Disclaimer: I don't own Inu Yasha, but that doesn't mean I can't have fun
with him and the others in my demented mind, right? All other characters DO
belong to me ^_^.
AN: This week was really busy for me, so I apologize for the long wait, as well as the evil cliffhanger *Hee, hee* I finally got to see the Inu Yasha movie ^__^ At first it seemed mediocre, you know, there's a big bad guy that wants to take over the world, blah, blah, blah, but then it had some parts that were just so incredible! However, poor Sesshy just didn't get enough screen time! Four little scenes just isn't enough! I hope he's in the second movie a bit more. Let's just cross our fingers ^_~. Anyway ^.^;, I'll stop babbling, and enjoy this chapter! Oh, and if you're reading this Zekkita, look out for the 'Ferkalia' spoof ^_~.
Kugutsu- Puppet Naraku uses in place of himself.
Sakura- Cherry blossom.
Nogareru~Break Away
By Otaku-Chan ^_~
Chapter Eleven~From Bad To Worse
"Got it? I'll get the guard's attention, then lure them away. You have to disarm the cell. Here, you can use this," Kohaku said as he handed Souta a strange metal lock pick. "Once you get the cell door open, try to keep everyone calm and quiet. Use the escape route I showed you and lead everyone to this spot. After that, we'll figure out where to go before the guards can find us."
Souta swallowed hard. "Are you sure this'll work? I mean, aren't there thousands of guards around? And what about any other taijiya around? How can you possibly lure all of them away without someone seeing when..."
Kohaku cut him off with a pat on the back. "Not to worry. I have a few good tricks up my sleeves, you know. My neighbor is the owner of a kitsune, who I happen to be friends with. Her name is Yume. She's very skilled when it comes to illusions, and I'm sure she can make a 'mock flock' of raging youkai come towards the village. That should distract everyone long enough for us to pull this off. I just have to get her owner to let her leave for a little while..."
Souta nodded in approval to the plan. He crossed his fingers and prayed it would work. Then Kohaku signaled for him to hide in his assigned spot in the bushes while he retrieved their trump card kitsune.
**********
"Yume! I told you to cook the fish, not turn it into a lump of charcoal! Honestly, you are useless as a slave!!!" a bearded man bellowed as he slapped the young girl hard. "I worked my ass off to reach this rank of superiority just so Lord Naraku would allow me to own a slave, and what do I wind up with? A skinny good-for-nothing brat!"
The girl got down on her knees and bowed deeply, placing her head on the floor. "Gomen nasai! Gomen nasai! I'll try harder next time, I promise master! I didn't mean to displease you...forgive me!"
"Get out of my sight! Take a walk or something, because I'm going to wind up killing you if I look at your ugly visage a moment longer."
"H-Hai, master. As you wish..."
As the girl exited the hut, she could feel the tightening of her throat. She wanted so badly just to break down and cry, but she knew it would draw unwanted attention to her. She winced a little as she touched her sore cheek. 'Hold yourself together Yume. Someday you'll be free again,' she thought as she slowly walked within the boundaries she was allowed. For being only thirteen, she was incredibly brave. Most other youkai in her situation would've already committed suicide if they had a master like she had. The bruises all over her body were only a small reminder to her of what a sadistic man he truly was. She feared that when she grew older that he'd even try to rape her. Yume shuddered at the thought.
Brushing a long strand of red hair behind a pointed ear, she was even more determined to break away. 'Once I master my powers, I'll leave this horrible place!'
"Pssss!"
Yume turned her attention towards the sound, and there she saw her only friend, Kohaku, waving for her to come to where he was. As her bright turquoise eyes scanned over him, she noticed that he seemed to have an urgent look on his face. She knew that that this was her way out.
**********
Hajime lunged at Miroku first, digging his claws deep into his shoulder. The young man's blood splattered through the stagnant air. Sango and Kagome watched in horror as he fell to the floor in agony, and the twisted Inu youkai set his attentions on them now that their 'protector' was out of the picture. His eyes were glowing red, and he licked his blood stained claws one by one, all the while looking the girls over, contemplating his next move.
"Heh, heh, heh! I love it! The look of fear woven into women's beautiful faces! Perhaps I'll have some fun with you two before I rip out your entrails..."
Kagome reached for the nearest object she could use as a weapon...and incense burner, then she smashed it into the side of his head, causing him to lose his balance. "Sango-Chan! Grab Miroku-Sama and get the hell outta here!"
Sango wanted to protest, but knew that if the monk didn't get some help, he'd surely bleed to death. She nodded, then carefully helped him onto his feet. They got out of the room as fast as they could and began to make their way down the hallway, in hopes of locating Inu Yasha and Sesshoumaru.
Meanwhile, Hajime slowly stood back up, slightly leaning on the wall. Fresh blood was dripping down his temple from where she struck him. "There will be no mercy for you, bitch...," he growled in a very threatening tone.
Kagome instinctively took a step back towards the window balcony.
'That's it!' she thought as she suddenly got an idea. As Hajime leaped at her savagely, she quickly ducked under him, then thrust herself upward into his abdomen, putting forth all of her physical strength, then pushing him out the window onto the small balcony. She quickly closed the window shutters and ran full speed out of the room.
"Hah! A wench with spunk! Do you really think you bought yourself some time? Heh!" Hajime cackled as he shredded the shutters into a million splintery pieces and continued to pursue Kagome, his long scraggly hair flowing wildly behind him.
Kagome ran the opposite way of the trail of blood on the wooden floor, knowing it was Miroku's, and not wanting to get him or Sango involved with the youkai. She knew he was gaining on her, but it only motivated her to run faster. Her heart was pumping hard and the only tangible thought she had at the moment was to find a bow and arrows. Her legs went beyond their limits, muscles stretching, sweat began to pour down her forehead. Deep, hard breaths of air shuffled in and out of her heaving lungs. She could feel the keen stab of a cramp in her side.
'I knew I should've exercised more!' she thought, as she suddenly ran into the nearest room she came to. She almost choked at what she saw...
"Look! There's a woman in here!"
"Is she a human?"
"Does Sesshoumaru-Sama know this girl?"
"Who cares! She's a female, so let's have some fun with her!" shouted a tall, dark, and hairy Inu youkai as he leaped out of the hot soapy water.
Kagome turned crimson. She somehow stumbled into a large bathhouse full of naked male Inu youkai. She quickly turned away, highly embarrassed at her choice of rooms to hide in. 'I gotta get out of here!'
As she quickly exited the room, she could hear loud splashing and male voices clamoring about. Some shouted 'Get her!,' while others roared with delight.
"Great! Now I have all of them after me too! This REALLY sucks!" she yelled as she continued to run. Finally, she came upon an exit to the building. It looked like it went into some kind of Zen garden...
Kagome stopped behind a large rock and rested against it, trying to catch her breath. The air was cold and crisp, feeling refreshing against her heated skin. She knew she had to find Inu Yasha, but how? The place was huge! And on top of that, it was full of hentai Inu youkai! She also feared that Hajime would find her. What then? How could she possibly hope to defend herself without any bow and arrows?
"I have to keep moving, because I know if I stay put too long, those bastards will sniff me out!" Kagome told herself as she ran further away from the estate into the darkness.
It was almost instantaneous. Everything was a blur as she felt sharp claws tear down her back. She heard a low chuckle, then everything went black.
**********
"Come on Inu Yasha! Stop messing around and keep looking! The sooner we find the scrolls, the better," Sesshoumaru commanded, still looking through scroll after scroll.
"Keh! It will take us years to look through all of these! Besides, it's getting late, my nose is all stuffed due to this damn dust, and I am tired. Why don't we continue to look first thing in the morning?"
"Fine. But just remember, time is of the essence, Inu Yasha."
Breaking both young men out of their thoughts, Rin ran into the room, out of breath.
"I-Inu Yasha... come quick! The Houshi is badly... wounded, S-Sango... is... treating his wounds... but... Kagome... is..."
"What happened to Kagome?" Inu Yasha asked, his voice suddenly emanating apprehension and anger. His golden eyes were fierce.
"Rin, calm down," Sesshoumaru soothed, "catch your breath first, then tell us what happened."
"Damn it! Just tell me where Kagome is!" Inu Yasha cut in.
"S-She's gone! None of us know where she is..."
"What!?"
Sesshoumaru then spoke up. "Take us to the Houshi and the taijiya. They can tell us what happened."
Inu Yasha had already left the room, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
'Kagome, where are you? Please be alive!' he thought as he now reached a running pace. His keen sense of smell easily picked up her scent, as well as the scent of blood, both Miroku's as well as someone else's. What the hell had happened?
When he finally reached Kagome's room, he saw the splinters of wood all over the floor, the blood drippings, and a broken incense burner. There was obviously a struggle.
Suddenly Inu Yasha felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Sesshoumaru, a worried look on his face. "The Houshi, Miroku, was attacked... apparently by an Inu youkai. In other words, one of my own men is up to no good. We need to find this person quickly."
"I need to find Kagome first! I'll leave the rest up to you and the others. Her scent still lingers, so I can track her down. And if I find the bastard who did all this, I'll rip him to shreds!"
Sesshoumaru had never seen anyone look so determined. 'Inu Yasha must really care for the wench,' he thought with quiet contemplation. He must have inherited some of their father's less desirable traits...
Inu Yasha then stalked out of the room, following his nose. Luckily, he got over his dust allergy...
**********
"Midoriko-Sama! Ne, ne, is this the right herb?"
"Which one is this, Midoriko-Sama?"
Children?
"Can you show me where to find those?"
"Midoriko-Sama?"
Where? A field? Where am I?
Kagome looked around at the children tugging on her clothing. Red... she was wearing a miko outfit... Somehow, she felt out of place.
"Midoriko-Sama, what's wrong? You don't look so well today. Are you all right?"
Kagome was almost afraid to speak. Who were these children? And why did they keep calling her Midoriko?
"Ano... where is this place?"
One little girl decided to answer her. "This is Sakaichi-Sama's field of herbs, remember? This is where you always take us to teach us about all different kinds and what they do. Are you sure you're okay?"
"I-I don't..." Kagome put a hand on her forehead. She felt faint. Why was she here? What was going on? Then she felt her eyelids grow heavy as she felt darkness sweep over her like a warm blanket. She welcomed it.
"Midoriko-Samaaaaa!!!"
She felt pain. Throbbing pain in her head, as well as horrible stinging pains on her back. She slowly opened her eyes, realizing she was completely nude in some kind of cold, oddly scented liquid. She shivered, confused and frightened.
"So, you're finally awake. Unfortunately for you..."
She could hear a deep man's voice coming closer until she could clearly see his silhouette hovering over her. She wanted to run, to get away, but she found herself paralyzed.
"Who are you?" she asked in a shaky voice.
"Ku, ku, ku... Only the man who you tried to ruin hundreds of years ago... right, Midoriko?"
Suddenly Kagome felt even colder. A strange pulse was emanating from her chest.
"That potion that my mistress Urasue made for you will destroy your soul once and for all. You will never again be brought back into this world to thwart my plans. You truly are a wretched miko. Luckily I found you before your true powers could awaken and manifest within yourself. Now, nothing will stand in my way!" The man laughed a deep, sadistic laugh, causing his long, wavy black hair to fall over his trembling shoulders. His very presence seemed to wreak of evil. There was no doubt in Kagome's mind as to who he was. It was definitely Naraku.
Kagome winced in pain. It felt harder to breathe... she knew she had to do something or she was going to die.
"N-Naraku... I don't really understand what your babbling about... but," another jolt of cold made her pause, "get... this straight... My name... is Kagome!"
"Huuu... she's a feisty one, isn't she, Naraku-Sama? If she was a normal human, her soul would be destroyed by now. What a pity," an old youkai woman rasped, tossing some more strange herbs onto Kagome's exposed body.
Kagome could no longer feel her limbs, and her body was shaking violently. 'Am I really going to die like this? No! I-I can't! I have to save my family! And...'
Scenes of her best friend, Kiroku, played in her mind. Her little brother Souta gave one of his goofy smiles... Then she saw Inu Yasha, all alone. With a look so melancholy, she just wanted to be there for him. To hug him and cheer him up. She didn't want it to all end... she had so much to live for, so many things to experience, to learn...
"Inu Yasha...!" Kagome cried out.
"Oh, it seems our miko here is thinking about Inu Taishou's runt of a son. Heh! Now this certainly is interesting!" Urasue snarled. "This ought to do it," she said as she threw the last of the herbs onto Kagome.
The pulse grew stronger and Kagome could feel her soul being drawn out of her body. What was that crazy woman doing to her? More so, why did Naraku want to destroy her? Because she in the reincarnation of Midoriko? It was ridiculous! She had nothing to do with any of this and here she was, about to be eliminated!
Kagome could feel the familiar anger welling up from deep within herself... the same power she felt when she confronted that miko named Kikyo. It was warm, so warm. She let herself embrace it. It grew stronger, almost like a flame was erupting within her, moving outwards. At the moment, she knew not whether using the power was expedient, but she did know that it was her best chance at staying alive.
"I... won't forgive you for this!" Kagome shouted as a huge force burst from her body like a wave, causing all of the liquid to vaporize, and the ceramic altar she was lying upon to shatter into a million shards. Some of them pierced Urasue's wrinkled skin, drawing blood.
Kagome was levitating above the ground, looking just like Midoriko herself. Her hair had grown longer, and her body had matured to that of a full grown woman's. All of her wounds had miraculously healed as well. Urasue's big eyes opened even wider in surprise as well as dread.
"N-Naraku-Sama, t-this shouldn't be happening! What went wrong???"
"Fool. You've awakened Midoriko's powers! It seems you are useless after all," Naraku glared at the ugly old youkai, then held up his hand in her direction. Urasue saw the energy come towards her, then nothingness. Naraku had vaporized her. "Useless..."
"Naraku... how dare you show yourself to those of this realm! You may have defeated me all those hundreds of years ago, but it seems I have weakened you as well. Otherwise it would not have taken you this long to build up such power. Fortunately, I am finally awake after being dormant for so long, thanks to your pathetic attempt to be rid of me."
The voice wasn't Kagome's. It was deeper, more mature. Indeed, the persona of Midoriko had completely claimed her body. Naraku knew this, and yet somehow it excited him. Here he was, faced with the only other living being who's powers rivaled his own. And to think, she was only a human!
"If I cannot destroy you, then I'll absorb you!" Naraku said calmly, powering up his jaki. "Then we will together be the most powerful entity in this realm. How's that?"
Midoriko merely smiled. "You are too filthy to absorb me. I am the epitome of purity. A miko who one such as you can never touch. You disgust me!" she screamed, blasting her powers in his direction so suddenly that he didn't have time to dodge it. His body was smashed up against a large pine tree, and to Midoriko's surprise, it turned into a mess of roots, rather than a bloody youkai. "Kugutsu? So, you're too cowardly to do your own dirty work, Naraku?"
Meanwhile, back in Saizen, at the heart of Naraku's estate, he watched in silent anger as the wooden figure snapped in half. He hadn't expected Midoriko to be resurrected...
**********
Midoriko slowly drifted to the ground, then, to her surprise, she felt her soul stir. The being that she was currently wanted to come back. "Kagome, huh? Fine... I'll allow you to exist once more. After all, we are one in the same..." Then the incredible energy receded back into her body. Her hair grew shorter, as well as everything else. Kagome stood there, in the middle of the forest at night, surrounded by broken ceramic, completely naked...
"This is NOT my day!" she exclaimed, shivering from the frosty night air. It was Autumn after all, and the fact that she had no clothes on wasn't making her situation any better. A quarter moon was the only source of light she had, but considering the fact that she was utterly lost, she knew it wouldn't do her any good to try and navigate through the woods back to Sesshoumaru's place.
"I'm so cold! Damn that Naraku! He could've at least given me a kimono before attempting to kill me! Ne, Midoriko, if you can hear me, please help me to get out of these woods! Heeeeyyyy!!!" she sighed at her futile attempt to bring the miko's persona back. "I'm gonna freeze to death! What a joke!"
She then decided to curl up into a little ball and try to warm herself, knowing it probably wouldn't help, but it was better than running around naked through the woods in a typical hysterical female fashion.
Her eyelids began to grow heavy. She felt so sluggish and tired...
"Kagome! Where are you?"
She tried to open her eyes once she heard what sounded like Inu Yasha in the distance. 'Please let it be him!' she silently prayed. She tried to find her voice, then began to reply to his call, "I'm here!" However, she feared that he wouldn't hear her, since her voice just wouldn't carry. She was so exhausted.
"Kagome!"
Again, she heard his voice. She almost wanted to cry with joy when he finally found her, all curled up against a sakura tree, but she was too spent to even shed a tear... or to be embarrassed as he saw her completely naked...
"Kago... uh..." Inu Yasha stammered as he looked down at the girl he was so desperately searching for... He then removed his outer haori and gently placed it around her shoulders and over her front. She was cold to the touch. "What on earth happened to you?" he asked as he gently picked her up in his strong arms and began to carry her back to the estate. The whole area smelled strange... the smell of death and herbs lingered. Why was Kagome out here like this? It didn't seem to make any sense.
"Inu Yasha...." Kagome began, her voice a hoarse whisper, "arigatou."
He looked down at her smiling face and felt tremendous relief wash over him. She was safe, and didn't appear to be injured. Yet it was strange... he knew that he smelled her blood in the Zen garden, yet she had not a scratch anywhere on her body. Suddenly he felt her grip on his white under haori loosen. She was asleep.
"Kagome...," even though he knew she couldn't hear him, "from now on, I promise I'll protect you. No matter what."
**********
"Of course I'll help! Kohaku-Kun, you can count on me!" Yume exclaimed, happy to hear of her friends heroic plan.
"All right! I'll take you to meet Souta, then we can figure everything out. Follow me."
Perhaps Kohaku's plan was childish, but one ever knows if their ideas will be a great blunder, or a great success. Besides, you don't know if you don't try.
That's what Souta thought. He was nervous that something would go wrong, so he tried to convince himself that it would go right. For every yin there's a yang. 'We can do this! Mama, Grandpa, just wait! You'll be free soon, I know it."
To Be Continued...
AN: Whew! That was an intense (and short) chapter, ne? I hope y'all liked it! The ideas seemed to flow nicely, and I managed to keep the events that happened earlier in the story connected, which isn't always easy to do. Anyway, you know the drill, R+R!
AN: This week was really busy for me, so I apologize for the long wait, as well as the evil cliffhanger *Hee, hee* I finally got to see the Inu Yasha movie ^__^ At first it seemed mediocre, you know, there's a big bad guy that wants to take over the world, blah, blah, blah, but then it had some parts that were just so incredible! However, poor Sesshy just didn't get enough screen time! Four little scenes just isn't enough! I hope he's in the second movie a bit more. Let's just cross our fingers ^_~. Anyway ^.^;, I'll stop babbling, and enjoy this chapter! Oh, and if you're reading this Zekkita, look out for the 'Ferkalia' spoof ^_~.
Kugutsu- Puppet Naraku uses in place of himself.
Sakura- Cherry blossom.
Nogareru~Break Away
By Otaku-Chan ^_~
Chapter Eleven~From Bad To Worse
"Got it? I'll get the guard's attention, then lure them away. You have to disarm the cell. Here, you can use this," Kohaku said as he handed Souta a strange metal lock pick. "Once you get the cell door open, try to keep everyone calm and quiet. Use the escape route I showed you and lead everyone to this spot. After that, we'll figure out where to go before the guards can find us."
Souta swallowed hard. "Are you sure this'll work? I mean, aren't there thousands of guards around? And what about any other taijiya around? How can you possibly lure all of them away without someone seeing when..."
Kohaku cut him off with a pat on the back. "Not to worry. I have a few good tricks up my sleeves, you know. My neighbor is the owner of a kitsune, who I happen to be friends with. Her name is Yume. She's very skilled when it comes to illusions, and I'm sure she can make a 'mock flock' of raging youkai come towards the village. That should distract everyone long enough for us to pull this off. I just have to get her owner to let her leave for a little while..."
Souta nodded in approval to the plan. He crossed his fingers and prayed it would work. Then Kohaku signaled for him to hide in his assigned spot in the bushes while he retrieved their trump card kitsune.
**********
"Yume! I told you to cook the fish, not turn it into a lump of charcoal! Honestly, you are useless as a slave!!!" a bearded man bellowed as he slapped the young girl hard. "I worked my ass off to reach this rank of superiority just so Lord Naraku would allow me to own a slave, and what do I wind up with? A skinny good-for-nothing brat!"
The girl got down on her knees and bowed deeply, placing her head on the floor. "Gomen nasai! Gomen nasai! I'll try harder next time, I promise master! I didn't mean to displease you...forgive me!"
"Get out of my sight! Take a walk or something, because I'm going to wind up killing you if I look at your ugly visage a moment longer."
"H-Hai, master. As you wish..."
As the girl exited the hut, she could feel the tightening of her throat. She wanted so badly just to break down and cry, but she knew it would draw unwanted attention to her. She winced a little as she touched her sore cheek. 'Hold yourself together Yume. Someday you'll be free again,' she thought as she slowly walked within the boundaries she was allowed. For being only thirteen, she was incredibly brave. Most other youkai in her situation would've already committed suicide if they had a master like she had. The bruises all over her body were only a small reminder to her of what a sadistic man he truly was. She feared that when she grew older that he'd even try to rape her. Yume shuddered at the thought.
Brushing a long strand of red hair behind a pointed ear, she was even more determined to break away. 'Once I master my powers, I'll leave this horrible place!'
"Pssss!"
Yume turned her attention towards the sound, and there she saw her only friend, Kohaku, waving for her to come to where he was. As her bright turquoise eyes scanned over him, she noticed that he seemed to have an urgent look on his face. She knew that that this was her way out.
**********
Hajime lunged at Miroku first, digging his claws deep into his shoulder. The young man's blood splattered through the stagnant air. Sango and Kagome watched in horror as he fell to the floor in agony, and the twisted Inu youkai set his attentions on them now that their 'protector' was out of the picture. His eyes were glowing red, and he licked his blood stained claws one by one, all the while looking the girls over, contemplating his next move.
"Heh, heh, heh! I love it! The look of fear woven into women's beautiful faces! Perhaps I'll have some fun with you two before I rip out your entrails..."
Kagome reached for the nearest object she could use as a weapon...and incense burner, then she smashed it into the side of his head, causing him to lose his balance. "Sango-Chan! Grab Miroku-Sama and get the hell outta here!"
Sango wanted to protest, but knew that if the monk didn't get some help, he'd surely bleed to death. She nodded, then carefully helped him onto his feet. They got out of the room as fast as they could and began to make their way down the hallway, in hopes of locating Inu Yasha and Sesshoumaru.
Meanwhile, Hajime slowly stood back up, slightly leaning on the wall. Fresh blood was dripping down his temple from where she struck him. "There will be no mercy for you, bitch...," he growled in a very threatening tone.
Kagome instinctively took a step back towards the window balcony.
'That's it!' she thought as she suddenly got an idea. As Hajime leaped at her savagely, she quickly ducked under him, then thrust herself upward into his abdomen, putting forth all of her physical strength, then pushing him out the window onto the small balcony. She quickly closed the window shutters and ran full speed out of the room.
"Hah! A wench with spunk! Do you really think you bought yourself some time? Heh!" Hajime cackled as he shredded the shutters into a million splintery pieces and continued to pursue Kagome, his long scraggly hair flowing wildly behind him.
Kagome ran the opposite way of the trail of blood on the wooden floor, knowing it was Miroku's, and not wanting to get him or Sango involved with the youkai. She knew he was gaining on her, but it only motivated her to run faster. Her heart was pumping hard and the only tangible thought she had at the moment was to find a bow and arrows. Her legs went beyond their limits, muscles stretching, sweat began to pour down her forehead. Deep, hard breaths of air shuffled in and out of her heaving lungs. She could feel the keen stab of a cramp in her side.
'I knew I should've exercised more!' she thought, as she suddenly ran into the nearest room she came to. She almost choked at what she saw...
"Look! There's a woman in here!"
"Is she a human?"
"Does Sesshoumaru-Sama know this girl?"
"Who cares! She's a female, so let's have some fun with her!" shouted a tall, dark, and hairy Inu youkai as he leaped out of the hot soapy water.
Kagome turned crimson. She somehow stumbled into a large bathhouse full of naked male Inu youkai. She quickly turned away, highly embarrassed at her choice of rooms to hide in. 'I gotta get out of here!'
As she quickly exited the room, she could hear loud splashing and male voices clamoring about. Some shouted 'Get her!,' while others roared with delight.
"Great! Now I have all of them after me too! This REALLY sucks!" she yelled as she continued to run. Finally, she came upon an exit to the building. It looked like it went into some kind of Zen garden...
Kagome stopped behind a large rock and rested against it, trying to catch her breath. The air was cold and crisp, feeling refreshing against her heated skin. She knew she had to find Inu Yasha, but how? The place was huge! And on top of that, it was full of hentai Inu youkai! She also feared that Hajime would find her. What then? How could she possibly hope to defend herself without any bow and arrows?
"I have to keep moving, because I know if I stay put too long, those bastards will sniff me out!" Kagome told herself as she ran further away from the estate into the darkness.
It was almost instantaneous. Everything was a blur as she felt sharp claws tear down her back. She heard a low chuckle, then everything went black.
**********
"Come on Inu Yasha! Stop messing around and keep looking! The sooner we find the scrolls, the better," Sesshoumaru commanded, still looking through scroll after scroll.
"Keh! It will take us years to look through all of these! Besides, it's getting late, my nose is all stuffed due to this damn dust, and I am tired. Why don't we continue to look first thing in the morning?"
"Fine. But just remember, time is of the essence, Inu Yasha."
Breaking both young men out of their thoughts, Rin ran into the room, out of breath.
"I-Inu Yasha... come quick! The Houshi is badly... wounded, S-Sango... is... treating his wounds... but... Kagome... is..."
"What happened to Kagome?" Inu Yasha asked, his voice suddenly emanating apprehension and anger. His golden eyes were fierce.
"Rin, calm down," Sesshoumaru soothed, "catch your breath first, then tell us what happened."
"Damn it! Just tell me where Kagome is!" Inu Yasha cut in.
"S-She's gone! None of us know where she is..."
"What!?"
Sesshoumaru then spoke up. "Take us to the Houshi and the taijiya. They can tell us what happened."
Inu Yasha had already left the room, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
'Kagome, where are you? Please be alive!' he thought as he now reached a running pace. His keen sense of smell easily picked up her scent, as well as the scent of blood, both Miroku's as well as someone else's. What the hell had happened?
When he finally reached Kagome's room, he saw the splinters of wood all over the floor, the blood drippings, and a broken incense burner. There was obviously a struggle.
Suddenly Inu Yasha felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Sesshoumaru, a worried look on his face. "The Houshi, Miroku, was attacked... apparently by an Inu youkai. In other words, one of my own men is up to no good. We need to find this person quickly."
"I need to find Kagome first! I'll leave the rest up to you and the others. Her scent still lingers, so I can track her down. And if I find the bastard who did all this, I'll rip him to shreds!"
Sesshoumaru had never seen anyone look so determined. 'Inu Yasha must really care for the wench,' he thought with quiet contemplation. He must have inherited some of their father's less desirable traits...
Inu Yasha then stalked out of the room, following his nose. Luckily, he got over his dust allergy...
**********
"Midoriko-Sama! Ne, ne, is this the right herb?"
"Which one is this, Midoriko-Sama?"
Children?
"Can you show me where to find those?"
"Midoriko-Sama?"
Where? A field? Where am I?
Kagome looked around at the children tugging on her clothing. Red... she was wearing a miko outfit... Somehow, she felt out of place.
"Midoriko-Sama, what's wrong? You don't look so well today. Are you all right?"
Kagome was almost afraid to speak. Who were these children? And why did they keep calling her Midoriko?
"Ano... where is this place?"
One little girl decided to answer her. "This is Sakaichi-Sama's field of herbs, remember? This is where you always take us to teach us about all different kinds and what they do. Are you sure you're okay?"
"I-I don't..." Kagome put a hand on her forehead. She felt faint. Why was she here? What was going on? Then she felt her eyelids grow heavy as she felt darkness sweep over her like a warm blanket. She welcomed it.
"Midoriko-Samaaaaa!!!"
She felt pain. Throbbing pain in her head, as well as horrible stinging pains on her back. She slowly opened her eyes, realizing she was completely nude in some kind of cold, oddly scented liquid. She shivered, confused and frightened.
"So, you're finally awake. Unfortunately for you..."
She could hear a deep man's voice coming closer until she could clearly see his silhouette hovering over her. She wanted to run, to get away, but she found herself paralyzed.
"Who are you?" she asked in a shaky voice.
"Ku, ku, ku... Only the man who you tried to ruin hundreds of years ago... right, Midoriko?"
Suddenly Kagome felt even colder. A strange pulse was emanating from her chest.
"That potion that my mistress Urasue made for you will destroy your soul once and for all. You will never again be brought back into this world to thwart my plans. You truly are a wretched miko. Luckily I found you before your true powers could awaken and manifest within yourself. Now, nothing will stand in my way!" The man laughed a deep, sadistic laugh, causing his long, wavy black hair to fall over his trembling shoulders. His very presence seemed to wreak of evil. There was no doubt in Kagome's mind as to who he was. It was definitely Naraku.
Kagome winced in pain. It felt harder to breathe... she knew she had to do something or she was going to die.
"N-Naraku... I don't really understand what your babbling about... but," another jolt of cold made her pause, "get... this straight... My name... is Kagome!"
"Huuu... she's a feisty one, isn't she, Naraku-Sama? If she was a normal human, her soul would be destroyed by now. What a pity," an old youkai woman rasped, tossing some more strange herbs onto Kagome's exposed body.
Kagome could no longer feel her limbs, and her body was shaking violently. 'Am I really going to die like this? No! I-I can't! I have to save my family! And...'
Scenes of her best friend, Kiroku, played in her mind. Her little brother Souta gave one of his goofy smiles... Then she saw Inu Yasha, all alone. With a look so melancholy, she just wanted to be there for him. To hug him and cheer him up. She didn't want it to all end... she had so much to live for, so many things to experience, to learn...
"Inu Yasha...!" Kagome cried out.
"Oh, it seems our miko here is thinking about Inu Taishou's runt of a son. Heh! Now this certainly is interesting!" Urasue snarled. "This ought to do it," she said as she threw the last of the herbs onto Kagome.
The pulse grew stronger and Kagome could feel her soul being drawn out of her body. What was that crazy woman doing to her? More so, why did Naraku want to destroy her? Because she in the reincarnation of Midoriko? It was ridiculous! She had nothing to do with any of this and here she was, about to be eliminated!
Kagome could feel the familiar anger welling up from deep within herself... the same power she felt when she confronted that miko named Kikyo. It was warm, so warm. She let herself embrace it. It grew stronger, almost like a flame was erupting within her, moving outwards. At the moment, she knew not whether using the power was expedient, but she did know that it was her best chance at staying alive.
"I... won't forgive you for this!" Kagome shouted as a huge force burst from her body like a wave, causing all of the liquid to vaporize, and the ceramic altar she was lying upon to shatter into a million shards. Some of them pierced Urasue's wrinkled skin, drawing blood.
Kagome was levitating above the ground, looking just like Midoriko herself. Her hair had grown longer, and her body had matured to that of a full grown woman's. All of her wounds had miraculously healed as well. Urasue's big eyes opened even wider in surprise as well as dread.
"N-Naraku-Sama, t-this shouldn't be happening! What went wrong???"
"Fool. You've awakened Midoriko's powers! It seems you are useless after all," Naraku glared at the ugly old youkai, then held up his hand in her direction. Urasue saw the energy come towards her, then nothingness. Naraku had vaporized her. "Useless..."
"Naraku... how dare you show yourself to those of this realm! You may have defeated me all those hundreds of years ago, but it seems I have weakened you as well. Otherwise it would not have taken you this long to build up such power. Fortunately, I am finally awake after being dormant for so long, thanks to your pathetic attempt to be rid of me."
The voice wasn't Kagome's. It was deeper, more mature. Indeed, the persona of Midoriko had completely claimed her body. Naraku knew this, and yet somehow it excited him. Here he was, faced with the only other living being who's powers rivaled his own. And to think, she was only a human!
"If I cannot destroy you, then I'll absorb you!" Naraku said calmly, powering up his jaki. "Then we will together be the most powerful entity in this realm. How's that?"
Midoriko merely smiled. "You are too filthy to absorb me. I am the epitome of purity. A miko who one such as you can never touch. You disgust me!" she screamed, blasting her powers in his direction so suddenly that he didn't have time to dodge it. His body was smashed up against a large pine tree, and to Midoriko's surprise, it turned into a mess of roots, rather than a bloody youkai. "Kugutsu? So, you're too cowardly to do your own dirty work, Naraku?"
Meanwhile, back in Saizen, at the heart of Naraku's estate, he watched in silent anger as the wooden figure snapped in half. He hadn't expected Midoriko to be resurrected...
**********
Midoriko slowly drifted to the ground, then, to her surprise, she felt her soul stir. The being that she was currently wanted to come back. "Kagome, huh? Fine... I'll allow you to exist once more. After all, we are one in the same..." Then the incredible energy receded back into her body. Her hair grew shorter, as well as everything else. Kagome stood there, in the middle of the forest at night, surrounded by broken ceramic, completely naked...
"This is NOT my day!" she exclaimed, shivering from the frosty night air. It was Autumn after all, and the fact that she had no clothes on wasn't making her situation any better. A quarter moon was the only source of light she had, but considering the fact that she was utterly lost, she knew it wouldn't do her any good to try and navigate through the woods back to Sesshoumaru's place.
"I'm so cold! Damn that Naraku! He could've at least given me a kimono before attempting to kill me! Ne, Midoriko, if you can hear me, please help me to get out of these woods! Heeeeyyyy!!!" she sighed at her futile attempt to bring the miko's persona back. "I'm gonna freeze to death! What a joke!"
She then decided to curl up into a little ball and try to warm herself, knowing it probably wouldn't help, but it was better than running around naked through the woods in a typical hysterical female fashion.
Her eyelids began to grow heavy. She felt so sluggish and tired...
"Kagome! Where are you?"
She tried to open her eyes once she heard what sounded like Inu Yasha in the distance. 'Please let it be him!' she silently prayed. She tried to find her voice, then began to reply to his call, "I'm here!" However, she feared that he wouldn't hear her, since her voice just wouldn't carry. She was so exhausted.
"Kagome!"
Again, she heard his voice. She almost wanted to cry with joy when he finally found her, all curled up against a sakura tree, but she was too spent to even shed a tear... or to be embarrassed as he saw her completely naked...
"Kago... uh..." Inu Yasha stammered as he looked down at the girl he was so desperately searching for... He then removed his outer haori and gently placed it around her shoulders and over her front. She was cold to the touch. "What on earth happened to you?" he asked as he gently picked her up in his strong arms and began to carry her back to the estate. The whole area smelled strange... the smell of death and herbs lingered. Why was Kagome out here like this? It didn't seem to make any sense.
"Inu Yasha...." Kagome began, her voice a hoarse whisper, "arigatou."
He looked down at her smiling face and felt tremendous relief wash over him. She was safe, and didn't appear to be injured. Yet it was strange... he knew that he smelled her blood in the Zen garden, yet she had not a scratch anywhere on her body. Suddenly he felt her grip on his white under haori loosen. She was asleep.
"Kagome...," even though he knew she couldn't hear him, "from now on, I promise I'll protect you. No matter what."
**********
"Of course I'll help! Kohaku-Kun, you can count on me!" Yume exclaimed, happy to hear of her friends heroic plan.
"All right! I'll take you to meet Souta, then we can figure everything out. Follow me."
Perhaps Kohaku's plan was childish, but one ever knows if their ideas will be a great blunder, or a great success. Besides, you don't know if you don't try.
That's what Souta thought. He was nervous that something would go wrong, so he tried to convince himself that it would go right. For every yin there's a yang. 'We can do this! Mama, Grandpa, just wait! You'll be free soon, I know it."
To Be Continued...
AN: Whew! That was an intense (and short) chapter, ne? I hope y'all liked it! The ideas seemed to flow nicely, and I managed to keep the events that happened earlier in the story connected, which isn't always easy to do. Anyway, you know the drill, R+R!