If the Roles Were Reversed

by Glon Morski

I: Until he fell down the well and 500 years into the past, Inuyasha didn't believe in legends. His beliefs were challenged when he found himself in a world in which said legends are reality. Problem? He wants to leave that world behind, while it is unwilling to let him go. And so he begins a search for a substitute for a duty, aided by Kagome, his slef-proclaimed hanyo protector.

35. Yokai no Shiro

Well, here is the 35th chapter. I'm sorry for the slight delay (since I usually update on the weekend), but my muse decided to leave me for a while and I thought it was better to make you all wait a few additional days than to force myself to write and give you a chapter that's only worth crap. Hope you can forgive me.

Don't you all worry, though, despite the slight writer's block I had, ideas for this story are still flowing nicely, so even if I go on hiatus for a while (because of writer's block or life getting hectic), you needn't worry about me dropping this story. That'll never happen, until I finish it :D That's a promise :)

Alright, enough of my lengthy talking, on with the chapter :D

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ANONYMOUS REVIEWERS:

Raiukage: Sorry, I'm too lazy to do a PM this time. I'll stick with those when you start giving signed reviews LOL Anyway, thanks for pointing out the word-mix-up. It's fixed already… normally… unless my memory is playing tricks on me. And if it's not, I'll correct it soon :) Hope you'll like the chapter and thanks for the review :3

inufan123: You mean Ayame? Well, she was a so-called filler-character (meaning she didn't exist in the manga), so I'm not quite sure if she'll even be in this story to be honest. For the moment, I don't think she will, because if she does, it implies major love-squares as she's doomed to be jealous of Kagome – because I definitely wouldn't have her falling for Inuyasha. So yeah, don't expect too much in that regard, she probably won't show, or will only once the triangle between Kōga, Kagome and Inuyasha is resolved. Which won't happen for QUITE a while, as I haven't even gotten really started on it, ne ;) Hope you enjoy the chapter :3

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Tracks for this chapter:

Tackey&Tsubasa: Samurai

Standard disclaimer and reader's key apply.

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Chapter 35 – Yōkai no Shiro

If anyone saw the group walking through the forest, they never would have suspected they were actually following someone. They weren't trying to be stealthy, nor did they try to keep out of anyone's sight. In fact, the group of one hanyō and two spiritualists (along with one kitsune-kit) looker rather like they were out for a stroll, as ridiculous as that sounded.

Despite appearances, however, they were following someone. Or at least, they had been up until that point. Blinking, Kagome stopped suddenly in her tracks, her ears twitching madly on her head as she tried to catch a sound from up ahead, but to no avail. She frowned.

"I don't like this," she muttered under her breath as she started walking again, faster this time. The two spiritualists behind her were forced to almost trot behind her to keep up.

"Oi, Kagome, what's up all of a sudden?" Inuyasha called after her when he came to her side. He was once again starting to think that following the group of taijiya had been a waste of their time, since for the last hour or so, nothing seemed wrong. Kagome had insisted to continue following them, though, and Miroku had supported that decision, so Inuyasha had been outnumbered. It seemed now, however, that following the slayers hadn't been a bad idea.

"Nothing, and that's what worries me," the hanyō replied, her ears once again twitching on her head while she scrunched up her nose in an attempt to catch a scent trail.

"What do you mean by 'nothing'?"

"Exactly what I said," she huffed. "I can't hear them anymore. Their scent is rapidly fading, too, carried away by the wind. It's like they evaporated or something," she said, her eyes narrowing. She slowed down once again and finally stopped, only to crouch down on the ground and sniff the dirt. Her frown deepened. "I definitely didn't lose their scent trail. They've passed through here, so it can't be that I lost them sooner and only now realized it," she affirmed when she stood back up.

"They couldn't just vanish into thin air, though, so where did they go?" Inuyasha asked, now getting a feeling of wrongness himself. Kagome and Miroku had both been right, there was something amiss. The question was: what was it and how were they supposed to get to the bottom of it?

"The fastest way to find out is to get where they were headed," Miroku said, a frown marring his features as well. "And I believe we should make haste."

"That's one thing we can agree on," Kagome nodded. "Come on."

Without so much as a backward glance to make sure her companions followed her, Kagome broke into a run. She didn't need to make sure the other two followed her to make sure they did, though, they were far too used to the half-demon randomly speeding off to lose time to stare after her.

They arrived at the very place where the group of taijiya vanished soon enough. Being at the head of the group, Kagome was the first to find out just why she thought they had vanished into thin air – the hard way.

"Oof," she grunted as she suddenly ran into something akin to a solid wall, the sudden stop throwing her off balance and onto her back. 'What the hell…' she thought as she sat up, shaking her head slightly to shake off the slight burning feeling. Standing up swiftly and glaring at the wall that surely shouldn't be there, Kagome was surprised to see that there wasn't any wall at all. She blinked, then frowned again before trying to advance with one hand held in front of her. She didn't even take two steps before her hand came into contact with something and she backed off, biting back a startled yelp as the air in front of her burned her head.

"It would seem it is a barrier," Miroku said calmly, approaching the invisible wall as well and reaching out a hand to touch it. The reaction was the same, even if more vicious than when Kagome ran into it. The houshi frowned. "One erected by a demon, at that."

"That's why the taijiya seemed to disappear," Kagome said. "They went through and I can't hear or smell anything beyond this point – beyond this barrier. But if it was a yōkai that made the barrier to begin with…"

"…then why would it allow demon slayers to pass through?" Inuyasha finished for her, easily realizing what the half-demon was implying. "It doesn't make sense…"

"Maybe the slayers had something that allowed them to make a dent in the barrier and pass through?" Shippō offered naïvely. Kagome shook her head.

"I don't think taijiya have something like that in their arsenal. They usually wouldn't need it," she said.

"Why not?" Inuyasha asked, blinking.

"Because low-level yōkai aren't capable, or even intelligent enough, to erect a barrier," Miroku replied. "Only stronger demons are capable of such a feat. Demons like Kagome-sama's brother, who are able to take on a human form. Taijiya avoid exterminating such yōkai. Trained as they are, they can't hope to defeat demons of this strength. Even spiritualists of the strongest kind have trouble dealing with them."

"Which means the slayers have been led into a trap," Kagome concluded. "They believe they're up against a demon like they usually deal with. They probably weren't even aware of the barrier, or maybe it went up only after they reached this point. At any rate, I'm quite sure that all that awaits them at Saru castle is death."

Inuyasha didn't even need to ask why some demon would bother trapping a group of demon slayers. Their line of work was enough explanation for demons to kill them, after all. The black haired kannushi scowled.

"Why don't we just break this barrier, then? I mean, we have to get through somehow in order to catch up and warn the taijiya," he said and, to emphasize his point, stepped closer to the invisible wall of youki with one hand extended towards it. He hoped that in coming into contact with it, he could somehow find that internal door within himself and use his power against it – maybe it would do something. All that happened, however, was the youki reacting against his touch, effectively forcing him to back off with a startled yelp.

"Quit that, idiot, or you'll get your hands burned off," Kagome scolded, though she spared a worried glance at the teen as he vigorously shook his hand in an attempt to minimize the sting. Biting her lip, Kagome slowly turned towards the barrier and unsheathed Tessaiga, the great fang shining brightly as it reflected the sunlight. Taking a deep breath, Kagome raised the sword over her head, holding it with both hands.

"Here goes nothing," she muttered under her breath before swinging down with all her might. The blade fell heavily against the barrier and for a moment, the two youki battled it out before Tessaiga slid off the barrier's surface, leaving not even a mark in its wake. Frowning, Kagome sheathed her sword. "So much for that idea," she scowled.

"What? You just give up after one try?" Shippō asked in disbelief, an emotion that reflected itself on Inuyasha's face as well. The hanyō-girl shrugged.

"Just beating senselessly against this barrier won't help. I can slash at this wall of youki all I want, Tessaiga wouldn't even leave a scratch on it. The only way to get rid of this thing would be to purify it," she replied, glancing meaningfully at the better of the two spiritualists in their group. Miroku nodded solemnly.

"I shall see what I can do," the monk replied, stepping closer to the barrier, his grip on his shakujō tightening slightly. Inuyasha scoffed inwardly.

'Keh! I'd like to see ya breaking it, Miroku. Spiritual energy doesn't work on it if my attempt is anything to go by. Even Kagome's inhuman strength wasn't enough to force that barrier to yield, so what makes you think you can break through, idiot?' he couldn't help but think, eyeing the monk curiously.

When he was close enough to the barrier, Miroku raised his staff in preparation for a strike and Kagome wisely backed off. She barely took three steps away from the monk when the blunt end of the metal rod that Miroku's shakujō was made of was brutally forced down, clashing against the barrier.

However, contrary to what Inuyasha expected, the monk hadn't been thrown off by the wall of youki, but stood his ground as the demonic energy became visible in the form of slight lightning bolts – an attempt to scare the houshi away, more than anything else, since they weren't big enough to actually reach him.

But Miroku didn't back off. If anything, he tried to break through even harder. And to Inuyasha's great surprise, his efforts seemed to be rewarded as suddenly, the shakujō fell towards the ground, as if it had broken through something. With the sudden loss of resistance, Miroku stumbled forward before regaining his balance, then took a step back, extracting his shakujō from what seemed to be a small hole in the barrier. That was all it was, however – a small hole, hardly big enough to even force a hand through. Miroku scowled, then raised his weapon again and struck the barrier, this time with the upper part, the rings jingling madly as the youki of the barrier warred with the houshi's spiritual energy. Eventually, a cracking sound was heard before Miroku was forced to back off, apparently overpowered by the barriers youki.

Taking back a few steps to avoid falling, Miroku narrowed his eyes at the barrier, annoyance visible on his face to anyone who knew him. With a sigh, he reached into his robes for an o-fuda. He held it in his fingers for a few moments, chanting something under his breath that Inuyasha didn't care to understand, then threw the little paper at the cracked spot on the invisible wall. Inuyasha raised a brow.

'Looks like someone's unwilling to admit defeat,' he commented drily in his thoughts. He didn't expect much of a result from this last, seemingly desperate attempt. Of course, he was aware that Miroku's o-fuda were infused with his spiritual energy, but he still didn't think it would do much. If the monk's staff was useless, what could a mere paper do?

But to the kannushi's great astonishment, the 'flimsy paper' proved to be more powerful that he expected and in the next moment, a furious battle between the monk's houriki and the barrier's youki was visible in the form of small lightning bolts. It ended soon enough, with the o-fuda erupting into blue flames which melted the barrier, causing Inuyasha to stare wide-eyed. The monk had actually broken through.

Or at least, that's what it had looked like for all of five seconds before in a flare of youki, the hole was covered as if it never even existed. Miroku sighed.

"It would seem my powers are not enough to do more than a dent," he confessed, visibly irritated by the fact. Kagome frowned.

"Doing a dent is impressive enough, houshi, as I'm sure you're aware after that little skirmish," she said through gritted teeth, slowly getting agitated. The situation the taijiya had found themselves in looked more and more dangerous the longer they stood there. If they didn't break through that wall in front of them, then the slayers wouldn't live to see another day, plain and simple.

"Indeed," Miroku said in a grave tone. "But that only assures me that the taijiya are in more danger than they can possibly realize," he added, affirming what Kagome also thought. They had to get to that group, or they would all die. The problem was, they couldn't get to them because of the wall of youki in front of them.

"How can making a dent be impressive in any way? We still can't get through the barrier, so what good is a fucking dent in it?" Inuyasha asked, slowly getting irritated.

"It's impressive because it's no normal barrier. It's a goddamned shouheki – a barrier meant specifically to keep certain people out while allowing others through(1)," Kagome replied, her fists clenching at her sides. If she had had any doubts about this situation being suspicious, they were gone now.

"So, what of it? It's still a barrier and it's still in our way," Inuyasha grumbled, failing to see her point. The half-demon sighed.

"A normal barrier is used to protect yourself and others within it. It doesn't let anything or anyone through. In some cases, you can even make sure no one sees, smells or hears you. It's like you're not there. A shouheki, on the other hand, lets people you want to get through pass and keeps everyone else out, while ensuring you can't track anyone inside it, or that it's even there unless you collide with it. It's a lot more complex to make. Demons able to create one are rare.

"Because it's so complex, you need a whole lot more power to make it than just a little protective barrier. And since you use a whole lot of power to make it, it's a whole lot harder to break through one," Kagome explained. 'In fact, as far as I know, it's virtually impossible to break through a shouheki unless you're inside and kill the demon who erected it,' she added in her thoughts.

"But then, how are we gonna get through?" Shippō asked with wide eyes. Kagome shrugged.

"Looks like we won't," she said, although the fact that she was not happy about it was more than easy to read from her expression. With a shake of her head, she turned on her heel and was about to walk off when Inuyasha stopped her.

"Wait, Kagome."

"What is it?" she asked, her irritation leaking into her voice. But for once, Inuyasha seemed not to mind it, his eyes focused intently on the shouheki – or rather where the shouheki was supposed to be, considering it wasn't visible.

"Just now, when you and Miroku tried to break it, the youki flared, so I could sense it a little better," Inuyasha said without turning his head, still focused intently on the now almost impossible to sense wall of youki. "And… it felt kinda familiar."

Kagome snorted – a reaction Inuyasha definitely didn't expect and he whirled around to glare at her, but didn't say anything as the hanyō-girl was faster to speak.

"Of course it felt familiar, baka. Ain't the first time you sensed demonic energy."

"That's not what I meant, wench. I meant that I felt this kind of youki before," Inuyasha barked back in irritation. Kagome blinked.

"This… kind of youki?" she repeated, staring at him strangely. Inuyasha fought the urge to squirm under her incredulous gaze.

"Yeah," he said slowly. "What's so weird about that?"

Kagome glanced at Miroku questioningly, but the monk didn't seem to be any less surprised than her. Her eyes moved back to Inuyasha, who was now the center of attention of the silent group. He glared at the half-demon and then the monk, feeling positively uncomfortable.

"What?" he finally bit out, breaking the silence.

"Inuyasha… are you saying you can distinguish two different demons from one another by the feel of their youki?" Miroku finally asked, his expression calm, if slightly curious. Inuyasha frowned.

"Well, yeah. What else did you think I was talking about?" he finally asked, effectively causing Kagome to stare at him in disbelief and surprise. He didn't notice, though, too focused on the monk who spoke to him. A houshi who was now silent as death.

'Distinguish yōkai from one another by the feel of their youki?' Kagome repeated in her thoughts, her mind barely able to comprehend such a notion. 'How can he… even Kikyo wasn't able to do that! No spiritualist I ever heard of was capable of such a thing. Youki is youki. End of story. It's not like scents, it's the same for every yōkai… isn't it?' Kagome wondered, glancing at Miroku out of the corner of her eye. But from the monk's reaction, it was more than obvious he was just as surprised as her.

"So, what does that mean? That we've met the yōkai who made this shouheki before?" Shippō asked, completely unaware of the gravity of the discovery that had just been made.

"I think so… But I'm not sure. I'd need to get another feel of the youki this thing's made of," Inuyasha responded as he walked slowly towards the invisible wall, bracing himself for the reaction he knew was coming. His actions effectively broke Kagome out of her stupor.

"Idiot, don't, you're going to get…" she started, but it was already too late – Inuyasha had already pressed his hand against the shouheki, trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling that came with the youki trying to push him back.

What should have happened next was exactly what had happened before. Inuyasha should have gotten burned. He should have been blown back by the shouheki. He should have landed on his back at Kagome's feet.

However, what should have happened wasn't exactly what had happened.

The moment Inuyasha's hand touched the wall of youki, he felt something within himself break like he had multiple times already. He was flooded with the by then familiar warmth filling his body in an instant. Then, there was an explosion of turquoise-blue light and the sound akin to the one when you throw a cold fish on a heated frying pan, followed by the sound of shattering glass. The light died out and Inuyasha realized his hand was touching nothing but air, while in front of him, thousands of pieces of what looked like perfectly translucent glass fell to the ground and disappeared like they've never been there.

Behind him, Kagome couldn't stop herself from gawking. Miroku's expression was only slightly more controlled, although his astonishment was also clear as day. In light of what had just happened, however, it was understandable.

Inuyasha had broken the shouheki. Shattered it like it was nothing, actually.

"What the… I didn't even push or anything. I was just trying to feel it better," Inuyasha muttered under his breath. Kagome's ears twitched to catch the sound as she slowly approached, forcing the absolutely baffled expression off her face.

"The physical strength you put behind the blow hardly matters. It's your reiki that decides if you can shatter a barrier or not," she said softly, forcing herself to seemingly stare straight ahead, although she was glancing at the black haired teen out of the corner of her eye. 'You broke Kikyo's spell that bound me to the Goshinboku like it was nothing. You can tell yōkai apart just by feeling their youki… you shattered a shouheki like it was a flimsy barrier made by a miko-trainee who didn't know what she was doing…' she thought, barely able to stop herself from letting her astonishment show. Not to mention her slight fear. 'Inuyasha… just how strong are you?' she couldn't help but wonder, fighting off a shudder. That display of power would be frightening to any demon and she was no different.

Of course, she wasn't afraid of Inuyasha using that power against her. She knew and trusted him enough to know he wouldn't attack her on purpose.

But she couldn't exactly trust him not to hurt her with strength he could not control even the slightest bit.

Her thoughts on the matter came to a screeching halt, however, when a sudden gust of wind brought the slayers' scent to her nose from behind the no-longer-existing shouheki. But the scent of the slayers wasn't the only scent that reached her nose then – with it came a very familiar stench that had her blood boiling in a second flat.

"Naraku," she growled under her breath, confirming their previous thoughts that they had indeed met the demon before. "Let's go," she said louder to her two companions and broke into a run. The two spiritualists ran after her, easily keeping up since she didn't go as fast as she could have. The thought came to her, however, that with how much time they've lost trying to break the shouheki, they couldn't exactly stroll towards where the slayers (and by extension Naraku) were. At least not if they wanted to prevent bloodshed.

"You were right, we did meet that yōkai before. It's Naraku," She said, wanting to make sure both Inuyasha and Miroku were aware just whose trap the taijiya were about to fall into. At the mere sound of the name, Miroku scowled and sped up without a word. The other two accommodated to the faster tempo easily. Still, if Kagome could go on ahead, she'd be even faster, and something told her that every second counted right this instant.

She wasn't exactly certain if leaving Inuyasha behind to take care of himself was a good idea, though. Sure, he was getting stronger, but she still preferred it if he was in her line of sight during a fight. But then again, carrying one person wouldn't exactly slow her down. Carrying two would get uncomfortable, though.

"Miroku-sama," she finally said and the monk glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, his glance telling her he was listening. "Inuyasha and I will go on ahead. It'll be faster that way. I don't want to take any chances. You'll catch up as fast as you can, alright?" she asked. Miroku easily understood what she meant, so he merely nodded briskly.

"I'll see you there, Kagome-sama," was all he replied.

"Oi, how do you expect the two of us to be faster than the monk? He and I run with the same speed," Inuyasha asked between sharp intakes of breath. Kagome didn't answer. Instead, she sped up so that she was in front of him, then abruptly stopped. Unprepared for such a maneuver, Inuyasha had absolutely no time to stop or evade her and instead ran straight into her back. But Kagome was expecting this and used his momentum to propel him up and get him comfortably on her back, her hands gripping his legs so he wouldn't slide of while his hands reflexively circled around her shoulders.

"H-hey! Put me down, I can run on my own!"

"Shut it. It'll be faster that way. It's either that or I leave you with Miroku-sama, your choice," Kagome replied as she broke into a light trot, easily catching up to Miroku again. Inuyasha huffed in annoyance, but didn't get another chance to complain as Kagome turned to Miroku.

"Miroku-sama," she said, almost too quietly for Inuyasha to hear. "Once you catch up, if the situation calls for it, act as if you don't know me," she commanded softly, waiting for Miroku to nod solemnly in acceptance before leaping off.

Whatever Inuyasha had wanted to ask her about that weird request she had just made, the thought flew out the proverbial window that very instance.

The last two times when Kagome had carried him on his back, he hadn't really taken the time to take notice of just how fast she could run – the first time because he had been in too much pain to care and the second, because he was too focused on what had been about to happen. Meaning the upcoming encounter with her brother to fight for Tessaiga.

Which was why her sudden burst of speed stunned him speechless. The wind whipped past him, sending his hair flying behind him almost like a cape, and the trees turned into nothing more but dizzying blurs of green and brown. For all the speed she ran with, however, Inuyasha barely felt any movement from the hanyō below him. He felt more like he was flying than being carried on someone's back on a piggyback ride.

He had to admit it wasn't a sensation he didn't enjoy. He had never felt something quite like that ever before. And to be frank, he didn't really want this to be the last time he did, either.

With a soft sigh, Inuyasha allowed the wind whipping past him to carry his pride away if only for a little while and leaned a bit more against Kagome's back comfortably, not failing to notice that for all the cold wind trying to chill him (or it felt chilly due to Kagome's speed, anyway, since the day in itself was anything but), Kagome's back was pleasantly warm.

He wasn't allowed to enjoy the ride for long, though. Soon enough, the wind stopped, indicating that Kagome had come to a halt. Opening his eyes, Inuyasha quickly realized why – they had arrived at the castle where the slayers were. Or, more accurately, they had arrived at the roof of one of the walls surrounding the castle, allowing them to see the entrance to the palace itself. The black haired priest had to wonder just when Kagome leapt into the air so that they landed on a roof, because he really hadn't noticed such a movement from her as she ran.

Before the entrance to the shiro stood a small group of people, mostly guards from what Inuyasha could tell, although one of them was dressed differently. The black haired priest figured it was the lord of the castle, although something about that lord seemed wrong to Inuyasha. He figured out surprisingly easily what it was, too.

"Yōkai," he whispered, causing Kagome's ears to twitch. "That lord is a yōkai."

"Great, just what we needed. As if the situation wasn't complicated enough," Kagome grumbled under her breath in response, her eyes focused on something else entirely. "I hope that she, at least, won't die," she added quietly. 'This is a very dangerous yet delicate situation and not much can be done about it. And there's even less possibility to interfere with it. Damn…' Kagome thought angrily, forcing herself to remain rooted to her spot and not jump into the fray just yet. She needed a plan first.

Too bad she didn't really have the time to think of one considering how things were progressing.

"She?" Inuyasha repeated, turning his head to follow Kagome's line of sight, only now seeing the true horror of the situation.

A carcass of a gigantic spider-demon was there, lying on the ground in a pool of blood. It's head was crushed and the legs lay bent haphazardly every which way. It was surrounded by many more bodies, most of them missing their heads, covering the earth crimson. But those were definitely human. In fact, it was the group of demon slayers whom Inuyasha had seen alive not long ago.

That was then and this was now, however. And now, they were all dead. All save for two, the girl and the child, who were facing each other.

"Kohaku!" the girl called, her voice betraying what her expression, hidden behind her gas mask, could not – surprise and disbelief mostly. "Why did you do that to chichi-ue and the others?"

'What the… the kid killed them?' Inuyasha thought, barely able to hear the words from where he was on the roof - or rather on Kagome's back on the roof, since he had yet to think about getting off of her, though Kagome wasn't complaining. She was actually glad he was too preoccupied with what he was seeing to notice his current position for now, because she knew that when she knew what to do, the first thing would be to get them off the roof and the kannushi couldn't very well just jump down the wall and hope not to get hurt. He was only human after all.

"Stop it, Kohaku!" the girl's voice reached their ears again, causing Kagome to focus on what was happening instead of thinking how to best approach the situation again. Kohaku didn't respond to the female slayer at all. Instead, he attacked without a word, running at her with his weapon raised, ready to use it. It was a chain-sickle and the boy was quick to show he knew very well how to handle it best. The blade flew through the air and nearly hit its target. It was sheer luck that the girl evaded the blow by falling to her knees and leaning her head to the side while she was at it, allowing the miniature scythe-like blade to do nothing more than slice her mask off, revealing her face – though Inuyasha couldn't see much of it. The maneuver, it seemed, was due to surprise at being attacked at all than anything else, though.

"You… don't you recognize me?" the girl called again, although Kohaku remained unresponsive.

"Hey… hey, taijiya!"

"What on earth…?"

Kagome's ears twitched as she heard the surprised murmurs and calls of the guards. What really made her blood boil, however, was the lord's following words.

"This is an interesting show. Leave them alone," he said, causing Kagome to growl softly. If she had had any doubts that the lord was indeed yōkai like Inuyasha said, they would be nonexistent now. Not that she doubted Inuyasha's words, but Naraku's stench was so strong in the area that it was hard for her to catch any other scent, except the tayjiya's blood.

"If they're both slayers and know each other… why would he attack and kill them?" Inuyasha asked quietly as he watched Kohaku throw his weapon at the girl again. In response, she reached for the wakizashi at her waist and used it to deflect the blow. The attempt was only half-effective, though, as the chain wrapped itself around the blade, forcing the sword to follow the chain's movements and leaving the girl wide open. Kohaku didn't hesitate and with a skillful tug on the chain directed the blade straight towards the other slayer. She managed just barely to block the blade and proceeded to push the boy back.

"Because he's being controlled," Kagome replied through gritted teeth, a plan finally forming in her mind. Its only flaw was that she couldn't predict when Miroku would catch up, but she hoped it would be soon… and that he would get past the gates that she had refused to approach, opting to use to rooftop instead – a way the monk most definitely wouldn't be able to take.

"Wake up, Kohaku!" the girl yelled again before freezing for all of a second. With a start Kagome realized that the girl had finally figured out that not only was her companion controlled, she also most likely knew who was doing the controlling. And the hanyō's thoughts didn't prove to be wrong.

Throwing the much younger slayer off of her easily, the girl turned around and ran in the opposite direction, straight towards the supposed lord. Kagome cursed under her breath. It was pretty obvious what the female slayer was trying to do, and it was also painfully obvious that she would not succeed. At least not if someone didn't interfere.

"Damn you, yōkai!" the girl called, grabbing a giant boomerang, the one Inuyasha saw her carry before, as she ran and preparing to throw it. She didn't get quite that far, though.

"Gone mad, huh. Kill her," the 'lord' said in a bored tone, waving his hand dismissively.

"Yes, sir!" the guars replied and reacted instantly. Before Inuyasha could blink, the girl had been forced to stop her assault as a few spears flew past her. Most of them merely scratched her. One, however, was thrown with enough precision to hit her in the stomach, though luckily enough, it hit one of the pink additional protectors, most likely saving the girl's life.

The same couldn't be said for the chain-sickle of her companion, however, which flew with deathly precision through the air and struck her in the middle of her back. The boomerang fell out of her hands to the ground and she was quick to follow, her knees hitting the unforgiving ground as hard as her hands as she tried to break her fall.

She glanced over her shoulder at her assailant but didn't say a word, most likely too stunned to say anything. The assailant in question also fell to his knees then, his arms circling around him as he hugged himself as if he were in pain. Then he grabbed for his mask and tore it off before looking up at the girl he had just struck down.

"A… Ane-ue(2)…" he said in a quivering voice, almost too quietly for Inuyasha to hear. From what he heard, however, the kannushi easily deduced that the child was on the verge of crying. Not that it was really surprising, actually. It was what he said, and not how he said it, that made Inuyasha gawk.

'Sister?' he repeated in his thoughts, his brain barely able to comprehend what he had just been indirectly told. 'Those two are… siblings?'

"Ko… haku…" the girl replied just as quietly. In a flash, the boy was on his feet and running towards her with a scream of utter despair.

"ANE-UE!"

He never made it to her. The sound of strings snapping came first. Then the distinct sound of countless arrows cutting through the air. Somewhat startled, Inuyasha looked up just in time to see a myriad of arrows flying straight towards Kohaku. There was no way at least one of them wouldn't hit the target in a vital spot. The boy was doomed.

The arrows were upon Kohaku before Inuyasha could even blink. And then a red clad figure slammed into the boy, causing him to fall to the ground a few feet away and becoming the target of the arrows in his stead. Most of them missed, some slid harmlessly off as if they were nothing more than feathers and the remaining few even broke upon contact. Inuyasha blinked. Then he blinked again. But still, the scene in front of him did not change and Kagome still stood there, a few arrows lying uselessly at her feet.

Letting out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, Inuyasha suddenly noticed that he was no longer on the roof. He was kneeling in the dirt next to the wall he had been on before. He had been so focused on the two taijiya siblings that he hadn't noticed when Kagome had jumped down, much less when she deposited him on the ground. It wasn't like it was important, however. What was important was that she had managed to save that kid… at least from immediate death. All that remained was to figure out how to get the two only living taijiya out of the castle and ensure they stayed alive, too. That was about to get difficult, the black haired kannushi just knew it.

For a minute no one moved. After the arrows hit and slid harmlessly off Kagome's haori, you could hear them hitting the ground, that's how silent it had gotten. From the corner of her eye, the hanyō-girl glanced at the young taijiya-boy. He was unharmed, thankfully, though more or less rightfully terrified. She wasn't surprised. It was a reaction she got often.

Easily determining that Kohaku wouldn't poise her any problems (and himself by extension, even if he didn't know it), Kagome turned her attention forward. Kohaku's sister was still in the same spot and she was staring with wide eyes at Kagome. It was hard to tell the emotions hidden in her gaze, though, but Kagome could see the distinct mix of thankfulness and wariness. Still, with her current injuries, the taijiya-girl probably wouldn't be stupid enough to try and attack. The real problem was behind her at the entrance of the castle, where a stunned group of guards and one pissed off lord-impostor stood or sat respectively. And of course, there was Inuyasha. Kagome prayed he wouldn't do anything stupid. She had a role to play and she needed him not to mess it up for her. Sadly, she could only hope he would not, as she hardly had the time to explain her plan to him.

Then, there was also Miroku. It would be good if the monk could get here sooner rather than later. He was essential for the little play she was about to put on. She couldn't wait for his arrival, though. Time was of essence right now.

"Damn… first a pair of spiritualists and now this. This really isn't my day," she said, just loud enough for the guards and the pretended lord to hear, as well as Inuyasha. The teen in question blinked, staring at Kagome strangely, not understanding what she was playing at in the slightest. She had come here on purpose, so why was she trying to make it look like her being there was accidental?

"A hanyō…" the taijiya-girl said slowly, as if hardly comprehending what she was seeing. "A canine at that..."

"So, that was your plan, wasn't it, taijiya? Slay the demon and take your reward and keep your hanyō nearby in case things go wrong. Or maybe even to finish me and take my castle? And to think I have trusted you with my life and that of my subjects…" the 'lord' started, but was rudely interrupted by none other than the half-demon in question.

"Don't flatter yourself. As if I'd be interested in some low-life's stinking liar. Plus, you must really be dumber than you look if you think I'd be stupid enough to associate myself with slayers. I might be strong, but I'm not stupid enough to take that kind of risk," Kagome said, forcing heat and anger into her voice, not that she had to try very hard. The stench of Naraku surrounding her was enough to make her agitated and angry and the disguised yōkai's words merely added fuel to the proverbial fire. Her mind, however, worked with perfect clarity.

'So far so good. Keep them talking, keep them distracted and hope the houshi gets here and realizes what I'm doing… It's looking good so far… just please, Inuyasha, don't do anything stupid that'd ruin it,' she thought, barely stopping herself from glancing towards the teen in question. For now, the yōkai, his guards and the two slayers were focused solely on her and had yet to see she had brought someone else with her. She intended to keep it that way as long as she possibly could – preferably until Miroku arrived and played along.

"Kill her along with the taijiya," the disguised yōkai said through gritted teeth, obviously angered by her words. Obeying the command with barely a word, the guards readied their weapons and sent them towards Kagome, luckily deciding to forgo aiming for the wounded woman between them, most likely realizing who the greater threat was (or could be if she weren't pretending). With any luck, the taijiya wouldn't get caught in the crossfire, although that was something Kagome couldn't assure.

Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Kagome swung one hand in front of her almost carelessly, effectively breaking through a few arrows and spears while others slid off her fire rat robe once again without leaving a scratch. She snorted and glared at the guards and yōkai in disguise.

"As if that could ever hope to harm me," she said cockily, waving a hand at the pretended lord, beckoning him to come to her. "If you want me dead, you'll have to fight me yourself. Or are you so scared of my claws that you'd hide behind the appearance of a measly human?" she asked the demon. In all honestly, she had hoped a taunt like that would rile the demon up enough to shed its disguise and attack. She was sorely disappointed, however, as the only response she got were more arrows sent her way. Not that they were dangerous to her in any way. But the two taijiya were a different story altogether.

She couldn't very well jump in front of them to make sure they'd be protected, though. It would be too suspicious and would only cost the slayers in the long run.

She couldn't forget about Inuyasha, either. So far, he hadn't done anything that'd damn her plan to hell, but she could only hope he would keep it that way.

Had she spared a glance towards the kannushi, however, she would have known there was nothing to worry about on his end. At first he had been so surprised at the way Kagome was acting that he could only watch what was going on and try to make heads or tails of it. The thought of interfering hadn't even crossed his mind. And once he calmed down and figured he should go help Kagome, Shippō had come seemingly out of nowhere and told him to stay put if he wanted to be of any use. This was all a play, he had said, and Inuyasha had a role to play a few minutes from now.

"I figured that she was pretending. What I don't get is why," Inuyasha said quietly to the kit. In response, the little kitsune snorted.

"Which is why you're not having Miroku's role. Speaking of which, he should enter the play soon."

"And how does he know what role to play? Kagome didn't exactly tell anyone what her plan was," Inuyasha replied, slowly getting agitated. Why did he always have to stay on the sidelines while others were fighting? He was getting sick of it.

"Well, Kagome told him to act as if he didn't know her if the situation called for it. That's enough of an indication, isn't it?" Shippō asked rhetorically before turning his head to watch the 'play' before him unfold. "Won't be long now…"

As if to confirm his words, the distinct sounds or a shakujō's rings could be heard just then. Pretending to be surprised, Kagome turned around, just in time to see said staff coming at her with an o-fuda attached to it. Jumping back, she avoided the staff and it imbedded itself in the ground where she had been standing a moment earlier. Miroku was quick to follow his weapon and mere moments later, he was standing before her with his weapon raised. The half-demon scowled.

"Can't leave me alone, can ya, houshi," she said in a sarcastic tone, well aware that Miroku was merely pretending – just like her. She had to hand it to the houshi, he caught up quickly.

"You shall not get away, hanyō," Miroku replied in a grave tone. Within seconds he was upon her, his staff ready. Kagome evaded each of his mock-attacks easily and threw in some of her own as to not get suspicious, though she didn't draw her sword. That would be taking it too far.

"What exactly are you planning, Kagome-sama?" Miroku asked quietly as they exchanged blows, careful to speak only loud enough for the hanyō to hear or even suspect he had spoken at all. Kagome nodded slightly towards the group of guards at the entrance of the castle.

"Force the lord to show his true face. He's a demon," she whispered back and maneuvered around the monk so that her back was to the 'lord' and his guards. Miroku understood immediately and his next move was exactly what Kagome wanted and expected. She ducked as the monk threw an o-fuda, allowing it to fly above her. It hit the true intended target without fail.

The 'lord' of the castle suddenly yelled in pain as the o-fuda struck him. The reaction was instant and the man was quick to rip the little paper off his face. It was too late by then, though, and his demonic features were exposed for anyone to see. If Inuyasha didn't know any better, he would have thought Kagome and Miroku had practiced that move for hours.

"I'll leave that little scumbag to the two of you. Naraku is inside that castle and I intend to get him," Kagome whispered to Miroku before leaping gracefully over him and 'acting' again. "I shall take my leave here. You could follow me houshi, if that's what you want, but those people could die if you do. Your choice which demon to take care of," she said and leapt towards the rooftop again, disappearing behind it in an instant. Inuyasha stared.

"Did she just… leave?" he asked in bewilderment as he slowly stood up. He didn't understand anything anymore. He wasn't allowed to ponder what was going on for long, however, as just then, the exposed-demon finally showed its true face.

"Damned priest! I'll kill you!" the demon yelled, now enraged beyond any reason, as it shed its human-guise completely and charged at the monk. It was a spider-demon. At least, that's what Inuyasha thought looking at it. It had eight legs, though they looked surprisingly like human limbs, and its head was also that of a human, if one overlooked the out-of-proportion canines that stuck out of its mouth. The only truly spider-like part of its body was the abdomen, which was round and covered in gray hair.

Miroku wasn't fazed by the yōkai's size at all, however. He didn't even respond to its yell. At least not verbally. He did, however, jump into the air and swing his staff down on the demon's head, effectively stunning it.

"Like hell I'm gonna just sit back and watch any longer. I've waited long enough as it is," Inuyasha growled under his breath and reached for his blade. "Shippō, stay here and out of trouble," he commanded, but didn't get a response. Surprised, he looked around, only to realize that the kit was already gone.

Indeed, Shippō had left the moment Kagome pretended to leave the castle and was now perched on the hanyō's shoulder as she slowly crept towards the entrance of the castle. She was careful to stay on the side of the roof invisible to the people in the yard below and to remain quiet enough to not be heard by anyone, demon or otherwise. That, however, meant that her progress was frustratingly slow.

"What about the spider demon down there?" Shippō asked quietly, keeping his voice down to not give Kagome away. He had transformed into a mouse (or something that was supposed to be a mouse, anyway) to get by undetected and to not hinder Kagome too much. The hanyō shrugged.

"Miroku-sama and Inuyasha are more than capable of dealing with it," she whispered back.

"And what of the demon slayers?"

"So long as they aren't caught in a cross-fire or anything, they should be fine," she said slowly, although Shippō's question caused her to pause and think for a while. It wasn't long before she knew what to do and she turned her head slightly to glance at the 'mouse' on her shoulder. "But you're right, someone has to make sure they're fine. They're the main reason we came here anyway. So do something for me, Shippō-chan. Go to Inuyasha and tell him that I expect to find the spider dead and the slayers alive once I get back out of that castle, alright?"

"You can count on me, Kagome," the kit-turned-mouse responded and scurried off hurriedly to deliver the message. The young hanyō-girl smiled slightly, but the expression was quick to leave her face as she focused on the task ahead.

It didn't take her very long to finally get to where she wanted to be. Meaning directly over the entrance of the shiro. The tricky part would now be to get off the roof and into the castle without being seen by the guards. But it was nothing she couldn't do if she really wanted to.

Sparing a quick glance at the yard below, Kagome assured herself that her assumptions had been correct and that she wasn't needed down there. She wasn't surprised to see Inuyasha right in the middle of the fight, stubbornly refusing to back down as he battled the spider while Miroku used tactics, rather than brute strength. Actually, it seemed like Inuyasha was unwillingly playing decoy, although that didn't mean that Miroku was ignored completely. Both of them were fine, though and the spider was too preoccupied with them to notice the taijiya siblings, who were now huddled together in the middle of the yard. Or rather, the boy was clinging to his sister who was watching the fight with rapt attention and seemingly not worried at all.

Shaking her head, Kagome slowly crept a little to the right, hoping to get down and to sneak into the castle without being detected from there. Just as she was about to descend, however, she stopped and narrowed his eyes. Something just wasn't right here.

'The guards,' she thought as she observed them through narrowed eyes. Now that she was so close to them, she could catch their scent better despite the overwhelming stench of a certain demon she was quickly learning to despise. What she smelled, however, wasn't what she had expected to smell. 'They act surprised, but their scent doesn't speak of surprise at all… it's as if they were expecting all of this to happen… as if they knew their lord was yōkai,' she thought, but quickly dismissed those thoughts. That couldn't be true, after all. It wouldn't make any sense.

Deciding that she simply wasn't close enough to clearly catch their scent and that she was merely imagining things, Kagome slowly started to descend from the roof to the ground, mindful of making no sound whatsoever. She barely touched the ground when a spear was trust at her, though, and she only barely managed to dodge it. The one who attacked was one of the guards and the others were quick to turn in her direction as well. She was clearly found out.

But how could that be? She had been extremely silent, hadn't made a single sound! It was humanly impossible to hear her and she had made sure none of the guards were looking in her direction when she started her descent. So how was it possible that they still caught her?

"We'll never let you near our young master, hanyō!" the guard who attacked her called.

"If you want to get to him, you'll have to kill us, first!" a second guard added, readying his bow.

"Not that you'll succeed. We'll be the ones that'll kill you!" yelled a third one as he charged at her with his sword drawn. Kagome scowled in annoyance and held her arm in front of her face protectively, waiting for the impact of the blade against the fire rat's fur. As the sword descended towards her, however, a scent she hadn't expected to catch entered her nose and she jumped back in the last second. She hadn't been quick enough to escape all harm, however, and the blade nicked her arm, dealing a superficial scratch and cutting through the fire rat's fur like through typical silk. Kagome cursed under her breath. This definitely wasn't what she had expected. Nor was it a surprise she particularly enjoyed.

She had hoped to get into the castle and take care of Naraku once and for all. It would seem she had to take care of these guys, first. And to make things worse, she had been right when she had pretended to barge into the castle accidentally: this really wasn't her day.

[T]

Now wasn't the time to think about that, however. Now was the time to fight, whether she wanted to or not, unless she wanted to die. So with a sigh, Kagome closed her hands into tight fists and jumped into the middle of the group of guards. She wasn't aiming to kill, however, merely to knock out. She wasn't about to kill humans if she could help it.

They attacked first, thrusting their spears at her with amazing speed and precision for humans. It was still nowhere near fast enough to get to her, though, and the half-demon easily avoided the attacks, using her dodge to come closer to her attacker. With a solid punch to the jaw, she sent him to the ground, unconscious. But the others weren't intimidated and with a sigh of frustration, she ducked, spun and twisted this way and that, each dodge easily followed by a punch or a kick that didn't allow any human to remain upright after being received.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha and Miroku were dealing with the now-revealed spider yōkai. Or rather Inuyasha was unwillingly baiting it, while Miroku used the self-offered decoy to try and purify the demon in one go. With mixed results.

With a mocking laugh, the spider raised one of its long arms and swung down. He aimed for Inuyasha, trying to squash him much like one would an annoying bug. The demon's hand only hit dirt, however, as Inuyasha skillfully rolled out of the way, then quickly got back to his feet and retaliated. Before the demon knew what was happening, the very arm he had just tried to smash the priest with was lying on the ground in a pool of blood, cleanly separated from the rest of the body. The yōkai glared at the culprit of this new injury, but other than annoyance he didn't seem to be affected by the loss of his limb very much.

Inuyasha, for his part, didn't feel as smug as he might have if he had done the same thing a couple of weeks ago. He managed to cut off an arm, sure, but the beast was still alive and, as if to infuriate him further, Seiryuu stayed stubbornly silent. It didn't glow or react to the demon at all. If Inuyasha didn't know any better, he would have thought the sword had never been anything else than any normal blade at all for all the help it currently provided. But he really should have seen this coming. The one time he was fighting a demon he should be able to kill without Kagome's aid, the one time he really wanted Seiryuu to respond to him, the blade refused to glow with the light of his power. Go figure.

This wasn't the time to be frustrated with the lack of his sword's response, however, as he was soon reminded when he was forced to dodge another spider-arm. The demon didn't stop there, however, sending several of his limbs in his direction from almost every side, cutting of any possible means of escape. Inuyasha cursed as he ducked to avoid the first hand, then leaned backwards and allowed himself to fall to the ground before rolling off to the side. He effectively dodged two more arms that way, but his escape was halted by the last one as it effectively pinned him to the ground.

Faster than lightning, the demon lowered his head, mouth wide open as if he wanted to swallow the priest whole, or at least get a good bite out of him. It never got that far, though, and instead reeled backwards with a yell, some of its arms flailing wildly as it tried to get rid of whatever was hurting it. It found the source of its pain soon enough and ripped it off, the small papers falling to the ground uselessly. But the arm pinning Inuyasha to the ground stayed firmly in place.

The priest seemed to be forgotten by the demon, however, as it turned instead to the monk that had hurt it with his o-fuda. Inuyasha wasn't about to complain about the opening. Trapped to the ground as he was, his right arm was still free and he intended to make use of it.

With a practiced swing, the blade met the wrist of the demon and easily separated hand from forearm, though the demon hardly seemed to take notice of it. Pushing the yōkai's appendage off him, Inuyasha got back to his feet and distanced himself from the yōkai before taking a fighting stance again. He was looking for an opening and it wasn't long before he found one. Steeling himself, he ran forward and jumped on one of the demon's hands just as it started lifting it, using it to manage jumping higher than he was normally capable of. His sword was at his side as he prepared for a horizontal slash at the demon's face. But unfortunately, the very hand he had used as a lift was what stopped him from killing the beast as it easily caught the blade between two fingers as Inuyasha swung.

The yōkai laughed at the dangling, cursing priest, as Inuyasha wisely (or maybe not so wisely) refused to let go of his sword. Just then, more o-fuda struck the demon and it yelled again, releasing Inuyasha in its surprise. Cursing, the black haired teen turned in mid air, trying to somehow land in a way that wouldn't cost him a broken bone or two. As it turned out, however, he didn't need to worry, for in his fall, his sword met the flesh of the demon again. But this time, instead of cutting straight through, it got stuck, halting Inuyasha's descent a few feet above ground. A simple tug was enough to free the blade and the priest fell the rest of the way to the ground, landing in a crouch to let his knees absorb the impact, although his head still pounded from the rough landing.

Looking up, he saw Miroku jumping from arm to arm, switching between throwing o-fuda and swinging his shakujō to either defend or attack, although soon enough, the monk was forced to get back to the ground as well, unable to fight correctly on such unstable footing.

In the same moment, one of the spider's limbs shot forward, though it was not aimed at Inuyasha or Miroku. It was aimed for the pair that sat forgotten in the middle of the yard. Inuyasha cursed, remembering the message Shippō had delivered from Kagome just before he had thrown himself into battle. She had trusted him with the slayers' life. He wasn't about to prove to her that her trust was misplaced.

"Ane-ue!" Kohaku screamed in distress as he also saw the appendage closing in on them. He clung to his sister like to a life-line, most likely either hoping she would protect him or wanting to protect her with his body, too petrified to think of using his weapon. Inuyasha had somehow managed to be faster, though, and the yōkai's hand was stopped by the steal of Seiryuu's blade before it could even touch the siblings. And this time, the blade actually reacted, causing the demon to draw back with a yelp.

Using it's distraction, Miroku ran between the legs that supported the demon until he was next to the yōkai's belly and struck his staff against the demonic flesh with all his might. The yōkai screeched again and flailed its limbs wildly, forcing the monk to retreat. But watching him for that one second, Inuyasha knew what the monk was planning. He was about to use the fact that the demon had solely focused on Miroku to finish what the monk had started, but a voice behind him stopped.

"Not the abdomen. The head. Cut of its head." It was a demon slayer woman who had spoken. Glancing at her over his shoulder, Inuyasha nodded once, indicating he understood. She was a demon slayer and from what Kagome had told him, they often won by playing on their opponents weaknesses. So it was safe to assume that woman knew exactly what she was talking about.

With that in mind, Inuyasha ran forward.

Kagome was meanwhile getting annoyed. It wasn't her first time fighting humans, much as she despised doing it. So she knew fighting a small group of humans shouldn't take as long as it was taking her. 'There weren't that many of them, I'm sure of it! So how come there's still more coming if I should have knocked out all of them by now?' she thought in frustration as another punch connected with some unfortunates guard's jaw before she ducked to avoid an incoming spear. She dodged it as always, although this time it passed almost close enough to her face to scratch her. Because of this, however, something caught her eye and she froze for all of a second. The guards used it, all jumping at her at the same moment, but she evaded them all but one, whom she caught in her grasp and held in front of her like a shield.

She wasn't using him as such, though. Rather, she was trying to get a better whiff of his scent. What she scented wasn't what she expected and she quickly shoved the guard away from her and jumped back to avoid the other guards' weapons. They didn't seem to mind killing a comrade if it meant getting to her, but it no longer surprised her. Not with what she had just realized. She snarled angrily.

'They're not human,' she thought as she jumped back into battle, once again twisting this way and that to avoid their weapons. That was the reason why they could cut through the fire rat, a feat that should be impossible for any human or anyone using a weak human-weapon. But their weapons were not made by humans and their wielders weren't human either. What she didn't understand, however, was their reason to keep up their guise. 'If they're not human, why pretend to be? It can't be because they think I won't kill them just because of that… I mean, that's true, but there's no way they thought I'd never catch on. So why…?'

The response presented itself easily enough when from the corner of her eye, she saw the taijiya siblings glancing back and forth between hers and Inuyasha's and Miroku's battles. She swore vehemently.

Just then, an angry scream echoed through the yard, but Kagome ignored it in favor of defeating her own enemies. Had she been able to spare a glance towards the other battle, she would have seen a very enraged demon extending its neck to get to Inuyasha. The priest had profited from the fact that the yōkai had solely been focused on Miroku and climbed up its abdomen, trying to get as close to the head as he could on a more or less stable footing. He went unnoticed up to the point of finishing his climb, but the yōkai had noticed him then. Disregarding the monk, it had then lunged at Inuyasha, its neck extending. But the priest wasn't fazed. In one fluid motion, he stepped to the side and drew his blade, raising it above his head just as the spider's head bypassed him, then swung down, cleanly separating it from the rest of the body.

The spider collapsed right after that and Inuyasha fell ungracefully to the ground as it did, unable to keep his balance. He face planted into the ground with a grunt, but was fast to get back on his feet, just in time to see the head he had just cut off turn on its face and start to walk off on tiny spider legs. The young teen blinked.

"What the…" he managed to say when the spider's progress was halted by a staff impaling into its abdomen. In the blink of an eye, the yōkai turned to dust under the pressure of Miroku's energy.

"That should take care of that," Miroku said calmly, as if nothing had happened. "Now we can rejoin Kagome-sama in…" he cut off abruptly as his gaze fell towards the castle. Inuyasha dusted himself off and walked over to him, his eyes slowly following the monk's gaze.

As soon as he saw the entrance of the shiro, he understood why Miroku had been stunned into silence. Kagome was there. So where the guards. Most of them were lying on the ground in pools of blood, although three were still trying to get the hanyō. A wasted effort since she easily dodged them, her claws making quick work of ending their lives, her face showing not an ounce of remorse. It wasn't long before the last guard dangled dead from her hands.

[/T]

Inuyasha could only stare in disbelief at what he was seeing. This… there was something he was missing. There had to be. Kagome would never kill humans meaninglessly, he knew that.

Just then, Kagome turned and her eyes fell on the two spiritualists she had been travelling with. Her eyes narrowed in what Inuyasha could only guess was anger before she carelessly threw one of the guards in their direction. The man landed at their feet like a sack of potatoes and Kagome turned her back on them. She was about to enter the shiro as if nothing were. Inuyasha started for a while, then moved to go after her and demand an explanation. There had to be a reason why she killed those people. There had to be!

"Wait," Miroku said suddenly as he knelt next to the fallen warrior. The monk's hand ghosted over the dead man's body and understanding shone in his eyes as quickly as surprise had when he saw Kagome kill the guard in cold blood. He let out a sigh of what Inuyasha guessed to be relief. "I see, that explains it," he said as he stood up, once again the ever calm monk he had always been.

"What explains it?" Inuyasha asked as he came closer to the monk, and by extension to the body. Miroku didn't need to answer him, though, for as soon as Inuyasha approached enough, he knew the answer for himself. "Youki…" he whispered as his eyes fell on the guard Kagome had thrown their way, no doubt as an explanation to what they had just seen.

"Indeed," Miroku replied gravely. "But why would they keep their human guise instead of showing their true face when it became apparent that Kagome-sama had seen through their deception?"

"Hell if I know," Inuyasha replied as he glanced towards the dark entrance of the castle, where Kagome had disappeared a few moments earlier.

Said half-demon was slowly making her way inside the shiro, her ears twitching madly on her head in an attempt to catch any sound indicating she was being followed or otherwise led into a trap. But the castle was eerily silent. It wasn't hard to find Naraku, though. As omnipresent as his stench was, Kagome was still able to track it to its source. Once she was sure she found the right door, she slid it open without hesitation, the loud sound of wood hitting wood replacing the slam a modern door would have made.

The room was shrouded in shadows and empty safe for one person. He seemed to be young man from what Kagome could tell, although any details weren't possible to distinguish because he was hiding behind some sort of screen – a silk screen, maybe? Kagome hardly cared. Her nose was enough to reassure her that she had found the right person.

"And so we meet again," Naraku said calmly as he turned his head to glance her way. Kagome flexed her claws and one of her hands slowly traveled towards Tessaiga.

"I won't let you get away this time," she growled. She bended her knees as she spoke, readying herself for a leap towards the demon behind the screen, one hand holding on to Tessaiga's scabbard while the other was already on the hilt, ready to draw the sword at any second.

"So you would throw away the life of your companions and the taijiya you worked so hard to save just for revenge. I would have thought you had more heart than that, Kagome," Naraku answered, his voice smug even as he pretended to sound disappointed. She'd have to be an idiot not to realize he was taunting her. But taunting her to do what, that she did not know. The young hanyō narrowed her eyes.

"What are you getting at?" she asked in a growl, knowing that the only thing she could do right now was to play his game, even if she didn't like it one bit. Her mind knew the two taijiya and the spiritualists were safe, but her instincts were telling her otherwise. This could either mean that she was being paranoid, which she doubted, or that Naraku was planning something – which sounded much more possible.

"Only that while you'll be busy trying to slay me, which you cannot possibly accomplish, your friends out in the yard will meet their end. But it is your choice what to do, Kagome. You can go save them, or you can let them die for the sake of revenge," an evil chuckle followed Naraku's words. What came out of Kagome's throat, on the other hand, was an enraged growl. But that wasn't enough to tune out the sudden, soft buzzing that reached her ears just then – a frighteningly familiar buzzing.

Hearing it, Kagome ceased her growling and tensed, looking around the room carefully. Except for her and Naraku, however, the room was empty. Wherever the buzzing was coming from, the demonic insects that were the source weren't in Kagome's immediate surroundings.

That's what she thought at first, anyway, but a second glance at the ceiling proved her wrong. A few hives were attached there, and that was where the sound was coming from, or at least that was what the hanyō-girl suspected. Kagome scowled, though she forced herself to remain calm.

"If you think I'll let something like this bring them down, that even one of those insects leaves this room while I'm in here, then you're seriously underestimating me. And my companions as well," she said to Naraku as her hands grasped Tessaiga again. If the bees were everything Naraku had in his arsenal, then there was nothing to worry about.

Or at least, there shouldn't be.

So why was she feeling so uneasy?

Naraku chuckled.

"Am I? Aren't you the one overestimating their might along with your own, my dear Kagome?"

With a snarl, Kagome shook her uneasiness off and lunged at Naraku. There was no reason to worry about the others. A few bees would never be enough to take down Inuyasha and Miroku (so long as there weren't thousands of them, considering Miroku's kazaana wasn't an option. But she wasn't planning on letting a whole swarm get outside). She trusted them not to get killed. She had bigger fish to fry.

XxX

The calm after the battle didn't last long. Inuyasha had barely finished assessing the female taijiya's wounds, assuring himself that while serious, they weren't immediately fatal, when Miroku told him he was going inside the castle to help Kagome. The monk had expected Inuyasha to stay behind with the slayer siblings. Needless to say the black haired teen was having none of it.

Their upcoming fight about who goes and who stays was never really allowed to start, however, as suddenly Shippō caught their attention by jumping onto Inuyasha's shoulder, the hair on his head and his tail standing on end. The obvious distress the kit was showing had the two spiritualists on guard in an instant. They didn't even need to ask to know what had upset the kit, he spoke before they could even think to ask the question.

"Something is coming. A lot of some things," the little kitsune said in a quivering voice. And true to his words, a swarm of countless insects suddenly burst out of the castle's entrance, the loud buzzing of their wings filling the yard as soon as they did. As if they had a common mind, the insects headed for the small group in the middle of the yard.

"What the hell?" was all Inuyasha managed to ask before Miroku shoved him roughly to the ground. The teen landed none-too-softly in the dirt behind the monk, Shippō falling off his shoulder from the impact and rolling closer to the two demon slayers. Inuyasha barely registered the loss of additional weight on his shoulder, though. His attention was focused on the monk in front of him. "Oi, Miroku, what's that all about?" he asked angrily as he stood back up.

"Stay behind me, Inuyasha," was all Miroku answered, and Inuyasha soon understood why when the monk reached for the beads sealing off his hand. He was planning on opening the kazaana. But in that moment, Shippō attached himself to the monk's shoulder and started wailing.

"Don't, Miroku! You'll die if you suck them up! Don't you remember what happened last time?!"

"I don't have much of a choice, Shippō," the monk replied tightly. He raised his hand as he spoke, ready to end the life of the wasps that were already too close for comfort. The tremendous wind never picked up, though, as the little kit did something no one would have ever expected of him. He jumped off Miroku's shoulder and bounded towards the bees, his little claws raised as he sent a wave of fox-fire at them. The blue flames didn't kill the wasps, but they did slow them down… and anger them.

"What the hell are you doing you stupid runt?!" Inuyasha yelled, though it was painfully obvious what the terrified kitsune was doing. Sure, he couldn't exactly kill the wasps with his fire, but he was doing a fine job of stopping Miroku from using his Air Rip by standing in front of him… or rather running in circles while yelling desperately for someone to help him as a few wasps started to pursue him. As a result, Miroku was forced to swing his staff to kill the insects that came too close to the kit, unable to make quick work of them via the hole in his hand. What Inuyasha didn't know was that by making the fight more difficult, Shippō was actually saving Miroku's life, for the poison of those insects was capable of entering the monk blood-stream through the kazaana. They had found that out the last time they run into them, when Sesshōmaru had tried to take Tessaiga again.

Still, as things were, they'd soon be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the tiny demons and be stung to death if they didn't come up with some sort of solution.

Not knowing what else to do, but not wanting to not act at all, Inuyasha stepped closer to Miroku and unsheathed his sword. However, before he could even think to swing it and destroy at least a few of the incoming insects, Miroku suddenly pushed him back, making him fall to the ground again. Then, the houshi grabbed the little kitsune and took a few steps back himself before crouching down next to Inuyasha and grabbing his wrist effectively forcing him to implant his sword in the ground.

"Oi, Miroku, what's your deal?! You want to be stung to death?" Inuyasha yelled at him, but didn't get to say anything else as his sword suddenly glowed like it had many times before, just as Inuyasha felt once again that door within himself open wide – although this time it felt rather like some outside force had yanked it open more than anything else. In the next second, a transparent, blue dome surrounded the group – the tayjiya included – and the closest insects were blasted away, if not purified completely. The swarm flew around them buzzing angrily at the prey they couldn't get to. There were so many of them that it was impossible to see anything except the insects surrounding the barrier – though Inuyasha had yet to figure out how a barrier came to surround them to begin with.

"Don't move. If you do, the barrier will fall and we'll all be dead," Miroku said gravely. Inuyasha frowned, but did as he was told.

"Why did the runt stop you from opening the Air Rip?" he finally asked, the question directed as much at Miroku as it was at the kitsune. It was the little demon-child that answered, his voice still trembling from the terror he felt – and was most likely still feeling. Inuyasha was also quite sure that Shippō couldn't believe himself what he had just done. Heck, the priest himself had trouble believing what he had seen.

"Poison," was all the little kit managed to squeak out whilst trying to calm down. "Those insects are poisonous."

'Poison?' Inuyasha repeated worriedly in his thoughts, glancing at Miroku from the corner of his eye. 'A lethal one?' he couldn't help but think, although the answer came to him immediately. If Miroku would have been in danger in case he sucked the bees up, then the poison was most definitely lethal. Suddenly, Inuyasha was glad the kit had stepped in.

The static sound of electricity brought the teen out of his thoughts. One of the insects had fruitlessly tried to get passed the barrier and upon realizing it was impossible, the swarm took to circling them, waiting patiently for the barrier to fall. The problem was, their wait would probably eventually be rewarded. They couldn't keep up the barrier forever, after all. Biting his lip, Inuyasha knew there was only one way for them to survive this ordeal.

'Kagome… get back here… we need your help!' he thought desperately, but did not think to voice these thoughts aloud.

XxX

"So you chose revenge over the lives of your companions. How very cold of you, Kagome. Wouldn't Kikyo be disappointed," Naraku taunted as he avoided Kagome's claws, somehow managing to stay in the shadows despite her repeated tries to get near him, preferably to tear him apart. Or, at the very least, see what kind of face he was currently wearing. She snarled.

"Don't you dare say her name!" Kagome yelled angrily, her claws once again meeting only air as the demon avoided her.

"And why not, dearest Kagome? Maybe because I'm not worthy of saying it? Oh, but if I'm not worthy, what makes you special enough to say her name? To be so close to her, as if you were her sister? You are, after all, nothing but a filthy half-breed," Naraku taunted her again, although his voice was no longer as calm and smug as before. Actually, Kagome was quite sure she heard a somewhat bitter undertone to his words. Her anger was far too great to take notice of something so trivial, though.

"Shut up!" Kagome screamed again, swinging with her claws at the figure in the shadows. He avoided her again, her movements less refined and precise than they usually were as her ire got the better of her.

"It was something Onigumo could not understand. Bandit though he might have been, he was still human. He should have been better than a half-breed just because of his humanity. And yet the priestess dared to see him as nothing else than a patient doomed to die where he lay and allow a filthy mongrel of mixed blood to become so close to her that they could be true family. It was not something the kami could possibly forgive now was it?" Naraku continued.

Since she was unable to land a single blow on the infuriating demon, Kagome had stopped her assault by then. She stood rooted to the ground, turning her head this way and that to follow Naraku's movements in case he tried attacking her. But he did no such thing, so while she listened to his tirade, she forced her breathing to calm as she tried to get her almost uncontrollable anger under control. Naraku's words were doing nothing to make this task simpler, however. She growled savagely as the yōkai's implications became more than clear.

"Are you telling me that Onigumo sold his soul and body to demons and created you," she started slowly, her fists clenching at her sides with almost enough force to draw blood. At her hip, Tessaiga pulsed, but it went unnoticed by the angry hanyō-girl. "And that you did all that," she said, referring not only to what he did to Kikyo and herself, but to all the other things he had done over those fifty years and since she had woken up.

Like Miroku's Air Rip.

Or Kogarashi's village.

Or his attempt to have Inuyasha kill her while he was being controlled by a demonic blade that would eventually kill him as well.

Or the trap that cost almost the whole group of the taijiya their lives.

"You did all of that over some petty jealousy?!" she yelled, no longer able to control herself. Never in her life had she met a being as despicable as the demon now circling around her. Never in her life had she been so disgusted by another living being before. Never in her life had she been so angry before. Never in her life had she wanted to tear someone apart as much as she wanted to rip Naraku to shreds right now.

At her side, Tessaiga pulsed again, more urgently this time, but Kagome was beyond registering it. Ignored, the sword continued to pulse, faster and more urgent with each beat, until it felt more like it was constantly vibrating against her hip. But whatever the sword was trying to tell her, the warnings fell on deaf ears.

"Oh, don't misunderstand, Kagome. The Jewel is all I want. Seeing you dead is merely a bonus, as you're a thorn in my side just like you were fifty years ago. You're quite the persistent whelp, aren't you. Can't you just accept your fate and die like the good puppy you are?" Naraku spoke again, his voice still calm and collected. He seemed to be unfazed by Kagome's raging anger, despite the wind of youki that was slowly rising around her, whipping her hair every which way.

If she had been a full demon, that wind would be the prelude of her shedding her human guise. She was only half, however, and had as such no guise to shed. But her demon blood was still that of one of the mightiest daiyōkai to have ever wandered this earth, so even as a half-demon, she was a mighty opponent. She had been strong even without her father's fang. With it, she was even stronger. And the demon before her was about to learn that making her blood boil to the point he had just achieved was a very bad idea, just like it was a very bad idea to anger any other mighty daiyōkai the likes of her brother. And he was about to learn it the hard way.

"If you want me dead so bad," she growled, her words barely distinguishable from the animalistic sound rising from her throat, "then at least have the courage to face me in battle and kill me yourself!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, lunging at the shadows where she knew he was standing. He evaded her again, but this time, Kagome had expected it. The claws she had horizontally sliced at him with continued its way down until it came to Tessaiga's vibrating hilt. Without hesitation, Kagome grabbed her sword and swiftly turned around, unsheathing the blade and slicing at her opponent in one swift movement. She heard a muffled curse as the sword met slight resistance, cutting through the baboon pelt that had been thrown in her face. It fell to the ground uselessly, leaving Kagome to stand over it as she panted, though her ragged breathing was not due to fatigue, but her ever-present anger.

"Damn it!" she cursed vehemently as she looked around the room, only to confirm what she already knew anyway. Naraku had fled again.

Still, this time, he didn't get away unscathed, if the blood on Tessaiga's blade was anything to go by. True, Kagome had cut mostly through the fur of a dead baboon, but her sword had also caught living flesh, of that she was sure. And not only because of the blood on her blade. In the split second between her attack and the pelt being thrown in her face by the retreating demon, Kagome had caught glimpse of something. It was not his face, but it was something that would allow her to recognize him by something other than his stench if she ever met him again.

'A burn mark in the form of a spider on his back. Fitting,' she thought, scoffing inwardly before she took a deep, cleansing breath, forcing herself to calm down. He had riled her up like she couldn't recall ever being before. That thought was unsettling. If he could get under her skin so much without real effort, then fighting him would be a real pain, not to mention very dangerous, even though he didn't seem very strong. Even a weakling could kill her if she wasn't thinking straight in a fight, after all.

Once calm, Kagome glanced at Tessaiga with a frown before she slowly sheathed the fang and glanced at her hands. There were no burn marks on them or anything, but fingering the sword again, she assured herself that she had not been imagining things. Tessaiga's hilt was unnaturally hot and Kagome was quite certain the blade wasn't any different. She had no idea what could have caused this, though, and that worried her. There had to be something that had triggered Tessaiga's reaction, she knew that. Whatever it was, however, she probably wouldn't find out, at least not this time around. The blade was already cooling down, so it was probably safe to assume that the reason for its sudden heating up was gone. That didn't make Kagome any less worried, but she decided not to ponder it for now.

Looking around the room again, she quickly realized there were two ways the demon could have fled in – either the way she had come, or through the shoji door leading to the gardens on the other side of the room. She didn't know how she knew, but she was quite sure it was the latter, though, so she slowly started to walk in the direction of the door, intent on following the demon.

She didn't take even three steps when she slowly stopped, a sudden, uneasy feeling rising within her stomach. Unbidden, Naraku's words from the beginning of their 'discussion' came back to her and she frowned. He had said something about her choosing revenge over the life of her companions, and while she knew that was complete bull, it still bothered her that he had said it.

'He wasn't lying. Or at least, he believed what he was saying. And then he proceeded to taunt me, rile me up until all I could think of was killing him…' Kagome thought, biting her lip worriedly. He could have either been trying to get her too riled up to think straight and thus kill her easily, or he wanted to get her mind off of her companions. Whichever it was, both had succeeded, so she wasn't quite sure what he had been after. And that uneasy feeling stubbornly refused to leave her alone.

Cursing under her breath, Kagome reluctantly turned away from the way she knew Naraku had taken to hide somewhere else in the castle and lick his wounds. Instead, she ran back the way she had come. She reached the entrance of the shiro within seconds. What she saw there was definitely not what she had expected, though.

XxX

Inuyasha cursed under his breath as the barrier surrounding them flickered in and out of sight. It had gotten considerably smaller since it had been made and it didn't look like it would hold much longer. At first, the black haired priest couldn't figure out why that was. He still felt the trickle of his powers throughout his body as they moved to his sword and then out, creating the barrier, but he didn't feel tired at all. So since it was his power that made the barrier, as long as he was fine, the barrier should logically be alright, too.

It took him a moment to realize that while it was indeed his reiki that made the protective dome around Miroku and him, it was the monk that guided his powers, much like he had in the dream when they tried to get out of the Baku's dimension. For some reason, he was starting to have trouble with it, though. And the problem was that without him there to guide Inuyasha's reiki, their only means of protection would be gone and they would be dying a slow and painful death by poisoning.

Overall, the situation looked really, really bad.

The barrier flickered again just as Miroku slid to the ground, no longer able to keep himself upright. Inuyasha caught him with one arm, the other still on his sword's hilt as he prayed the barrier would hold, then glanced at the monk. He was pale and sweaty. If Inuyasha didn't hear his ragged breath, he would have said he was already dead. The black haired priest frowned."

"Oi, Miroku! Hold yourself together damn it! This is no time to be napping!" the young priest snapped, hoping his voice would rouse the houshi from his near-unconscious state. It didn't seem to work very well, though. The barrier flickered again and one of the insects almost managed to get through in the split second that it was gone. Almost. Inuyasha cursed again. "What's wrong with you, anyway?"

"Not with me, with you," Miroku responded between two gasps for air. He was obviously getting tired, but Inuyasha had no idea of what. "If you would let me guide your powers instead of locking them up, I wouldn't have to try to so hard to forcefully lead your powers to mix with mine to strengthen the barrier."

"Lock them up? But I ain't doing anything!" Inuyasha yelled in response, although he had to admit that the feeling within him had changed. At first, he had felt like he usually did when that internal door was open and his power coursed through his body. But progressively, it had started to feel more forceful, as if someone was pulling on his power – it felt like two kids playing tug-of-war to be honest.

And then, something inside him snapped and the door closed. With a final flicker, the barrier was gone and the insects were free to lunge at him. Cursing, Inuyasha grabbed his sword with both arms, hoping desperately it would respond, while Miroku readied his shakujō. Even if they sliced through a couple of insects with a mere sword (or staff), they'd most likely be dead before they could swing again, though, so their only hope was that they could purify the flying danger.

Inuyasha didn't even get as far as getting the sword out of the ground, however, as suddenly, with just a few flashes of golden light, the insect were gone as if they never had been there to begin with. The only proof that they had been were the thousand of insect-remains littering the ground around them.

A red clad figure landed gracefully in front of him then before quickly kneeling down, worried golden orbs clashing with his relieved violet ones.

"Are you alright?" Kagome asked quickly, her eyes scanning him for any injuries. She was relieved when she found none. Inuyasha merely nodded, then turned to glance at the monk at his side, who was calmly dusting off his robes as if nothing were.

"You needn't worry, Kagome-sama, everyone is fine," he said calmly, causing Shippō to snort.

"Only because someone stopped you from sucking the bees up," he muttered under his breath. Kagome's ears twitched, easily catching the kit's words. She glared at the monk.

"You wanted to suck them up? What were you thinking, Miroku-sama? Did you forget these insects are poisonous?" she asked incredulously, cursing herself in her thoughts. She had not thought that was possible. She had been careless. That was why Naraku had been so certain her companions would die. Without Miroku's Air Rip, the swarm was far too large for anyone to fight off without being stung, so the moment the monk refused to open his kazaana, the rest of the group was pretty much screwed. But if he had opened it, he would have died himself.

It was really dumb luck that they hadn't lost their lives. And Kagome knew that one should never rely on luck. She'd have to be much more careful when dealing with the demon from now on, as he had just proved he would stop at nothing to get what he wanted, not even the lowest of all tricks.

She was brought out of her reverie when a faint, buzzing sound reached her ears. The puppy-like appendages twitched on her head and she glanced towards the entrance of the shiro, suddenly remembering what she had seen inside. In a flash, she was on her feet, her claws at the ready. Beside her, Inuyasha glanced at her with curious eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked, anxiousness rising within him. Somehow he knew their troubles weren't over yet. And sadly, Kagome didn't prove him wrong.

"There's more where that came from," she said, pointing at the insect-remains around them. "There's a couple of nests in that freaking castle. More swarms will come if we stay here. We need to leave," she said urgently. Without turning her head, she glanced at Inuyasha and Miroku out of the corner of her eye. "Take the slayers and run," she said curtly, still focused on the entrance.

"I'm not going to run!" Inuyasha yelled back angrily as he stood at Kagome's side. He wasn't going to let her fight for him again. He was going to fight with her, whether she liked it or not.

Sadly for him, Kagome wasn't having any of it.

"Yes, you are. You're not staying!"

"Yes I am! I'm not going to let you fight alone! I won't leave you behind!" whatever made him yell these words, he didn't know, but he didn't get to cover up the 'slip up' as Kagome sighed.

"I appreciate that. I really do. But think about it – the taijiya girl is wounded and unable to fight. The boy is terrified. Shippō is just a child and Miroku-sama can't fight if he has to carry the girl. What if they're attacked by a demon?" she asked quickly, obviously getting agitated by the minute. It wasn't surprising. The buzzing was loud enough for even Inuyasha's human ears to hear by now.

"Don't you see, Inuyasha? They need you more than I do. Besides which, I never said I wouldn't follow you, did I? All I'm asking is that you go on ahead. I'll be right behind you. So please, just go!" she was pleading with him. Kagome wasn't certain if the black haired priest realized that, but she was indeed pleading with him. She couldn't remember ever pleading for anything before. In fact, she was sure she never had.

As for Inuyasha, he saw something in her eyes. Something he just couldn't say no to. So with a resigned sigh, he nodded and gently got the wounded taijiya woman on his back before getting ready to run – he didn't trust Miroku with carrying her. Surprisingly, the girl didn't even protest, letting herself be carried off instead. But then again, she couldn't protest, for the blood loss had caused her to fall unconscious.

Once the passenger was safely on his back, Inuyasha nodded at Miroku to follow him and left, leaving the taijiya-boy to follow them. He did without a word.

"If you don't catch up to us, I'll never forgive you," Inuyasha whispered to the half-demon before starting to run.

Then he was off. And none too soon, for just then, the bees Kagome had heard came from the castle, heading for the hanyō and the retreating humans like a gigantic cloud. It was definitely a much bigger swarm than the one that had come before, but Kagome wasn't impressed. Numbers didn't matter. None of those insects would get past her, no matter how many there were.

She could have made quick work of them all. One swing of Tessaiga, one clean Wound of the Wind, and the insects would be nothing more than a memory. And yet, something was stopping her. She didn't know what it was, but something within her was telling her that a wiser move would be to keep the true power of her fang a secret for now (which didn't make any sense because she had already used the Wound of the Wind against Naraku once – but she still decided to listen to that something. She guessed it were her instincts and she decided to trust them). So instead, she used her claws, the golden energy of her Sankon Tessō tearing through the insects easily. It took a while, but eventually, the yard was empty of any living creature safe for her again and Kagome turned her back on the shiro to follow Inuyasha and the others.

For a split second, she hesitated. If she left now, finding this castle again would probably be next to impossible. If she left now, she'd only meet Naraku again when he decided to make his next move. Wouldn't it be wiser to take care of him now, while she could? Then, his words rang in her mind again, telling her she lived for revenge and causing her to growl and shake her head to clear her mind.

'He was wrong. It's not about revenge. Revenge's got nothing to do with it,' she told herself, although she wasn't sure why she felt the need to reassure herself. With a growl, she glanced back at the castle over her shoulder, then shook her head and leapt off, following Inuyasha's trail.

There was a place where she needed to be right now and it was definitely not Naraku's castle. Naraku could wait – she'd kill him the next time they met. Because it was certain they would.

With just a few leaps, Kagome left the castle and then the shouheki surrounding it, allowing the demon's liar to vanish into thin air, never to be found again unless he wanted it to be found.

---

(1) barrier and shouheki – Well, in the manga, 'shouheki' wasn't ever mentioned. Barriers were called 'kekkai', which literally means 'barrier' (often in a spiritual or magical sense and with those implications, hence why it fits so well and why Takahashi-san probably chose this word out of all the possibilities she had). But I noticed that there were different types of barriers throughout the series. There were barriers used as shields in battle (Miroku used them sometimes), barriers that made you invisible in every sense of the word to yōkai (again, Miroku's doing, with Kaede's help once and on his own the other time) – you could not be seen, smelt, heard, nothing. There were barriers to keep everyone out of a certain location and to ensure no one sensed your presence while you were inside (Kikyo and Tsubaki used them), and there were barriers that could let one certain person in, but no one else (Naraku used them for example when he lured Sango near one of his puppets to show her Kohaku was alive and to coax her into betraying the group). Still, all of those were called a 'kekkai'. That won't be the case in my story, however, as I believe that those different types of barriers need different skills and amount of strength to produce. As such, I will call them differently. A barrier or, eventually, kekkai (although I'll probably won't use the Japanese word so it doesn't cause confusion) will be the common 'shield' used in battle. Shouheki, which means literally 'wall/fence/barrier', is the name I chose for the selective barrier that keeps everyone out except those the caster wants to enter – so the barrier Naraku used at the beginning of the series sometimes. As for the others, I'll inform you when they come along. Please bear with this for the sake of the story, I'll need that distinction, as you probably noticed already, or will notice soon, depending on when (if) you read this foot-note.

(2) Ane-ue – a very honorific way to say 'older sister' (way up there with 'haha-ue' and 'chichi-ue'). Kohaku calls Sango this way in canon and I kept it.

For those who haven't figured it out on their own: 'shiro' means 'castle' in this case (even if it CAN also mean 'white').

---

And here we have it. Would you look at that: Sango is saved and Kohaku survived, too! And Sango wasn't tricked into trying to kill Inuyasha :) Aren't you guys happy I spared them at least some trouble? No? Awww, come on, things have to be easy on the group every now and then, ne, ;) Now all they have to do is get the slayers to some village and leave them there… let's see how that goes, ne ;) *laughs evilly*

Next chapter: Shared Agony

See you then :D