A/N: It's been a crazy couple of weeks. I graduated from college and then AFTER that, I had finals. It was weird… and a bit annoying too. Anyway, there was really no point to this author's note except to say thanks to everyone who suffered through my college years with me. Thanks and I love you all. Hope you like the chapter.

The Broken House of Taisho

Chapter 4: Red Castle

Kagome pressed her clothes down into her suitcase, using much more force than necessary. Droplets of salt water dripped down her nose and fell onto her best skirt. She zipped up the sides and sat down to put on her shoes, stopping twice to blow her very red nose. She felt soggy with grief.

There was a knock on the door. "Mom?" Washi's scent flowed in. "Are you ready to go?"

She wiped her eyes, stood up and unbolted the door. "Yes. Come in," she said softly, walking back to the foot of her bed.

He opened the door and walked into his parents' bedroom. Although he rarely saw his father there, and indeed, rarely was in the room at all, Washi felt Sesshoumaru's absence at once. "All of my belongings are downstairs already. Do you want me to take yours down too?"

"Please."

Washi went to her suitcase and picked it up. "Is this all?" he asked.

The hanyou walked over to the wall, took Tetsusaiga from its support and placed it in a special made carrying case. "This too." She handed it over to him and frowned. "Is your father downstairs too?"

"Yes," he replied, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "He's in the kitchen with Rin and Satu. Midori is getting dressed, I think. Did… did you want me to tell Dad that you were coming down?"

"If you did, do you really expect him to make himself scarce?" asked Kagome dryly. "No, he never runs from anything, not even confrontation with his mate."

The eagle demon frowned. "Is that what it's going to be? A confrontation?"

"I sincerely hope not," she replied, rubbing her temples. "But if it is, let's get it over with." She grabbed her jacket and left the bedroom with Washi trailing behind.

Sesshoumaru was still in the kitchen when she entered. He looked up at her with golden eyes that were shockingly dull and tired. Kagome suspected that she appeared quite the same, but she hadn't been able to even glance in the mirror that morning. She still managed to plaster a smile on her face as she looked at her two girls. "Good morning," she said.

"Morning, Mom," replied Rin, standing up. She was still wearing her pajamas, a sign that she wasn't entirely put together this morning either. "Want some breakfast?"

"No, no," said Kagome, a bit too hurriedly. She could just imagine the discomfort of sitting and eating breakfast with Sesshoumaru across the table. "We really need to go as soon as we can."

Washi picked up his smallest sister and placed a kiss on her feathery haired head. "We're going to take the Honda. And I've already faxed the statement about um, your relationship troubles to the office. It's pretty bare on details, but with a lot of implications about the company issues. The guys will release it to the press later this afternoon. It will make the six o'clock news for sure."

Kagome smiled weakly at him. "Alright, well, we should probably go then. Is all of Satu's stuff together?"

"Yeah, I packed everything you would need if you went underground for six months," said Rin, pointing to an overflowing diaper bag and two more cases covered with cartoon-like giraffes and elephants against a sky blue background. "You should be all set. The stroller and baby seat are already in the car. I checked last night. I even gave her a bath this morning."

"Thanks, sweetheart." She took the diaper bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Can you get the rest?" she asked her son, taking Satu from him.

Washi juggled the bags. "Yeah, no problem."

Kagome spared a glance for her mate, who was now standing on the other side of the kitchen with his arms crossed. "Goodbye," she muttered, turning and walking towards the door with the other two children at her heels. "Midori!"

Her second daughter came clambering down the stairs, despite the sling cradling her arm. "Mom! Are you leaving already?"

"Yeah, I am, baby. Come say goodbye to Satu and Washi."

Midori kissed her little sister and murmured a few words about good behavior before turning to her brother. "Take care of Mom," she said, giving him a hug that made him drop two of his four suitcases.

"No problem, sis." He gave her a one armed hug before he picked everything back up. "Be good. Listen to Dad."

The silver and black haired girl bit her lip. "He kinda has to speak before I can listen to him."

Kagome's breath escaped her. "Let's go. I don't want to be stuck in traffic." She opened the door and smiled at her two elder daughters. "We'll call you when we get there, alright?"

Rin stepped forward and firmly shut the door before her mother could escape. "Please," she pled, taking Satu from her. "You have to say goodbye to him. Or yell at him. I don't care. Please just don't ignore him. Please. He was on the couch last night when we came back and he looked terrible. This is really tearing him apart, you know?"

"Alright, alright," sighed the hanyou, giving her the diaper bag as well. "I'll be back in a minute."

She left her four children in the entryway and walked back into the kitchen, where she caught Sesshoumaru making his morning coffee Irish. He barely glanced at her as he placed the whiskey back on the liquor shelf and took a deep draft of his drink. "I thought you were leaving," he said at last.

"I am," she replied. Stepping forward, she pointed her finger at him. "At your request, remember?"

He nodded. "I remember."

She sighed as she leaned up against the counter a few feet from him. "You have to actually talk to the girls while I'm away. You can't just shut yourself up with a liquor bottle and a coffee maker."

Sesshoumaru scowled and drained his cup. "I promise that I'll only do it for eight hours each morning."

"This isn't like you," she said, in awe of his lack of control.

"In all fairness," he replied, getting the whiskey bottle again, "you have never seen me without my mate, after I had spent five centuries with her. After I had become wholly accustomed to her."

Kagome threw up her hands, looking towards heaven. "This is how you tell me that I'm important to you? By getting yourself wasted and sulking in the kitchen? By saying that you're 'accustomed' to me? Is this you telling me that you love me, in your own twisted, demon way?"

"Yes, perhaps."

She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths before straightening up. Walking over to her mate, she took the cup from his hands and set it down on the counter. Luckily for her, the alcohol seemed to have affected Sesshoumaru's reaction time. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply, ignoring the taste of whiskey. Pulling away a few moments later, Kagome wasn't smiling. "That wasn't forgiveness, Sesshoumaru. I want to make that clear, alright?"

He blinked. "Alright."

"I just wanted you to know that I do still love you and I will never leave you. Remember? You said that you would have no one else as a mate. That goes for me too. Please, don't hurt yourself while I'm gone." She rested her forehead against his jaw. "I have to go."

She pulled away just as Sesshoumaru began to bring her closer. "I have to go," she repeated.

"You're still angry at me then," he said, looking more like a lost puppy than she had ever seen him.

"No… I mean, our son still isn't home, you know? He's still out there with possible killers after him," Kagome replied. "I'm not mad… I'm… hurt. I'm in so much pain that I can barely talk. I'm amazed that I've managed to speak at all really. And I blame you almost entirely for it. That might not be fair, but that's how I feel. I guess… I guess I'm a bit angry still, but it's mostly pain. When I see you though, it hurts a little bit more."

Sesshoumaru picked up his coffee cup again. "I do not want you to be in pain," he said.

Kagome smiled softly as she took the cup out of his hands. "I know, which is why you'll probably be forgiven very soon. But you understand why I can't do it now." She watched him nod. "I love you. I'll see you soon."

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The hanyou pawed through the glove compartment. "Our permit isn't in here. I could have sworn it was in here!"

"I told you, Mom," said Washi, keeping his eyes on the country road. "It must be in the BMW."

"I hate that car," muttered Kagome as she gave up her search. "It was a moment of weakness and very persuasive car salesman. You know, your father nearly killed me for not buying Japanese. We should keep a permit in all of our cars." She sat back and looked out at the passing countryside.

Washi laughed softly. "Come on, Mom. You know we keep those permits for guests. The guard at the City gate will recognize us. They always do."

Kagome shrugged. "I guess you're right. Oh, it's a left up here. That unmarked road."

"I know, Mom. I've driven this before."

She looked at him. "Your father always drives. And it's a complicated path."

The eagle demon coughed. "Ah, well, I remember the turns then." He glanced at his mother's unconvinced expression. "Alright, so I've been up here without you guys before. Got lost a couple times too."

The hanyou's eyes widened. "You've been taking girls up here?"

Washi shifted in his seat. "Uh, well… yes?"

"Hmm. Well, I suppose you're a grown boy. And part of the City is yours by right," she said. "I guess it's alright."

He looked again at his mother. "You don't sound alright."

"Well, I know that you're five hundred years old and some change, but it's always disturbing to a mother to find out that her son isn't exactly…" she trailed off and bit her lip.

"A virgin?" he offered, smiling a bit now.

Kagome's jaw dropped. "Washi!"

The eagle demon laughed. "Oh come on, Mom. If I can admit that to my own mother, the least you can do is be accepting of it. At least you know that your son isn't some hopeless loser without any prospects for a future mate."

"You do have prospects then?" she asked, trying to escape from the whole sex side of the conversation.

"No," he admitted. "Most of them just want my money to tell the truth. Well, your money."

The hanyou sighed. She knew that this would be the situation for her children when the company began to be successful. "Well, that's what prenuptial agreements are for. You don't even have to get married. They make them for youkai mating bonds too."

"No offense, Mom, but that's really not how I want to start off any relationship." He shrugged and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "I'm fine with my life right now. And don't worry about me. I'm hardly a playboy."

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "So why haven't I met any of them?"

Washi shrugged again. "None of them really were 'come meet my terrifyingly cold father, my very protective mother and psycho siblings' types."

"Nice try on downplaying my faults," said the hanyou with a roll of her eyes. "And I don't think you're being fair to us."

"I'm not the only one. Daichi and Rin are petrified of bringing home their dates too." He grinned at her. "Don't worry, it's mostly because of Dad. We don't really want him to know who we're dating, in case it turns sour and he decides to take revenge on them… and their families and their family pets."

Kagome smiled. "He wouldn't do that. Not these days anyway. Besides, I think Rin is the only one who has to worry about that, being that her dates would be males." She turned in her seat and stared carefully at her son. "Speaking of which, do you know who Rin is dating?"

Washi didn't shift in his seat this time. "Afraid not, Mom. Wish I did. She's been driving me batty with her ditzy little smiling and prancing about. Whoever it is, I think this might be it. She might be getting a mate pretty soon." He frowned. "You know, I've always wondered about that. What if Rin chose a human? She's immortal, like us. Any human she chooses will grow old and die and she won't have a gray hair on her head."

"I've thought about it too," said Kagome. "But Rin almost exclusively knows youkai so perhaps we have nothing to worry about. And if she does choose a human, well, a lot of demons are these days."

"Yeah, but I've noticed that the ones that have already lost their human mates haven't repeated the process," said Washi. "I don't want my sister to go through that."

Kagome looked over her shoulder to the back seat, where Satu was sleeping soundly. "I don't want any of my babies to go through that." She turned back to the road. "Another left up here."

"I know, Mom. Do you want me to start telling you about Daichi's girlfriends coming up here?" He smirked as she squealed and clapped her hands over her ears. "I guess that's a no."

The hanyou glared at her son. "A definite no."

Washi gave her a guilty smile. "Right. Sorry." He turned left and smiled as the familiar woods of his childhood home began to appear. "I'm always surprised by how much I missed this place. I don't remember how nice it is to be here when I'm not actually here."

"I know what you mean," she murmured, staring out the window. "I always think that I'm home at the penthouse until I come here."

The enormous stone wall appeared in front of them, the wall that had once separated Kagome from a god's army. It was worn down now. The stone was softening, although not cracked or crumbling. And the gate, enormous and iron, stood in the center, looking the same as it had been five hundred years before. The only change was the stone guardhouse with the bulletproof glass right in front of the gate on the side of the road.

Washi scowled as they rolled up. "Where are they?" he murmured, seeing no one in the house.

"We didn't call to say we were coming up. And it's too early for anyone that thinks it might be a public park," said Kagome. She waited until they came to a complete stop and got out, leaning back in to smile at her son. "I'm sure it's nothing. I brought the key to the guardhouse and I can call the staff on the intercom."

"Alright," he said slowly, looking behind him.

She closed the door and walked around the car to the guardhouse to peer in. Unlocking it, she walked into the five by five room and to the intercom. "Hello?" she called as she pressed the little red button. There was no response. Kagome frowned and went back outside. "No answer. There wasn't even static. Shouldn't there be static?"

"Yes," Washi replied, getting out of the car. "Stay with Satu. Do you remember the code for the gate? Without the guard… well, I'm not sure I remember it."

Kagome nodded. "Yeah, it's nine-four-three-six-one-one. Your father says it's the number of demons he's killed with only one arm. I don't know why he counts that sort of thing. Seems like a rather low number actually. For him at least."

"Dad is really morbid," muttered her son as he went inside. A few moments later, the gates began to open, creaking as the old and new metals met and rubbed up against each other.

They drove in slowly, making their way down the streets not built for cars. Sesshoumaru had insisted that the grounds be kept the way it was five hundred years before, with the exception of some electricity and modern plumbing so that he could have his morning coffee and the kids wouldn't complain. Kagome looked at the ancient shrine in the middle of the city as they passed, remembering her days there after the war. She prayed to the sun goddess who had helped them in the fight, so that Amaterasu would know that Kagome continued to appreciate her.

"I should give an offering," said the hanyou, nodding towards the shrine. "It's been awhile since we've been here last."

"Yeah," replied Washi, not listening at all. He looked over at her. "Mom, this is getting a bit too creepy. I don't like it."

Kagome frowned. She didn't want anything to be wrong. If something had gone wrong in the City, she was afraid of what that meant for her, Sesshoumaru and the children. "Alright, stop the car," she said. "I'll look in on the shrine."

Getting out of the car she took a deep breath. The scent of a few dozen demons came to her nose, but it was stale. Perhaps, she thought with hope, they've just skimmed off work and went to Tokyo. Sesshoumaru would be furious, but it would at least mean everything else was fine. Walking into the shrine, however, Kagome instantly knew that her son's instincts had been correct. The caretaker of the shrine was lying spread eagle on the stone floor. There was no blood, but a cushion normally meant for kneeling visitors was partially over his face. He had been smothered. The scent of the paralyzing poison was hovering over his body and Kagome guessed that it had been injected this time, when he was caught unaware. He was probably the first victim. She hoped he was the only one. The cold look of surprise and desperation on his face was too much to bear in the holy place and she walked out again.

Washi was sitting in the car, one window rolled down. "So what's going on? How's the old geezer?" he asked.

"Dead," she murmured, causing a look of panic to flash across her son's face. "Take Satu and go. Get your father."

"Get in then," he said, shifting the car into drive. "Come on, Mom!"

Kagome shook her head. "No, I can't. I'm calling the Demon Squad."

"You can do that on the way back!" he retorted at her. "You have your cell phone! Call when we're on the road again!"

The hanyou set her jaw. "I told you that I can't. The body is fresh."

"Then they're still here," her son argued. "We can't stay, Mom!"

"I have to! There are other people still here, Washi!" She pushed closed the door as he tried to get out. She couldn't have him dragging her into the car kicking and screaming. He had to understand. "I have to help them get out, darling. Please. Please, just go. The baby needs to be safe. She's the most important thing."

She hadn't called him 'darling' since he was a kid. The eagle demon frowned but nodded. "If you aren't careful, if you get hurt… Dad will lose it. You can't die."

"I won't. Please," she pled. "Leave."

He rolled the window up and circled around the shrine, speeding up immensely towards the still open gates. Kagome took off in the opposite direction, towards her old home, where most of the caretakers resided. If even one of them was alive, she had to find them. She couldn't smell blood yet, and that gave her hope for their safety.

The courtyard of her beloved castle was a blur as she ran in, nearly cracking open the doors in her haste. Pausing only briefly, she followed her nose towards the kitchen. Something was cooking, but when she arrived, she was sickened to see that the smell of meat was the hand of her chief caretaker, Botan. He was lying upon the countertop, his eyes wide with surprise and his hand sitting atop the stove, being cooked at a low setting. Kagome turned it off and looked at her old friend. Again, the scent of the poison wafted to her senses, but she couldn't tell what had killed him.

A soft footfall attracted her attention and she pressed herself against the wall beside the doorway. Someone was walking along the corridor nearby and they were trying to be quiet about it. She began to wish for Sesshoumaru and his infallible nose. He would know what intentions this creature had for her.

As the steps came closer, Kagome realized that she didn't even have Tetsusaiga, that she had sent it off with Washi and Satu. When the shadow fell across the doorway though, the hanyou didn't hesitate to dart out and pin the person to the opposite wall.

"Oh, please, don't hurt me!" squealed the female demon.

Kagome released her from her hold. "I recognize you," she said. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. Have you seen anyone strange around?"

The girl nodded. "These men – humans, I mean – came into the servants' quarters as I was leaving out the back. They shot another girl, I think. She was screaming and then it got quiet. I didn't know what to do! There were some people in the streets. This was the only place I could get to."

"Alright," said Kagome. The girl was shaking, on the edge of being in shock. The hanyou spoke slowly and clearly. "Now this is very important. Do you know if they're still in the castle?"

"I… I don't know. I'm so sorry!"

Kagome put an arm around her shoulders. "It's alright. Do you know of anyone else here?"

"The guards… I went there first. There was a lot of blood."

The hanyou began to realize how young this girl was, probably only a few decades older than Midori. "Okay, we're going to get out of here, but you have to listen to what I say. And keep close to me."

The girl nodded a few too many times to be normal and, when Kagome began to move, grabbed her hand desperately. The hanyou said nothing about it and began to move through the hallways, stopping to listen and smell the air every few moments. No one except the dead demon in the kitchen seemed to be nearby, but Kagome could not shake the feeling of being watched. She supposed it was the natural reaction to such an unusual situation. She wasn't accustomed to being hunted by humans. She had almost forgotten how silent the castle could be when battle was looming over her head.

The pair soon reached the back garden door. "Stay here for a moment," said Kagome, having difficulty getting her hand apart from the girl's. "I'll be back in a few seconds." She smiled reassuringly and opened the door to look around. The garden was quiet. No one was sitting atop the wall. Most importantly, she could see the now overgrown door to the barracks. It was the path to freedom, she was sure. "Alright. Come out."

The girl stepped out into the garden, her hand reached for Kagome's once again. "Please?"

Kagome smiled gently and stretched back for a moment before her eyes widened. The girl's chest had the bright red point of light on it, moving with her heart as she moved. Her battle instincts kicked in and the hanyou began to push the oblivious servant back into the castle.

The hiss of a bullet whispered through the air and ripped through Kagome's bicep before slamming into the girl's chest to the left of her heart. The hanyou dragged the gasping servant back into the castle. "Oh Kami-sama," she muttered, looking at the wound. It was bubbling with blood. They had hit her lung. Kagome could either apply pressure in an attempt to save the girl's life or she could run for her own life.

She got down on her knees and pressed the heel of her hand onto the wound. It wouldn't work. The lung would collapse. It was the type of wound that she had never learned to take care of because Sesshoumaru always said it was hopeless. "I swear that I'm getting that medical degree sometime," she told the choking girl. The blood was seeping into her lung, drowning her in her own fluids.

The door slid open behind her and Kagome turned, keeping her weight on her hand and one knee as she kicked out at the intruder, hitting him neatly in the groin. He looked like a mercenary, in Kevlar body armor and weighed down with two guns and a knife. The man groaned and fell to the ground, only to receive another swift kick in the face. He was out cold, but Kagome could smell more coming.

Her own blood was running down her arm in a steady stream, but she had to ignore it. Half dragging, half carrying the servant, Kagome managed to get into one of the rooms that even Sesshoumaru had no use for. No furniture to hide behind and no other exits. It was a perfect place to get trapped hopelessly, but the girl couldn't travel any farther. Her demon healing was going just fast enough to keep her bound to life, but Kagome knew that it would lose soon enough to modern technology.

Her hand was swimming in blood, despite all the pressure she was applying. Pulling out her cell phone with her free hand, she saw that it was predictably receiving no signal. There was never a signal in the castle. Kagome complained about it, but Sesshoumaru just told her that it was an appreciated break from the constant calls during the workweek. "Moron. Why do you have to be so stubborn?" she muttered, staring at the phone.

She could hear whispers in the hallway, coming ever closer. She could smell the poison on their bullets. A door was opening down the corridor. A second later, another door opened, one that was closer. Kagome's heart began to hurt. Looking down at the servant girl, she shrugged. "I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do, really. There's more of them this time." She smiled sadly. "If I must die, at least I die in my home."

The girl closed her eyes, although her breathing continued. Kagome could hear her heart pumping furiously, trying to make up for the loss of blood into her lungs. She was losing her fight quickly.

The door opened at the other end of the room and five men stepped in with large automatic guns. Kagome looked at them. "Why are you doing this?" She watched as one of the men walked towards them, halting at the servant girl's feet. "She needs help. I'm not getting up," she informed him.

He lowered his automatic, letting it hang in one hand. With his other, he pulled out a pistol and shot the girl through the forehead. Kagome screamed and went for him, but stopped when he pointed the gun at her own head. "I won't miss, monster, no matter how fast you might be."

"I'll kill you," said the hanyou. "You have no right to desecrate my home like this."

"Quiet, demon," spat one of the other men, making an angry movement with his gun.

Kagome glared at them. "If you're going to kill me, you'll never get a better chance. And I'm not afraid of death, so stop trying to intimidate me."

"Oh, look, she takes after her freak husband," said the tallest one, smirking.

"You know nothing about him," snapped the hanyou. "And we're not the ones that go around killing innocent bystanders for the hell of it, so I'd be careful with the name calling."

The youngest man stared at her wounded shoulder. "She's bleeding, cap'n. Should we do something?"

"No," said the apparent captain. It was the man who had shot the servant dead. "She'll be bleeding a lot more before we're done with her. What's the point of fixing her up, if we're just going to make her bleed again?"

Kagome glanced at this man who had shown concern for her, when she had almost forgotten she was injured herself. But his eyes were hard and there was no kindness in his face. He was only concerned with how he looked to his captain. "I'm not afraid of torture either," she said. "I've endured pain that you can't imagine."

"She's a hero," sneered the captain. He nodded to the tall one. "We're done here."

Four of the men trained their sights on her, locking her into her corner of the room. The fifth, the tall one, pulled out another gun with a transparent chamber. She could see the bullets inside of it. They glowed slightly with green phosphorescence. Taking aim, he cocked an eyebrow at Kagome. "It's pointless to run," she said. "So I won't. I won't humiliate myself."

The tall man smirked and shot her, hitting her in the thigh and forcing her to fall hard. "Like I said, a hero," said the captain as he watched. "How idiotic."

It felt as if fire was going through her veins. Kagome sucked in air through her clenched teeth. Her vision began to swim and her head throbbed. She could feel her heart go into a frenzy. Her claws buried themselves into the floor as the pain rippled throughout her limbs.

Then the numbness started to spread. It was as if she was being dipped into a freezing stream and being pushed underneath the surface against her will. Two of the men came forward as her breathing became labored. As she tried to get away from their treacherous hands, she was horrified to discover that she couldn't move at all. She didn't want them touching her!

"Take her to the dungeon," ordered the captain.

Kagome closed her eyes, the only movement still afforded to her. She remembered her one night in the dungeon five hundred years before, when she had insisted to be placed there for her own safety, as well as the safety of everyone else in the kingdom. That had been a bad night, but at least she had been trying to help Sesshoumaru in the war. This would be a long night, even if they just left her down there.

The largest of the men picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. Kagome could not even protest. Her vocal chords had shut down. She could only made a soft sound of disgust as she found herself face to face with the man's backside.

"Like that, monster?" sniggered the man. "You know, you're not bad looking. Perhaps you'll get a chance with a real man instead of that white-haired freak."

"Lieutenant! You will keep a sensible tongue in that mouth!" snapped the captain. "No one will touch her! She is a demon! Tainted! If you want to keep your soul you'll keep your hands off of her!"

The large man looked at his commanding officer. "But captain… she turns human once a month. And look at her!"

"Would you really lower yourself so deeply?" he retorted. The rest of the men were looking at the offending man with horror and disgust. "The beauty you think she possesses is only a mask for the ugly distortion of her soul. And let me just be clear. If you do give into her demonic tricks, the general will be the first to hear of it and he will be even less pleased. In fact, he will hear of this as well."

"Please, sir. I didn't mean it." Kagome could see him shaking, but could not feel it.

"Your orders stand, lieutenant! Take the monster to the dungeon. You two, accompany him. Keep your weapons on the creature. Every demon reacts differently to the poison." He smiled. "Better be quick about it. She's bleeding a lot."

Kagome closed her eyes again. She couldn't feel the blood seeping from her two bullet wounds, but she guessed that they must have been bleeding profusely by the tone of the captain's voice. She could only hope that the paralyzing agent didn't stop her accelerated healing as well. As it was, her mind was becoming cloudy.

They carried her through the castle, to the black door that led down to the dungeon. Guards lined the way down to the deepest level, the level that probably hadn't had a good scrubbing in centuries. Kagome sourly mused that if she didn't die from blood loss that she would die from some disease she caught down in the depths of the castle prison.

The lieutenant deposited her unceremoniously on the floor in one of the middle cells. Kagome's blood dripped off his Kevlar armor. She could only lie there, on the slimy ground as he laughed and locked the cell door behind him. Her vision was beginning to go black as her wounds spilled out more viscous liquid.

"The general will be arriving soon. Your City is ours now," said the large man. Kagome made a hissing noise as she tried to snap back at him, but he only laughed again. "Sesshoumaru? Is that what you're trying to say?"

"The general will take care of him too," said one of her other escorts. "And your children."

Kagome had no power to protest as her eyes slid shut.

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A/N: It's a bit shorter than usual, but I couldn't give away too much and still have substance for the fifth chapter. I hope you like it! Please review! I answer them!