Kagura took another sip of the stew Kagome and Sango had prepared, looking up from under her bangs to the direct glare of the hanyou. His unusual silence was unnerving, not only for her but the rest of the group, as well. Kagome sipped her own stew, gradually looking over to see the InuYasha's still remained untouched. Lowering her bowl, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
"InuYasha, what's wrong?"
"Nothing important." He snapped quietly, getting to his feet to leave the campsite. Everyone watched quietly as he departed before turning to each other with quizzical glances. Kagome sighed and whined, sitting her bowl to the side.
"I'll go talk to him." She offered, standing up. A hand reached across the fire to stop her.
"I will go." All eyebrows raised while all heads shook in the negative.
"No offense, Kagura, but InuYasha...well, if you want to die..." Kagome attempted to reason with the woman to no avail, only observing as she got to her feet.
"It's my fault he is angry, so I should be the one to talk to him." She stepped over Shippo, still with a slight limp, and approached the lining of the woods. "If I am going to be your ally, we have to learn to get along, right?" She stated, not turning around, before disappearing.
"Oh, boy." Kagome sank to the ground, immediately chewing on her bottom lip. Yes, she did believe Kagura, but that did not mean that she fully trusted her. "Sango..."
"I totally agree." The slayer nodded, picking up the small fire cat. "Follow them. If she tries anything, kill her." Kirara respond with an understanding growl, bounding from her mistress's lap and into the forest.
"Damn!" InuYasha yelled, punching the nearest thing, which happened to be an old tree. 'We shouldn't be trusting her! I know it!' He pressed his forehead to the tree, pounding his fist against its bark. 'I just know we're going to regret this...' Sniff. Sniff. "What do you want, Kagura?" He asked lowly. The woman stepped out of the bushes, her usual boastful smirk in place.
"I see, you can still easily catch my scent." She complimented, taking a seat on an old stump. She felt much better, but her human body was still weak.
InuYasha laughed. "I can smell that stink for miles." His smile faded as he turned fully toward her. "I asked you a question. What in the hell do you want?" She smiled slightly, standing with some difficulty.
"I want us to be able to work together." From his expression, she could tell she was getting nowhere. "InuYasha, I'm not saying we have to be friends, but if we want to stop Naraku, we must fight together."
"I told you!" He snapped, his fists trembling at his sides. "I don't trust you." He took every precaution to keep his temper. If he hurt her, he would have to face Kagome. He would rather face twenty replicas of Sesshomaru. "Get outta here." He commanded, turning his back to her.
"I will not! I came out here to make peace with you, you worthless hanyou!" Her hand immediately flew to her mouth. He slowly turned, his eyes closed in restraint. "InuYasha, I..."
"I said get..." His eyes widened, much to the confusion of the human woman. Then it came together, or so she thought. He leaped at her, his hand on his sword. He was going to kill her. "Get down!" He screamed, barely missing her head with Tetsusaiga. She fell roughly, catching her breath before attempting to turn over.
"What in the hell..." She gasped and started scampering back, InuYasha steadily backing up in front of her. Her eyes narrowed. 'I knew Naraku wouldn't let me be.' Her thoughts ceased when she received a cold glare from over the hanyou's shoulder.
"You!" He dodged another tentacle, grabbing Kagura up by the front of her kimono to pull her to safety. "You set a trap! I knew we couldn't trust you!" He threw her to the ground, spinning to again face the unfamiliar demon.
"I didn't! You have to..."
"Get out of my sight!" He screamed without turning. "If you come near us again, you'll beg me to kill you before I'm through...human or not!" She fisted her hand over her heart and scrambled to her feet. InuYasha was in trouble. If she wanted them to trust her, she would have to help. Ignoring her body's protests, she sprinted into a run, leaving the hanyou to battle on his own.
"Hanyou." The demon hissed, swaying upward to tower over him. "Kill the hanyou..." She repeated her orders, lifting her human-like hands to the sides of her face to flex her deadly claws. InuYasha took a step back, his lip curling in disgust.
'She reeks of Naraku...a new incarnation! It has to be!' The demon possessed the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a snake, her tail splitting off into countless tentacles with circular, fang filled mouths of their own. There was nothing human about her face, mounds of what appeared to rotted flesh were peeling away, and fangs that were at least five inches long, pressed against her bottom lip. The hanyou felt his stomach flip as he stepped back once again. "Ugh! If I were you, I think I would beg someone to kill me." The demon growled, lashing a tentacle at him, which he easily avoided.
"I am Umiko, Naraku's finest creation." She protested, sticking her nose in the air with a certain amount of pride. InuYasha laughed.
"Wake up, sister!" His smile faded as he leaped for an attack. Umiko screamed in insult, knocking him away with one hand. He hit the ground hard, dodging another attack before able to recover from the first. 'This might be harder than I thought.'
Kagura ran as fast as her recovering body would allow, gasping for air. 'My only chance to kill Naraku depends on InuYasha and his friends...' She did not notice the exposed root on the ground, her foot catching under it to throw her. "Damn!" She pounded her fist against the dirt. "Damn this human body!" A soft purr drew her attention to the left, the fire cat's eyes burning through the darkness. "You would help me?" 'No, she would help InuYasha.' Her mind argued. 'How can she tell them that he was in trouble.' "Let's go." A low growl erupted fiercely as flames engulfed the small demon, transforming her into her larger form. Kagura grabbed a fistful of Kirara's fur and pulled herself onto her back. "Hurry!"
Kagome sighed in boredom as she waited for everyone to return. Miroku and Sango had gone to fetch water, leaving herself and Shippo to wait for InuYasha and Kagura. "I almost wish I would've gone after the water." She breathed, poking at the fire with a stick. Shippo licked on the lollipop she had brought him days before, leaving her to wonder how long he actually kept her sweetened gifts from the future.
"I wish they would hurry." He whined, rolling onto his back to hold the lollipop into air. Kagome sighed again.
"Me, too."
"Kagome!"
"Huh?" She dropped the stick and stood just as Kirara landed, allowing Kagura to climb from her back. "Kagura? What...where's InuYasha?" She asked with narrowed eyes. By this time, Shippo had disposed of treat and took his place beside the miko's leg, his hand within reach of his magical items just in case.
"That's what I came to tell you! Where are the others?!" The former wind sorceress panicked. "InuYasha's in trouble!"
"Trouble?! What kind of trouble?!" Kagome asked, running to snatch her bow and quiver.
"Naraku has sent another incarnation! Let's go!" She demanded, grabbing Kagome's arm. The miko hesitated, turning to Kirara.
"Is this true, Kirara?" The fire cat nodded and growled. That was all the answer she needed, throwing herself onto Kirara's back. "Shippo, go find Miroku and Sango."
"But why can't I..."
"Shippo, please, there's no time!" Kagome begged as the fire cat took to the sky. "Find them, and tell them to hurry!" Her voice echoed from above the trees. The small kitsune nodded determinedly, taking off in search of his other comrades.
Another tentacle fell to the ground, slimy ooze dripping from its severed end. InuYasha stepped in front of his opponent, smirking with his sword over his shoulder. "You ain't so tough, now are you?"
"InuYasha!" Kagome's voice echoed in his ears, and he automatically looked away.
"Kagome?" He looked away, still unable to see her, but she was not far off. 'No, Kagome! Don't...' His eyes went wide, and he instantly cursed himself for being distracted, looking down wearily at the tentacle attached to his stomach. With every breath the pain would increase, and he found that he could move.
"Kill the hanyou and bring the girl to him." Umiko stated simply, another tentacle attaching to the hanyou's shoulder, causing his grip on his precious sword to fail.
"The...girl? Kagome!" He grabbed on to the tentacle on his shoulder and closed his eyes tightly. "You won't touch..." He could not suppress the scream. It hurt too much. The pain was nothing he had ever felt before, leaving him panting and falling back against the trunk of a tree. 'Fight!' His mind insisted. 'Fight it!' But he could not. He threw his head back in an agonizing cry of pain as yet another tentacle attached to his neck, his own blood flying in every direction. 'Kagome...stay...away...'
Kagome could already see what was going on below them as she loaded an arrow into her bow. "Take this, you..." She paused, lowering her bow as InuYasha fell back against the tree. A dark aura flickered around him, and his body began to pulse so rapidly that even her eyes could see from the sky. His form began to flash from hanyou to human to full demon as his scream filled the air. "No, InuYasha!" Taking quick aim, she sent the arrow on its path, its purifying light illuminating the entire area as it made its way to the target.