They were all sitting at Sesshoumaru's waiting for him to come back. They sat there talking amongst themselves after a short demonstration from the demons in the room. After they had lowered there disguises they found Kouga, Ayame, Shippou, Ginta and Hakkaku were still alive. They had all been so happy everyone hugged each other. Well, Miroku groped Ayame while she knocked him out. Inuyasha just sat there after bonking Shippou on the head. He had said it was to make up for the time he had missed. And Sango gave them all big hugs. She remembered them from the past and was glad to see they had more help then they had expected.
Everyone had quieted when Sesshoumaru had come back in from the hallway. They all looked at him and took a seat to discuss what was going on. The five demons, which had just arrived had not been filled in on the details. So he decided he would explain.
He quickly informed them of what he had found and the knowledge Sango had shared earlier. Everyone's face had become scared and fearful for their dear friend. She had been taken and they really didn't know why he wanted her. She no longer had the jewel. She had rid the world of it in the past.
"So how will we find him?" Miroku asked
"We would have noticed him sooner but he obviously was hiding." Shippou said
"And we all know how well he is at hiding." Inuyasha added
"We need to hurry! What if he kills her." Sango said worriedly as an afterthought
"Then I will revive her." Sesshoumaru stated simply
"You still have the fang?" Inuyasha asked
"I have yours as well brother." He replied as he walked to the closet and opened it up
There were to long wooden boxes that were sealed shut. With extreme ease he broke the open and pulled out two swords. He threw the Tetsueiga to Inuyasha and kept the Tensiega for himself.
"I am unsure if you will be able to use it." He told him truthfully
"Might as well try." He said tying it to his belt.
"We must hurry and go now." Ayame said finally speaking
Sesshoumaru nodded at her statement and walked out the door followed by Kouga and Ayame.
"I will go ahead. You can follow me, but remember I will have their heads." He said as his eyes started to bleed red again.
Before either could reply he was gone.
He stopped outside to find Rin sitting on the bench in front of his building. Regaining his composure he walked over to her and sat down. He waited for her to say something knowing she had something on it that bothered her deeply.
"You know I used to not care about anything but myself. I would do whatever I could to get by. No matter how much it hurt somebody. I simply didn't care anymore. Not after my parents died. I had nothing left until I met you. Now I feel like I belong somewhere and for once I'm happy." She stopped for a second as she inhaled slowly, he just watched her as she started to talk again. "That's why I'm going to tell you this. I don't want to hurt you anymore and I hope you will forgive me." She paused again as silent tears rolled down her face and Sesshoumaru still sat there watching her silently. "Naraku lives in the valley east of here. That's where Kagome is. He has many forces and they are all trained and highly skilled so you must be careful. Kikyo is there as well and she too is just a strong as she ever was. He is planning on taking the jewel from her body to become a full demon again. If he does that she will die. She cannot survive without her soul. You need to hurry and be careful because they are expecting you." She explained as she ran off
At hearing this his mind went into a complete rage. His blood burned like it was on fire and his eyes glowed like red flames. He started to change into his demon form and had trouble stopping himself. He was seriously perturbed and ready to kill. He would not allow him to take her life and would have his head for even thinking about it. He ran off towards Naraku's home and tried not to kill anyone on his way. Even though he could careless about anybody else.
They had all been there watching them as they sat there on the bench. Shippou, Kouga, Ayame and the other demons were listening carefully to what was being said. After hearing what she said everyone but Kouga were saddened and understood her reasoning. But they all, including Kouga were glad for her honesty and her information.
They watched
as she ran off and stiffened when they saw Sesshoumaru become angry.
Sango, Miroku and Inuyasha couldn't smell his anger like the others
could, but they could definitely see it in his blood red eyes as they
glowed brightly.
When he transformed he quickly ran off towards
Naraku.
They all ran off and followed him as best as they could. Not all of them could leap and Kilala wasn't here. After a few minutes of running Shippou changed into a large bird so the original group could ride. This helped them make better time as the others just ran leaping building to building.
"What did she say?" Sango asked curiously
"She told him she works for Naraku and where to find him." Kouga replied
"And she also told him that Naraku is going to remove the jewel from her body." Ayame added"Mistress Centipede did that too and she was fine afterwards." Inuyasha said
"Yes, but this is different. The jewel has been bound to her body and her soul. If he removes it he removes her soul. No one can live without a soul." Shippou explained
After flying for ten minutes the saw smoke rising in the near distance. They assumed it came from Sesshoumaru's destruction and Naraku's home. When they Finally arrived they were horrified at what they saw.
Bodies were everywhere as the ground seemed to be nothing but blood. They walked forward and found arms and legs strewn about. A few heads that had rolled on the ground held looks of horror and disbelief. Some of the bodies looked ragged like they were bitten in half by large teeth. It was like the battle of the past was beginning all over again.
While they walked along they found weapons. Most which would be useless against him during battle. Miroku had oddly enough found a staff exactly like his old one. Sango had strangely began to worry when she found her weapon too. They both exchanged looks as if knowing that they were thinking the same thing.
When they came to the main door to the house they found it wide open. Walking in it appeared to be empty and deserted.
"I'm going to check around outside." Shippou said running off towards the back of the house
Everyone just watched him go shrugging it off. They didn't know why he would be checking the outside but they just let him go.
"Can you smell Kagome?" Inuyasha asked
"No. It seems he has covered all smells by using his miasma. Although it doesn't smell poisonous." Kouga answered calmly
"We should split up and cover more ground." Ayame suggested
"Ginta, Hakkaku go straight ahead and see what you can find." Kouga said
"Sango, Miroku and I will go this way." He said pointing to the hallway on the right
"That leaves one hallway left. Work your way up and meet at the back of the house." Ayame said and quickly left with Kouga beside her
Sesshoumaru had been walking around for what seemed like an hour. It was hard to figure out where he was going even with his sense of smell the miasma covered even him. He walked around kind of guessing which way to go. As he went along he checked every room to make sure she wasn't in it.
They had been walking around for only a few minutes and had come to a dead end. They had checked every room and found nothing and nobody. They turned around to head back towards the main door. When they rounded the corner that they had just come from they found a wall.
"We just came from here how is there a wall?" Sango asked herself aloud
"It seems our host wants to lead us somewhere. The house changes to his will." Miroku replied
"Then where do we go if there is a dead end the other way too?" Inuyasha asked
"We will just have to simply check each room to see if a door has been added." Miroku said wisely
So they went back through all the rooms to see if they could find a door. They became worried when not a single door was found in any room.
"Now what?" Inuyasha asked roughly as he became frustrated
"We will just make a door." He said
So they walked to the dead end where they were originally headed as Sango threw her Hirakoutsu. They succeeded and found yet another hallway. They walked through the wall and headed down the new hallway as they continued to check each room.
After about another ten minutes they found themselves at another dead end and nobody in sight. They all started to think it was hopeless and that they would never find him.
"Did you hear that?" Inuyasha questioned as he walked to the wall on their right.
They started to walk closer to him when they suddenly were thrown back with chunks of the wall that had seemed to be forced somehow. When they looked up they saw Kouga and Ayame standing on the other side of the huge whole.
"How did you guys get over here? I thought we decided we would check this side." Kouga said angrily
"What do you mean? You are on our side!" Inuyasha yelled
"Quit you two. You are not helping. Obviously he is leading us nowhere." Ayame wisely stated
"Then how do you suppose we get there if we just get dead ends and we can't smell anything?" Inuyasha asked crossing his arms over his chest
"Well, maybe he adds the dead ends because we are in fact close by him. Then again he could put them there knowing we would think that and wanted us to go the opposite way." Miroku said thoughtfully
"So how do we find out where we are then?" Sango asked
"Only one way to find out." Ayame said as she kicked the wall where there was a dead end
The wall fell down and they all walked through. They checked each room of the hall. When they came to the last one they found Rin in the middle of the floor unconscious. Ayame walked in to see if she was still alive. Checking her for a heart beat she found one.
"She's alive." Ayame said
"So, leave her." Inuyasha said
Sango walked over to Ayame and Rin's limp form and looked her over for a minute. Gently she shook the girl as she called out her name. When there was no movement she shook her more violently. Still the girl didn't rise from her slumber. Finally she decided she had to be more brutal. She slapped the girl hard on her cheek a couple of times.
"Rin! Wake up. Rin!" Sango shouted as she slapped the girl
"Huh?" was Rin's reply, "Where, what happened?" she asked and looked around the room to see blurred figures
When her eyesight became clear she froze at the people standing around her. She was scared because she thought they had come to kill her. When she looked around the room some more she noticed that she wasn't in her apartment anymore.
"How did I get here?" she asked herself aloud
That got her confused stares from everyone that was there. She jumped up and scurried to the nearest corner as she pulled her legs to her body and started to rock back and forth. They watched as her eyes glazed over and she started chanting low to herself 'No'.
"Can you lead us to Naraku?" Ayame said walking over to her
Rin just simply looked up at her with glazed eyes. No emotion, no answers, she seemed like she was a shell of the girl they had just found in the room.
Sango decided it was her turn to reach the girl. She stood up and walked over to her and kneeled in front of Rin. She pulled her hand back and brought it hard and swiftly across her face. She watched as pain and tears came to her eyes as she looked up at Sango.
"Can you lead us to Naraku?" Sango asked in a soft voice
"I...I...will try." Was her stuttering reply
So Sango held out her hand and helped Rin stand. Looking over to Rin and finding her staring at her she smiled reassuringly at her. Her kinder and more caring side showing unlike the first time they met.
Rin walked out and turned left as they all followed her. They all walked silently behind her as she looked around the hallway as if trying to find something.
"Why is it we are always running into dead ends?" Sango asked when they came to a stop at another one
Rin put her hand on the wall letting her hand feel the surface. Her hand stopped right above her head and to the left. Holding her pointer finger out she pushed against the wall making a small lever come down. Reaching up she pulled the lever down and stepped away.
Everyone watched as part of the wall moved and opened up for them to see a large room. They all looked at her when she started to speak as if looking for an answer "Not all dead ends are real. Sometimes they are just illusions hiding what's really there all along." She said wisely
She proceeded into the largely lavished room that they had come too. They all gaped at everything that was in there. They were amazed by the antiques that had been placed in it showing the different time periods and styles from other countries. From golden chairs and a dark cherry dining table to the area rug that almost covered the worn wooden floors. Paintings that hung on the wall were abstract and realistic ones. A chandelier hung from the ceiling and lit the whole room and made it appear to be day. The ceiling itself was a masterpiece too. It depicted a great battle between gods and humans. It showed demons that for once helped the humans defeat them. The walls were done in a rich crimson and had chair rails and trim done in an ivory color.
Rin stood off to the side as she gazed at one of the walls trying to find the other door that she knew was there. Putting her hand to the wall where she guessed it was she began to feel for a little knot. As her hand drifted across the smooth surface her gut told her something bad would happen through the next door. Finally finding what she was looking for she pressed her whole hand against the wall and pushed hard.
There was a loud clicking noise that caught everyone else's attention as gears in the wall began to shift as the wall rose up revealing another room. Rin gasped in horror at two bodies that lay limp on the floor.
At hearing her gasp everyone looked in the room and found their other two comrades on the floor. Ayame ran over along with Sango as they began to slap them out of their state. After a few minutes of slapping them they finally came to.
Rin entered the room finally after seeing they were okay and just knocked out. After everyone had entered the room the door they had come through slammed shut causing them all to jump.
Things got worse as gas started to pour from three vents that were scattered in the room. Rin started to freak out as she tried to remember where the door was. She looked to find no doors just four plain white walls. She kept spinning around trying to remember while she continued so freak out.
"Hurry up!" Ayame rushed her
"There's to much smoke!" Sango shouted
"Hurry up and find the door!" Kouga yelled
"Hurry up stupid wench!" Inuyasha screamed angrily
"I can't hold my breath for long!" Ginta informed her
"I can't remember where the door is!" she shouted back in a fearful voice
"Which way are we supposed to be going?" Inuyasha asked loudly
Rin looked around the room once more and pointed to one of the walls. Inuyasha pulled out his sword and was going to run towards it until he realized his sword hadn't transformed like it normally would.
"Damn it." He said aloud
Kouga seeing this was heading towards the wall when it exploded and everyone went flying on their sides. When they looked towards the wall they saw Shippou standing there with a grin on his face.
"Hey guys. Get lost?" he asked
In an instant everyone trampled him over as they ran from the smoke filled room and started to cough. When they had all calmed the rose from their sitting spots and waited for Rin to direct them to the next door.
"What took you guys so long? I was waiting for you." Shippou said genuinely concerned
"Well we kind of ran into a few dead ends." Miroku said with a sigh
"Well I can sense Sesshoumaru not far ahead. He's stopped moving though. I was tracking him from outside but I stopped when I noticed you guys started to go around in circles until you met up. When you guys headed towards Sesshoumaru I decided to come find you. This house is very tricky but I figured it out." He said with a smile
"Foxes are tricky so it would only be natural to understand such things of the same nature." Rin said speaking up now that she had calmed
Shippou looked over to her for a minute. He became curious to know why she was here. She had never come with them and seemed to have run the opposite direction.
"How did you get here?" he asked her as everyone followed them down the hall
"I'm not quite sure. I had gone back to my room. I don't remember falling asleep or anything. But I'm guessing I was gassed and brought here." She replied
"So he has found out of your betrayal." He stated thoughtfully
"We should hurry up. Should we end up in a similar room to that one we will not be so lucky. That I assure you of." Rin said rushing them
They continued down the hall and found another whole, probably made by Shippou. As they walked down each hallway each had a huge whole from where Shippou had blown it up.
Finally, after an annoyingly long walk, just to get to the back of the house they stood in front of to large oak doors. The doors were carved in such detail. It showed a battle of demons against three demons and three humans. In the sky was a glowing orb that seemed familiar to them all.
"That is us." Shippou stated obviously
Sesshoumaru finally cam to a set of large doors. They were oak and had carvings of the battle from hundreds of years ago. He knew of the battle as he had joined in and quickly left when it had ended. He was the one who had to lay their bodies to rest and bury them.
Sighing inwardly he walked through the doors to see a tatami mat under a plush cushion in the middle of the floor. In front of it sat a small table where a sake pot and cup were sitting. It was a big room, but there was not much there. He looked around the room taking in its size. It seemed as big as the house almost. He could fit in demon form in it. Actually if you could stand him side by side you could fit him in there twice at the same time.
He growled when he saw movement in the shadows. He watched not moving an inch as the figure was slowly revealed by the light. He growled even louder at seeing the man in front of him. There stood Naraku as he smiled malevolently at him. Watching closely he still didn't move as Naraku too a seat on the cushion.
"Where is she you vile half-breed?" Sesshoumaru spat out viciously
"Calm your self Lord Sesshoumaru. You will see her soon. For now just stay where you are." He said as he grabbed his sake cup and filled it up
Sesshoumaru was to busy paying attention to Naraku that he didn't see anything else around him. So when a small and cold hand touched his shoulder his head swung around to see Kikyo walk by as Naraku finished speaking. He went to go slice her in half only to find his body wasn't moving. He was only able to move his head and talk.
So he just continued to growl viciously at the man sitting in front of him as he waited for whatever they were waiting for. All he knew was he wanted to sharpen his claws on Naraku until he had no nail left or until he was dead. Whichever came first he guessed.
The old group stood in front of the door with their five friends. They hesitated to enter because they didn't know how they would find her. They all looked around to each other and took deep breaths. Slowly Kouga opened the door to peer inside the room. They had finally arrived at their destination and weren't suprised to find Sesshoumaru already there.
What did surprise them was that Naraku was still alive and that he just sat there. Drinking his tea he looked up and smiled the most evil grin to the newly arrived guests.
They all walked in the room and stood by Sesshoumaru's unmoving body. Inuyasha choked up the courage to walk towards the disgusting half-breed. He stopped when he was ten feet from him.
"Where is she you bastard?" he spat angrily and took his normal battle stance, hand on the hilt of his sword
"Why Inuyasha, it has been a while since we last saw each other. Human I see. That's too bad, I was hoping to fight you again. But you pose no challenge now that you are even weaker than before." Naraku said calmly
"Where is she?" he screamed grinding his teeth together
"She will join us soon enough. But first I have someone to introduce you too." He told him
Out of the shadows in the corner of the room a figure slowly walked towards them. The figure stopped before the shadows disappeared.
"Come now my dear. No need to be frightened." He said as he chuckled lightly
"I have no fear of any of them." The female voice rang out
The figure shrouded by darkness began to move again. As light started to penetrate the shadowy figure red priestess pants could be seen as they swayed back and forth from the woman's movement. Finally stepping the rest of the way out letting the light reveal her everyone gasped at the familiar form of Kikyo.
Sango ran forward followed by Miroku, who was followed by everyone but Sesshoumaru. He was still currently under her spell. They all stood behind Inuyasha as Sango started screaming at the evil woman.
"You bitch! It's because of you this all happened. Do not think for a moment that you scare us. Kagome will destroy you all." She said to her
"I don't think she will be doing anything after the task is done. She wont even be speaking." Kikyo said hatefully as her eyes narrowed
Inuyasha was the only one not saying anything. He could only think about the woman that stood before him at the moment. The woman he had loved so deeply. The woman who had once been so pure of heart and soul. Her smiles and happiness that he remembered so much were gone and replaced by evil. Now she was just the shadow of that woman he used to know. It would seem that he no longer knew who she was and what was worse was she didn't either.
"Suichi!" Naraku called
In the blink of an eye a man appeared from the same shadows Kikyo had come from. His blue hair shined in the light like the waters of the ocean did. His brown eyes were cold like frozen chocolate. He stood straight next to Naraku as he quietly awaited his orders.
"Do it now." Naraku simply commanded
He looked to Kikyo and nodded. She responded with a short nodded as she looked to the rag tag group and started to chant.
"You won't hurt her!" Shippou yelled as he leapt towards them
"I won't let you either!" Kouga yelled jumping forward and was followed by the rest of them
But before any of them were able to touch Kikyo and Naraku they were forcefully throw back by a barrier that had been erected by the dark maiden. Sesshoumaru still stood frozen in place by her other spell and Rin stood behind everyone as she lay low.
Kouga Inuyasha, Shippou and Miroku all tried to forcefully break the wall between themselves and Naraku. But they were no matches for Kikyo's power. It would not fall unless she did.
A few moments they were all calmed when the demon from earlier re-entered the room. Only this time he carried something in his arms. They looked over to him to find the precious thing they had come to retrieve. Kagome. They all stood by and watched as he placed her on a small twin sized futon that had been rolled out.
Her body didn't move and her breathing was too shallow to notice. Her hands and ankles bound together by rope as her body remained limp. They all became worried by the way she appeared. Thinking she was dead Sango screamed again.
"You...you bastard. You killed her and for that I will personally take your head. Even if I must die to do it, it will be done." She said heatedly
"She is not dead yet exterminator." He said smiling
Kikyo walked over to Kagome's body and kneeled in front of her. She held her hand over Kagome with her eyes closed and slowly moved them from her waist to her head as she chanted some incantation. Stopping her hands above Kagome's heart she stopped and opened her eyes. Concentrating as hard as she could, she used words to pull at it.
Everyone but Rin watched closely as her body began to glow with a bright pink light. Even though the light was blinding they all continued to watch and listen closely.
Unable to see from the light Kagome opened her eyes as her body cried out in pain. It felt as if her heart was being ripped from her body. She looked up to find Kikyo kneeling over her and chanting something she couldn't understand. Even though the pain was so great she was still able to release a plea to the woman above her.
"Stop it! Please stop it!" She choked out as her eyes scrunched closed in agony
But Kikyo ignored her cries for help and pleas for life. She remained concentrated on her task.
Before she removed the jewel completely all that was heard throughout the house was an ear-piercing scream from Kagome. With that last breath and scream her body fell limp to the floor again. Her head resting on its side as her body was completely relaxed. Her friends looked over to her face that seemed plastered with pain. Her eyes were blank as they stared back at them. Hair fanned out from her body as it too lay still on the floor.
Looking to the woman that had just killed her they found the jewel levitating above her hand as the stone glowed a beautiful pink color. Watching Kikyo closely she began her walk across the room towards Naraku as she held the jewel.
Inuyasha still trapped in the barrier with the rest of the group held his head down. His silver bangs covering his eyes so you couldn't see the emotions that shone through his eyes. Teeth mashed together as his fists were clenched tight he shook from anger.
Snapping his head up he looked to his three enemies with pure hatred and sadness in his narrowed golden eyes as he began to speak. "You bastard." He ground out low as he continued to glare at them. "How dare you touch her." He spat out making Sango and Miroku step back a few feet.
Everyone's mouth dropped to the ground as dust seemed to fall gently over his body. His sword beating loudly along with his body as his eyes were once again covered by his bangs.
Little white and furry ears grew on the top of his head as his hands shot to his side. Nails growing into sharp and deadly claws and two fangs protruded from his mouth as he smiled dangerously at Naraku.
Sesshoumaru's eyes however never left Kagome's body. He could only stare in horror at her lifeless body as her eyes stared back devoid of anything. Not able to look away from the woman he now realized he loved he started to go insane.
Rin stood off to the side and watched closely as his eyes turned a deep glowing crimson. As if his eyes had been coated in blood. He clenched his teeth together as revealing his fangs. His once invisible marks appeared showing his double red stripes on his wrist and cheeks while a blue crescent moon sat upon his brow.
Sesshoumaru growled loudly as he tried his hardest to move his body free from his invisible bindings. He succeeded in moving by breaking Kikyo's spell.
Kikyo felt her spell being broken and looked to the former demon lord. Her eyes showing the horror and fear that she felt for the first time in five hundred years. She looked at his glowing red eyes as he began to change.
The End