asked that same question long ago. "That's lesson number two. Each warrior must find a balance within. Sometimes emotions are an asset when fighting, but you cannot let them control you. Use them to remember who you are, and what you are fighting for. Do you understand?"

Aniko thought for a long moment before nodding her head. "I…think so."

That seemed to be enough for the older girl. "Good. I think that I've given you enough to think of for tonight."

She turned to leave, but Aniko grabbed at her arm. "Wait, that's it? What about the rest of the lesson?"

The demon exterminator swept her high ponytail from her shoulders as she faced the girl. She prepared to answer, to tell her that there was more to being a warrior than skill with a blade, but a noise from the tree line left the words forgotten. "That will have to wait," she answered instead. "Someone's coming."

The noise from the woods turned out to be Inuyasha. The half demon tore through the last of the trees, covering the last few yards to where Sango stood in a matter of seconds. He had caught her scent even before the village came in sight, and had steered his speeding form in her direction. Even so, he had built up enough momentum in his haste that he barely managed to stop before bowling the stunned woman over.

"Inuyasha?"

"We need to talk. Now."

Sango nodded, knowing from experience that when the hanyou took on that tone that it was something serious. She had turned to grab her things when she noticed that Aniko was still standing next to her. "Right. Inuyasha, this is Aniko. Gishohu is her father."

The hanyou nodded slightly, but he was too anxious to deliver his news and be gone to give the girl much notice. He managed to wait a moment longer for Sango to gather her gear before asking, "Where is Gishohu? He needs to hear this, too."

"He's asleep, but if it's important…"

The hanyou snorted. "Yeah, it is. Yojikin's attacking at dawn"

Aniko motioned for the pair to follow her as she started running for the village. "Come on, we can assemble everyone in the temple."

They hastened back through the maze of homes, foregoing the earlier night's stealth. Instead, they called out to the sleeping villagers, rousing them from their beds and summoning them to the temple.

The enemy was coming.

Not five minutes later, the first of the villagers were huddled in the temple, some still rubbing the sleep from their eyes. Gishohu, Miroku and Shippo were among them, along with a sleepy Kilala perched on the kitsune's shoulder. While Gishohu made sure that all of the villagers were gathering, Inuyasha quickly began filling his friends in.

"I heard his soldiers talking. They're planning to attack at sunrise."

Shippo cast a hopeful glance at the hanyou before asking, "Did they say anything about Kagome? Is she OK?"

Inuyasha sent the kit a hard look, but his voice was strangely quiet when he answered. "No, but I can follow their scent back to the castle. As soon as I'm done here, I'm going after her."

His friends nodded, each one all too familiar with the worry and guilt that haunted the half-demon. Sango, still clad in her fighting gear, pushed aside her own fears and ran through the news Inuyasha had delivered. "You said that they are attacking at dawn, right? Well, that still leaves us a few hours. It'll be close, but I think I have a plan."

"Kagome?"

She floated on the familiar darkness, ignoring the voice that called to her. Subconsciously she knew that if she were to answer, she would have to go back. Back to the world of life, the world where with loneliness and pain waited.

"Kagome?"

The voice, more insistent this time, pleaded with her. Kagome found herself drifting back toward consciousness, unable to resist the call any longer. The comforting darkness fell away, and the memories and pain flooded back.

"W-water, please?" she managed to croak.

Moments later a cup rested against her lips, and the cool liquid trickled down her parched throat. The water brought her fully awake, and Kagome instinctively tried to stretch her cramped muscles.

The pain was excruciating. Fires instantly lit across the whole of her back, and the girl bit her lip to keep from crying out. She squeezed her eyes shut, barely noticing the tears that suddenly mingled with the dirt on her cheeks. After a few moments, the pain lessened somewhat, and she was eventually able to open her eyes.

The sight that greeted her was a little blurry at first, but the world around her slowly came into focus. The first thing that she noticed was that she was outside, still attached to the whipping post. The second thing that she noticed was that it was no longer daylight. Soft moonlight lit what little she could see of the courtyard. Most of her view was blocked by the post, and she did not dare try and move enough to peer around it.

"Kagome, are ye awake?"

A soft whimper was the only answer she could manage. She recognized the voice as Aniko, and relaxed just a little as the woman moved into view. "Aniko…help me, please…"

The ghostly woman looked at her with dark, sorrowful eyes. "I wish I could, child. How I wish I could…" she gazed at the sight before her, her heart wrenching. This poor, innocent girl was covered in her own blood, her clothing torn and shredded beyond recognition. She was on her knees, the scraped flesh awkwardly resting in the crimson stained earth as her body slumped against the post. There was no way for her to move, for her hands were still bound above her head to the hated post. Her back…her back was the worst part. It was in ruins, and the specter could already see the infection starting to take hold by the strange color of the wounds and the feverish glaze in the girl's eyes. Even with the little healing ability she possessed, Aniko knew that the girl would not last long under these conditions.

Aniko sighed as she offered the girl a little more water. How many times had she gone through this? How many more women would her son torture before someone stopped him? Not many, she hoped, and rested her dark eyes once more on the wretched form before her. This one still had a chance to break free. She had only to keep hope.

"Kagome, ye must hang on a little while longer. It will not take the world long to realize that the barrier has been broken, and I know that help will arrive soon. Ye have almost won, child. Ye must hang onto your hope a little while more."

Even as Aniko spoke, she could see the girl drifting back towards the darkness. Brown eyes bright with an oncoming fever stared at her – through her- to some unseen memory. Tears streamed down her cheeks as those eyes drifted closed, and Aniko prayed that whoever the girl saw in those last few moments would arrive before it was too late.

A/N: Thank you all for sticking with me this far, even with my sporadic updating! I promise that more is on the way soon. Since most of my time now is spent at work, I bought a little notebook and I am working on this story when things slow down!

Also, a BIG thank you to my newly acquired beta, Corgi!