Disclaimer - Inu Yasha is not mine. Inu-Jasmine and Inu-Calypso, howerver are. They live in my house and eat my food, ergo they are mine. :hugz:
Miss Chang Po - Ew, now you're gonna smell like wet-dog the rest of the day...
:shrugs: I think it gives me character. P
Wufei - :shudders: Disgusting...
Author's Notes - I'm back, minna-san, I'm back! Sorry this chapter took so long but it seems like every time I turn around, somebody needs to use my computer for something! Is it my fault it's so supercool and functional?
Miss Chang Po - Yes... yes it is.
:pouts: I'm sure you're just saying that cuz you're jealous. But anyhoo, chapter 10 is a really juicy chapter, folks. Read and enjoy!
Chapter 10
The wind whipped across Kagura's face as she floated along, but she took no pleasure from it. She'd been sent on another errand only to return and discover that her 'master' had moved his castle yet again.
'What's his deal?' she thought to herself, scowling as the air began to darken with poisonous miasma – poisonous to anyone not under Naraku's 'employ' that is. 'He hardly ever used to move the castle around so much and now he does it every time his strength is up!'
The fact that he was still reeling from Kagome's attack from weeks ago was an unsettling on. To see someone who seemed to exude such power and control be laid bare so completely by some slip of a girl was mind blowing to be sure. Naraku was having a hard time coping not only physical but mentally as well.
"Bring me Kagome," he would tell her and she would head out only to find the castle gone upon her return.
'I should just not bother coming back,' she would think, but she knew to do so would be impossible. The dark jar in her master's quarters made it so. Thus, the dance would continue, leading Kagura to wonder: was he really trying to find the girl, or was he hiding from her?
The thought brought her up short as she broke through the miasma, touching down on palace grounds. There were several other youkai milling about the square, mostly some of his other incarnations – none of which she would dare call siblings. She did not acknowledge them, nor they her, as she walked into the building, her fan clicking in hand.
"Nothing?"
She turned to face the pale girl dress all in white, standing in an open doorway, the light seeming to be swallowed around her. Kagura smirked, closing her fan with a loud snap. "I'd have had an easier time if I didn't have to worry about this place moving about all the damn time. What the hell's he thinking of anyway?"
The girl remained silent, her dark eyes revealing nothing. "The Master… is not well."
"No kidding," she drawled, slipping on arm out of the outer layer of her kimono. "You'd think he'd find one spot, stick to it and keep it fortified rather than draining his strength hopping about all over the place."
"Master is not thinking clearly," the girl responded, her expressionless eyes widening as her words caught up to her.
"My, my," Kagura grinned, opening her fan once more. "Is my dear sister Kanna speaking out of turn? I fear my bad influence is starting to rub off on you."
Kanna remained silent, her expression slipping back into void mask.
"Relax," Kagura sighed. What use was teasing someone who wasn't going to react? "It's not like I'm gonna tell. Besides, I have to admit I'm curious, too."
"Curious?"
"What's so special about that Kagome-girl that he would go through all this trouble to find one person?"
"Jealous, Kagura?" The wind demoness froze as Naraku himself emerged from the shadows behind Kanna. His inky black hair hung more limply from his shoulders than normal, his sleeping robe hanging loosely over his shoulders. Beneath the silk material, the female youkai could see the numerous burns and bandages still covering his body. Kagura's eyes widened; she'd known he was still weak, but he should have healed by now!
Naraku smirked. "A mere human girl does what you cannot? How it must upset you so…"
She scowled, not rising to take the bait. After all, what would be the point? "Your orders?" she ground out.
The dark hanyou turned away from her, directing his attention to the pale girl beside him. "Have you been able to determine anything, Kanna?"
The girl lifted her mirror, peering into its depths. "She is with the rebels… that is all the mirror can tell me…
"Humph, they have hidden themselves well." Naraku paused and smirked. "No matter. They'll come out into the open soon enough – they think me vulnerable, after all."
Kagura wanted to say 'aren't you?' but wisely held her tongue. "What would you have me do in the meantime?"
Naraku turned to her. "Has there been any word from our friend out in the forest?"
She hmphed. "He didn't seem all that inclined to acquiesce to your request," she answered, remembering the rough treatment she had received from that crimson-eyed recluse. It was definitely not something she wished to endure again.
"How unfortunate. He shall have to be reminded of the arrangement we made all those years ago."
Kagura remained still, awaiting her new assignment.
"Kanna," The girl looked up, her face still void of emotion. "Have a group head south to find those rebels and eliminate them. Should they find a miko with them, tell them to bring her to me alive." He turned to walk back into his chambers. "It is time for us to remind everyone that Naraku's will shall be done."
00
"Have any of you seen my kaasan or Kohaku around?"
The two human girls busy taking down clothes lines turned their attention to the kitsune, tittering and blushing heavily.
"They went to the springs if I recall, Shippo-sama," the first girl answered, trying not to swoon at the way his long, lush tail swooped back and forth. She wished she could just grab hold of it – but the last time a girl had dared to do so, it had yielded very interesting results. Granted, she was older, and could handle a tanto well enough, but having to tangle with the young taijya girl just wasn't worth the hastle.
Shippo scratched his chin, debating. He was well aware that while he would always be Kagome's son, there was no way she was going to permit him walking in on them in the midst of a bath. Kohaku wouldn't mind, but he really didn't need his mother knowing that they sometimes bathed together, now did he?
"Troublesome…"
"If you'd like to speak to Kohaku-chan," the second girl, using her laundry basket as a shield of sorts – she liked to worship from afar, really- said timidly. "I think she's changing in her tent."
The glint that entered his eye did not go unmissed; the girls swooned again, nonetheless. Yes, Miroku had been an undue influence, it couldn't have been helped. "Um, if either of you see Sumu, tell him to go check on Kagome for me, would you?"
Both squeaked their affirmation, all but jumping at the chance to complete some task for their beloved, foxy idol.
"Yes! Right away, Shippo-sama!"
As they both skittered away, Shippo paused, scratching his head in confusion. 'Was it something I said…?' Once again, he pushed the thought to the back of his mind, continuing on his way until he came across the large tent that just screamed, 'Ko-chan lives here!' As it was a tent, there was no place to knock, so Shippo decided to walk right in—
Only to find himself quickly pinned underneath his young charge once again.
The young girl was wearing only a light under-kimono, her dark hair hanging loosely about her shoulders. She fixed him with a rather put-out frown.
"Being perverted again?" she asked.
Grinning, the fox youkai gave her a 'that's a pot calling the kettle black' look. "You know," he said absently. "You really should try to sense my presence a bit better."
She sulked slightly. "Who's to say I didn't know it was you?"
"Then you chose to tackle me to the ground because…?"
She paused, her eyes sparkling as she gave him a mischievous grin. "Maybe I like having the upper hand over you every once in a while?" she said. "After all, you could have very easily moved out of the way."
This was true, but then there was the possibility she might fall and get hurt. He could never allow that. Plus, there was also the fact that he liked being tackled by her – not that he had to tell her so, of course.
At the slight hint color on his cheeks, Kohaku smiled in victory. Extracting herself from over top of him, she went back to towel-drying her hair. "Anything interesting to report?"
"There've been a couple new developments, yeah," the kitsune rose off the floor easily, moving over to sit down on the small futon he sometimes slept on when in her tent. "But we'll be debriefing everyone later."
"Oh," An easy silence fell over the pair.
"So…" Kohaku paused in the finger-combing of her hair, keeping her back to her guardian. "What do you think of her?"
"Kagome-sama?"
"M-hm."
"She's very nice. She's everything you said she would be."
A pause. "You sound disappointed."
Kohaku flushed, looking down at her lap. "I'm not disappointed… I just didn't expect your description of her to be so… spot-on, I guess…"
Shippo sat up, giving the human girl a small frown. "You thought I was exaggerating?"
Kohaku frowned. "You're a kitsune, Sempai… I thought you were making her up."
Shippo's expression bordered between angry and hurt. "When have I ever lied to you?"
"Never…"
"Then why…"
"So you wouldn't have to keep your promise!"
Aquamarine eyes widened in surprise and the kitsune sat back as if he had been struck. "Ko-Kohaku-chan…"
"I'm sorry," she said, wringing her hands through her hair nervously. "I'm being stupid."
"No, no…" For once, the kitsune found he could think of nothing to say. He glanced at her, noting that her hands hand gone from her hair and her attention was now on the beads around her wrist. "Is it bothering you…?"
She jumped slightly, shaking her head. "No, I just… get worried that…" Her eyes watered briefly, but then she seemed to gain control over herself. Her shoulders straightened, and she let go of her beads, turning her attention to her clothes laid out on her futon.
"Kohaku…?"
"I need to get dressed now, Sempai," she said softly. "It's cold."
He could see what he called, the Houshi Mask sliding into place. Miroku had always pasted a certain expression on his face when the topic of conversation drifted to something he wasn't comfortable with; Kohaku had inherited that same face, among other things. As far as she was concerned, they were done talking.
'The hell we are…' Shippo folded his arms across his chest, studying her. "Get dressed then."
"I'm going to," she said simply. "Then I'm going to check on Kagome and see if she has any preferences for dinner."
Shippo resolve crumbled slightly. "You know where she is?"
Kohaku turned to study him. "She went back to the springs to meditate." She said. "She looked like she had a lot on her mind."
The kitsune frowned, rising to his feet. "I guess I'll go check on her then." The frown remained on his face as he exited the hut.
'Damn it…'
00
After setting what meager belongings she carried with her into the small hut some of the village girls had been kind enough to furnish for her, Kagome headed back to the springs where she and Kohaku had shared their little heart to heart. There were several large rocks grouped together that separated the small springs from one another and Kagome chose one of the larger boulders to sit upon, contemplating her current situation once again.
The well had malfunctioned somehow, sending her 40 years into the future of the era she had once known. In this time, Naraku had taken advantage of her absence to finally gain control over everything.
A scowl formed on her face as she remembered his words and part of her still couldn't believe it to be true. In her later battles she'd finally been able to prove herself to be more help than hindrance, but she still couldn't understand how her absence could be such a deciding factor in the fight against that dark hanyou. She could see the Shikon no kakera for sure, but the majority of them had already been in Naraku's possession. Surely a few spiritual arrows here and there couldn't have made such a difference.
'But there was that power from before…' she mused, remembering that raw energy she'd summoned to her aid before. She'd felt it churning beneath the surface before during her training, but she'd yet been able to tap into it again. Perhaps extreme duress was necessary, but Kagome's biggest fear was that she wouldn't be able to call upon the power when necessary.
Images of her friends' mangled bodies entered her mind and Kagome tensed, he body freezing in fear.
"Miko-sama--?"
Kagome turned towards the voice, her hand trailing spiritual energy. However, she quickly realized the presence behind her was not hostile and it took everything not to ram her hand into the badger-youkai's face.
"Sumu-san!" She jumped back, her face pale. "I-I'm sorry!"
The badger youkai took a step back, arms held up in surrender. "Yare, yare, Miko-sama… no harm, no foul, right?"
Kagome bowed her head apologetically. "You surprised me," she admitted.
The youkai grinned, scratching his head. "Yeah, well, I gotta admit I was curious about the young miko who was able to hand that baboon his ass so easily." Kagome flushed. "The kid has only great things to say about his 'kaasan'."
Kagome stared down at the water, her voice soft. "Thank you for looking after him," she said.
Sumu sat down on a neighboring rock, reaching into his gi for a small wooden flute, playing a few notes experimentally. "I didn't do all that much," he admitted. "He's plenty tough already… he just needed somebody to watch out for him until he could bite as well as he barked."
"What do you mean?" Kagome asked.
"It was Shippo-kun's idea to rally everyone together against that Baboon punk, but no one would really take the kit seriously – even if he was backed by the wolves."
"Wait, wait, you mean to say Shippo-chan had already joined with Kouga-kun?" Kagome asked.
The badger youkai rubbed his stubbled chin thoughtfully. "I don't know the details, but Shippo-kun said he headed to the North to keep an eye on the child of your human friends." He said. "At the same time he was rallying youkai who were tired of being oppressed. Then he heard that Naraku had gotten to the monk and taijya's kid… but his daughter got away…"
"Kohaku-chan…" Kagome murmured.
"Yeah, she's something… thought she could take on every youkai on her own – without even a lick of training at that. Hell, if Shippo-kun hadn't tracked her down when he had… she'da been oni-bait for sure."
"Shippo-chan went to look for her?"
Sumu nodded. "Took him a couple years, I think… I don't think he even knew what she looked like, but when he heard what happened to her folks he set off on his own to look for her." He smirked. "Hasn't let her out of his sight since."
Kagome paused, rearranging her thoughts. "What do you think… about his promise to her…?"
"Promise?" He scratched his head. "Oh, about siring her child. Well… I don't profess to know all of what goes on – if anything does – in that head of his. But he's an honorable kid… he wouldn't have made that promise to her if he didn't mean it."
The miko smiled softly.
"Being a youkai and all, I don't know much about the ways of you humans and emotions… but I can tell you one thing – Shippo loves that girl, almost as much as he—" He blinked in surprise as the young girl jumped towards him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she sobbed. "Miko-sama?"
"Thank you for telling me, Sumu-san!" she exclaimed. "Thank you so much!"
The badger youkai's face registered confusion as he patted her head awkwardly. "You're welcome?"
Humans… he didn't think he'd ever understand them.
00
"We're going after Naraku."
She nodded, her face one of grim resolution. She'd known the moment she staggered away from his castle, angry and exhausted, that she would have to return and face him again for a final time. After all, hadn't that been their overall goal? Hers, and Miroku's, and Sango's, and…
'Inu Yasha…'
Shippo seated himself beside her in front of the campfire, glancing at her with worry touching his expression. "You okay, Kagome-kaa?" he asked. "You don't have to worry – that monster's not gonna touch you. We'll beat him this time – no question."
She stared into the flames, remaining silent a few moments.
"Kaasan…" He leaned closer to her, studying her face for some sign of her distress. Sumu had mentioned her crying earlier – though he neglected to mention what had caused her tears, much to the kitsune's annoyance and distress. What was this, 'hide things from Shippo' day? "What's wrong?"
"Everything's wrong," she said softly, her hands clenched in her lap. "This whole time… everything is all wrong! Sango and Miroku are dead… Kohaku is… you know she's in love with you, don't you!"
The kitsune froze, his aquamarine eyes widening in surprise. His cheeks flushed and he turned his head away. "Of course," he answered, struggling to maintain his composure. "I'm her semp—"
"I don't want to hear that!" Kagome exclaimed, and Shippo shut his mouth with an audible snap. Several humans and youkai that had been seated around the fire suddenly decided it was time to get scarce. "You made this girl a promise, and I want you to tell me whether or not you were being serious."
He tensed, staring at her in disbelief. He had not expecting this at all. "Of course I was serious! I meant every word! It's just that…" He paused, faltering as his conversation with the girl came to mind. Part of him wished he had mastered the Houshi Mask.
"What?" Kagome pressed.
"Well, I…" His eyes flickered to hers before falling to the ground. "Kohaku's heard all these stories about her family… what great warriors Miroku and Sango were," His eyes darkened with sadness, before clearing again. "Since then she's been dead set on continuing their legacy. Well…" He faltered. "Her grandfather's more specifically… You remember how Miroku used to be," Kagome winced. "So busy worrying about his duty that he almost missed what was right in front of him."
Kagome was quiet for a long time. "Were they…" She paused, weighing her words. "Were they happy… in the end…?"
Shippo studied her face, his eyes gleaming in the firelight. "They missed you," he said quietly. "We all did."
"Shippo-chan…" she murmured.
"Ko-chan…" He paused, trying to find words. "She's like me… I wanted to avenge my father's death so badly… but I knew I wasn't strong enough on my own to do it… but she's young… she wants to avenge her family, but she can't do it alone. There was a point where she thought the only way to get back at what Naraku had done was to find someone willing to knock her--"
"Shippo---!"
The kitsune, however, was on a roll. "It's the truth! She's brash, she's reckless, and she's stubborn! She always wants to do things on her own, she never listens to any of my warnings, she's--"
'She's just like Inu Yasha…'
"…And I'm scared something's gonna happen to her, so I just went ahead and promised her—" He stopped as he felt her hand touch his cheek, turning it to face hers. Slate gray eyes stared back at him, shimmering in the light.
"Nothing bad is going to happen," she said. Kagome fixed the kitsune a look of fierce determination.
"I know that," he said, trying to sound certain. "But…" However, his façade fell and he placed one of his clawed hands over hers, whimpering slightly as he rested his head against her shoulder. Though she was surprised by the action, she didn't object to it. No matter what, Shippo was still her son. "When you left… I thought I'd never see you again…"
She closed her eyes. "I'm sorry…"
He shook his head. "It hurt, but a part of me thought… in your time, at least you were safe from all this… you had a chance…" He closed his eyes. "But Kohaku… this is all she knows now… I can't hide her away somewhere when it gets too rough…"
"Kohaku-chan is strong… you have to have faith in that."
He nodded. "I know… but she's human… It's bad enough that I'll outlive her, but I don't want to lose her now… not this way…" He opened his eyes and looked up at her, staring straight into eyes. "I don't want anyone else I love taken away from me."
They both remained silent for several moments. What could they really say?
When it seemed as if an eternity had already passed, Kagome dared to speak again. "Well, you don't have to worry anymore. I'm here now, aren't I?" She smoothed his cheek before giving his hair an affectionate ruffle, causing the kitsune to give her a small smile. "I gave Naraku a good ass-kicking last time and now we're gonna track him down and finish the job!"
"Kaasan…"
"Now that's what we wanna hear!"
The two looked up to see Sumu and Ayame approaching them, flanked by Shippo's two human friends, Jyou and Toudou.
"That's the spirit, Miko-sama," Sumu grinned, his tail swishing lazily behind him. "That's the kind of kick-ass attitude we're gonna need to beat that Baboon-skin wearing son of a bitch!"
"And after he's taken care of, then you can marry Kohaku-chan and have as many kitsune-babies---"
"I hope you guys have good news," Shippo interrupted drolly. To say his face was red would be an understatement. "'Cuz that's the only reason I can see you guys having for interrupting us."
Ayame grinned. "Well, aren't we the cheeky one today?" The kitsune frowned.
"Relax, Shippo-chan," Kagome grinned. "These guys just spared you from my inquisition yet again. Consider yourself lucky."
The redheaded fox youkai had the good nature to blink and grin.
"So, what's going on?" Kagome asked, her expression turning serious again.
"Kouga's second recon-group came back," Ayame answered. "We've got a big group of youkai headed our way."
Shippo rose to his feet. "So, the baboon's not as vulnerable as we thought."
"Maybe not," Sumu ventured, "He probably hopes this ploy of his will keep us off his trail… indefinitely."
"Everyone's notified? "Shippo asked, turning to Toudou.
"Sure enough!" he answered. "The non-fighters are packing up while everyone else is getting ready for a battle."
Kagome rose to her feet, fixing the others a look. "Is it possible for us to divide our forces?" she asked. The others glanced at her. "I agree with Sumu – this is probably an attempt to get us off his trail while he finishes his recuperation. We can't wait until he's back to full strength."
"Yeah, one group holds off his ambush while the other tracks his castle." Sumu grinned, his fangs glinting. "I knew I liked this girl."
"How big a force are we talking about here?" Shippo asked. "How do we divide ourselves up?"
"I'm going after Naraku." Kagome replied.
"Naturally," Ayame grinned.
"I'm going with you." Shippo said.
"Naturally," Ayame's grin widened, though it had a slight predatory look to it at the thought of a battle. "And Kohaku?"
"She stays," Shippo said firmly. Kagome threw him a look. "So long as none of those bugs get in the way, Kohaku-chan can probably take on most of the group on her own." There was a note of pride in his voice that had Kagome struggling to keep from smiling.
"And Sumu an' I will be there to take out the stragglers," the female wolf added.
Jyou laughed and Toudou pulled a face. "Sure, make us sound useless."
"Of course," Shippo grinned, his tail twitching back and forth. "You two are here for comic relief."
The two human men hung their heads and groaned in feigned remorse.
"Yo, runt!" Kouga appeared, a cloud of dirt and leaves whirling around him. "We're moving out! Get your scrawny ass in gear!" He turned to Kagome, grinning roguishly like something out of a fairytale.
"You ready, Kagome?"
"As I'll ever be,"
Shippo's tail was still twitching, though now in agitation. "I'm not a runt!"
"Yeah, yeah," Kouga waved his words away, his own tail drifting back and forth lazily, amused at the young kit's frustration. "An' I suppose next you'll be tellin' me that'cha ain't a raccoon?"
"Arrghh!" The Kitsune took a swipe at him, none too surprised when the wolf aptly jumped out of the way. "Ayame, come get this dumb ass! We have work to do!"
This sobered Kouga up a bit as he landed nimbly beside his mate, his expression solemn. Ayame's tail brushed against his forearm, her green eyes locking with his. "You better be careful."
"What're you talking about?" A cocky grin threatened to appear. "I'm always careful!"
The others present suddenly contracted similar cases of upper-respiratory distress. Amidst the coughing and hacking that followed, muffled exclamations of 'yeah right' and 'bullshit' could be heard. Kouga only snorted.
"Anyways… that goes for you, too, Kagome-chan," the female wolf cautioned. "I'm willing to bet that you're that Baboon-bastard's main target."
Kagome frowned, remembering the looks he had given her whilst she had been in his captivity. Wholesome they had not been. "Lemme guess, since Kikyo's gone, he's obsessing over me now?" Everyone present tensed at the mention of the dead priestess, but their reactions went unnoticed. "Sheesh, this guy never does anything by halves, does he?"
Sumu's dark eyes went skyward. "The wind's getting restless," he cautioned. "You guys better head out while your window's still open."
Shippo nodded, leading the group back to the main encampment. Kagome started in surprise to find that what had been the mini-village was now a large caravan of wagons, horses, and cattle all packed and ready to head out. Seeing her awed expression, the kitsune offered a small grin. "What can I say? We're good at what we do."
"Sempai! Kagome-sama!" Kohaku came towards them, decked out head to toe in her taijya gear. Her bodysuit was the traditional black, the cloth straps holding her armor in place were a dark blue. Kagome could tell that she had a blade concealed beneath her arm guard, and that there was a katana and a wakizashi secured at her hip. However, what really caught the miko's attention was the large, crescent-shaped boomerang she carried on her back, and Miroku's battle-worn shakujo in her hands.
The girl followed her eyes to the boomerang and smiled. "It's called Tsukiraiha," she said. "Grandmother's was broken beyond repair so I made this one myself." She handed the shakujo to Shippo.
"Miroku entrusted it to me," he explained before she could ask. "It still contains some of h is power, although I prefer to channel my own youki through it. It gives it a pretty nice boost."
Kagome recalled the kitsune using some of the monk's sutras to increase the power of his foxfire, but to do the same with a holy object... "It lets you do that?" she wondered.
He shrugged. "It's not like I haven't gotten a lot of exposure to it over the years," he explained. "All it took was building up enough stamina to channel my own power through it."
The miko smiled at her surrogate son. "You really have become a great youkai, Shippo." She said.
"Kagome-sama," the young taijya handed her a fresh quiver of arrows. "You'll look after him won't you?"
Shippo opened his mouth to make some sort of comment, but Kagome cut him off. "No one's going to hurt my son," she answered. She took Kohaku's hand in her, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I'll make sure he comes back to you."
Something passed over the younger girl's face, making her at last seem her actual age. She smiled back at her, gratitude evident on her face. "You take care, too… Kagome-sempai."
Kagome laughed softly, nodding. "I will, Kohaku-chan," Releasing her hand, she then mounted Shippo's horse and turned her eyes to the skies. Her eyes darkened slightly; Sumu's prediction had been correct. The feeling was faint, but she could definitely sense a large concentration of jyaki coming their way.
Kouga approached her side, grabbing the horse's reigns to steady it. The tense atmosphere was making all the animals a bit jumpy. "How far off now?" he asked.
"They're still some ways off," she answered. "But I'll be able to sense their presence for sure long before they actually come at us."
The wolf prince nodded, impressed. "Kit was right; you have gotten stronger."
Kagome smiled, though her eyes were serious. "I had to," she said. "You didn't expect me to stay on the sidelines forever, did you?"
He smirked ruefully. "You would have been safter." Blue eyes turned to the kitsune and his taijya ward, engaged in a quiet but rushed conversation. The raven haired girl looked as she were trying to get some point across, whilst struggling to contain her emotion at the same time. She managed to stay firm, however, nodding at whatever the red-haired youkai was saying in response.
"Kagome…" The miko turned at the sudden change in the wolf's tone. "I'm sure you know what kind of freak we're dealing with in Naraku," She nodded. "But he's even more ruthless than before… No matter what you see… or what you think you see…"
"Kouga," Kagome frowned, the uneasy weight settling itself over her chest again. "If there's something you're not—"
Kouga rested a hand on her knee, his light blue eyes sharp and entreating. "Kagome, no matter what happens, do not let your guard down. Not even for a second, understand?"
Her frown deepening, Kagome found herself nodding her head, studying the prince. Gone was the cocky attitude, the self-assured threats – Kouga was a general preparing to lead his troops into a battle… one against an enemy even he was not sure they could defeat.
'We will defeat him…' Kagome thought to herself, clenching her hands tightly. 'We have to win… or we all die…'
"All right, everyone!" Shippo hopped into the saddle behind her, reaching around her to grasp the reigns. "Everyone knows what's going to happen. Everyone's got their own mission to carry out, so by Kami make it count!"
A rowdy affirmation rose up from all those present, human and youkai alike.
"Anything goes wrong, we all know were to meet…" Kouga said. Everyone nodded. "All right, let's move out!"
The area soon filled with the sound of thunderous footsteps as the first group took off, their destination the North. They would find Naraku and they would face him.
'And,' Kagome thought as the wind whipped through her hair. 'I will finally get some answers…'
End Chapter 10