Chapter 21: The Great Escape and a Fox's Quarrel

Kagome raced down the corridor. She didn't dare to glance behind her as she ran. She already knew that Naraku was behind her.

She gasped as a thorny whip wrapped itself around a leg. Several more then encircled her torso and arms and proceeded to drag her backwards.

No! She won't go back to Naraku! She won't!

With a cry, she lashed out with spiritual energy and her bonds disintegrated. Kagome heard a gruff curse as she caused the ceiling to collapse above her and Naraku.

The priestess then ducked through a hole in the wall and ran. Kagome was briefly thankful that she couldn't run out of breath in a clay body.

However, she sorely missed her bow and arrows.

The sound of a hiss was all the warning she had. Kagome dove to floor as a chain wizzed through where her head had previously been. Acting on impulse, she grabbed the chain and sent a pulse of energy down it. The feline youkai at the other end sent up a yowl as it was hit by the energy shock.

Without a pause, Kagome whipped the energy charged chain around her head, catching several more youkai with the attack.

This time Kagome did pause, but only long enough to grab a human sized weapon from one of the dead youkai. She gripped the katana in one hand as she ran into a nearby room. She found another youkai waiting for her.

The youkai appeared to be some sort of lizard. It's slitted eyes glittered dangerously at her from within a blue and yellow skin. It wore only a fur pelt around its waist, fully revealing the spider mark on its chest.

Kagome placed her other hand on the hilt of her borrowed sword. Even though she preferred a good bow, she wasn't bad with a blade. Inuyasha and Sango had taught her swordsmanship when she was still alive.

As the strange youkai lunged at her, Kagome parried and thrust the blade point at the youkai's throat. He beat away the attack an lunged at the clay priestess.

Kagome jumped back as she brought her blade up in a defensive position. Okay, maybe her swordsmanship wasn't as good as she thought. She wished again that she had her bow.

With a sudden thought, Kagome realized that she might be able to use the sword in the same way she used her arrows. The sword glowed brightly in her hands as she blocked a downward cut from the youkai.

The youkai's blade snapped as it made contact with her sword. Kagome then made a leap that would have made Inuyasha proud. The youkai disintegrated as she sliced down in a diagonal cross cut through the neck and torso.

Kagome didn't have time to savor her small victory. Harsh youkai voices drifted down the hallway and she surveyed her surroundings in a panic. In a stroke of luck, she noticed a window to her left.

She raced to the window and peered down. Several stories down from the window, the ground dropped sharply into a rocky enbankment. Could she make it?

The wall crashed open behind her and Kagome pulled herself through the window and jumped without a second thought. She landed with a thud among the sharp rocks and rolled down the steep hill. Again she was briefly thankful not to have a body of flesh and blood.

Kagome dropped down into a high, muddy creek that ran below the enbankment. Gripping the katana in her left hand, she submerged and swam in the direction of the current. Not having to breath, she stayed under for several minutes before daring to look.

The priestess peeked out long enough to see several youkai running along the stream. She ducked back under and considered her options.

Naraku knew she was in the water and might send youkai in after her. It was after all the only place she could have gone. The area beyond the creek was flat, barren land. The forest, while not incredibly far away, was still far enough to be out of reach. However, as long as she remained in the stream, the youkai couldn't track her by scent. There must be something she could do...

Kagome turned around in the water and struggled up stream. Naraku would expect her to travel with the current. The priestess dug the sword into the soft creek bed and pulled herself forward. Unfortunately, the current was very strong here.

She gritted her teeth as she groped for a finger hold on a rock. Kagome realized then that she'd never be able to swim up stream against the strong current. It was hard enought to swim downstream in her loose fitting clothes. Kagome wrapped her arms around a boulder and decided to wait it out.

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Naraku glared out from his position overlooking the enbankment. That vile woman...

He chuckled suddenly to himself. He'd suspected that something like this might happen. The demonseed worked by digging into the flesh of its victims. However, the priestess no longer had a body of flesh.

"My Lord?" Binh asked fearfully. Naraku turned to study the dirty hag. He smirked at her discomfort and peered back at the horizon.

"I suspected that something like this might occur," he said calmly. The ancient crone gave a start.

"My Lord?" she asked in disbelief. Naraku chuckled darkly. The old hag swallowed a lump of fear as she continued.

"My Lord," she said hesitantly. "If you suspected that the demonseed wouldn't work on the priestess, then why did you take the risk of resurrecting her?" Naraku turned a cold glare on the hag. He was hardly in the habit of explaining himself. Binh caught the dark glint in his eyes as impatiently answered.

"I have my reasons creature, that is all you need to know," he hissed. Naraku smirked as she cowered back. Good. He looked up at the late afternoon sky.

There will be a new moon tonight, he thought.

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Namu stomped down the great hallway as his little sister ran after him.

"Namu! Wait! Father didn't mean..." Sango cried. Namu ignored the young kitsune as he went into his room and flopped onto his bed. Kirara came rushing in with a mew and settled herself by his head.

He hated his father. He hated him!

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Shippo growled as he stomped outside into the forest. He gave another growl of agitation as he jumped up into a tree. The kitsune crossed his arms obstinately and glared darkly around him. He wasn't even entirely sure how the fight had started.

They'd been discussing what to do next when Inuyasha had said that he wanted to leave that very night. No one had any idea of where to start, but the stubborn hanyou lord was dead set on leaving anyway. Miroku had tactfully reminded him that tonight was the new moon. Inuyasha would lose his powers and become a full blooded human for the night.

Of course Inuyasha, being Inuyasha, fought the argument. He wasn't going to sit around with his tail between his legs when he could be out looking for Kagome's ashes. He especially wasn't going to sit around and let Kouga look for her himself.

Shippo had then taken that moment to tell Inuyasha, quite tactfully he had thought, that Inuyasha needed to wait until morning.

Namu had then exploded at that, apparently taking his father's words to mean that hanyous were a liability in their human form. Father and son had then gotten into a heated quarrel, each misunderstanding, or choosing not to understand, the other's words. A growling and highly irate Inuyasha had finally intervened and punched the two foxes to shut them up.

Shippo growled again as he slammed his fist down against the tree. It shattered under his fist. He lept down as the fractured wood splintered around him.

Dammit, why did this have to happen now? The kitsune sighed as he sat down on the ground by the destroyed tree.

Was he really such a terrible father?

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Inuyasha gave a 'feh' as he stormed back to his private chambers. Much to his agitation, he realized that nothing would probably get accomplished tonight. The hanyou had left the startled humans to their own devices in the Great Hall.

The hanyou pushed down the impulse to turn back and throttle both father and son. If only Kagome was here, then something might be done about the pair.

The dog hanyou flipped onto his back as he jumped on to the bed. He stared up at the high ceiling.

Kagome, where are you?

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"Oh dear oh dear oh dear," Myouga wailed. The flea youkai jumped up and down in dismay from his position on Amaya's shoulder. The quarter youkai sighed as she headed to her and Akio's bed chambers to check on their baby. She paused long enough to consider the humans.

"There's food and drink down the hall if you wish," she said. "I'll join you in a little while, after I check on my daughter." The quarter youkai then turned as she and Akio disappeared down the next corridor. Kouga shrugged his shoulders and popped his knuckles.

"I guess that's that," Kouga growled. "You might as well do as Amaya said and make yourselves comfortable. It doesn't look like we'll be doing anything until tomorrow." Those damn foxes, he thought. As if things aren't screwed up enough. Kouga turned and sauntered down the hall to find some food. Jaken followed close behind him.

Kenshin stared after the angry Namu. He sighed to himself as he began to walk after the teenaged fox hanyou. Kaoru joined him and the two wondered if they'd be able to calm the young man down. Sanosuke gave a feh as he jammed his fishbone back into his mouth.

"I guess I'd better go check on that mangy, flea ridden fox," he muttered. Sano stomped off in Shippo's direction, leaving Megumi, Yahiko, and Miroku behind.

"This certaintly is a mess," Miroku sighed. "I wish that either Kagome, Sango, or myself had been around when Shippo and Namu first met. Inuyasha did as well as he could, but he's not a peacemaker."

"You think you guys could have helped?" Yahiko asked. The dead monk sighed inside the wooden bokken.

"I don't know Yahiko. However, I do feel for both Shippo and Namu. I know that this is tearing Shippo apart, even if he might not show it. Remember, I knew him as a child. Despite being a youkai, Shippo has always had a very kind and warm heart. He wouldn't willingly abandon any child of his. I don't believe he is intentionally alienating Namu."

Megumi sighed as she brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. A kind heart, an easy smile, and a foul temper when aroused...both father and son were more alike than they were ready to admit. She frowned suddenly as she caught Yahiko's right hand inching toward her rear end.

"Miroku..." she warned. Yahiko gave her a questioning look and looked down at the wooden sword tucked in his sash. He suddenly noticed then what his hand was doing.

"MIROKU!" Yahiko yelled. He whipped the possessed bokken out and banged it against the floor.

"Yahiko! Put me down!" Miroku shouted.

"YOU WERE TRYING TO MAKE ME TOUCH MEGUMI'S BUTT AGAIN!"

Miroku sniffed at that. If he'd still possessed his human body, the monk would have flashed a lecherous leer.

"Yahiko, I'm appalled. How can you think such a crass thing of me?"

"Because you're Miroku," came a gruff voice. Kouga chomped on a piece of meat as he studied the trio. "You never change, do ya monk?" he asked. The wolf looked down to see that Yahiko and Megumi were eyeing his food.

"Uh..is that raw?" Yahiko asked. Kouga looked down at the food in his hand.

"So it is," he said. Yahiko and Megumi turned green. Oblivious to them, Kouga took another big chomp from his prize. Megumi gagged.

"Uh...is all the food raw?" Yahiko asked suspiciously. Kouga blinked as he looked from Yahiko to his food and back again. The wolf smirked as he held the food out to the boy.

"Want some?" he asked.

"NO!" Yahiko asked.

"Your loss," he muttered and took another chomp. This time Yahiko gagged. "Oh save it!" Kouga yelled. "Why do all you humans have such weak stomachs?" He took another chomp and swallowed. He examined the now meatless bone in his hand before sticking an end in his mouth to gnaw at it.

"Besides," Kouga said dryly, "There's cooked food back there too. There's smoked meat, fruit, and plenty of ramen." Both Megumi and Yahiko each gave a sigh of relief.

The wolf continued to gnaw at the bone until a thought occured to him. He bent down close to Yahiko's face and sniffed him.

"What are you doing?" Yahiko asked stiffly.

"You've got some dog youkai blood, right?" Kouga asked.

"Yeah, but not much. Inuyasha says I'm pretty much human," he said. The wolf grinned at him a split second before grabbing his mouth and wrenching it open.

"Whaa..wha'dre you dwoing?" Yahiko cried. Kouga forced the boy's mouth open and peered inside.

"I don't see any dog teeth," the wolf mused.

"Owww! Wet go owf mwe!" Yahiko tried to kick Kouga, but the wolf youkai merely stuck his finger into the boy's mouth and felt around.

"Feh, you just have lame human teeth," he complained. Yahiko glared dangerously at him before managing to close his mouth in a snap, catching Kouga's finger between his teeth.

"OWWW!" Kouga yelled. "AHH..AHH..."

"Yahiko, let go of Kouga," Miroku said. Yahiko opened his mouth and the agitated wolf jumped away.

"My finger! You actually bit my finger!"

"Well that's what happens when you stick a finger in someone's mouth," Megumi giggled. Kouga glared at her as he nursed his bruised finger. Then he unexpectantly laughed cheerfully.

"Heh, I guess you really do have dog blood Kid," he smirked.

"I'M NOT A KID!"

"YOU ARE COMPARED TO ME!"

Yahiko didn't have a comeback for that.

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Aoshi grimaced as he clutched his left arm. Damn...

He glared coldly around him, but the creature had already disappeared. Damn.

"Aoshi!" Misao cried. Aoshi held back a grimace as he examined his arm. Just before the creature had escaped again, it had managed to rake him with it's claws. He raised his arm and pressed his other hand firmly over the wound to stop the bleeding. Thankfully, the slashes weren't as deep as he had feared.

"Misao," he said dispassionately, "Go check on Gojin and the girl." Misao flashed a stubborn look at him before walking down below. After a quick review of his surroundings, he followed her.

When he got down there, Misao was already wringing out a wet rag for him. Aoshi took it and began the process of cleaning away the blood. The young girl peered over Misao's shoulder as she gazed wide eyed at Aoshi's wounded arm.

"Is it really bad Mr. Aoshi?" she asked. Aoshi looked briefly up at the girl before turning his attention back to the task at hand.

"Is it fine child," he assured her. But he winced soon after as pressed a little too hard against the wound. Damn. The girl gasped as she stared at the five claw marks gashed into his arm.

"Misao, please take..." Aoshi started to say and stopped in surprise as the girl held her hand over his wounded arm.

"Momma always did this when I was hurt," she explained. Before Aoshi could ask, the girl waved her hand over his arm before exclaiming "Owwie Owwie go away!" She then jumped back with a smile and examined the emotionless Aoshi.

"Does it still hurt Mr. Aoshi?" she asked. Actually, it did still hurt. It hurt a lot. But she didn't need to know that.

"A little," Aoshi lied. "But it does feel much better now, thank you." Misao gaped at him and pushed down a giggle. She looked up to see Gojin place a hand on the girl's shoulder and lead her away.

"Come now Miss Kaia," the disguised youkai said. "Let us go get some fresh air." The girl blinked up at him before planting her hands on her hips in defiance.

"No! I wanna stay with Mr. Aoshi!" she declared. Her eyes flashed stubbornly.

Gojin was caught off guard. She wasn't supposed to disobey him! The child was just a dirty half breed that Raizel had found in the mountains. The hanyou girl's memories had been wiped before the demonseed had been placed inside her. She was supposed to obey him!

"Miss Kaia," Gojin forced out calmly, "I believe that we should go outside. You've been down here nearly all day. It isn't healthy. You need some fresh air."

"No," she said stubbornly. The snake youkai bit back a growl. Infernal child. Apparently she had outlived her usefulness if she could counteract the demonseed.

"Miss Kaia," Aoshi said. "Your guardian is correct. This enclosed air is not healthy for a child. You should go outside." The girl bit her lip stubbornly.

"Yeah," Misao offered helpfully. "Besides Kaia, the sun should be setting soon. It'll look really pretty, why don't you go see it?" The girl's eyes widened at that.

"Really?" she asked.

"Really," Misao said. The girl scrunched up her face in thought as she considered it. Then she smiled broadly up at the young woman.

"Okay!" she exclaimed. Then to Aoshi's shock, the young girl hugged him and lightly kissed his cheek before scampering up the ramp.

"Get better Mr. Aoshi!" she called back.

A stunned Aoshi stared after the little girl. He unconsciously touched the cheek she had kissed. This time the pain really had disappeared.

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Kagome wasn't sure how much time had passed. But after what had felt like an eternity to her, she finally stuck her head out of the water.

It was evening now. The sun was fading into the west as millions of stars began to twinkle in the darkening sky.

The priestess looked around her. She didn't see any youkai, but that didn't mean that she wasn't being watched. Kagome looked up at the sky and saw that it was a new moon.

Inuyasha will be a human tonight, she thought. I wonder what year it is?

She climbed out of the creek and looked down at her clothes. They had been stained by the dirty creek water. Her once white haori was now a dull brown. Even as Kagome grimaced in distaste, she knew that this was actually a good thing.

She was still too close to Naraku's castle. A clean, white haori would only give her away at night. The diry layer on her clothes and skin should serve as a convenient camouflage.

Kagome grimaced down at her dirty hands. She had always hated being dirty. She glanced down at the muddy sword still in her left hand.
It was the only weapon that she had. However, even dirty, the gleam of a sword might give her away if some chance light reflected upon it. She reluctantly tossed it back into the muddy creek as she began to make her way out of Naraku's land.

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Kenshin sighed as he lay back on his futon. It had taken a while, but he, Kaoru, and Sango had managed to calm Namu down. Kaoru had then taken his mind off the fight by telling him about the Kamiya Kasshin style. The young hanyou had watched with great interest as Kaoru had then demonstrated some of the techniques for him.

The red haired swordsman yawned. Apparently Sanosuke had also succeeded in calming Shippo down as well, although he hadn't really gone into any details about their conversation. The two had been drinking sake when Kenshin had finally found them.

Inuyasha had also finally sauntered out of his room to get something to eat. Even though they had been told that he would turn into a human, it was still unexpected. The raven haired Inuyasha had given them a defiant look as he dug into a huge bowl of ramen.

Then he had proceeded to get into a mini food war with Kouga, which Yahiko had joyfully joined in on. It had ended with Inuyasha and Kouga chasing the boy down the hall.

Oh well, Kenshin sighed. At least that had lightened the tension among everyone.

He turned over and slowly drifted off into sleep. Somewhere then in the back of his unconscious mind floated a disembodied voice.

Naraku will suffer greatly for what he did to me.

Unknown to the sleeping Kenshin, a blue crescent moon shimmered briefly on his forehead before disappearing.