Chapter Eighteen: The Red Death

Yumi walks out of the darkness. She is holding a red orb within her hands, "This is Red Death." She drops the orb on the ground and she disappears. The orb glows bright red and it turns into a man. He has no flesh upon his face. He wears a red cape with a red hat; everything on him is red except for his skeleton face. A soft voice whispers from him, "Lets begin the masquerade.", the skeleton's mouth did not move when he spoke. Red Death turns and pushes open the doors to the ball room. He walks inside and waves for them to follow.

Inuyasha growls and is about to protest, but they are being forced in by the servants. He looks to Kagome, she has fear within her eyes. He pulls her close to him. "Kagome, don't worry." Kagome shows no expression toward his comment. When the doors are closed behind them, they all turn to look at Red Death.

"Welcome my honored guests. Tonight we will have a special surprise for you all. But first, let me introduce myself properly. I am Red Death. I'm the Phantom that haunts you at night. The one who takes away precious life." he paces back and fourth slowly watching them cautiously. "Now that you know me, lets begin the party." Suddenly every candle within the room lights. Red Death turns and walks to the far wall and leans against it. He waves his hand and demons appear all around. Kagome's sword turns into a bow and she aims at the demons. Inuyasha takes out his sword then runs up and slices off the demon's heads.

Sesshomaru glares at Inuyasha, "Stay back. Let me take care of this.."

"No! You stay back!" the half brothers run through the demon killing most of them. Miroku and Sango help each other fight and protect Shippo. Kagome looks over and sees Rin trying to hide. Kagome runs over to her and takes her hand.

Kagome smiles slightly, "I'll protect you until Lord Sesshomaru returns, okay?" Rin nods slowly unsure of want else to say. Kagome shoots her arrow at the charging demons. She feels an evil presence behind her. She glances back and sees Red Death. She grabs Rin and tries to run, but he grabs her arm. "Rin run!" Rin runs to Kirara and hides behind her. Kagome tries to free herself from Red Death, but nothing seems to work.

Red Death speaks to her in a low smooth voice, "My sweet Angel, come with me. Come to my kingdom of darkness."

Kagome shakes her head and cries out, "Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha quickly turns at the sound of her voice, "Kagome?" He sees Red Death there and he runs toward them. "Kagome!"

Red Death speaks once again, "Come with me... Kagome..." She looks to his mask. She reaches up to pull it off. He takes her hand and helps her.

She gasps, "Nobuo!" He grins and both Kagome and Nobuo disappear into a portal.

The demons in the room disappear. Inuyasha runs to the spot where Kagome last was. He screams out her name over and over but gets no response.

Up in the high tower of the castle Serenity laughs as her plan unfolds. An old woman appears beside her, "My Queen..."

Serenity smiles, "Yes, what is it?"

"When shall I unleash the curse?"

"My good spirit from beyond, we will not start the curse until Nobuo is dead. He is still a threat to us. I will not risk putting the curse on Kagome while he is still alive. Lets wait for Inuyasha to find them. Nobuo and Inuyasha will most likely destroy each other during the fight."

The spirit of the old woman nods, "Yes, that is true my Queen, but I know Inuyasha... he will stop at nothing to be with Kagome. He will even cheat death for her." The spirit fades away.

Serenity smirks and turns to her window, "We can't have that now can we sweet Yumi?"

"No my sister... we can't.." Yumi appears from the darkness and walks out of the room.

Inuyasha sniffs around the ball room searching for Kagome's scent. Miroku sighs, "Inuyasha, Kagome is not in here. Stop trying to find her scent and help us find a way out of this room."

Inuyasha growls, "No! I can smell Kagome's scent. It is still around here." He kneels down on the ground and takes in the scent. He picks it up, Kagome's scent. He is sure of it. The sweet smell of roses mixed in with fruits. Her scent comes from underground. "I found it!" He runs around the room searching for a way to get to them.

Sesshomaru watches his half brother in disgust. "Foolish half breed." He walks to the wall where Kagome last was. He taps on it and hears it is hollow. Sesshomaru pulls out his sword and slices at the wall. A giant hole is seen before him. He turns to Inuyasha and grins, "Go to that human of yours and I'll remain up here to stand guard."

Inuyasha snarls then quickly runs into the hole. He looks down and sees stairs, "Thanks Sesshomaru. Sango and Miroku, come with me." Inuyasha starts to run down the stairs following Kagome's scent. Miroku and Sango follow him closely.

Deep under the ground, Nobuo ties Kagome's hands behind her back. "Kagome, It has been a long time. We haven't spoken for years now. You were only six, I'm surprised you remember me."

Kagome looks to him, "I had forgotten about you once, but my mother told me everything about my past." she pauses, "You saw how my father died?"

"Yes, I was there. After you fell into the well I was captured. Your father came to rescue me. When he died, the man that killed him came to me. He asked if I wanted great power like he did. I answered yes and he took me. Over the years he trained me to fight and kill without any emotion. He taught me magic unknown to man. Just last year, I killed my master. I killed him in your father's honor."

"My father would not want his honor to be covered in blood and hatred."

"I know this all too well. My dear Kagome, when I found out about you traveling to the feudal era, I searched for a way to get there. Queen Serenity had appeared to me and offered me the chance to see you once again. She also offered me something I could never get on my own, your heart. I found out about your love for this Inuyasha, I became jealous."

"Oh Nobuo, I'm very sorry that I do not return you feelings. That doesn't mean you have to turn to Serenity. She will destroy you Nobuo. I don't want that to happen to you. You were my friend."

Nobuo sighs, "Your lover comes at a fast pace. He is angry." He puts on his mask and walks out of the room.