She sucked in a panicked breath, her hands flying out instinctively as she tipped forward and the air rushed past her ears. A cry trembling on her lips and she watched in horror as the floor a few steps below came rushing toward her. She closed her eyes and braced herself for impact, even as her hands closed around the cold metal of the banister, waiting for the pain of her momentum and weight forcing her to release, the tearing of muscles that would come before she was forced to let go, waiting for her hands to slip.

After a long moment of stillness she opened her eyes and looked around. She'd turned during the fall, and now was staring up the stairs she had just come down. Her arms were crossed over her chest, both of her hands gripping the rail with enough force that her fingers ached. Somehow she'd managed to stop herself, bracing her heels against the step below the one she had slipped on and holding herself up with arms that were already protesting. After another deep breath in an attempt to calm herself and steady her still pounding heart Kagome pulled herself up a little, then slid first one foot, and once it was safely planted, the other to be beneath her again. "That was close…" She murmured, then turned and straitened her uniform that she was still wearing before searching for the items she'd dropped. Several arrows had fallen out of the quiver, and Kagome quickly picked them up and forced them back into place before collecting the bow that had fallen to the bottom of the staircase and rewrapping the entire bundle in her long brown coat before continuing to the front door of the building. Close call or not, she had something to do still, and all she was doing was wasting more time.

The cold air hit her, raising goose bumps along her exposed legs and arms where she'd pushed up her sleeves earlier. Kagome wished as she paused outside the building that she'd thought to grab a second coat so she would actually have one to wear. She turned first one direction, then the other deciding which direction the aura she was sensing was coming from, then turned and raced into the gathering darkness.

XXXXX

"Kuwabara, you get one of those feelings when one of us has to sneeze. Whatever your problem is, just get the hell over it." Yusuke threw the coat they'd dropped on his lap and stretched once more before planting his hands firmly behind his head and his feet securely on the coffee table.

"Urameshi, aren't you even a little worried? It's dark and… what if some thug tries something with no one there to help her? She could get hurt!"

"Oh, come on. She's just walking around the block or something, how much trouble can she get in?"

"Clearly you underestimate how much attention one girl can attract." Kurama paused, wondering why he was waiting for Yusuke at all. Whatever his reason for following her, whether concern for her well being, or even curiosity about where she might have been going and why, he shouldn't have been standing around waiting on Yusuke and Kuwabara to decide if either of them were going to go along.

"Come on Kurama, Urameshi must not care about his sister like we do, but we're real men, we'll go help her out."

He nearly sighed; maybe he should have just gone immediately instead of standing around to find out what was going on.

XXXXX

Red eyes slid over the tip of an abandoned arrow, admiring the sharpened point and straight shaft, the quality of the wood and metal and were mildly impressed as they rose to the girl who had dropped it. She turned sharply around a corner and continued on, her footsteps echoing quietly through the silent streets as she left the main roads and started down side streets, a coat wrapped around the weapons he'd seen her drop before leaving the building. He paused for only a moment to wonder what she was going to do now before following after her.

XXXXX

"Guys, I still say this is a major waste of time. Besides if we do manage to catch up with her Kagome's just gonna get mad at us for following her. If she didn't want to be alone she would have asked one of us to come." He still wasn't sure how he'd been talked into this. Maybe it was because Kuwabara and Kurama were making such a big deal about it, but he was even starting to worry about her a little himself. Kagome wasn't the type to just run off like that, but it wasn't like she'd been overly upset, or they were in a really bad part of town after all. She was just taking a walk.

"Either way I'm certain she will be touched that we were all concerned enough about her to come looking for her."

"Hey Kurama, maybe you should go alone." Kuwabara smiled a little, nudging the other redhead with an elbow, "You might win Kagome over a little. Girl's really like guys who come to their rescue."

"Alright," There was no way he was going to let Kurama win any points with his sister. Even if they hadn't been up to anything earlier there was no telling if things would stay that way, and he wasn't making it easier for them. Quickly he swung his coat over his shoulders and started walking to the door. "Let's get moving."

XXXXX

She turned to corner without slowing only to come skidding to a halt on the gravel path, barely keeping her balance as the pebbles ricocheted out from under her steps and threw her balance off. With a slight squeak Kagome froze, staring around the darkened landscape. "A park? What would a demon be doing in a park?" She shook her head and began walking. In a way it made sense, after all who hung out in parks at night? They were a daytime activity, and with all the trees in this one there were definitely plenty of places to find privacy.

The gravel crunched loudly beneath her feet no matter how lightly she stepped, the sound echoing loudly through the empty expanses. Swallowing some of her nerves Kagome stepped to the side of the path, stepping onto the soft dirt between the lawn and pathway. It wouldn't do her any good for someone to know she was coming. Even if she was hoping that this was all some big misunderstanding, that she'd been wrong and whatever demon this aura belonged to wasn't up to anything bad so she could just go home and pretend that this had never happened and everything was perfectly fine, Kagome knew that she had to find out for sure, and that meant she needed to be a little sneaky.

Of course stealth wasn't something she was very good at most of the time, really sneaking around wasn't easy for her in the least, but… she had had some experience with trying to avoid being seen in the feudal era, maybe she would get lucky this time.

She felt the power tugging at her, and paused in search of it. "Oh of course…" She sighed looking at the trees that grew closely together across the lawn from where she stood. It was just her luck that the aura's source had to be somewhere in there. Was it really too much to ask that just once a demon stood out in the open and announced what they were doing? No they had to hide in forests where they could jump out at you from anywhere.

Kagome felt her legs shake as she moved toward the trees, the dewy grass slipping a little under her shoes. Swallowing nervously she unwrapped her bow, secured it in her hand and the quiver full of arrows over her shoulder. She paused for a moment at the tree line, the forgotten coat spilling from her hands and flowing slowly to the ground. Taking yet another steadying breath she looked at the dark hands reaching for her, and nearly choking on her fear took the path they set.

x

The eyes followed her through the dimness, able to detect the slight tremors in her steps, the way her eyes darted as she made her way down the path even he could barely see. The branches swung above her, the wind tugging at her hair as the night attempted to retrieve its color that she'd stolen and placed there. In this darkness her pale skin seemed to shine, drawing scarlet eyes to her no matter how she tried to hide herself in the shadows.

She'd revealed the weapons she carried now, their cover laying forgotten somewhere behind her. The bow she carried was made of red wood, the arrows in the quiver replicas of the one the eyes had already observed. This was… interesting.

XXXXX

"So, she say anything about which direction she was planning on going?"

"No… just that she wanted some air."

"Then how are we gonna find her?" Yusuke turned back for a moment, "Hey Kuwabara, you sense her energy or anything?"

"No, I can't sense her anywhere, but then… I usually can't…"

"At least there's no red pinky string. Guess I dodged a bullet huh Kurama?" He sighed when the redheads only looked at him, "Okay fox boy, any luck on smelling her out then?"

"I'm afraid it isn't that simple Yusuke. There are far too many scents for me to be able to tell definitively where she may have gone."

"Well that's just great. This was you idiots' idea, so did either of you come up with a way to find her, no you just snap and whine at me enough to make me come down here and expect me to come up with a plan as usual."

"Yusuke, no one asked you to come up with a plan." He glanced at the boy, "I think that perhaps we should just go in search of her. Perhaps splitting up wouldn't be the worst of ideas…"

"Not a chance. I am not getting cornered alone by her when it wasn't even my idea to go looking after her. If Kagome's getting mad at anyone it's gonna be you morons." Kurama couldn't help chuckling a little, "What's so funny fox boy?"

"You calling anyone a moron."

"You better start watching yourself Kurama, I'm still not so sure I'm happy that you've been hanging out with my sister without telling me, and I haven't completely decided against planting my fist in your face."

"Yusuke…"

XXXXX

The leaves mocked her, cackling softly above her as she moved further into the darkness past the trees that housed them. Her teeth were nearly chattering, from the cold air or her nervousness she wasn't sure, and her brain couldn't be bothered to find out. Kagome had far more important things to focus on at the moment.

The source of the aura was close; she could almost taste it in the air now. That suffocating pressure that spoke of bad things to come, of danger and death. That stench she couldn't smell, but could feel pressing in on her pores. Not as strong as some she had come in contact with, but still there and still frightening.

Dried leaves crunched softly beneath her feet now and then as she did her best to avoid the twigs, the forest's sentries, with her feet. Just one wrong step and she'd give herself away. Why did it feel like sneaking up on Kikyo and Inuyasha? Her feet had floated this soundlessly then… her body had been pulled in much the same way. Maybe… maybe there was a reason she was coming here…

Kagome shook the foolish thoughts away as she continued on, mentally berating herself for her stupidity. The only thing that had brought her here was herself, and if she had any sense she probably would have stayed back at the apartment, and not rushed out to find danger. Why was she always running off looking for trouble? Hadn't she learned by now that it was stupid to do that? But still here she was… her feet carrying her ever deeper into the darkness. Her grip tightened around her bow, her senses straining until they were painfully aware of the nothingness that stretched beyond her. She held her breath to be spared the pain of hearing her own breathing, almost wished she could control the pace her heart was racing at, that she could stop it from pounding in her throat and ears. She had to be getting close.

XXXXX

"You sure she went this way?"

"I can't be sure, but…" It was a feeling; his feet had just begun carrying him this way. For some reason Kurama couldn't doubt that Kagome had gone this way, despite his lack of evidence. He had learned the importance of instinct long before this… and his instinct screamed for him to go this direction, because she must have gone this way.

"You can't be sure?" He sighed, glaring at one redhead before looking for the other, "Where the hell did Kuwabara go?"

"He branched off from us some time ago; I wouldn't worry he should catch up with us soon." He looked at the ground, almost as if he could see her footsteps leading him. "I'm a bit more concerned about Kagome than Kuwabara at this point. She must have been running to make it this far without us finding her, and she's gone far further than a block."

"Yeah yeah, you were right I was wrong." Yusuke sighed, "Let's just find Kagome and drag her back home before she gets herself hurt."

If it wasn't too late already. The thought struck Kurama like a fist, and he couldn't help wondering why it made him speed up, though he tried to hide it from Yusuke, the last thing he needed right now was another stay away from my sister speech. He did want to find her though, and if that meant dealing with Yusuke behaving in an even more obvious display of displeasure than Hiei ever did when Kuwabara spoke of Yukina, he would deal with it.

XXXXX

Voices. Voices froze her, and then spun her to hide against a tree trunk, her body reacting on its own without her giving instructions. It even took a minute for her brain to register that her ears were actually hearing the voices, and it took even longer for her to recognize what they were saying. It was a scream that brought her back to the reality she was facing.

"Shut her up already." The voice was a hiss, something of a snarl and a whisper, but the wind carried it to her, made a shiver run down her spine along with it.

"I'm trying… she just won't stop." This voice sounded far more normal than the first, low and even, filled with boredom, as if this was an everyday occurrence.

"Then tear out her voice box, I'm tired of hearing all of that." The hiss replied.

"We could always get started…" A third voice whispered, higher than the first two, feminine and gravely, almost like a purr. It sent an even larger shiver over her.

Three. There were three. She'd made a mistake. Kagome held her breath for a long moment, staring unseeing at the forest beyond her. She'd thought this aura came from one demon, she hadn't realized that there would be three. Miroku had always been their demonic aura expert after all, she'd always been busy keeping track of the jewel shards, those she could feel, could tell apart, auras, when they mixed like this, were beyond her.

"Please… just let me…" The plea ended as a gasp and was followed by a thud. Holding a deep breath Kagome turned around, pressing her palms against the rough bark before looking into the clearing beyond. She watched in horror as a young woman was lifted by a large creature with scaled green skin and a swishing tail.

"The fire isn't hot enough yet." The purring voice whispered, accompanied by a smaller creature that moved forward slowly, swaying as it walked, blue-grey fur glinting in the orange light of the flames burning in the center of them, "Put the girl down, we won't be letting her get away."

"She doesn't have to be alive… necessarily."

"Enough you two. It won't be much longer so let's just keep our patience intact." The hiss was coming from somewhere in the shadows beyond the fire's ring of light.

Where they going to eat that girl? But she was so young… probably no more than ten or twelve. Kagome tried to turn her head, tried to close her eyes to deny what she was assuming, but there was no other option. She was here, and the girl was in danger. And there was no one else.

Her hand tightened around the bow again, her other hand went to the quiver, already selecting an arrow and fitting it in place. She held her breath, closed her eyes as she issued a nod to herself. Then as her dark eyes opened again she took a purposeful step away from the tree and set her shoulders to move into the light of the clearing.

"Let the girl go… right now." Her voice sounded far stronger than she felt, and she forced her hands not to waver as she took a moment to aim.

"Look… a little human thinks she can do something." The smaller of the two came toward her, watching with hungry eyes that glinted slightly in the flickering light. "Put the little toy away girl, you couldn't hit us anyway."

"I wouldn't count on that." Kagome wanted to tremble. She wanted to shiver and run, but there was no one else after all, and there was a little girl counting on her. "Just trust me, you don't want to get hit with one of my arrows, so let her go and I'll let you walk out of here alive." She forced all the authority she could manage into her voice, and hoped it was enough to be convincing. If she could avoid fighting then she would be glad to, but she just had a feeling that her luck would hold and she wouldn't be so fortunate.

Two voices chuckled at her, and Kagome felt herself flush. There was a time when they would have known instantly what one of her sacred arrows could do, and they would have cringed away from her, trembled at the idea, there were few demons that hadn't known what a priestess' arrows could do, and fewer who had been strong enough to survive it. These guys didn't know who they were messing with. She pulled back on the arrow, listened to the string complain at the pressure, then adjusted her aim just a little and released, funneling her power into it.

The blue and pink light spiraled around the arrow tip as it flew, cackling against the air viciously as it skimmed just past the demons looking at her. She had another in place by the time the first stuck into the ground near the larger one's foot, where it sparked a few times as her energy began to slowly dispel.

"And that was just a taste. So unless you want to feel the real thing let her go and get out of here." She snapped, trying to keep her arms from shaking as she pulled against the bowstring again. Her arrow hadn't been as strong as it should have been; she hadn't been able to put as much energy behind the attack as she wanted. Kagome could only hope it would be good enough.

"Nice try little girl, but you'll still have to be able to hit one of us." The furry shape moved forward, "We don't sit still like the ground you see."

"I didn't really expect you to." She fought the urge to swallow, refused to let herself tremble. Backing down wasn't an option in this case. There was no Inuyasha or Miroku, no Sango to pick up the slack if she got scared. Running wasn't an option; hiding wasn't something she could do either. This time she had to do it herself.

"Then why keep issuing warnings? If you're the fighter you're trying to pretend you are you would know to shoot first."

"Maybe I'm just not bloodthirsty."

"Maybe you're not nearly as strong as you like to pretend." The fuzz on her body became more obvious the closer she came, as did the blood matted into the strands. Kagome stared. She was already too late… this demon had killed someone else recently. It stung, to realize that she'd already failed to protect the people she'd come here to save. Her arms trembled for a moment, the arrow wavering from its target for only a moment. That moment was all that the target needed.

Pain exploded in her side at the impact that threw her sideways, but years of this happening had ingrained an important survival skill into her brain at last, something Sango had been taught, something she'd learned from painful experience. Even as she cried out and found herself floating sideways Kagome tightened her hold on the bow. If she lost her weapon it was over, there would be nothing she could do.

"See, silly little humans, they always think they're tough once they learn to use that spirit energy of theirs." The woman turned back to her companions, "But they never think they might need more than that, and the never seem to realize just how weak they are."

Kagome pushed herself to her knees, another arrow already moving to replace the one that had been knocked away. Pain brought tears to her eyes, but for the moment she refused to let them fall, there was something more important that she had to do. Her arm protested the resistance of the bow, but she forced it, pulled back with everything she could muster, forced her power into the arrow, prayed it would be enough, and released.

The energy seemed to make the arrow glow, it didn't cackle as before, didn't reach out, but clung to the sharpened tip and wavered with the shaft. She watched it fly, whispering pleas with it to work, to connect, to save her.

The woman cringed as the arrow collided with her mid turn. She staggered back, a look of surprise glued to her features for a moment before they disintegrated in a burst of blue-white light.

"Last chance." Kagome climbed slowly to her feet another arrow already in place, "I'm not messing around here pal, so just let go of her and get out of the way before I decide to make you." Again she hoped she sounded more convincing than she felt.

A small body flew through the air, brown hair whipping violently until the head jerked in response to colliding with a tree trunk. For a moment time seemed to freeze as Kagome's eyes widened and the child's body tumbled slowly to the ground. She gasped, turned to the large green creature that stood staring at her. "How could you? She's just a child!" She pulled back on the arrow, anger raising her temperature, bringing a higher tone to her voice, "You vicious foul…" Try as she might she just couldn't seem to come up with a name bad enough for him, "Monster's like you don't deserve to live." She felt the energy running through her arm, practically running across her body like pin pricks, fueled by anger and disgust it ran over her, gathered at the tip of the arrow in a blinding pink glow. She waited, waited for a moment longer, saw him lumbering closer and nearly held her breath. The air was spiraling around her, pulling at her hair, lifting it from her neck, tugging upward. Then everything stilled, the dust that had been billowing near her feet fell, and Kagome released her arrow.

XXXXX

He'd rejoined the others, having found no sign of Kagome down the street he thought he'd seen her down. They walked in silence, eyes searching and all of them silently wondering where the girl they'd become so fond of so quickly could have possibly gone. They'd been looking for some time now, and there wasn't even a sign of her anywhere, even he with all of his advanced spirit awareness wasn't able to find her. And for some reason that scared Kuwabara a bit.

The minute he'd met Kagome he'd known she was special, not like Yukina was of course, but there was something different about her, something about her energy that made it different from anyone else he'd ever met before. It also made her easy to find, at least when she was nearby, but now… now he couldn't seem to find her anywhere. That coupled with the worried look that Kurama wore when he thought no one was looking meant bad things on the horizon. The only person who seemed unconcerned was Yusuke, but he was sure that it was only an act. At least Kuwabara was hoping it was only an act.

The silence stretched on for another block, broken only by their footsteps and the occasional passing car. No one bothered to speak, so far there was nothing to speak about, and with every step the tension seemed to become heavier.

He froze in the middle of a step when he felt it. The energy washed over him, sending a shiver through his brain and then a tremor across his body. Kuwabara took a deep breath, glanced around, "Either of you two feel that?"

"Yes… though I'm almost afraid of what it might be." Kurama's green eyes were wide, stuck in the same direction that Kuwabara's were. Oddly enough the same direction they'd been going.

"What do you bet it's nothing good, and we find Kagome over there?" Yusuke broke into a run, panic setting over his features at nearly the same instant the Kurama adopted a similar expression and took off after him, but for a long moment Kuwabara could only stare. How could they say that was nothing good? Didn't they feel it? That felt like… it felt like Kagome's energy, but… different somehow, stronger.

"Hey guys… wait up…"

XXXXX

The brilliant light was blinding, painful against the eyes of those looking. Even from here though it was beautiful. A scarlet gaze took in the sight, the way the bow snapped around when the arrow was released from it, the way the arrow wavered in the air even as it flew straight. The power danced along it, whipping and spiraling with such fury the air howled in protest. The wind itself seemed to be forced back from it as it shot forward, energy pooling at the tip as it embedded in the green demon's chest. Then for just a moment everything went still.

XXXXX

"Okay, where'd it go?" The energy had vanished as quickly as it had appeared, seeming to explode for a moment before completely disappearing.

They came to a stop together on a street corner, a pair of green eyes and a pair of brown eyes turning back to the third pair that had been behind them. "Can you still sense it Kuwabara?"

"No… no it's gone."

"I think it came from this way, let's go." Yusuke turned his direction slightly as they cut another corner and ran, his eyes still searching. Now, he was actually beginning to worry.

XXXXX

Kagome groaned softly as she forced herself to stand fully again, her bruised side protesting the agony of it by throbbing painfully, but she made herself ignore it, only squeezed her eyelids closed against it for a second before she caught herself and snapped them open again. Three; there were three. Swallowing nervously she reached for another arrow, only to find nothing there. She started to spin, and then reached for the strap instead, realizing that trying to see her back was a futile attempt. Her hand came down on her shoulder and discovered only her shirt. The quiver was gone, and that meant she had no weapon… not one that she could use anyway. She swallowed again, considered throwing the bow away and quickly decided against it. Even if she couldn't shoot it might still come in handy for something, even if she wasn't exactly sure what.

She turned slowly, eyes searching for a sign of either the third demon that she had yet to see, or the quiver of arrows that she had somehow lost. Maybe she'd gotten lucky and the demon had just run off. Yeah, and maybe she'd learn to fly and grow three inches. Kagome searched carefully with wide eyes, trying to see through the shadows outside the clearing she stood in, letting her gaze slide over the rough forest floor and trees, taking in the shades of brown and fading green. She had to be careful, she had to find the arrows and the demon and get out of here with the…

Kagome gasped and turned toward the girl only to run instantly toward where she rested sprawled against the roots of a tree. "Are you…" Her foot hit something hard that yielded just a little to her forward momentum against the top of her foot. Screeching a little in surprise she threw her arms out in front of her, losing her hold on the bow this time in favor of saving her face from Inuyasha's former best friend… the dirt.

The dirt tore into her knees and the heels of her hands, grinding into the skin. With a grunt of pain Kagome pushed herself upward, turned to see what had tripped her and froze for a moment before spinning around into a sitting position before scooting back with wide eyes.

The tip had caught her foot, the green black scales glinting in the firelight. Her eyes watched the shine for a moment before sliding along the rapidly swelling tail, swallowing as it quickly reached a thickness that was wider than her entire body. Fear lumping in her throat she followed the body, searching for the head that she knew existed but couldn't find before the body vanished from the small clearing. Nervously swallowing for what was likely the fifth time in the last three or four minutes she glanced over her shoulder to the girl still lying behind her. This was getting worse by the moment and she had to get the kid out of here before it was too late. Carefully she began to scoot back, trying to watch what she could of the enormous column of flesh and still watch what was happening behind her as much as possible. "Hey, are you okay back there?" She called softly, her eyes still searching in a panic. When she received no answer Kagome sighed and scooted back another few inches. What if the child was badly injured, what if this… snake thing came after them? Would she be able to get the girl and get away before it caught her? Would she be able to move the child at all? What had she been thinking coming here? Kagome glanced around rapidly before turning onto her knees and trying to push herself back to her feet.

The rough edge of scales slid across the skin of her ankle, and Kagome froze, her stomach leaping upward and twisting in protest, her heart pounding in her throat in fear. Slowly she turned her head over her shoulder, and watched it come closer, felt the weight on her legs increase. With a hint of a scream she surged to her feet and spun to back away from the creature, eyes darting even as she began to spin after every step. "Little girl… um…" There was no way she would be able to carry the girl and get out of this, she should be able to distract the demon while the girl got away though, but for that plan to work she had to wake up the little girl, "You awake yet?"

"I've been awake." The voice hissed over her like a sickening wind again, and Kagome spun toward it, only to find green eyes watching her with slit pupils. She gasped a little and staggered back another step.

"You just… just stay away…"

"You aren't in any position to talk little girl, you can't hit me with one of those arrows you don't have." The enormous body came closer, slithering quietly over the ground. Kagome tried to back away, only to be stopped by the firm pressure of something cool and slightly squishy hitting the back of her legs. She pulled down a gasp that tried to escape her, "Go ahead and be afraid little girl, that's what you should be doing."

The pressure increased against her legs, a similar weight pressing against her back as it yanked her forward, and in seconds she was caught between very heavy coils of squeezing muscle and shifting scales. She cried out as it tightened, effectively halting her attempts to escape for a moment.

"Go ahead… scream, it'll only hurt more in a moment." Sadistic joy vibrated through the low sound, turning the words into nearly a whispered chuckle. Kagome held herself still, biting her lip to keep from giving in and allowing a scream to escape her. As if taking it as a challenge the snake's body tightened.

Helplessly she tried to move against the scales, pulling her body in against itself in an effort to squeeze herself free, an attempt that didn't work. Biting down on another scream Kagome searched for anything she could find to help her escape, one eye squeezed closed against the pain as the body tightened. If she waited any longer her bones were going to be broken.

Heavy muscle closed over her, pulled her deeper into their hold, squeezing so tightly she couldn't hold in a breath. Her shoulder was forced downward, her chin shoved up so that the muscles screamed in protest. Grunting in pain Kagome searched for an escape route, searched for any kind of help that might come. But there was no one, she was on her own here. One eye squeezed closed against the pain as she searched for something, anything to get her out of this one. And then she saw it.

The shaft of the arrow was broken near the end, lying over almost halfway, but still partly attached, just close enough…

She twisted, forced her hand out between the bands of scaly body. Gasping she pushed, shoving her hand as far out of the strangling hold as possible.

"Here, I'll come closer to hear you." The hiss sounded almost against her ear, and Kagome shivered, stilled for a moment before turning her head the small amount she was able to, staring into catlike green eyes that practically glowed at her. The muscles around her constricted further, causing her to bite down on her tongue to keep the sound from escaping her. Her fingers were almost there, she could feel the softness of the fletching bending against her fingers, the smooth wood of the arrow's shaft brushed her fingers, then with a final push she had her hand around it.

With a triumphant cry she yanked, felt the sharp edge come easily out of the soft earth for her. She yanked her arm in before the heavy body could close on her arm and immobilize it. She struggled for less than a moment, dragging the arrow upward across her stomach, felt the sharp corner of the arrowhead scrape through the thin fabric of her shirt and her abdominal muscles clenched in response to the slight pain, trying to give her arm room to move. It took nearly all the effort her body could exert, every muscle protesting against her motions as she forced her arm free of the hold, and brought the tip into the eye that was less than a foot from her.

The scream was still ringing in her ear as she hit the ground, watching the back of the snake's head explode with the power she'd managed to channel into the arrow without realizing. For a long moment she rested on the ground, pulling in breath after breath as she attempted to gather the courage to move. Her body hurt still, but as far as she could tell nothing was broken. Taking a deep breath she pushed herself slowly to her feet, smiling just a little. She'd done it… all on her own she'd managed to live through the situation and even save someone else. Her eyes left the dead demon and went back to girl laying on the ground beside a tree. Kagome sighed and staggered toward the place, dropped to her knees beside the girl at last. "Hey, are you alright?" She caught the girl's shoulders, gently turned her over and froze as orange eyes met hers and fangs glinted in the light.

"You just killed two of my best men."

"You're men… what are you talking about?" She fell back as the child stood, staring up at her.

"The green one I wouldn't have minded you killing, but the other two…" The demon girl's hair swished as she shook her head, "well I suppose I should thank you, if they weren't able to kill one human girl they clearly weren't very effective were they? As a reward I'll let you die quickly." The knife she withdrew glinted dreadfully in the light. Kagome moved back a little, "Now… hold still…"

She didn't have any weapons, and she didn't know how to fight. There was no way she would survive a fist fight with a demon, even a little one and Kagome knew it. She also knew that there was no way she would be able to get up and run before the child reached her. Silently she berated herself for her stupidity and squeezed her eyes tightly closed, waiting, accepting that there was nothing she could do. After surviving the three demons she'd known about she was going to die from the one she'd been trying to save. She held her breath, her heart slowing inexplicably. It wouldn't be long now, just another second, time enough for one last breath, but she couldn't take it.

-SHINK-

The air she'd been holding in left as a gasp, her eyelids snapped open as her chin snapped her face upward and her eyes were burned by a scarlet gaze.

Okay, another hated author note. So sorry, I didn't realize my scene change markers were being dropped when I uploaded the file until someone pointed it out… trying to change them, but it may take a while. New chapters will be marked, with 'X's this time. Again really sorry.