Chapter Six: A New Plan

Kagome and her friends walked along a raised dirt path as they were passing by one of the villages along the route to Kaede's Village. They were quiet, enjoying the summer air and the view of the countryside. Shippo waved at a few villagers that noticed them passing by. They had helped this village before and revisited almost every time they were returning to Kaede's Village, often stopping in to check on those they had gotten to know. If the village needed help, they made sure to help them. On this particular day, they were approached by the village headman, Genzo. He was a middle-aged man with a wife, a son, and a young daughter that Kagome helped deliver when they first found this place. He was normally jovial, but his approach was much stiffer and no smile greeted them.

"Hello, Genzo. Are you okay?" Kagome asked worriedly.

"I'm afraid not. I need your help." Genzo said sadly, his head lowered, "I am afraid that a few of our children have gotten very ill. They have bad fevers and are not able to eat. Anything they try to eat they end up vomiting later. We're unsure of how to help them and fear the worst if it doesn't change soon."

"It sounds like the flu. What are you feeding them?" Kagome asked.

"Meats, breads… whatever we have." Genzo explained.

"I see. I have something that can help." Kagome said and dropped her large yellow backpack on the ground. It wasn't as heavy as it often was since she used a lot of the supplies before now. She rummaged through the backpack and pulled out two bottles of modern flu and cold medicine. "This medicine is from my home. You have to be very careful with it. I'll show you how to use it the first time and then leave it with you to use yourselves. Bring Akane so she can learn too."

"Oh, that's wonderful. Thank you." Genzo said with joy and pulled Kagome into a tight hug. He was so relieved that she could help with this that he pulled her along excitedly. When Kagome discovered that his son was one of those afflicted, she understood why he rushed her. She showed him, his wife, and three of the other villagers what to do, but made sure they knew this was all she could give them. The bottles were full, so they should have enough to take care of those that were sick. Grateful, the village applauded Kagome as she left the hut and handed her and the group a few supplies as thanks.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through Kagome's shoulder and her body was pushed back some. She looked down to see an arrow had struck her. The villagers began to panic and as a second arrow came from the forests edge, Inuyasha hit it out of the air, the thin stick breaking in two.

"Kagome, are you okay?" Inuyasha asked as Kagome stared at the arrow.

"MOMMA!" Shippo hurried over and was about to jump on her shoulder, but Sango caught him.

"Shippo, wait." Sango said and went to see how deep the wound was.

"It honestly doesn't hurt as bad as I would expect…" Kagome said with confusion as she went to pull the arrow from her shoulder, "It's not that deep. Whoever hit me is not very good with a bow."

"Speaking of…" Inuyasha growled and ran off the direction the arrow came.

"Lady Kagome, are you alright?" Genzo asked, coming out of the hut in a hurry when he was told of the news, "I can't believe this… Who would do such a thing? Would you like to sit down?"

"Yes, please." Kagome said and was led over to a small wooden bench. She held her shoulder and lowered her gaze to the ground, lost in thought as the villagers talked around her.

"Kagome, shouldn't we use your kit?" Sango asked and went for the yellow backpack.

"No, it's okay. We'll bandage it up, but normally. It really isn't that deep." Kagome said a few moments after realizing Sango had asked her a question. She held her hand over the wound and looked out to the forest, waiting for Inuyasha to return with news of who attacked her.

Miroku stood quietly on the sidelines, watching a certain person who seemed a bit on edge. He noticed a strange tone in Genzo's voice when he asked about Kagome's well-being. As one of the most intuitive of the group, Miroku did notice deceptions, human and demon alike, more often than anyone else. This situation pinged some sort of nerve at the back of his mind and as he stared at Genzo, the man must have sensed the glare because he looked up to him and immediately turned away.

Miroku did not like the guilty expression Genzo had, or the sweat on his brow. As he watched the nervous man more, Genzo began slowly distancing himself from Kagome and himself. Seeing this, Miroku decided it was time to get some answers and stepped up to Genzo with a striking glare.

"Genzo." Miroku raised his voice sternly, an aura of authority demanding his attention and the attention of those that surrounded them. Miroku's eyes caused the man to stiffen in silence. "You're hiding something. I suggest you speak up about this now before it gets any worse, especially for you."

"Miroku, what are you doing?" Kagome asked.

"Do you know who is out there? Who attacked Kagome?" Miroku shouted louder, stepping up to the man. Genzo backed away, shaking his head and holding his hands up in fear.

"Miroku, what has gotten into you?" Sango stepped between the two, but Miroku's gaze did not falter. He stared so strongly at Genzo that with every passing moment, the man buckled more and more under the guilt he felt over this unknown plan.

"SPEAK." Miroku yelled over Sango's shoulder. Seeing that Miroku was deadly serious, more so than she was used to, Sango looked back to Genzo in horror.

"Genzo, you didn't… do anything, did you?" Sango asked.

"I-I…" Genzo shook his head and backed away more, but the distance wasn't enough. He turned and began to flee from them, but suddenly bumped into Inuyasha, who had just landed a moment before. Inside Inuyasha's hands was an unconscious man from the village, one they recognized.

"Do you have something to do with this?" Inuyasha asked, a darkness in his eyes that sent terror down Genzo's spine. He turned to run, but an anger welled up in someone else. Genzo's body was suddenly thrown back to the side. When people realized who struck him, everyone was shocked.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" Sango shouted angrily, a venomous hiss infecting her voice as she spoke, one that clearly showed the intent to kill if she did not like Genzo's answer.

"I had no choice!" Genzo yelled, sliding back away from Sango as she raised her hiraikotsu over her head.

"EXPLAIN YOURSELF NOW." Sango shouted more. Inuyasha was soon hiding behind Kagome with Shippo and Miroku was standing stunned. Sango was not one to raise her demon-slaying weapon against a mere mortal, but the utter rage in her eyes left her friends stunned. Sango swung hiraikotsu over her head and slammed it with all her might down at Genzo's side, creating a large indent in the floor.

"I'm sorry!" Genzo curled into the fetal position.

"Please, stop!" a familiar feminine voice rang out and the one it belonged to rushed forward and threw herself over her husband, "It isn't his fault. A demon came to us in the night and said you were on your way back and that if we wanted our village to survive, we had to kill Kagome. We didn't want to, but he threatened our children! Please, don't kill my husband! He has been destroying himself over this since we had to make the decision to protect our family. We would never want to hurt any of you. You've been so good to us, but we cannot risk the lives of our people or our children."

Sango had hiraikotsu lifted above her head as Akane explained the situation. Miroku closed his eyes and let the decision fall with Sango. Inuyasha was still hiding with Shippo and Kagome had fallen silent, unsure of what to say. Normally, they'd never want to harm someone like this, but…

Sango let a tear fall down her face, her eyes quickly turning red as she tried to hold them back. She lowered her hiraikotsu and then let it fall to the floor. She fell to her knees and put her hands over her eyes, crying into them. Miroku placed a hand on Sango's shoulder and released a tense breath.

"In our recent weeks, we've been going through something that feels impossible to overcome and the woman you attempted to kill today has received the worst of it all." Miroku began, his eyes closed and his hands shaking, "W-We… We're t-trying… to be strong, b-but…" Miroku choked on his words, the weight of tears threatening to fall becoming too much and finally they released. His face was soaked, droplets of pure sorrow sliding down his cheeks without the normal filter he had. Miroku was never one to cry and no one in the group could think of a time that it happened. He was the strongest of them all.

They all watched him struggle to retake control of his demeanor, but he wasn't able to. Kagome couldn't keep watching. It was the attack on her that brought these tears to Miroku's eyes and that was too much to deal with. She clenched her jaw, shut her eyes, and lowered faced the floor so her hair would block anyone from seeing the tears she allowed to fall.

Sango turned her head upwards to watch Miroku cry while trying to comfort her and explain the situation without saying too much. Seeing him break helped her calm down, but only for his sake. She tried to think of a way to help him feel better, but in this moment, his tears spoke for all of them.

"We need to go." Inuyasha spoke up quietly and stood up.

Inuyasha motioned to Kilala, who understood what he wanted. The small feline demon ran up to Miroku and Sango, nuzzling against them before she transformed. Kilala motioned for them to get on and took Sango, Miroku, and Shippo away from the village quickly. Shippo tried to stay, but Inuyasha made him go. Kagome stayed behind, but didn't move a muscle as Inuyasha interrogated the village about what the demon looked like. He received his description and did not like what he heard.

"Long white hair?" Inuyasha said just loud enough that Kagome heard it.

Kagome's attention quickly went to the conversation Inuyasha was having. Her heart began to race almost as fast as her mind. Sesshomaru did this? He wanted her dead? Why not just kill her himself? Why would he threaten a human village? Wasn't that beneath him? Maybe not… You'd think rape was beneath Sesshomaru, but he went on and did that too. Even if he was out of his mind at the time, it was done.

"Did this demon have markings on his face as well? A moon or stripes?" Inuyasha asked, eyes narrowed.

"No, he did not. His face was plain and he wore clothes the color of the night sky." Genzo explained and both Inuyasha and Kagome's fears fell. For Sesshomaru to take such an action, Inuyasha would never have stopped until his brother was dead and Kagome wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

"Alright, thanks." Inuyasha turned away, but Genzo called out desperately.

"What about us? We didn't do as he said, so he'll slaughter us all." Genzo reminded them. Inuyasha looked around at the terrified villagers and then back to Kagome, who just gave him a pitiful look.

"Uh…" Inuyasha scratched his cheek and smiled when he got an idea, "Just tell him we didn't come by land. We flew overhead on Kilala and rushed right passed you."

"I don't think that will help. He's an evil demon. He'll still kill us." Akane said sadly.

"Tell him you killed me a mile passed the village. We'll even spill some of my blood around there so there is some evidence." Kagome suddenly came up with, "He'll have to confirm my death on his own and the only way is by going to Kaede's village. We'll set up a fake funeral and lure him in."

"Nice idea, Kagome." Inuyasha said and nodded to Genzo, "Do that."

The answer given was one that left worries, but was still better than nothing. Inuyasha picked Kagome up into his arms and carried her off toward the rest of the groups scent. When the two arrived with the rest, Sango and Miroku were sitting down, leaning against the Sacred Tree. Miroku's eyes were bloodshot from crying, but he had been able to stop. Shippo sat a few feet away from them, the melancholy young demon not saying anything and looking defeated. Kilala was her normal self, curling up in Sango's lap. Sango was still fighting tears every now and then, but kept trying to hold onto them.

Kagome was set on her feet. She looked at her friends and her heart sank. She didn't realize how much this impacted them too. She had been hurt badly and they were just as upset as she was. It was strange to her because they were so positive and supportive about it. They only let her see the strong sides of them. Sango cried with her and reassured Kagome she was the same woman she always was.

"I didn't know." Kagome spoke up to break the silence, "And I don't understand it…"

There was only silence and that caused her heart to race and pressure to build up in her eyes.

"We love you, Kagome." Miroku said sincerely, catching everyone off guard with the distraught sound of his voice, "And someone we love was hurt terribly and we weren't there. Then… your scream." Miroku said 'your scream' in a way that made him want to vomit. He even heaved as he recalled Naraku's attack on the village a few weeks ago. "We couldn't get to you. If Ses-…" he stopped, "Then at the sea you almost drowned and today you were shot. Sango got so mad that she raised her weapon to a human with the intention to to kill him. One wrong word, I'm sure she would have… and I was going to let her."

Sango suddenly began sobbing. She curled her knees to her chest and cried, trying to be quieter.

"I doubt you would've le-…" Kagome started.

"Kagome." Miroku interrupted, looked her straight in the eyes and nodded, "I would have let her. It didn't even come to my mind to stop her from doing it. If she hadn't stepped between me and Genzo, I'm afraid it would have been me. The number of times you have been in danger recently and none of us could do anything about it angers me. It… also… terrifies me. No, it terrifies all of us. Knowing you are currently without your powers only makes it worse. We can't imagine our lives without you."

"Miroku, I've almost died many times here." Kagome said and sat in front of him and Sango, "The Dark Priestess Tsubaki, the Band of Seven, Kanna sucking out my soul…"

"Your soul." Inuyasha spoke up suddenly and everyone looked to him, "I have an idea."

"What, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked at the sudden change in subject.

"Kikyo." Inuyasha said and everyone but Kagome shot him a dark look that caused him to withdraw a moment, but he soon calmed down, "Kikyo holds part of your soul and is a priestess. If anyone can give you advice on your powers, it would be her, wouldn't it? If we, and I mean all of us, went to find her, maybe she can do something to help you recover them."

"I don't want Kikyo knowing anything about what happened to me." Kagome spat in irritation.

"We don't have to tell her exactly what happened, but she's smart enough she may figure it out on her own…" Inuyasha rubbed the back of his head, "Sorry, I thought it'd work."

"No, I agree." Miroku's demeanor strengthened, "Kikyo is a wise woman. We need to speak with her."

"But…" Kagome began, obviously apprehensive about the idea.

"Kagome, she is the one person that can answer our questions." Miroku said and seemed a little excited about the idea, which did not go unnoticed.

Kagome and Sango looked to each other, but Sango showed little reaction toward any of this. Sango shook her head and shrugged, implying she really didn't know and that it was up to Kagome. Kagome thought on how devastated Sango was at all of this and decided Miroku's idea may be best. If Miroku was so confident that he would push to go see Kikyo of all people, then that's what they needed to do.

"Alright, fine." Kagome raised her hands in defeat and stood up, "Let's go find her, but I don't want to start tonight. The bleeding stopped, but my shoulder still hurts. Let's get back to Kaede and have her tend to it. We'll get some rest and then be off, okay? I'm not rushing this."

"We understand, Kagome." Sango forced up a smile and stood next to her friend.

The two of them had already discussed this. Kagome did not need to rush her recovery and Sango was happy to see that she was taking that to heart. Even if Miroku was oddly excited about speaking with Kikyo, there was no way Sango was going to push Kagome.

With that settled, the group made their way back to Kaede's village and told the old woman of their travels as she bandaged Kagome's shoulder. Kaede was used to hearing these stories, but it wasn't often that Kagome seemed to be the main target of such attacks. Who would want Kagome dead?

"And this demon who forced Genzo to set a trap for ye'?" Kaede asked a she finished up.

"Genzo said it was a demon with silver hair," Inuyasha said and all but Kagome gasped in shock, "I know. That was my reaction too, but he went on to say the demon wore dark clothing and had no markings on his face. There is no way that is my brother. Besides, Sesshomaru wouldn't bother with humans."

"What else did you ask?" Miroku asked curiously.

"Nothing, why?" Inuyasha replied.

"Just wondering if there was anything else about the description."

"No, just that."

"No specific weapons or a type of armor?"

"Not from what Genzo said. I guess I should have asked more. I'll head back tomorrow to ask."

"No, don't bother." Miroku waved the idea off, "Genzo would have spilled everything specific about him, especially after Sango frightened him so badly. I'm sure you got it all."

"Yeah, right!" Shippo spoke up with a big smile on his face, "Kaede, you should have seen Sango. She was so mad at Genzo that she crushed the ground and made a big crater. Genzo was so scared I thought he was going to pee his pants and even Inuyasha was hiding behind Kagome. Haha."

"I see. Hahaha." Kaede chuckled at the image Shippo gave.

"At the time it was scary," Miroku said when he saw Sango's guilt and nudged her, "But now it's only something to laugh about. I think it helped us get a lot out and proved how much we all care for Kagome. As I said, I was ready to kill him myself and that's unusual. Sango and I were just so angry that, once again, we could not protect Kagome from being harmed, but what made this worse was it was someone we trusted betraying us and luring us into a trap. He's lucky his reasons were understood."

"So, when do we set up this funeral you told Genzo about?" Sango asked.

"Oh no. We should do that immediately." Kagome said and quickly began looking through her bag. She pulled out an empty water bottle and cut her hand open with an arrow from her quiver.

"Kagome?" Sango said in shock.

"It's okay." Kagome said as she let the blood drop into the bottle and then gave it to Inuyasha, "Put this on the road. If we're going to lure him in, it has to be now. He may be checking their story as we speak."

"Right." Inuyasha took the bottle, his face unhappily distorted.

"What's wrong?"

"I hate the smell of your blood." He said and walked out of the hut.

Kagome was not sure what he meant by that, but the others got it, even Shippo. She looked at her hand and smelled it, wondering if there was something wrong with it.

"When you're bleeding, you're hurt. He hates that you're hurt." Shippo explained very clearly.

"Oh." Was all Kagome said in reply as she looked to the door, a small smile on her face, "That's nice."

.

.

The village was very quiet once the sun went down. Everyone was instructed to stay safely in their huts or at least near them to prevent them from being drawn into the possible battle coming up. The air was nice and cool, allowing the group some comfort as they waited in Kaede's hut with the campfire out. They were anxious now, hoping that this demon that trapped Kagome at Genzo's village would show himself sometime soon and they could release their rage on him a thousand-fold.

The only one that could relax was Shippo, who slept quietly and used Kilala as a pillow. Sango had not let go of her weapon for a moment and sometimes gripped it so tightly in anticipation that Miroku put a hand on her shoulder to reassure her. Miroku leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, his staff laying between his arm and chest as he tried to sense any incoming danger. Inuyasha's senses were on high alert, his ears twitching at any sound. He often took deep inhales through his nose, trying to catch any new scent on the breeze. Kagome was covered in a blanket, waiting as patiently as she could.

No one said a word. They were too tense to truly relax. The trees outside rustled. Even Sango and Miroku could hear the cat meowing up the stone stairs next to Kaede's hut. Inuyasha took in another deep breath and his eyes shot toward the door. Sango took that at time to move and got to her feet, but Inuyasha held his hand out to stop her. She waited, wanting nothing more than to rush out and fight.

"It's… my brother's scent. Why is he here?" Inuyasha whispered and looked to the group. They all looked just as confused as he was, except for Miroku, who looked absolutely livid. Inuyasha saw the enraged expression on Miroku's face and blinked. "Miroku?"

"What?" Miroku asked, his tone harsher than he meant.

"Uh…" Inuyasha raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I'm fine, just annoyed that he's around again." Miroku explained, rolling his eyes.

"Looked like more than annoyance." Inuyasha replied and then he caught another scent and quickly stood up, "There's another demon out there. It's him. It has to be."

Inuyasha and Sango rushed out of the hut without another word. Miroku stood and soon ran out of the hut as well. However, when he exited, he ran off a different direction.

"Miroku, he's this way!" Sango called out to him, but was ignored. She thought to run after Miroku, but after what this demon did to Kagome, her mind kept her priorities on protecting her friend.

Sango and Inuyasha hurried off toward the demon he smelled. As they arrived, Sango took no time to waste and threw hiraikotsu as hard as she could. The weapon was meant to cut the demon in half, but he leaned back and it flew right over him instead. When the two took the time to look at their opponent, he didn't match the description of the demon who threatened Genzo at all. This demon stood almost seven-foot-tall, was a humanoid in bodily structure, and had long static-like blond hair that floated with the power of the demon aura he was releasing. The very ground beneath this demon was powered with bright yellow electricity firing in random directions.

"Wh-Who is he?" Sango asked, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck stand.

"I don't know. I've never met him before." Inuyasha said, watching this terrifying demon continue its approach. That demonic aura was overwhelming for Sango and even intimidated Inuyasha. The two stood their ground, but not without a few natural reservations.

"Inuyasha…" Sango stuttered some.

"Yeah?" he replied, glancing to her for but a moment and returned his gaze to their opponent.

The demon just kept walking at them with bright blue pupil-less eyes and this horrifying expression of psychotic levels of excitement that could pierce the souls of anyone weaker than those standing before him. His hands stretched and claws similar to Inuyasha's extended outwards.

"This is bad." Sango said, her voice trembling.