A/N: I know. It was extremely butthead-ish of me to put that cliffie where I put it…so, to make up for that, I decided to post an update as soon as I could. So, for those of you that have been waiting for it, here is chapter nine!

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Unspoken
Chapter Nine: Predicaments

"Why are you so interested in Naraku?" Kouga asked, his eyebrow rising slightly.

Kagome huffed. "He tricked me," she growled. "If he hurt him, I swear, I'll…"

Kouga laughed. "Him? Are you talking about dog-shit?" he asked. "Well, I don't know if he plans to hurt him…but you, we have lots of plans for, my dear Kagome."

"Don't talk to me like that." She snapped at him.

Kouga whistled. "Well, well, it seems that dog-shit must've given you a little blood. That would be the only way to explain it…considering you are supposed to be dead." He growled, approaching her.

She tried to move, but quickly realized that her arms and legs were chained to the table she had been laying on. How she managed to overlook this detail initially was beyond her, but realizing it, her eyes widened.

"Get…the hell…away from me!" she screamed, earning her a hard slap in the face.

"Shut up!" He commanded. "You're not in any position to tell me what I will and will not do, Kagome! I was right about you. You wanted to be rid of me so you could run straight into the arms of that mutt, Inuyasha." He laughed an insane evil laugh Kagome had never heard from him before. She shivered as his head came down to within an inch of her own. "Well, Kagome, after we're done with you, Inuyasha will wish you had stayed dead. It might have been better for you, come to think of it. Oh well. Too late now…"

"Kouga…" Kagome whispered, fear in her voice. "What has happened to you? Why did you do what you did to me? Why are you doing this now? He won't reward you. He only wants more power…"

"Shut up!" Kouga screamed again, bringing his fist back as though he was about to hit her.

Kagome squinted her eyes shut, but the blow she was expecting never came.

Kouga was staring at her neck. "Hmm…that's interesting. So that was how he gave you his blood, huh? Through his mark. You let him mark you? I thought we already discussed this, Kagome? Mutt-face is not allowed to have you!"

Kagome glared. "Well too damn bad, Kouga. He already has." Did that just come out of her mouth! She was surprised at herself. She never expected she would be so bold to her captor. Inuyasha and herself had done nothing…yet…but hopefully her little white lie did not throw Kouga over the edge. Kagome hoped he had been too busy staring at her to listen to what she had said.

"What did you just say?" his voice got dangerously low.

Kagome gulped. She couldn't back down now that she knew he had been paying attention. "You heard me, Kouga." She whispered her reply.

He shook his head. "No. I would be able to tell. I would be able to smell it on you…"

Kagome smiled. "Not if my scent has already changed." She didn't know if this was the truth or not. She wasn't even a full hanyou yet, but hopefully it was enough to throw Kouga off.

Again, he shook his head. "I don't believe you." He growled, grabbing her by her hair and pulling her up to look him in the eyes.

She yelped at the pain in her head and body that was caused by his motion.

"Fine then, don't." she groaned as she gritted her teeth in pain. "But lay another hand on me, and he won't be very happy when he finds you…."

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"Inuyasha…what are you doing back? I didn't think that you would be back until tonight…" his mother asked in surprise.

"Have you seen Kagome?" he demanded, grabbing her by her shoulders.

Sesshoumaru coughed. "Calm down, you idiot…"

"Have any of you seen her?" he demanded of the group.

They all shook their heads.

Sango gulped. She was the first to realize what must have happened. Kagome was missing. "What…what happened, Inuyasha?" her voice quivered with worry.

Inuyasha shook his head. "I woke up and looked up to say good morning, and she wasn't in her bed. But her scent…it was so strong. It stayed that way all night…but when I went down the stairs, she wasn't there, either…and her mom told me she had seen us walking out to the sacred tree…together…"

"What's the crime in that?" frowned Miroku.

Inuyasha promptly hit him squarely over his head. "It wasn't me, you lecher!" he screamed. "He has her. That bastard Naraku must have tricked her into thinking he was me. I don't even know how he could have gotten through the damn well!"

Shippo paled. "I told you so!" he pointed his finger, and began to cry. "I told you it was broken! Everyone said they would be fine!"

Sango picked up the distraught young kit, and cradled him in her arms. "Inuyasha…if he was able to get into Kagome's room without alerting you, why wouldn't he have just killed you when he had the chance to do it?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "I don't know."

"He wants the girl." Sesshoumaru said simply. "He needs her for something…"

Inuyasha reddened. "If that son-of-a-bitch touches one hair on her head, I'll rip him into pieces!" he threatened.

Inutaisho took a deep breath. "Inuyasha, you must calm down. If this Naraku guy needs Kagome for something, he is likely to keep her alive…and if he knows that she means that much to you, then this whole thing could also be a trap." He paused a moment, letting the possibilities sink into Inuyasha's head. "Besides," he continued, "when she is in real pain, you will know it."

Inuyasha opened his mouth to speak.

His father cut him off. "Trust me. You will know."

"I don't want to know when she is in real pain, dad. I'd rather her not be in any pain at all, and if that bastard causes her any pain, I'm going to sharpen my claws on his face."

Sesshoumaru cleared his throat. "Have you forgotten, little brother?"

Inuyasha paused. "What are you talking about?"

"The mark, Inuyasha. Soon, Kagome will be a full hanyou…and when she is, she'll be stronger."

"But she'd still be no match for Naraku, especially if she was new to her power…" Miroku added, and Inuyasha growled.

"Shut up." He warned.

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"Kouga…" Naraku hissed. "Leave us alone for a minute." He demanded.

Kouga looked up in surprise, but nodded quickly. "Yes, Naraku." He turned.

Kagome paled. "What? Let me go!" Kagome demanded. "I'm not doing a damn thing for you, Naraku!"

He laughed. "Hmm…jumping straight to conclusions, aren't you?" he smiled down at her as she struggled. "Well, you're partly right. I'm going to offer you an exchange. You do something for me, and I do something for you…"

"I don't compromise with people like you…" Kagome spat.

Naraku coughed. "You won't have a choice, Kagome." He replied. "Either you tell me where the jewel is…"

Kagome interrupted him. "I don't know where it is, anyway." She snapped.

"…or Kouga gets to…accompany you, and I will go kill your friends."

Again, Kagome tensed, her jaw dropping. "I don't know where it is!" she repeated. "And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you!"

Naraku took a step back, as though he was offended by her words. "You would risk your life…and theirs…to protect a troublesome jewel that has only brought you and your friends pain?"

"It's my job." She growled. "I would never give the jewel to someone like you."

He growled from somewhere low in his throat. "Fine. Stupid wench. I warned you. Kouga!" he screamed.

Kagome shivered.

"Have fun." He smirked, promptly disappearing.

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"I don't feel anything yet," Inuyasha grumbled. "Well, nothing but fear…"

Inutaisho nodded. "Concentrate on that…see if you can isolate Kagome's feelings from your own. You should be able to do that now."

Inuyasha sighed deeply. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath as he tried to focus strictly on Kagome and throw his own fears to the side for a moment. After several minutes, he gasped.

"Is she all right?" Sango demanded of him. For that small moment, she stopped pacing the area to look Inuyasha in his eyes.

Inuyasha growled from somewhere low in his throat. "She's scared. So scared. I wish I knew what was happening, or where she was right now. She needs me…" he whispered, more to himself than to anyone around him.

"Lord Sesshoumaru!" Rin yelped, jumping behind the man who had protected her when she was younger.

He looked up, and was shocked to see Naraku standing in the clearing.

He scoffed. "You're nothing but a demon puppet of the real Naraku." He said nonchalantly. "You are no match for all of us combined. Where is the girl?"

"You think you saw right through me, did you?" he laughed. "How are you so sure I'm not the real thing?"

"You have no scent. You're a copy. Now, where is the girl?" Sesshoumaru demanded, his eyes turning a threatening red color.

Again, he laughed. "I left her with a friend of mine. They're probably enjoying themselves right now. Kouga was so glad he would get to see Kagome again…"

Inuyasha growled loudly. "Kouga! You left her with that son-of-a-bitch!" He tried to run at the demon puppet, but his own father held him back.

"So, why are you here then?" his father demanded of the Naraku puppet.

He smiled, nodding to Inuyasha's father. "Whoever you are, you must be smarter than the rest." He commented. "I have a proposition for all of you. If you tell me where the jewel of four souls is hidden, I promise not to let the wolf kill Inuyasha's wench…"

Again, Inuyasha tried to run, but his father held him back.

"We won't do that." Sango glared at him, although her voice cracked slightly.

"Won't…or can't?" he demanded of her, and she looked down at the ground. "Are you telling me that you would not reveal the location of the jewel of four souls…even if it meant saving the priestess's life?"

Inuyasha gulped down the lump in his throat. "We refuse to do anything that helps you." He smirked. "But I'll find Kagome, and when I do, I'm tearing you and that mangy wolf into little pieces…" he threatened.

"Fine." He snapped. "I'll find the jewel on my own…even if it costs her life. You'll never find her in time anyway, Inuyasha…"

"Bastard!" Inuyasha screamed, jerking free of his father's hold and rushing at the demon puppet in front of him.

He ran straight at him, even as one of his tentacles shot straight towards his middle. It went through his stomach, and in seconds, he was unconscious. Naraku's demon puppet disappeared soon after, taking Inuyasha with him.

Miroku blinked. "What just happened?"

"Oh, my god!" Izayoi cried. "Inuyasha…he was…"

"He will be fine. He is much stronger than any of us think," Sesshoumaru promised them, and his father glanced up with surprise. "I think it was a very smart move, actually."

Miroku's eyes widened, both at Sesshoumaru's sticking up for his half brother, and at Sesshoumaru's calling anything Inuyahsa did 'smart'. He coughed. "How is getting oneself impaled by one's enemy considered smart in your book, Sesshoumaru?" he asked after a moment.

Sesshoumaru opened his mouth as though he was about to respond, but Sango beat him to it.

"There's more than one reason, I think," she said. "Firstly, the demon puppet belongs to Naraku…and wherever he is, Kagome is bound to be. Secondly, it will be a lot easier to find Kagome, Naraku, and Kouga now…"

"Why?" Miroku persisted.

"Because even though the demon puppet had no scent, and Naraku has already masked his and Kagome's, we should be able to follow Inuyasha's scent for some time before we lose it." Inutaisho answered. "Inuyasha's scent should eventually lead us straight to Naraku and the girl."

"Then we must hurry if we are to follow it," Sesshoumaru decided.

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"Kagome…aren't you going to cry? I know you want to. I can smell your fear…" Kouga whispered into her ear.

She shook her head. She was amazed that she was not unconscious yet, but she imagined that she was nearly done with her transformation into a hanyou. She still was not strong enough to free herself of her restraints, but that was not for lack of trying.

Kouga was approaching her with the blade again, and she closed her eyes in anticipation of the coming pain, but nothing happened. Then, she heard the door open. She opened her eyes slowly and saw Naraku. He was holding an unconscious Inuyasha, and dropped him rather unceremoniously on the floor as he entered.

He cleared his throat. "Well, Kagome…it seems as though you and your friends refuse to tell me where the jewel is hiding." He paused. "I thought you might find it interesting who my puppet caught in his web this morning…" He pointed to Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha…" Kagome whispered, jerking once more at her restraints, but to no avail. "He's still alive…" she smirked at him.

"I could fix that…"

"No!" Kagome screamed.

"Ka…gome?" Inuyasha groaned.

"Inuyasha…lay still. I'll…" Kagome stopped, screaming in pain as Kouga squeezed one of the wounds he had given her.

"We weren't done talking to you, Kagome." He growled.

Tears welled up in Kagome's eyes, but she tried her best to hold them back. "Don't…hurt him…" she whispered.

Naraku frowned. "Well, Kagome, I think you have yourself a problem here. You see, I don't think I can do anything for you when you refuse to do something for me…"

He took a step towards Inuyasha, who still lay in the floor near the door he had come in from.

"Don't…" Kagome pleaded. She closed her eyes tightly. Inuyasha!

Naraku laughed.

"Stop." Kagome commanded, her tone sounding defeated. "Let me up…I'll…I'll show you where the jewel is…just please…don't hurt him…"

Kouga shot her a look of pure surprise.

"You know its location…?" Naraku paused.

Kagome gulped. "I'll do it…I'll do anything…as long as you don't hurt Inuyasha or my friends anymore…"

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A/N: Will Sesshoumaru and the others find Naraku's hideout in time? Will Inuyasha be all right? Does Kagome really plan on giving up the jewel to save him? And…the answer to the question on everyone's mind right now: Will Kouga get his comeuppance? The answers to these questions and more, in the next and final chapter of Unspoken!