A/N I am SOOO SORRY it has taken this long to post a new chapter! I haven't had electricity in my house since the summer started just about so it's been kind of hard finding time/power to write anything. But school is starting soon so hopefully I'll have more chances to write new chapters. Hope you enjoy this one!

Chapter 14: Success…sorta

Inuyame struggled wildly in her captor's grasp, kicking and flailing her arms and trying to do anything to make him put her down. As Edwin ran towards her and the man holding her, the other guy put a knife to her throat. "Easy there, boy. One step closer and this girl's blood will be on you." He said in a calm menace.

Edwin stopped and looked at Inuyame and she froze too, the cold steel already cutting into her neck as a small red trickle slid down her skin. Edwin clenched his fists helplessly, wanting to do something but not knowing how to do it without Inuyame getting hurt. Inuyame shook her head at him, so slightly he couldn't be sure he'd seen it, but what happened next confirmed it.

Inuyame made her body go limp, but backwards and away from the knife. The guy holding her hadn't expected it and his hold on her loosened even as she was rolling out of his grasp. Her hand went to the hilt of her sword as she rolled on the ground, standing back up to face then with renewed anger in her eyes. Her bandana had fallen off in the scuffle and her ears were perked up, alert. Blood flowed from the cut in her neck that had gotten deeper as she had clambered away.

Their attackers froze as they stared at the inhuman features Inuyame possessed. She thought for a moment that they would turn and run away, but then one elbowed the other and grinned. "Hey Ice, how much do you think a pretty little thing like that would go for?" He said, looking Inuyame up and down. She shuddered and avoided his gaze. "I dunno, Steam, but I say we find out." He said, slowly advancing on the trio again.

Edwin stepped in front of her as William pulled her away, towards the apartment. "Over my dead body." Edwin growled. Inuyame's chest constricted in a funny way hearing those words. Edwin pulled his gloves tight before clapping his hands together and touching the ground. A stone spear rose up as a small hole was created in the pavement.

"That can be arranged." Ice said and did the same movement as Ed had and an ice circle went up around them. Inuyame immediately pulled away from William and began attacking the ice with her sword. She couldn't see through the milky surface but she could hear the sound of battle within. She hit the barrier repeatedly, desperately trying to get inside. When William realized he could not get her to stop, he sighed and began drawing a circle with symbols on the ground. "Inuyame stand back." He said. Something in his voice made her step away from the wall. William clapped his hands as she had seen his brother do and placed them to the ground. A loud breaking noise sounded and a cloud of dust rose. When she could see again, there was a hole in the ice large enough to walk through.

Inuyame immediately darted inside, much to the dismay of William who called after her to stop, but she didn't listen. All of her thoughts were concentrated on the fact that Ice had Edwin pinned to the ground and was about to stab him with a frozen sword. "Edwin!" She shouted, just long enough to get the killer to look up at her and stop what he was doing. Long enough for her sword to slice through the air and shatter the other weapon into tiny pieces. Ice jumped back off of Edwin and covered his face as shards went flying in all directions.

Inuyame reached down and helped Edwin to his feet and got ready to leave, but she had miscalculated. She hadn't located the other killer. "Inuyame!" William shouted and she whipped around. Then everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Steam was crouching in the same position the boys had used, and there was something coming at her face. She moved to dodge it but she wouldn't make it in time. Then she saw William running towards her as fast as she could. "William no!" She tried to stop him, but the words were drowned out by the roaring in her ears. A jet of boiling water hit William in the face and he was knocked back into her, pushing all three of them to the ground. Inuyame hit her head hard on the ground, but she sat up on her knees and crouched over William, trying to see how bad he was injured. A cloud of steam was surrounding them and she couldn't see the attackers, but suddenly everything around her blazed orange as flames melted the ice. She could dimly hear agonized screams of pain but her blood loss was catching up to her and she was beginning to lose consciousness. Just before she blacked out, she could see a shadow stooping over them and heard the words, "Edwin, William, what the hell have you gotten yourselves into this time?"

Kovu and Koya went into school the next day with purpose. Koya's purpose differed from Kovu's, but as long as they rescued Inuyame, Kovu didn't care what happened to the jewel. He just needed to find that mousy little freshman that had somehow gotten hold of it. He didn't know her class schedule, but he knew when the freshmen ate lunch so they'd just have to get it there. He was about to go into his classroom when he was stopped by Inuyame's friends.

"Where's Inuyame?" Sanoku asked, narrowing her eyes, her arms crossed across her chest.

Kovu glanced around, feigning like he was surprised she was asking him. "How should I know?" He replied, looking back at her.

"Look, we know you were the last person to see her." Shirara said, her tails flicking back and forth, "just tell us where she is." There was a worried look in her eyes and her nervous tail twitching became erratic.

Kovu sighed. "Look, I don't know where she is, okay? I haven't seen her since… since we parted ways last night." He said, looking glum and feeling it as well.

The three in front of him eyes him warily, but finally they all nodded and let him past, shoulders slumping in worry and defeat. He felt sorry for them, he really did, but them barring him from his mission wasn't going to get him any closer to the Shikon jewel and saving Inuyame.

The first half of the day passed in a blur, and Kovu didn't remember any of it. When the lunch bell rang he bolted for the door and sprinted to the cafeteria, wanting to make sure he could catch her. He and Koya walked into the spacious room, scanning the groups of people for her large circular ears. Finally they spotted her, sitting alone at a table in the corner of the room. They both went over to her and Kovu sat down across from her while Koya stood a little ways away to make sure no one overheard their conversation.

The girl looked up, startled, her ears twitched nervously. "Um…hi." She said in a small voice.

"Hello there." Kovu said, turning on the charm. "My name's Kovu, what's yours?"

"Alice." She said, still in a soft voice.

"That's a pretty name. Listen, Alice. I'm in kind of in a bind here and I need your help." He said, leaning closer to her and lowering his voice.

"M-my help?" Her eyes widened and her voice trembled.

Kovu nodded solemnly, please that she was hanging on to his every word. "I hear that you are in possession of something very powerful, and extremely rare. And that is just the thing to help me in my predicament." He said, his voice even lower.

Alice's eyes widened more than he ever thought they could and she shook her head violently. "No!" She whispered forcefully. "I won't let you have it! You'll only use it for evil means." She said, her ears flat against her head.

Kovu sighed and decided to go with the truth. "No, I won't. I promise. I actually need it to save a friend of mine. The daughter of the priestess Kagome, if that means anything." He said, looking down, defeated.

Alice looked at him in scrutiny. "Daughter of the famous priestess that destroyed the jewel for good? Well, at least we all thought? Hmm….okay. I will help." Kovu perked up. "But," Alice paused, "I will not give the jewel to you. You will take me to Kagome and I shall give it to her." She said, determined.

Kovu couldn't help but grin. For a mouse demon, she was strong. "Deal." He said. "But there's no time to waste, we need to leave now." He grabbed her hand and the three of them left school, running to where Inuyasha and Kagome sat guarding the well and waiting for them. But they're departure did not go unnoticed. Following behind them were three other students, determined to see what they were up to.