Hello again! See, told you it'd be up on Sunday:P Anyhow, I'm so happy that I got so many reviews in only two days! Oh, and Note: Onegai means please.

:Review Responses:

ohiowriter: Yes, yes they are.
hermonine: Thank you! This soon enough?
Kagamoesiun: Yes, I know. Sucks, huh:P But, luckily, you had to wait but a day and a half.
Chris's-babygirl: That's what it looks like!
djdoodet: 'gasp' Now you shall be running from him with me! ... Could you kind of run slower so he'll be distracted with you long enough for me to escape? ;P
TakaraDaiya: Thank you! And you shall just have to read and see what happens! And I agree with you about the Sess/Kag thing. Too many of those. XP
KagomePriestess-15: No! Not pink! Anything but pink!
SubaruWings: You have a Sesshy wall poster, too? Cool! I have one hanging above my bed! And yes, giving up anime is horrible... God thing we don't have to! And I love suspense... It brings people back for more. ;P

:End Review Responses:

Thank you, all! Now, I have nothing to say, so just read my disclaimer!

:Disclaimer:

Leiko: Why, muse? Why must you make us write such things as this?
Akana: Because our muse hates us, why else?
Leiko: 'heavy sigh' Well, we don't own Inuyasha, everyone. We own nothing at all. Sad, huh?
Akana: Very! But not as sad as us being chased by Sesshoumaru!
Leiko: Very true, very true... 'still running'
Akana: Maybe he'll forgive us at the end of the chapter...
Leiko: Maybe! ... Doubt it, but maybe!

:End Disclaimer:

Stupid muse... Enjoy the story!

Chapter 10, "Onegai, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

Miroku stepped back to avoid the attack. As he did so, he lost his balance and toppled into the water. "Miroku!" came three voices at once. Kagome, Inuyasha, and Sango all watched as Miroku, spluttering and choking, was carried downstream.

"I'll get him," Sango said. "Inuyasha, you concentrate on getting Kagome!" She quickly took the still sleeping Shippou off Kirara and thrust him in Inuyasha's arms with Kagome's bag, then flew down the river on Kirara to save Miroku.

"Damn you!" Inuyasha growled loudly. "Give Kagome back!"

Kagome angrily turned on Sesshoumaru. "How could you? You two had a deal! You can't just go and break a deal like that!"

"Think back carefully," he replied. "I never agreed to anything. I don't make deals with humans."

Anger, pure anger, was on her face. "You jerk!" she screamed. She poked him in the chest and starting giving him a lecture, as though he were Inuyasha and had just beaten up Shippou or something like that. She ended with the oh-so-famous line, "so, SIT!"

She only realized her mistake when a loud thud was heard from one bank and a wail of protest came from Jaken on the other side. She froze up, gaping as she tried to find words. "I... and... you... and... and..." She became pale. Terror creeped up on her. She slowly put her hand down and tried backing away, but realized she was on a stone and couldn't. She stared at Sesshoumaru, wondering what he would do next. An old fear came up again, one she'd put to rest a day ago. Would he kill her?

A sleepy voice suddenly drifted up from beside Inuyasha. "What's going on?" Shippou asked, rubbing his eyes tiredly. When he saw Kagome, standing on a stone, looking at him, he immediately perked up. "KAGOME!" he yelled, running and jumping and finally leaping into her arms. "Kagome!" he repeated with a sob. "I was worried!"

"Shippou..." She held onto him tightly, overjoyed that she could hold him like before. "It's okay! I'm fine!" She patted his head comfortingly. "Everything's alright."

A deep, menacing growl escaped Sesshoumaru's lips. "Never again, wench," he said with a threatening and deadly tone. He then looked at the little furball Kagome was clutching protectively, and she knew what he was thinking.

"Leave him alone!" she said. Another feeling of foolish courage was flaring up in her again. "He's only a child! He's not hurting anyone!"

"He has to go," Sesshoumaru said, eyes narrowing at the girl who dared defy him TWICE in a row. No demon had ever dared to try that, much less a measly and pathetic human!

Kagome held onto Shippou tighter. She finally became calmer, realizing now exactly who she was dealing with, and knew she had to choose her words carefully, or else become food for the birds. "Onegai, Sesshoumaru-sama?" she said at last. "I mean, he's just a kid, and he needs me right now. Besides, once he's calmed down --" An idea came to her. "He can get my stuff for me!"

"No," Sesshoumaru said flatly.

Kagome looked at him with pleading eyes. "Onegai?"

Of course, the pitiful look didn't work on Sesshoumaru. He, after all, was a cold-hearted killer. "No," he repeated.

"You're wasting your time," Inuyasha said, finally pulling himself from the ground. "He won't give in, Kagome. Just give it up." His teeth were clenched in pain. His chest was hurting so much now...

Inuyasha was also very surprised that Sesshoumaru hadn't killed her by now, or at least tried to. Had anyone else done something like that, they'd be dead in 2 seconds flat! Did he really want Tetsusaiga that much? Apparently so.

Kagome realized his words were true and her look turned hard. Yet another boost of foolish confidence. "And why not? It's just my bag! I need it! It has food that's easy to make and I'm really hungry right now! Plus, it has my brush! I need that right now! My hair feels so tangly that it's not even funny! It had everything I need, so why can't I have it?"

"Kagome-chan makes sense," Rin said, considering. She looked up at Sesshoumaru. "Can she get her stuff, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

He couldn't say no to Rin. It was a proven fact. No matter how hard he tried (and he had -- oh, he had), he couldn't say no. His words always twisted and found a way to make a yes despited his protests. He'd given up trying long ago, but even now... Just say no. Just say no. Just say no. "Fine." Damn. "Send the fox kit."

Kagome's face brightened. "Thank you!" she said. She looked at Shippou and noticed that he had stopped crying and was now clinging to her. "Shippou, can you bring me my bag, please? I might have to stay a little longer, and... well... You know how important my bag is to me. So, what do you say? Will you get it?"

"Of course!" Shippou replied, puffing out his chest in an effort to look like a fully-grown man rather than the young child he was. He failed, of course, but the effect was so cute! "I'll be right back! Promise!" He leapt from Kagome's arms and scurried over to Inuyasha and grabbed the bag from him before running back to Kagome and giving it to her. The entire process took a whole of... 1 minute. He was obviously hyper... "Here you go!" he said.

"Thank you!" Kagome beamed. She then sighed happily as she put her bag on the ground and knelt to look through it. She pulled out a thing of ramen and gave it to Shippou. "For Inuyasha," she said. "He's hungry, I'm sure!" Shippou nodded dutifully and scampered back over the rocks toward Inuyasha, bearing the "sacred" ramen.

Inuyasha took it, then looked back at Kagome. I want her back, he thought. I want her back now! I... miss her...

Kagome waved at him, smiling cheerfully, though her thoughts were along the same lines as his. She wanted to go back! She wanted to be with Inuyasha!

"Time to go," Sesshoumaru finally spoke. "Unless the half breed would like to try some kind of stunt to claim her back?"

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed at him, and he thrust the ramen back into Shippou's arms. "Give her back!" he yelled, drawing Tetsusaiga.

"And what will you do if I don't?" Sesshoumaru questioned, raising an eyebrow. He knew that Inuyasha could never beat him in a fair fight, even if the half breed were at full power. However, he knew also that Inuyasha was still in pain from their last encounter, and was more weakened.

Inuyasha was tempted to do the wind scar, but he soon realized that it would endanger Kagome's life. So, instead, he leapt onto a stone, and the two brothers began their little game of leaping stones while Kagome and Rin rushed to the bank.

As Inuyasha attempted to slice at Sesshoumaru, the elusive (I've been learning more words!) demon simply jumped above the horizontal cut and leapt over Inuyasha with calm grace. He landed on a stone behind him and drew Toukijin, which he then used to slice vertical along Inuyasha's back. He was going easy and the cut wasn't too deep, but to Inuyasha it felt like hell when coupled with his chest. He knelt on the rock in pain.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled. "Sesshoumaru, stop! Don't hurt him anymore!"

Sesshoumaru stood on the stone in front of Inuyasha's stone. "The wench is trying to beg for your life," he said in a slightly amused voice. "Are you really so weak that you need a human to beg for you?"

"Damn you..." Inuyasha growled. He stood up, a look of fierce determination on his face. "I'll kill you! I swear!"

Kagome watched worriedly. Inuyasha was really hurt, and there was nothing she could do! She couldn't even be there to bandage him up later that day! She couldn't be there in the days after, being with him, helping him... There would be no more fights between them... No more dealing with his stubborness in an effort to help out... There would be none of that.

And what of the others? She wouldn't see them, either! No more Shippou, romping around the fields! No more of Miroku's lechery and Sango's punishment! No more heart-warming scenes like the one she'd witnessed in Kaede's hut the night she came back! All of it was gone...

"Give up," Sesshoumaru said. "You're too weak now to even fight anymore. You should just hand over Tetsusaiga so you can at least have your wench back. As for now, I refuse to fight you; you're not worth my time." With that said, he turned back to his side of the bank, calming walking along the stepping stones.

"Come back here!" Inuyasha yelled. He attempted to follow after him, but stopped after one step and sank to his knees, panting and clutching Tetsusaiga for support. "Don't leave again, you coward!"

Sesshoumaru ignored him. Kagome realized what was going to happen now and, rather than being carried by Sesshoumaru once again (something I'd ADORE!), she got on Ah-Un with Rin and Jaken. Numbness creeped in as they took off, flying over Inuyasha, Shippou, and Sango and Miroku, were only just now returning. Up until now she'd been counting on Inuyasha and her friends to save her, but she only just now realized that they were helpless. She realized that she herself was helpless. Her plan wouldn't work. It would fail. It would fail, just like their plans had. It was fate.

Cruel, unstoppable fate.

It wasn't as much a cliffhanger as usual, at least. Review, please!