Unfortunately I have nothing interesting or stupid to say because its 6:46 AM where I am and I have to go to school soon… happy chapter to you!

Chapter 43: Betrayal

Bo sat quietly in the shade of a nearby tree. He observed Kagome's every move, finding her most captivating. He was most baffled by her strange apparel: a short green skirt and a stiff looking white shirt with a red tie in the front. Her shoes were like nothing he had ever seen before. He remained silent, unsure of what to say to the girl who had appeared out of nowhere.

"I don't understand…" Kagome said wearily, rubbing her head. Her face appeared exhausted. "How did I get…here…?"

"It was dark…" Hanako said while rolling up the sleeves of her kimono, preparing to catch fish, "And then… you were there… were you abducted or something?"

"Not that I remember…" she said with a confused expression. "I don't remember anything…"

Hanako sighed lightly, feeling the warm breeze against her arms. One was still covered in bandages from her cut. She stared down at it for a few moments, thinking about that time. She had not cut in a while. Had the addiction faded off so easily?

The warm sun beat down on the ground. Hanako took a pre-sharpened spear made of a fine wood, and stepped into the surprisingly freezing water of a river; it's blue color glistening in the sunlight. She kept still, watching fish swim about her bare feet. She almost felt sorry for having to kill them.

Kagome sat on a rock near the river, observing Hanako's silent motions in the water. A silence overcame them, and drifted its arms onto the grass and scenery around them. The day was peaceful and quiet. Not a cloud was in the sky. The grass was a vivid green to match the tall trees, standing out against the bold auburn color of the bark. A heat was in the air, but it was a heat so light that it almost seemed cool and relaxing…

Suddenly, Rin burst through the bushes, giddy and happy as ever, tearing apart the peaceful silence. She jumped into the river, splashing water everywhere and scaring away the fish. Hanako gaped at her.

"GOOD MORNING HANAKO-CHAN!" she exclaimed, "I feel SO HAPPY today and I don't know why!"

Hanako heaved a sigh, water dripping from her clothes. "…I'm sure you do…"

Rin turned her head, her facial expression changing as she saw Kagome. She stared silently for a few moments. So many old faces were randomly reappearing before her…

"Kagome? Why are you here? Are Inuyasha and his friends here too? Are he and Lord Sesshomaru in a fight?"

"No, Rin," Kagome said, "I don't know why I'm here… its hard to explain really…"

"But how do you know Hanako?" Bo asked suddenly, his voice returning. He was completely confused. What connection did Hanako have to this oddly clad girl?

Kagome gazed at him, returning his confusion. Why was this demon traveling with them? It did not seem like something Sesshomaru would tolerate.

"I met her a little while after I last saw you, Bo-chan," Hanako said cheerfully, trying to break the awkwardness between them. She had seen Bo in the corner of her eye gaping at Kagome, his mouth hanging ajar in wonder. She had puzzled him.

Rin's eyes shifted to Bo. I still thought we weren't ever going to see him again… I wonder if he still loves Hanako-chan like he used to…

"Rin-chan, would you mind stepping out of the water?" Hanako asked nicely, "I'm trying to catch us a meal…"

"Oh… sorry!" Rin said quickly, backing out of the river. She sat down on the rock next to Kagome. Hanako waited patiently for the fish to return around her, staring down at her reflection. Her eyes quivered.

Sesshomaru approached them, completely disgusted at the amount of people that he had following him now. Jaken trailed quietly behind him. All of their heads turned to look at Sesshomaru simultaneously. Why must he be so lenient with Hanako's wishes? He eyed her with a slight, yet non-existent anger. Her back was to him. She had not noticed him yet. Something inside of him would not let him be angry with her. He turned his back to them, not accepting their stares. Jaken noticed his anger and crept away, hoping that the anger would not be taken out on him.

Hanako stabbed a few fish with her spear as they swam by, their blood flowing down the river water. She slipped them into a basket that she had kept on the shore. She put the spear down on the grass and rolled down her sleeves, stepping out onto the grass. She picked up the basket, heading over to where she had left a knife to slice the fish. Her mind was deep in thought.

Without looking up, Hanako walked right into Sesshomaru. He spun around immediately. Her fish dropped all over the ground at his feet. She gasped and knelt down, fumbling about the grass, picking up the dead fish.

"I'm sorry!" she cried, "I'm really sorry! I should have looked where I was going…"

He said nothing and watched her scrambling to pick up the fish. One of them was quite cumbersome, and kept slipping out of her hands. He knelt down before her and picked up the fish. Their eyes met, and he handed her the fish. He noticed her face, bright red from embarrassment.

She was speechless, completely baffled at his sudden kindness. She stuttered a bit, thinking of something to say to him. He only stared down at her, a strange expression on his face. She lifted her hand and took the fish. Their hands touched for but a moment.

"Th-th-thankyou…" she managed to blurt. Her face was burning up. Normally she was not this clumsy around him. She looked down at the ground and stood up, walking past him with her head held low and her shoulders tense, gripping the basket. He turned to her and watched her walk a little ways away, and then through some trees into the woods.

Kagome observed them with great interest. It was all very clear to her now, just watching that one scene of the way they interacted, she could tell. Sesshomaru was never that kind to anyone. She had seen them together once before, and this only further proved it. There was some sort of romantic connection between them.

Bo watched Sesshomaru angrily. He had known it before, and it had now made itself apparent. Hanako's lord did so have feelings for her. He could see it written all over his face. Bo had told Sesshomaru never to lay a hand on her. Who knows what he could have done to her while he had been gone? Bo knew know that he could never leave Hanako in his hands.

Sesshomaru felt the stares of many people behind him. He turned his head and shot them all a cold glare back. They looked away instantly.

Hanako took a knife and began cutting away at one fish vigorously. She heard bushes rustle in front of her. She stopped cutting and listened closer, seeing if the noise was merely her imagination. She heard it again, coming closer. A bit curious, she looked up. Her eyes widened at the figure before her. She nearly fell backward.

"…Inuyasha?"

He glared at her, his eyes seeming more hateful than usual. "Where's Kagome?" he asked angrily.

"…She's here…" Hanako answered nervously. She looked closer into his eyes. He looked a little too angry about the whole situation. She stood up and waved at him to follow. "She's this way… I don't know why she ended up all the way here," she explained while he followed, "Black smoke suddenly filled the air… and then Kagome-san was on the ground… do you know why?"

He looked at her skeptically. A similar happening occurred when she was taken. His eyes narrowed. By her nervousness, he was not sure if he believed her tale.

Hanako pushed away branches from her vision and came to the clearing. Sesshomaru's head was the first to turn. First he gazed at Hanako, and then saw Inuyasha behind her. He glared at him.

She waved to Kagome. "Kagome-san! Inuyasha is here!" she called to her. Kagome turned around immediately, happy to finally see Inuyasha. She knew he would come to get her, like always. She ran up to meet him.

Bo gaped at Inuyasha. "Who is that?" he loudly whispered to Rin.

"That's Inuyasha," she answered, "Lord Sesshomaru's younger brother. He's here to get Kagome, I bet."

Relief washed over Inuyasha as he saw Kagome rushing up to him. Nothing bad had happened to her. And yet, why had he gotten her back so easily? He looked at Sesshomaru for a moment, studying the expression on his face. He had done nothing to fight back. He turned his head to look at Hanako. She looked happy to have helped them find each other. He sensed no scheme to take Kagome and use her for jewel shards.

But then why else would she have been brought here? Who else could have done it? he wondered. There was no other explanation. As clever as Sesshomaru was, he was most likely pretending not to care. And Hanako probably did not even know about his plans. She was much too kind to ever go along with something like that.

"Sesshomaru…" he said angrily. Sesshomaru's eyes shifted toward him. He awaited Inuyasha's statement.

"You bastard…" Inuyasha continued in his rage, "How dare you even think of something like that! Taking Kagome and using her! You disgust me!"

Sesshomaru just continued to stare at him. There was nothing to say about the nonsense that was dibbling from Inuyasha's mouth.

"Inuyasha…" Kagome said, trying to quiet him, "I don't think its Sesshomaru's fault that I'm here…"

Hanako stared at Inuyasha in surprise. She had never expected him to lash out at Sesshomaru so easily. She had noticed that they had not gotten along very well, but she never knew it was to that extent. She wondered what had happened between then to make them hate each other. If they were brothers, shouldn't they get along a little better than how they did?

Inuyasha's fury only grew. Why didn't Kagome believe him? "He just didn't tell anyone! He wanted you to find the jewel shards for him so he could give them to Hanako!"

Hanako turned to Sesshomaru. That was a little mean of him. She looked at him skeptically. "Is that true, Lord Sesshomaru…?"she asked.

"Of course it isn't," he said, almost laughing at the thought. He glared at Inuyasha. "Why ever would you accuse me of taking your human wench to get jewel shards to give to Hanako, of all people?"

"Don't play dumb with me!" Inuyasha growled, "You want to use them as fodder for Hanako's power! You and Naraku are both in this together!"

All eyes were on Inuyasha. Especially Bo's. What power of Hanako's was he speaking of? And who was Naraku?

Rin looked fearfully at Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. They were going to get into another fight; she could sense it. She was not sure if she should watch. In her mind, she hoped for their well-being.

Sesshomaru's amusement quickly left his face. He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Heh… and now you are accusing me of working with Naraku. And for what? Jewel shards that Hanako and I both have no need for? You are a fool. Tell me, Inuyasha. Where did you come up with this information?"

At that moment, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo flew down on Kirara. Sango grabbed Hiraikotsu off of her back and jumped down, Miroku following with Shippo on his shoulder. They saw Kagome and ran up to her, glad to see her in one piece.

"Kagome!" Sango called, "You're here?"

"That means…" Miroku thought aloud, "That what we heard was not a lie…?"

Inuyasha's eyes did not leave Sesshomaru's face. "We all know what you've done…" he drew Tetsusaiga. "And I'll make sure you never lay a hand on her again! You bastard!"

Hanako had finally heard enough. She walked in between them, stepping into their fight. "Hey!" she shouted at Inuyasha. "I do respect you Inuyasha, but don't ever say anything like that about Lord Sesshomaru ever again! If anyone here is the bastard, its you for falsely accusing him and swinging your sword in his face!"

Sesshomaru was quite surprised that Hanako had stood up for him. He watched Inuyasha's dumbfounded expression with some satisfaction, but not completely.

"Step aside, Hanako," he said to her, gently moving her out of the way. He drew his sword as well, a smirk coming across his face. "If Inuyasha wants a fight, he can have one." Sesshomaru suddenly threw a swing with his sword at Inuyasha. Inuyasha raised his sword in defense, but Sesshomaru through him back.

Hanako stepped backward toward where Bo and Rin were watching attentively. She automatically became fearful. The last time Sesshomaru and Inuyasha had gotten into a fight, it had not ended well at all. She closed her eyes out of worry for him. If he got hurt again, she did not know what she would do with herself.

Jaken crept through the leaves, around bushes and through twigs, wanting to see what all the noise was about. He gasped at the sight of Inuyasha, and wondered what he was doing there. He watched from a safe distance, knowing not to get too close.

"Inuyasha, please!" Kagome shouted at him, "There's no need for this! I really don't think Sesshomaru was behind it…"

"Lady Kagome," Miroku said to her, "It really could be true. Naraku came to us after you were taken and told us of your whereabouts…"

"So?" she cried, "That doesn't mean anything! All that even says to me is that Naraku could have been the one who brought me here! And he just lied to you saying that Sesshomaru did it!"

"We assumed that at first," Sango replied, "But… you never know… Sesshomaru has never really been on our side either…"

"Maybe that is true," Kagome said in Sesshomaru's defense, "But Naraku has always lied and tricked us! And Sesshomaru has even said before that he has no interest in the jewel!"

"But the jewel isn't for him," Miroku added, "It's for Hanako. He wants to use her power, and since she is under his rule, the power would all be his."

Kagome looked down at the ground, and then over at Hanako, who was looking longingly at Sesshomaru as him and Inuyasha fought. "…I don't think Sesshomaru would ever want to use her for something so greedy, or put her in any kind of danger…" Her eyes met Sango's. They both knew what they had seen of Sesshomaru and Hanako on that rainy day. Sango fell silent.

Miroku looked at them both. What were they suddenly so quiet about?

Sesshomaru and Inuyasha's swords clanged over and over again, the noise ringing throughout the air. Sesshomaru once more succeeded in throwing Inuyasha to the ground. He panted lightly. His demonic energy began to rise. It surrounded him. He had officially become irritated.

"You…" he said in a monotone voice, "You are telling me that I'd have such mercy as to team up with one of my enemies…" His eyes flashed. They turned a bright red. "You think I'd join forces with one who has dismembered my honor on many occasions…? Heh…" His voice had become cold and irate.

Inuyasha lay on the ground, catching his breath. He sat up without delay, taking notice to his brother's anger.

Hanako's eyes widened. A terrible chill ran through her body. He was becoming his true demon form. Her mind went in a panic.

Bo watched Hanako with concern. "Hanako… why don't you sit down?" He could sense her fear for him. It did annoy him a little bit. Sesshomaru was a powerful demon lord, who was battling a man who appeared to be a half demon. Nothing was going to happen to Sesshomaru. Why did she appear so worried for him?

"Lord Sesshomaru is really mad…" Rin murmured, "He always gets mad if someone says anything having to do with Naraku…"

"I don't want to sit down…" Hanako whispered. She watched his face become more and more demon-like, his true features showing. She did not want him to look like a demon. She loved the way he normally looked. She did not want to see him now…

She had to bring him back.

She ran up to him, away from Rin and Bo. Bo called after her, but she did not listen. She would not let him fight anymore. "Lord Sesshomaru! Please stop!" she cried to him. She finally reached him and clung to him from behind.

Kagome, Sango, and Miroku all watched with equally shocked expressions. What was she thinking? Did she think she could tame him? Kagome had hope for them. From what she assumed, Sesshomaru would stop fighting for Hanako's sake. She knew exactly what Hanako was thinking. She had felt the same way when Inuyasha had become demonic while fighting.

Inuyasha just gazed at them, a somewhat astonished expression on his face. The image was so odd: someone was hugging Sesshomaru. Someone actually cared about him.

"Please…" she said soothingly, "I don't like it when you fight… and your scary when you are angry… you're scaring me Lord Sesshomaru…"

Sesshomaru's anger seemed subdued. His eyes were looking straight forward. He made no movements. His breaths were steady and even. He was perfectly still.

"Its not that big of a deal…" she said quietly, "Don't be upset."

Kagome watched Sesshomaru's face. It still was distorted, terrifying looking. His eyes narrowed, his teeth clenched. She gasped.

"Hanako!" she cried, "Get away from him NOW!"

Hanako denied Kagome's request, and still continued in attempt to soothe him. "Please sto-"

She stopped in mid sentence at the feeling of something ripping through her stomach. Her eyes widened. Pain flew up her flesh, unimaginable agony. Her entire body throbbed.

"HANAKO-CHAN!" Rin cried out. Tears fell from her eyes. Bo's jaw dropped.

"Oh god…" Sango exhaled, gaping at what had just taken place. Kagome, Miroku, and Shippo were speechless.

Inuyasha watched with confusion. What had just happened to them hugging? His eyes were on Hanako, and then shifted to his brother. He had never expected this.

Sesshomaru had turned completely around. He had jutted his hand through her body. His demonic aura faded. His eyes returned to their normal color. He looked at Hanako's wincing face before him, and then down at his hand. He felt flesh around his fingers. His eyes widened at what he saw: his hand directly through her torso.

His entire body began to shake. What had he done? Had he killed her? Was this actually happening?

She looked up at him, pain still shooting up her chest and down her legs. She looked into the eyes of her killer: the man she had always put all of her trust in. The man she loved. Her body was aching in two places: her stomach, and even greater in her heart.

"…L-lord S-Sesshomaru…?" her voice chimed faintly.

His arm quivered as he pulled it out of her. She fell to the ground, completely in shock. He did not know what to do, or what to think. His mind went completely blank, completely empty. He lifted his hand before him. It stunk of her blood scent. With a blank expression, he watched her crimson blood drip from his fingertips. He had just killed her.

But… he thought, I didn't want to go right through her… I was trying to move her out of my way…

Bo couldn't breathe. He was too busy taking in what had just happened. At last he scrambled to his feet and sprinted over to her. He dragged her onto his lap, almost in tears. If only he could have stopped this somehow. If only he had thought to keep her away from the fight, instead of just yelling to her to come back. His eyes quivered as he held her tightly on his lap. Suddenly, he looked up at Sesshomaru with enraged eyes

"You… you're crazy…" he muttered, "you're… you're INSANE!" He raised his voice louder and louder. "SHE DID NOTHING BUT GIVE YOU HER ETERNAL LOYALTY AND RESPECT!" he nearly screamed, "AND NOW YOU DO THIS TO HER!"

Hanako's hands clenched Bo's clothing. She wriggled in his arms. "Bo-chan… I can't feel my legs…" she whispered. She opened her eyes slightly to look at him. "And… it's so cold…"

Bo's and Sesshomaru's heads shot downward. She was still alive and able to talk.

"Hanako…?" Bo said in surprise. He held up her face to his. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head a few times, but she managed to at least talk.

"…I'm not going to make it, am I?" she murmured. Tears streamed down her face. She shivered with uncontrollable sobs. She did not cry about death, but about betrayal.

Bo held her tightly and rocked her back and forth, continually wrapping her clothes around the wide open wound to stop the bleeding."You'll make it… I wont let you die… I'll keep you safe…"

Sesshomaru bent down to see if Hanako was okay. It had finally hit him, and he felt a pang of guilt. He had hurt her. She had only tried to help. He had been in a demonic state and had lost control of his power. His heart raced in his chest. A lump formed in his throat. It was the worst feeling he had felt in his life. He wanted to take her from Bo and hold her instead, and tell her that he was sorry, but his body made no movements. He tried to keep a straight face through it all, but it was more difficult than usual. His eyes were quivering. He put his hand on Hanako's shoulder. Bo lifted his head fearfully. Hanako weakly turned her head to look at him. Her eyes widened and she whimpered, flinching at his touch and going closer to Bo. Bo glared at him.

"Stay away from her," he growled, "Who knows how many more times you could lose control of yourself and hurt her more."

Those words stayed in his mind…

Rin and Kagome ran up to Hanako, asking if she was okay. Rin was crying. Kagome offered to give them medicine. All through the commotion Hanako's terrified and widened eyes never left Sesshomaru. He had traumatized her. Never before had she been afraid of him. He felt terrible. Nothing would be the same between them again, and it was his entire fault.

(…)

"You may rest now, Kanna," Naraku commanded, "I am through with you."

Kanna held her mirror tightly and rushed off and out of the room, leaving Naraku left to ponder today's happenings.

Perhaps I was wrong… Naraku realized, Perhaps Sesshomaru and Hanako need more time together before separating them would truly wound Sesshomaru's heart…

Kagura had been watching from across the room. She sat in a corner hugging her knees. "Will Hanako truly die by Sesshomaru's hand…?" she asked herself aloud, not really expecting an answer.

"Most definitely not," Naraku replied, giving her an unexpected input, "Only I can kill her. If the deed is done by me, she can die. If anyone else harms her, she will stay alive through any condition. That is how much control I have over her. She even dies when I say so." He chuckled to himself, reaching and retrieving the red bead that resided in his pocket. It was because of this bead: her heart, mind, and soul crystallized into one, that he had full control.

Kagura slowly shifted her eyes to look at her abomination of a master. "What if she attempts suicide? All of those previous times that she has… would they have gotten her anywhere?"

Naraku cackled. "She would have stayed alive even when all the blood had drained from her body!"

Kagura looked down at the ground. She slightly pitied Hanako, her life so worthless and so cruel. She was just another one of Naraku's many puppets after all…