As Nekura continued searching for the one whom Kura wished to find and defeat, all she could think about was if her newfound friend would be all right on her own. Sure, she was the daughter of Inuyasha and had proved her strength on numerous occasions, but this was different; this was a fight like none before and she would have to be prepared for the worst.
"I can't bare to lose anyone else," she muttered to herself, holding back the tears that threatened to fall. It was true; ever since her family and friends were murdered by a band of thieves and merciless demons, she hated watching people suffer…especially when those people were so close to her… But she managed to stay strong through all the tough times she had had and kept her head held high; that was what made a brave warrior and Nekura was definitely classified into that category.
The elemental shook her head, trying to tell herself that everything was going to be all right and that Kura could take proper care of herself no matter what the circumstances. She then continued on her way, hoping to come across the one that she longed to meet. She wanted to teach him a lesson for stealing not only her weapon but her friends' as well. She wasn't the type of person to let any sort of crime go unpunished, that was a given…
Meanwhile, Kura had a found a place to sit and relax, a place where she could reflect on everything that had happened that day. She knew that Isamu would come back; he wasn't gone forever, as much as she hoped he was. He was like a boomerang; he just keeps coming back no matter what you tell or do to him. She stared blankly into the water, which was currently soaking her bare feet. What was she to do now? Was she to just sit around and wait for him to show up? She shook her head, knowing only full well that that option was completely out of the question. She couldn't just sit around and do nothing. What if he was planning to attack one of her friends in order to grab her attention? She would never know if she stayed put and didn't move from the spot that she currently inhabited.
Standing up, arms placed firmly at her sides, she kept a straight face and held her head high. "I've got to go looking for him. The only way I'm going to be able to stop him once and for all is if I actually go out and look for him myself. I'll find him and make him pay for everything that he's done to not only me, but to all my friends and most importantly, my father. I want to defeat him to prove to my father that I'm just as strong as he is. It will make him proud of me and that's what I truly want…" After the last few words escaped the hanyou girl's mouth, she leapt up into one of the tallest trees and began jumping from tree branch to tree branch in search of the wolf that had wronged her for what she hoped was the last time…
Back in the village…
"Master Inuyasha!" a squeaky voice exclaimed, jumping onto the half-demon's shoulder while trying to get his attention.
"Hm?" Inuyasha looked to where he saw a flea-sized demon perched atop his shoulder blade. "Myoga? What are you doing here?" he questioned curiously.
"I've come to warn you about something!"
"Oh, and what is that?" The hanyou raised an eyebrow as he spoke.
"Your daughter is planning to fight the demon that stole your Tetsusaiga!" Myoga shouted, bouncing up and down. It was then, at that very moment that Inuyasha's golden yellow orbs became almost as wide as saucers. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. Kura was planning on fighting a demon alone? What if she wasn't strong enough? True, he did have faith in his daughter but when it came to situations such as this one, his parental instincts would kick in and he would usually fall into the pit of worry. He didn't know this so-called demon, nor had he seen him but one thing was for sure, he had to find Kura and convince her not to fight. It wasn't going to be easy, seeing as how she had inherited his stubbornness, making it even harder for him to persuade her not to do what she so longed for. However, he was her father and he believed that whatever he would say to her, she would have to obey. Unfortunately for Inuyasha, this is not always the case, as he will soon find out…
"Master?"
The hanyou practically jerked his head up after hearing Myoga's voice. "I'm going to go find her," he muttered under his breath so that it was rather difficult for Myoga to hear just what he was saying.
"What?"
"I said I'm going to go find Kura!" Inuyasha shouted as he ran off into the forest, Myoga trailing far behind him.
"Wait master! I'm coming too!" he huffed. "Master!" The flea demon quickened his pace so that he could get closer to the hanyou who looked like he was running faster than the speed of light. If there was anyone in the whole Feudal Era that could run as fast as him, it would most definitely be Kura, seeing as how she was his daughter…
In another part of the forest, Kura was still searching for Isamu, hoping to find him and make him pay for everything that he had done. So far, she had had no luck.
Where could he be? The half-demon played with that question over and over again in her mind as she tried to come up with a reasonable answer. He could be anywhere by now and yet she had no clue. What if he had already found her friends and had kidnapped them, holding them as bait so that she would come and save them? No, she wasn't going to fall into his trap. She had a feeling that her friends were all right, which relieved some of the stress off of her shoulders. She then closed her eyes and opened her mind to anything and anyone around her, hoping to sense the wolf's presence. A gentle wind soon picked up as the hanyou girl's ears began to twitch; it was then that she knew someone was coming. She opened her eyes and stood in a fighting stance, prepared for whatever the demon, or so her instincts told her, may throw at her. The leaves started to rustle, breaking the silence and a shadowy figure leapt into the air and landed gracefully on the forest floor. Kura immediately recognized the shape of the demon and narrowed her eyes in disgust.
"Heh, back again are we?" Kura stated with a mocking tone to her voice.
The wolf smirked as his physical features came into view. "Of course. I just can't say goodbye to such a pretty face," was his seemingly pleasant comeback. However, this did not fool Kura; she knew what he was really like and he couldn't hide his true identity…at least not from her anyway…
"Pft! I may be pretty, but there's no way in the seven hells I'll become your mate so don't even think about it!" Kura argued, making absolute sure that she got her point across.
Isamu scoffed and raised a single eyebrow. "You'd like to think that, wouldn't you?"
"Tch, I don't think, I know," she stated confidently, assuring herself.
"Well then, if you think you're so smart, why don't you tell me what you think my next move is going to be? Hm?"
Kura was in a tight spot now. She couldn't lie, seeing as how Isamu would know if she was telling the truth or not and she couldn't not say anything for fear of what he might do to her. What was she to do?
"Well? Aren't you going to answer my question? The time is ticking by ever so quickly so you better hurry up…"
"Hold on a minute! I'm thinking!" the girl demanded of the wolf. It wasn't really a lie; she was thinking about something, just not about what he had asked of her. She was thinking about what to do and if the decision she made would be the right one. She then opened her mouth to speak. "I…" But before she could finish what she was about to say, Isamu began to close in on her and before she knew what was happening, she felt as though she had been whisked off her feet and was now soaring through mid-air. When she finally came to, she realized that Isamu had her clutched in his right arm and was carrying her off to some unknown location.
"What are you…?" The hanyou was then silenced when Isamu pressed two fingers against her lips as a way of telling her to quiet down. Mentally, she refused to obey a mangy wolf such as he, but in reality knew that she was in no position to argue.
"Be quiet, we're almost there," the wolf pointed out silently. Seeing as how she could not speak, Kura wondered just where there really was. Was he taking her to some place that her friends would never find her? She highly doubted that; if her father's nose was as good as it used to be, he could sniff her out in the blink of an eye; there was definitely no hiding from Inuyasha, that one was for sure.
As soon as Kura felt her feet touch solid ground, she looked around to examine her surroundings and found that nothing was familiar to her. It was as if she had journeyed to a far-off place…or to an unknown part of the Feudal Era. Either theory made sense if you thought about it enough, but all the half-demon girl really wanted to do was to get out and find her friends. Unfortunately, that was not an option.
"Welcome to my humble abode," the wolf greeted somewhat pleasantly.
"Um, just why did you bring me here?" Kura questioned, placing her hands firmly on her hips as if to make herself look intimidating.
"Why my dear, you of all people should know what you're doing here…" Kura then gave him a rather strange look as if to say, "Get to the point." "I brought you here so that I could make you my mate," he concluded. Kura then nearly fell over backwards as her eyes shot wide open.
"W-what?" she spluttered. "I thought I told you that I wasn't going to become your mate!"
"Yes, indeed you did. But ever since we last saw each other, I just couldn't stop thinking about you. Unfortunately, you seemed to not feel the same way. I had to fix that problem and I knew just how to do it…"
"By kidnapping me and holding me hostage?" Kura exclaimed.
"No, no, no, that's not it at all. I brought you here so that you could see just what you'd gain by marrying me," he smirked.
"Forget it! I'm not marrying you! My heart belongs to someone else so just let me go!" It was then that Isamu took a few steps backwards. He hung his head, defeated. Her heart belongs to someone else? Just who was this someone? Were they some kind of a threat to his existence? He didn't know, but one thing he did know was that he couldn't waste his time pondering about who this guy was that the hanyou girl loved so dearly. He had to go out, find him…and rid the earth of him… He knew that Kura would not think too highly of him then, but right now he was willing to do anything for the one he loved…
"Don't move!" he demanded. "I'll be back!" and with that, the wolf ran off into the distance, leaving Kura to wonder just where he was going…