Chapter 25 Foiled Again

Author's note: I'm going to try to end this within the next few chapters. Sorry for taking so long updating. I'm kinda loosing interest in writing this story. Don't worry; I'm going to finish it. Even if I had to force myself too! It will be finished to the best of my abilities!

Special thanks to: inuyasha1818

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Hojo was feeling guilty for what he had done. Obviously Narraku was not someone he should have trusted. And in making that mistake he put Kagome and himself in danger. He vaguely wondered how Kikyou was faring. He'd only met her once and was instantly turned off by her shallowness.

But now was not the time to think of her. What he should be worrying about is how he was going to fix this mess he had put himself in. Naraku was wise enough not to let him leave his hideout for fear he would run for help. He was trapped in this room alone save for the female guard at the door. She looked bored, like she would rather be doing anything else than baby-sit him.

Suddenly her red eyes met his with surprising effects. The crimson depths were so deep and commanding he was forced to lock eyes with hers. She was elegantly tall and very beautiful.

"Hey! Human!" Hojo was suddenly jolted from his reverie by her irate voice. "I was talking to you!"

"I'm sorry!" He cowered weakly beneath her commanding tone. "I didn't hear you. And it's Hojo, not human." He was surprised to hear himself saying.

"What?" She snapped.

"My name is Hojo."

"Yeah, whatever. Listen, I'll help you correct this mistake you've made if you help me."

"You're going to help me escape?" Hojo asked disbelievingly.

The wind demon sighed ruthlessly. "Isn't that what I just said!" She snapped. "Gosh! You human's sure are dumb!"

Hojo wisely decided he was in no position to argue and asked, "What do I have to do?"

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Kagome was pretty sure she was alone in her cell. Yes, no one was there with her. She was all alone….

But if that was the case, who was it that was whispering, trying to be quiet, but failing miserably? She certainly couldn't see anyone, but that didn't mean there weren't there. The cell was too dark for her to trust her eyes.

"Who's there?" She finally called out after some time.

"No one!" Came a childish voice, and then quietly, "I know Kirara! But I panicked! So what if it was stupid!"

"Hello?" Kagome rose to her feet and followed the voice. "Who are you?" She said gently assuming the voice belonged to a child.

As she neared the spot she began to see two small silhouettes crouched on the floor. A small light from the torch on the outside of the cell allowed Kagome to better see who she shared her cell with.

"Why hello there." She said reaching her hand out to touch what seemed to be a kitsune and neko demon.

"Don't touch me!" He screamed when her hand was inches from reaching him.

Kagome was so taken aback she flinched visibly. What had Naraku done to this poor demon child and his neko demon? The weak fire light allowed her to see old and new bruises on both the neko and kitsune. Kagome could feel her heart breaking. Naraku was such an evil man.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Kagome said in the softest most sincere voice she could manage. How these poor creatures came to be here, in this terrible place, under the hard hand of Naraku, seemed unbearable to Kagome.

The Kitsune sniffled one last time but seemed to take shelter in her words. This time when she reached out to him and didn't shy away and allowed Kagome to take him and the neko demon into her arms.

Kagome held the two in her arms and talked to them softly. "You're alright now." She whispered soothingly. "I won't let him hurt you anymore."

"Promise?" came the child's young voice.

"I promise." Kagome said. "Do you have a name?"

He nodded. "My name is Shippo and this is Kirara." Both snuggled deeply into Kagome's arms. And for the first time they felt safe to the point where they actually felt themselves falling asleep.

Kagome smiled. She felt their breathing even, indicating they had fallen asleep.

"You're safe now…" Kagome whispered not altogether sure that was a true statement.

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Inuyasha was on his way to meet Naraku at the location Kikyou had described. After delivering her message she promptly ran off, leaving the hanyou to only hope she had told the truth.

He had been instructed to go alone but his friends weren't allowing him to do so. They had said it could be a trap. So they came up with the plan to fool Naraku into thinking Inuyasha had come alone. All Inuyasha said was that if they screw this up and Kagome ended up dead, he would have their heads.

Inuyasha reached the destination which seemed to be an old abandoned warehouse. (How original, huh?) Behind him he knew his friends were well hidden, or so he hoped. As instructed he entered the decrepit building 'alone.'

At first the hanyou saw nothing but empty space. It took a few minutes for his sensitive eyes to adjust to the semi darkness but when they did she saw he was not at all alone.

In the center of the room, where the most light shown, (which wasn't much, to tell the truth) was a man, or demon. Whatever.

"Inuyasha! I'm so glad you could make it!" The figure said, clasping his hangs together. "I was beginning to think you would chicken out! You're a bigger man than I thought!"

Inuyasha growled at the obvious insult. "You're Naraku." It was a statement not a question.

"That is what I am called." Naraku said without missing a beat.

"Where is Kagome? What have you done to her?" Inuyasha wanted to know.

"Nothing. Yet."

"If you so much as lay a finger on her…"

"You'll what? Kill me?" Naraku laughed. Really laughed. It seemed the thought of Inuyasha killing him was quite humorous.

Inuyasha was beginning to get quite irritated. Naraku had called him here and still had yet to tell him what he wanted.

"Naraku, I don't have time for your games! Now, tell me where Kagome is!"

"See, I could do that but that's not why I called you here." Naraku paused, listening… "Inuyasha… Didn't I tell you to come alone?"

"Yes…" Damn it! Those fools! Hadn't he warned them not to mess things up!

"And yet… You didn't. Well, this changes things." Naraku snapped his fingers and instantly Kagome appeared in his arms.

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Kagura led Hojo to where Kagome was being held captive. She and the human had struck some kind of deal; if she helped him he helped her. It was quite simple really. But this human wasn't too smart. And Kagura began to doubt her decision to take his help.

But it was too late to back out now. She sighed. If only she had been more patient.

She and the human continued to walk down the stone hallway until Kagura stopped suddenly, causing the human to almost run into her.

"This is it?" He said disbelievingly. This place... was so cold... and unpleasant. Who in the right mind would keep Kagome locked up in a place like this?

Of course: Naraku.

"What do you think, Human? That I just took you here for the heck of it?" Kagura snapped.

"Right, sorry….." Hojo winced at how stupid he must have sounded. Moving right along, he turned to the door of what appeared to be a cell. "Kagome? Kagome, you there?" He called.

"Hojo? Is that you?" Kagome's voice carried through the darkness.

"Yes! It's me! Kagome, I'm so sorry for what I did to you! I-I wasn't thinking clearly. But I'm here now to save you!" Hojo said trying to rectify his actions but only served to sound stupid once again.

"Save the apologies for later! Just get me out of here!" Kagome ordered.

"Uhhhhhhhh right!" Hojo turned to Kagura. "How do we open the door?"

Sighing exasperatedly, Kagura flicked her fan causing a gust of wind to knock down the door. Humans! Always expecting you to do everything!

Kagome, anxious to leave her cell wasted no time he stepping out. "Thanks! Now let's get—" But Kagome never finished that sentence. Because it was at that moment that she disappeared right before Kagura and Hojo's very eyes.

"Damn it!" Kagura cursed under her breath.

Foiled Again.

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Kagome stood hunched over in Naraku's grasp with a knife to her throat. And not just any knife. I knife that seemed to be connected to Naraku's hand. It seemed he could change his body parts… into weapons. Wonderful. Makes ya wonder what other body parts would turn into... bad thoughts! This was not the time!

Shippo and Kirara had jumped from her arms, not long after Naraku used his... powers to bring her here. Running in fear, they hid somewhere in the darkness.

"Naraku! Let her go!" Inuyasha ordered.

Since they had already been discovered, behind Inuyasha stood all his friends, the same friends who put him in this unwanted predicament.

"No. I don't think I can do that. You see, I called you here to kill you. To remove you. To get you out of the way. But now that you brought your friends you have made things quite difficult for me."

Kagome was deathly afraid for her life, but she was more worried about Inuyasha at the moment. Naraku wouldn't kill her, he was only bluffing. While her captor was distracted Kagome slowly reached her hand into his pocket and extracted the pink ball he had stolen from her earlier. She then proceeded to wrap her foot around his ankle and trip him.

She succeeded in freeing herself, but she also succeeded in angering her evil half demon kidnapper. Before he could grab her again, Kagome ran to Inuyasha and hid behind him.

Naraku jumped to his feel, boiling with rage. But he was more mad at himself than he was at the miko. If he had been paying more attention she wouldn't have caught him so off guard.

Filled with unfocused rage, he reached in his pocket to retrieve the Shikon no Tama, only to find it missing. Kagome confidently stepped from behind Inuyasha and opened her hand, grinning annoyingly.

"You stupid, conniving, wench!" Naraku bellowed. "Now I'm going to kill you too for turning against me. I gave you a second chance, Kagome! There will not be a third!"

"Don't you dare talk to Kagome that way!" Inuyasha yelled. Naraku was going to pay for what he had done! Hurting Kagome was not acceptable!

He charged for Naraku ready to attack. But just as our favorite hero readied to take Naraku out, the evil hanyou shot forth a tentacle and pierced him through the heart.

"INUYASHA!"

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Um… yeah this story is almost over. We have just about reached the ending! Ya ya! I hope you liked this chapter. What a great Cliffy right? Not really. This chapter was kinda short compared to other ones… oh well. A chapter is a chapter. I'll try to get the next chapter up ASAP!

Question: Should Kikyou die? Or would that be too cruel? We could always give her an honorable death. You decide.

Please read and Review! Thanks!

Clouds of the Sky