Chapter 29

Inuyasha awoke to find himself surrounded by fog. As his mind began to clear, he remembered the situation. He had to find Kagome. Standing up, he began to search, but could barely see a few feet in front of him. Resorting to his sense of smell, he quickly picked up Kagome's scent. Following his nose, he came upon Kagome, chained to a wall, seemingly asleep.

"Kagome!", Inuyasha cried out, "Wake up Kagome!"

"HA HA HA! So you've come Inuyasha! It's been a while, hasn't it?", came Naraku's sinister voice from the fog.

"Damn you, Naraku! What have you done to Kagome?"

"She's not harmed! After all, I wouldn't want my new mother to be injured! HA HA HA!"

This sent chills up Inuyasha's spine as anger filled his words, "I'm going to fucking destroy you AGAIN! Be prepared to die, Naraku!", as he said these words, he reached for the hilt of Tessaiga only to discover,

'It's not here! Where is my Tessaiga?', Inuyasha thought in a panicked state as Naraku laughed menacingly again,

"Missing something, Inuyasha? When you came to this world, you were not able to bring your sword with you. Now you can watch as I finish my plan of being reincarnated as your child. Kagome's mind is resisting me for now, but she won't be able to resist me forever! HA HA HA HA HA!"

"You damn bastard! I still have my claws!", and facing the direction the voice seemed to be coming from, Inuyasha attacked, "IRON REAVER SOUL STEALER!", he screamed out as Naraku only laughed more,

"You need to find me first, Inuyasha!", Naraku said, mockingly.

At this, Inuyasha growled, signaling his anger. As he growled, he sniffed the air, searching for Naraku's stench. His eyes widened in fear and disgust as Inuyasha realized the stench permeated the surrounding area and yet, seemed to come from no one particular place. How was he supposed to find his enemy?

Turning back to Kagome, he broke the chains that held her up to the wall. He caught her in his arms, as she collapsed, still seemingly asleep. He laid her down on the stark floor, as he whispered to her,

"I'll be back for you Kagome. As soon as I destroy Naraku. Keep resisting him. Don't let him break through your defenses. I know you're strong enough to do this.", and with that he kissed her softly, then stood up and began his search for the elusive Naraku.

Back at Kaede's hut, the gathered group felt helpless. Kaede, Miroku, and Kohaku sat and talked quietly while Tamae examined the couple with her hands, obviously able to feel some of what was happening. She told the group that Inuyasha was searching for Naraku, without success thus far. Suddenly, an evil aura began surrounding the hut, as an ominous wind filled the air. A ghostly figure appeared. A figure of a woman so ugly, so hideous looking, that all but Tamae had a hard time looking at her. No - Tamae seemed to know this figure.

"Leiko! Why do you appear here?", Tamae demanded.

The apparition responded, "I wanted to see who was interfering with my spell. What business do you have here Tamae?"

"I am here to help with this spell of yours. Why have you cursed this young woman?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but Naraku promised me the soul of this young girl. When my shikigami attacked her, I was able to see her soul. I have never before had the pleasure of corrupting such a pure soul."

"I will never allow you to corrupt this soul. Inuyasha will free her from your curse.", Tamae said angrily.

"That half-demon? Don't make me laugh. His will be another soul for me to corrupt. His will not be nearly as fun, however. His life has already left its mark on his soul."

With that statement, the apparition disappeared. As the group recovered from what it saw, Miroku was the first to start speaking,

"Lady Tamae, who was that?"

"That, dear monk, was a demon mountain witch named Leiko. She is pure evil. I am not surprised she is involved in this.", Tamae said quietly.

"If we destroy her, will the spell break on Lady Kagome?", asked Kohaku.

"No. The only way to break the spell is for Naraku's spirit to be destroyed. That will sever the tie between Leiko and Naraku. You would never find Leiko either, my boy, for she is even more elusive than Naraku ever was."

The gathered group turned back to face the two seemingly lifeless bodies of Kagome and Inuyasha, knowing full well, Inuyasha was Kagome's only hope.