Chapter five

Searching

Miharu cracked her eyes open and peered at her surroundings. She was in a cold room that look kind of like a dungeon. The events from the day before were flooding slowy back to her. She snapped her eyes open and tried to scream.

It was then that she noticed she was gagged with a dirty cloth and her wrists and ankles were chained to the floor and ceiling. Both her wrists and ankles felt raw and were burning. She was hanging upright, against a wall, and her limbs were spread far apart from each other.

She continued to try and cry out but the cloth muffled any sound coming out of her mouth. Instead she began to struggle, making the chains clink together.

"Hey! Stop squirming!" Kagura ordered as she opened the iron door in the wall opposite Miharu and stepped in.

"Mmmmm!" Miharu screamed.

"What did I just say?" Kagura glared at her from her position. "Make on more sound and…"

"Mmmm mm! Mmm'mm mmmm m mmmmm, mmm mmmm!" Miharu yelled at her. (a/n she screamed "Make me! You're such a shit head, you bitch!")

"I said quiet!" Kagura yelled quickly stepping forward and drawing a dagger. She ran it slowly down Miharu's cheek, making an inch and a half gash.

A single tear fell from the corner of her eye. It slipped down along her jaw line and fell to the hard, cold ground. Her cheek was bleeding slow and steady, small beads falling to the ground and mixing with her tear.

"Next time, it will be a lot deeper." Kagura jeered.

This said, Miharu remained quiet and motionless. Just then the door to her cell opened again. This time, her eyes widened as she gazed upon the face of her newest visitor; Naraku

Naoki was sitting on a rock outside of the forest. He was waiting for the rest of the group to catch up. Before him lay a vast field as far as her could see. The first to come through was Michiyo and Kuroda, bending over and breathing hard. Right behind them was Kagome riding on InuYasha's back. Soon after that Kirara flew over with Miroku, Sango, and Shippo on her back.

He got up and and started walking. The other stared at him and saw his sarrowed filled eyes. They looked beyond to a hill surrounded by large boulders. They would set up camp there tonight. Kirara flew beside Noaki. Miroku grabbed the back of his collar, lifted him up, and placed him behind himself. They flew silently to the hill.

Kagome started making and took out a few packets of ramen, the easiest thing to make at the moment.

Naoki walked over to a flat boulder and climbed up in it. He sat there and watched the sun begin to set.

Kuroda looked over at his grief stricken friend and walked over to him. He took a seat next to him and also watched the sun.

After a long moment of silence, Kuroda spoke.

"You really like her, don't you." he said quietly.

"Yeah," Naoki whispered, not shifting his gaze.

Another moment of silence followed. This time it was Naoki who broke it.

"What about you Michiyo? You like her a lot, don't you?"

A smile creped onto Kuroda's face.

"Yep."

Neither of them said anything after that. The rest of the group was staring at the two figures silloetted against the bright orange, red, and yellow sky. Except for one person. Michiyo was sitting not too far away from the boys. She had heard the whole conversation and was feeling a spot of happiness well up in her chest.

"Thank you, Kuroda," she whispered. "I love you, too."

Miharu just stared at the figure before; Naraku.

"No!" she thought. "He's going to kill me! I can't die! I have to get back to everybody! Shippo! And Sango! And Miroku! InuYasha, Kagome, even Kirara!" she thought. "And Michiyo and Kuroda…. Naoki!" she had to see him again!

Naraku stepped closer to her and reached his hand out toward her face. She flinched, waiting for him to do something. His touch was so cold and evil. It was enough to suck the happiness out of anything.

She tried to kick him to get him away, but it only seemed to annoy him. He raised his hand off her cheek and swiftly brought it back. The instant that it connected with her face, her head was thrown to the side. A searing pain enveloped her head. Her vision began turning to small white spots developing everywhere. She could feel herself losing consciousness.

Then everything went black.

"oki…. Naoki….NAOKI WAKE THE FRICK UP!" Kuroda yelled into his friends ear. They had to get up and moving! Naoki sat up and pushed back the covers.

Standing up, he looked around. Kagome and InuYasha were arguing about something, Sango was yelling at Miroku for being perverted, and Shippo and Kirara were playing a game of tag. Michiyo was standing alone next to a tree, looking out in the direction of their journey. As Naoki bent down to roll up his sleeping bag, Kuroda silently walked over to Michiyo.

"We'll find her soon," he comforted her. "Don't worry."

"Thanks," she said and turned to smile up at him. "I'll try not to."

As soon as she said this, her eyes began to water and she leaned forward into Kuroda's chest. She wrapped her arms around his back and rested her head on his shoulder, crying. He moved his arms around her and gave her a quick squeeze. He planted a small kiss on her head and rested his cheek on it.

"Shh…. It's okay. Everything will be all right. I'm here for you," he whispered.

He continued to hold her until her shakes lessened.

"You okay now?" He quietly asked her.

"Y-yeah" she sniffed, "I-I think so."

The group set off for the day. Only a few weak demons attacked the assembly of nine, all being easily defeated. It continued on like this for two and a half weeks, and still they hadn't found hide nor hair of Kagura…or Miharu.

On the eighteenth day since Miharu had been taken, the small brigade settled down for the night. The routine was this: Kagome would make dinner, everyone would eat, then everyone would go to bed.

Naoki had only begun to talk to everyone again. Even so, he scarcely spoke and seemed to just listen.

That night, though, when everyone else was asleep, Naoki quietly got up to go sit and think in the cool night air.

He thought of what might have happened to Miharu. Was she still alive? Was she well? He thought of that day almost three weeks ago when he saw Kagura carry her off. He thought of how he could have stopped her if he had only been quicker.

Silent tears found their way down his face. He shook slightly, trying to quietly sniff.

A small hand rested on his shoulder. He looked up to see Michiyo, Kuroda's arm around her. His friends.

They sat down on either side of him and put their arms around him. He leaned his head down and enjoyed his friends' company until the first hints of dawn came up over the horizon.