Disclaimer: I don't own them. I just use them.

A/N: My deepest apologies to everyone! A severe case of writer's block has made this last chapter hell to get out. Finally, I have some inspiration and the story should flow faster now. Thanks for all of the reviews. I'm looking forward to seeing what you all have to say about this chapter. Enjoy.

Prisoners

Chapter 9

Freedom

By: WildcatYST

Sango grit her teeth as another youkai fell before her. The search party had tracked their friend all the way back to the clearing she disappeared in. Once they began searching deeper into the thick forest, the black youkai had attacked. Miroku was alternating between his wind tunnel and staff so quickly the demons had little time to react. The demon slayer smirked as she threw her weapon at two more of the youkai. With the last of the youkai down Sango wiped her sweating brow.

"We're getting closer. These demons are trying to keep us from something." Miroku commented between breaths. Shippo popped out from behind the bushes he was hiding in and continued into the forest.

"Come on slowpokes! We've got to find Kagome." He hurried through the recently used trail towards the source of the youkai. Sango and Miroku exchanged grins and took off running after the kitsune.

A few days had passed since the escape attempt and Sesshoumaru was not happy. He was still being drained and Kagome was being forced to consume his poisons. Currently, the two were sitting across from each other trying to think of a better plan than last time.

"Hmm…maybe we can ask nicely and he'll let us go?" Kagome pondered, her face scrunched in concentration.

"Your humor is not appreciated." Sesshoumaru ground out. He could think of no way out besides trying the same plan again. Kagome had not helped and was spending a lot of time sleeping in recovery from her poison appointments. The demon lord rubbed his temples to try to clear his mind.

We clearly cannot escape when I am weakened like this. The necklace is hindering me. His clawed hand rubbed the golden chain encircling his neck. The piece of jewelry suppressed his youkai abilities and left him much weaker than he was used to being. If only he could remove it then escaping would be simple.

"I wonder what they are doing." Kagome's inquiry broke through his chain of thought. She was standing at the door with her hands clasped around the small, barred window. Her blue eyes watched with interested as another pair of demons ran past the door. "That's the forth group that has passed through here in the last hour." She huffed, turning to take her place against the wall again.

"They seem to be running in formations." Sesshoumaru commented. He had noticed as pairs and groups of armed soldiers ran. They were in step with each other and seemed to be in quite the hurry.

"Why would a secret, hidden castle run drills?" Kagome thought. It seemed strange to her that a fortress that was supposedly hidden would need to keep its soldiers on their toes like this.

"It's not a drill." Realization dawned upon Sesshoumaru. "Someone must have found the castle. The soldiers are going to defend it." He concluded, putting together the pieces.

Is it Inuyasha? Kagome thought, her mood suddenly brightening at the thought of rescue.

"We're being rescued?" Kagome whispered allowed with awe in her voice.

Sesshoumaru sat in contemplation for a moment. If her friends had come for her then they just might make it through the youkai soldiers. They might even find the cell they were in and free them. Sesshoumaru doubted his brother would free him. As humiliating as it was, the Lord of the West knew that his half-breed brother could possibly kill him in his weakened state. He would not allow that. He would not be seen by anyone else in this condition.

"We are not being rescued." Sesshoumaru stated firmly. "We are being given a diversion. With the soldiers distracted we will have a better chance of escaping."

Kagome sighed. She was a little disappointed that they were not going to wait patiently for the rescue party. She turned bright blue eyes to the demon lord.

"Why don't we just wait here? I'm sure my friends will be able to find us and get us out." She questioned.

Eep. Kagome found herself pinned to a wall with Sesshoumaru's angry face in front of her.

"I will not sit here and allow that half breed the chance to see this Sesshoumaru like this." He growled out, giving her arms a squeeze for emphasis. When would this girl learn that his word was law?

"Ouch!" Kagome winced as one of his claws cut her. Sesshoumaru loosened his grip and looked at the cut. His golden eyes widened when the blood touched his finger.

He felt a searing sensation when her blood touched his flesh. In a few moments, he released her before his finger could be burned off. He stared at his burned flesh with fascination and brought the finger close to his face. The flesh bubbled as if acid had been poured upon it. If he had let the blood sit longer he may have lost a finger.

"Sesshoumaru?" Kagome questioned, seeing the surprised look in his face and his now bleeding finger. The cut on her arm wasn't bad and she was wondering what was bothering him.

"Woman." Sesshoumaru's voice was soft with awe. "I think you have just solved our problem."

"But Kikyou…" Inuyasha tried to compromise with the woman. She was leading him on a wild goose chase and he knew it. It had taken him a while to finally admit it, but he was tired of this game.

"You've been leading me in circles for weeks now. Tell me why you don't want me to find Kagome." Inuyasha's golden gaze pierced Kikyou brown orbs.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Inuyasha." Kikyou replied. Inuyasha nearly growled in frustration.

"I'm not going to be mad. Just tell me. Did Naraku put you up to this? Is he forcing you to do this?" He pleaded with her to tell him the truth. He would forgive her. Although he lost the real Kikyou long ago, his heart would forever be hers.

"Inuyasha…" Kikyou's eyes softened for a moment. She knew he spoke the truth. He would not hate her no matter what she did. The small part of her that remembered love felt guilt for what she was doing. "I…" She clenched her jaw in determination.

"Naraku is not making me do this." Kikyou began. "A demon named Arago approached me to help capture my reincarnation. He needed her to complete an old spell from demon lore."

"Arago? Who is he? Where is he hiding?" Inuyasha persisted.

"I will show you. We are not far from his fortress." She turned to lead the way, the small piece of her soul that she retained feeling lighter with the confession.

"Why did you do it?" Inuyasha suddenly asked, his voice nothing more than a whisper. Kikyou turned to face her former lover. His silver hair gently swayed in the wind. The ears on top of his head were perked towards her at full attention. His golden eyes shone with hope that she was soon to break.

"He promised me my soul." Kikyou watched as the light in his eyes died. Her mouth went dry at the look of betrayal on his face. But the expression left his face and a small smile graced the hanyou's features.

"I should be angry with you. I should hate you, but I can't. I could never hate you, Kikyou." His head lowered and his bangs covered his eyes. He clenched his fists as his sides, holding back the tears in his eyes. He was angry at her betrayal, worried for Kagome, and worst of all, angry with himself for still harboring love for the woman before him. Taking a deep breath, he looked up to meet her indifferent gaze.

"But I still trust you. Lead the way and we will fix this together." He smiled at her. For a moment, he saw the woman she once was. The light in her eyes shined and the corners of her mouth lifted ever so slightly in a smile. He held his breath as he stared at Kikyou…the old Kikyou…and smiled wider when she approached him.

"This way." She pointed in the direction they would find Arago. Inuyasha nodded. He surprised her by kneeling on the ground. The woman hesitantly climbed onto his back as she had done many years ago when she was alive. Inuyasha waited for her to settle and set off into the forest. Nothing had ever felt so right in his life.

"Where are they coming from?" Sango groaned as more demons attacked. The small group had found a stone castle unlike any she had ever seen. They resembled what Kagome had called "fairy tale" castles when she told stories to Shippo. Only this castle was apparently full of endless amounts of demons.

"This must be where she is." Miroku struggled to respond as he fought of youkai with his staff.

"Duck!" Sango shouted and Miroku did so. He gulped when he felt the breeze as her boomerang swept just overhead and into the youkai attacking him.

"Thanks." He answered as he stood up. The last wave was gone and they took a moment to breath before breeching the castle.

"This has to be it. They wouldn't fight so hard if it wasn't." Shippo said as he poofed from a log into his original form.

"I agree. Let's keep going." Miroku picked up his staff and headed out of the woods when Sango's gasp caught his attention. He turned and saw her gaze skyward and followed it. His eyes widened at the sight that met him and he said the only thing that came to mind.

"What the hell…."

"Are you sure?" Kagome asked. She wasn't sure whether or not she believed the youkai staring at her with annoyance.

"Does this not show you proof?" Sesshoumaru countered, holding up his half burned finger as evidence of his claim.

After the realization that the miko's blood had burned him, Sesshoumaru could only come to one conclusion. Since a miko's blood could not harm him it had to be that the poison was merging with her blood to create a potent poison that could. He had explained the complexity of youkai and miko blood merging and was very tempted to roll his eyes at the woman's uncertainty.

"Great." Kagome growled. "Now my blood is some freakish mix of poison and purity. Life can't get any better." She ground out sarcastically. Sesshoumaru audibly sighed.

"The affects are not permanent. If you continue drinking my poisons, your miko blood will mix with it to create a new poison. Once you stop, your blood will eventually return to normal." He stated..

"And you think my poisonous blood will burn through that?" She asked, pointing to the golden chain around his neck.

"Precisely." He answered. Gold locked with blue gray in a test of wills. He narrowed his eyes slightly and smirked triumphantly when she huffed and looked away.

"Okay, but you owe me for this one." Kagome relented to his will, a fact that Sesshoumaru no doubt was wallowing in.

"Give me your hand." Sesshoumaru asked gently. He could smell the twinge of fear and anxiety on her. She was afraid of the pain she knew was coming. He admired the way she put of a brave front, dare he say respected her for it. Kagome gave him her hand without hesitation, a fact not missed by the demon lord.

Perhaps with a little training, this woman could be an acceptable lady… He thought to himself as he turned her small hand towards him. Her palm was facing upwards and her eyes locked onto his.

"This will not hurt badly, Kagome." He assured her. Sesshoumaru did not miss the relief in her eyes as she nodded her consent. Her eyes remained on his as she refused to watch what he was doing.

Sesshoumaru carefully sliced one claw over her palm and turned the appendage upside down. Stretching out the chain, he wrapped her hand around it in a tight grip. Hearing her hiss in pain, he covered her hand with his own and squeezed gently to both comfort her and draw blood from the wound onto the golden chain. A sizzling sound met his ears and he soon felt his full senses return. The chain seared in half as Kagome's blood seeped onto it and Sesshoumaru let the necklace fall from the girl's grip. He took a deep breath as the chain fell to the ground and squeezed her hang again. Kagome's eyes locked with his and he let a small smile pull at his lips. He could feel the strength return to his body immediately after being freed from the binding necklace.

Kagome's eyes widened to the size of saucers when Sesshoumaru gently turned her palm towards him and brought it to his lips. She shivered as he ran his tongue over the small wound and couldn't help but think about the way it felt the night he cleaned her wounds. What would it feel like to feel that tongue without the burn of cuts? Sesshoumaru swallowed hard as the burning sensation slid down his throat. He could feel the acid like blood burn his throat, but without the necklace, his healing abilities immediately healed it. Inspecting her wound, he nodded his approval that it was cleaned and healing thanks to his saliva. He let go of her hand and watched as Kagome rubbed her fingers over the closing wound.

"Thank you." Kagome's voice was so soft he barely heard it. She stared at him for a moment, lost in his eyes as he gazed back down at her. The moment was broken when footsteps ran by the door as another group of soldiers passed by.

In an instant, Sesshoumaru's arm was around Kagome's waist and they were traveling faster than the eye could follow through the corridors of the castle. Sesshoumaru's strength was whole and he was no longer hindered by the spell of the necklace. He easily melted the door and used his speed to dodge the demons in the hallways. Turning a corner, he used his poison whip to decapitate two demons. Kagome yelped at the sight and clutched onto Sesshoumaru's side. He shifted her so that she was on his back and continued at a high rate of speed. They traveled the same passageways as the previous escape attempt, only this time, Sesshoumaru had his sight and his strength.

His nose picked up the fresh air and he bounded up the stairs towards freedom. His speed suddenly came to a halt when a figure blocked the light from outside. A snarl ripped from his throat when he recognized the blonde hair and ice blue eyes of their captor. He slid Kagome of off his back and stood tall and proud before the demon Arago.

"It seems you two are braver than I gave you credit for." Arago's cool voice echoed off the walls. "I never would have thought you two would try to escape after last time." He grinned wickedly at remembering how he tormented the human woman as punishment.

Sesshoumaru only narrowed his golden eyes. The indifferent mask was on his face as he stood a few feet away from Arago. He said nothing but let his acid whip do the talking. Arago's eyes widened in shock as his hand rose to his cheek. The green whip had sliced his cheek open and a stream of blood now marred his pale face.

"It seems you are going to die." Sesshoumaru stated confidently. Without another word, he sprung from his place in front of Kagome to attack Arago.

His claws glowed with green poison that melted the walls when his fists impacted them as Arago dodged his attack. Panic was apparent on the other youkai's face as Sesshoumaru continued his assault. A fist connected with Arago's face as Sesshoumaru lashed out at his former captor. Arago growled and imbedded his claws into Sesshoumaru's chest. The injury didn't slow the demon lord down as he slammed the fair haired youkai into the wall. Blue and green poison clashed as each youkai threw their own potent combinations at each other. Sesshoumaru kicked Arago in the stomach and made an attempt to slice his throat. Arago blocked it and slashed through his shoulder with his claws.

With a feral growl, Sesshoumaru swiped Arago's feet from underneath him and pulled back his hand to deliver the killing blow, but was stopped when Arago used his leverage to fling the inuyoukai from him. Sesshoumaru impacted the wall and watched as Arago sped towards Kagome. Her scream unnerved him as the strange youkai gripped her neck in his claws.

"Now don't do anything rash, Sesshoumaru. I don't want to hurt my little toy." He gripped her throat tighter for emphasis.

Sesshoumaru pushed off of the wall and approached the youkai. He leveled his gaze at Arago and concentrated on a way to kill him without harming Kagome. He could hear her struggle for breath in the grip of the monster behind her. The coward was using her like a shield to keep Sesshoumaru from attacking. His golden eyes sought her blue ones. Instead of fear, he saw determination shining back at him. A small smile played on her lips and Sesshoumaru cocked his head to the side in question. Instead of answering, Kagome closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and Sesshoumaru could feel the gathering of her holy energy.

Her eyes snapped open and a brilliant pink glow illuminated them. Her skin glowed pink as she concentrated on her powers. Arago yelled in outrage as his hand was burned beyond recognition. He pulled it from her and cradled it in his good hand as he howled in pain. Kagome ducked and shouted to the demon lord.

"Now!" She shouted.

Sesshoumaru did not hesitate. He flew forward with all of his speed with an arm extended and claws flexed. With a sickening sound of ripping flesh and bone, he tore into the chest of his enemy. Arago gagged as his breath was taken from him. He tried to swallow, but blood spilled from his lips as his form slackened and his eyes became vacant as his soul left his body. Sesshoumaru removed his now bloody arm from the torso of his fallen adversary and he stepped bad to allow the body to fall to the floor.

"Oh, that was just sick." Kagome groaned from behind him. Paying no more attention to the corpse, Sesshoumaru turned to Kagome. With one quick motion, he scooped her up and they were fleeing from the castle. Kagome threw her arms around his neck as she felt him ascend with his youkai cloud. The world blurred around her and she shut her eyes to keep her sanity. The wind whipped her hair and she buried her face in his shoulder. She was grinning like a madwoman as she clung to Sesshoumaru as they floated through the clouds. They were finally free.