Disclaimer: Inuyasha and all other characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi.
A/N: Here is Chapter 7. Don't let the chapter title fool you, though. Oh yeah, and if you're wondering, I have a thing with two word titled chapters. I got into the habit and now it seems like bad luck to break it. I don't know why. Thanks again to all my faithful reviewers!
Isolde Eris - Well, here's the update. Sorry to keep you waiting!
Japanesegirl101 - I think you've reviewed for the most chapters so far. I'm so happy you like my story!
KagvsInu - I'm in your fav? Wow, I feel special. I'm glad you're enjoying it.
InuyashaxKagome1994 - I will definitely finish!
Thanks again!
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Chapter 7 - Sweet Escape
A menacing laugh erupted throughout the room. Kagome stepped back in pure surprise and fear. Inuyasha stood his ground, knuckles turning white on the hilt of his Tetsusaiga. He put one arm protectively in front of Kagome and growled loud enough for it to be heard across the room.. I won't let him get Kagome. Not this time.
Naraku was now fully there, albeit hidden behind a red barrier. He stared at the so-called "pathetic hanyou" and the young miko. "We meet again, Kagome. I see you managed to escape from Kohaku, as I thought you would."
Kagome glared daggers at Naraku, a glare which would probably make Sesshomaru cower in fear. "What do you want, Naraku?" Her voice held just as much - and maybe more - venom than Naraku himself.
This was much to Naraku's distaste, and he was now clearly agitated at Kagome's unfeigned bitterness. He raised a hand, causing the red barrier to slowly dissipate. "You surprise me, Kagome. You dare talk to me like that, especially with the hole in your back?" He sounded at that moment like a father scolding a young child (although, the child probably didn't have a hole in their back).
"No thanks to you!" Kagome crossed her arms huffily and turned away from him. "If anyone here is pathetic, it's you, Naraku," she stated primly. She narrowed her eyes and glowered at him, her rant unwavering. "If anyone here is a pathetic excuse for a hanyou, it's YOU!" Her voice cut through the air like a knife. The bravery that dawned on her was shocking. "YOU! Of all the pathetic, ignorant, deceitful, cowardly, stupid, manipulative, repulsive..." Her raving continued, before she finally stopped and raised her head to look at Inuyasha. Her usually chocolate, warm eyes were now hard and cold.
Tension hung thick in the air. Inuyasha turned his head to stare at her in surprise. She's never spoke to anyone like this before...she must be really mad. A smirk broke on his face as he turned his dancing amber eyes back to Naraku. "You hear that, Naraku?"
Kagome's speech was clearly egging him on. His brows twitched in annoyance, his knuckles turning ghostly white. "You dare speak to me like that, girl?" He raised his hand, and with an invisible force, Kagome was flung against the wall. With his hand waving dismissively, he turned his attention back to Inuyasha. "You should really teach that girl to hold her tongue."
Inuyasha turned his head around to check that Kagome was okay. He let out a sigh of relief as she lifted head and gazed at him warily. A second later, Tetsusaiga was drawn from its sheathe and poised in front of him. "You're gonna pay for that, Naraku. And everything else you've done."
Kagome held her head steady and stood up, trembling slightly. I meant every word I said, and I don't regret any of it. She scanned the room quickly and spotted her bow near the door. Once she was sure Naraku was distracted, she made a run for it. She dove to the floor and grabbed her bow and arrows, quickly rearranging herself to a sitting position. An arrow was aligned with her bow, ready to fire at any given moment. From her kneeling position, she closed one eye for steady aim. She released the arrow and watched it fly towards her target.
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Sango scrunched her face in confusion as she slowly opened her eyes. She was welcomed by blackness. The only thing she was sure of was that Miroku was somewhere down there alongside her.
Tentatively, Sango braced her hand on the floor and sat up. Wood and other debris was scattered on the floor, by the feel of it. Trying hard to concentrate on seeing in the darkness, she began searching for Miroku.
Sango's ears tingled as she heard a wary groan come from about three feet from where she was sitting. On her hands and knees, she crawled until one of her hands brushed up against Miroku's robes. It felt good to feel them beneath her fingertips, comforting, almost. With further examination she found his face and wiped away the dust that remained there.
Miroku opened his eyes to gaze up at Sango. They hadn't fallen to their death, after all. He reached his hands up and caressed her cheek gently. "Are you...are you alright Sango?" he muttered, only barely audible.
"I'm okay. But what about you?" Her eyes had not yet become used to the darkness. She moved her hand on the floor, only to feel a sticky liquid on her fingers. She had to bring her hand very close to her face to find out what it was. Blood. More specifically, Miroku's blood. Her eyes widened as she tried to find where he had been hurt. Miroku did not agree with this so much, as he consistently reminded her she was just fine.
After a few minutes of bickering and with some help from Sango, Miroku managed to sit up. They'd discovered that his head was hit on the way down, probably by a piece of wood. Sango persistently tried to coax him to lay down and rest.
"This is a minor cut, Sango. I'll be fine. Besides, how are we going to find our way out of here if I'm resting?" He tried to reassure her. She finally let out an exasperated sigh and turned to look around, giving into the houshi's pleading.
She figured about half of the floor had fallen down. Kagura was no where in sight. They were alone. Their only source of light was from the room above, which wasn't very much. Since they had fallen, Miroku figured they were in the basement, or as Naraku might like to call it, the dungeon. But they did have Kirara with them, who followed Sango and Miroku around.
They soon figured out why it was called a dungeon. Standing up, hand in hand, they went to explore in the darkness. It seemed there were cells aligned with the walls, but there was nothing in them (thank Gods). By now they could see somewhat in front of them, so I guess it wasn't totally dark.
Sango instinctively put her hand on her Hiraikotsu, which she had managed to find among the rubble, when they heard voices above them. She was guessing three people...demons...whatever they were. Kirara meowed and looked up through the hole in the ceiling. Since she hadn't transformed, they were guessing it wasn't anyone dangerous. Miroku obviously heard as well, because he was glancing upwards. Bits and pieces of a conversation was heard:
"Is there anyone down there, Kouga?" Hakkaku asked hesitantly.
"Someone's definitely been here," Kouga replied. "I can still smell that houshi and the taijiya. They've been here, and I bet they fell when the boards collapsed," he stated. "There's also the faint smell of blood."
Sango and Miroku exchanged quick glances. They knew instantly who it was, so they made their way back to where the floorboards first collapsed.
They were instantly greeted by Kouga, followed by Hakkaku and Ginta. Those two began wandering around. Since they were wolves, their sight was much better in the dark than humans. So, naturally they had no problems exploring the place.
Kouga crossed his arms and sniffed the air. "How did you guys get down here in the first place?" he asked. "I can smell Kagura. Was she here too?"
Miroku nodded quickly and pointed above them. "We had a...run-in with her earlier. After she disappeared, the floors collapsed and here we are," he concluded. "A few minor injuries, but nothing more." Bending down, Miroku picked up a piece of wood that was on the floor. Sango was thinking the same thing.
"But Kouga, how do you think the floor collapsed in the first place?" Sango wondered intuitively. "Do you think Kagura had something to do with it?"
Kouga started growling quietly and motioned Ginta and Hakkaku back to him. "More than likely. This castle's fairly new, and floors just don't suddenly fall all by themselves.
Miroku nodded and walked to one of the small cells for further examination. "And it looks as if this is where Naraku keeps his demons," he stated, referring to the claw marks and scratches, which looked like something was trying to escape. "So there has to be another way out of here."
Sango and Kouga nodded in agreement. They decided to stick together this time instead of separating. They all had to make it out, after all. Kouga was to lead the way, since he could see the best in the darkness. He would be followed by Hakkaku and Ginta, then Miroku and Sango at the rear. Since they were all pretty awesome fighters, they didn't have to worry about demons. For now, anyway.
They decided to follow the row of cells that were lined up against the wall. Kouga told them if something was coming up ahead and which way they had to turn. It was a rather large dungeon, so I think the fact that Miroku and Sango had someone to see for them made them feel pretty relieved.
Sango groped a cell bar with her hands after she stumbled over a detached bar on the ground (don't ask me what it was doing there). Miroku grabbed onto her shoulder so she wouldn't be left behind, and Ginta waited up for the two of them. Sango nodded her thanks, although Miroku probably couldn't see it. She switched the Hiraikotsu to her other arm and followed after Ginta.
Kouga stopped and signaled for the others to stop. Ginta and Hakkaku turned around to wait for Miroku and Sango. Once they were all caught up, Kouga raised his nose to sniff the air. The faint smell of Naraku lingered there, and a trace of some others that were unidentifiable.
He started walking again and the four others followed. Miroku kept his eyes peeled ahead, while Sango tried to see to the sides of them in the darkness.
Ginta sighed and rested his hands behind his head. "Have you found anything yet, Kouga? This place is giving me the creeps. Hakkaku followed suit and nodded.
"I think we're pretty close to our way out of here," was Kouga's only reply. It was quiet once again, and the only sound came from their footsteps on the hard ground.
"So, Kouga, have you seen Kagome or Inuyasha since we split up?" Sango asked curiously. She prayed that Kagome wasn't in any kind of trouble while they were stuck in this..dungeon.
Once again, Kouga's answer was short. "No. Kagome and mutt face are still running around the castle somewhere, searching for Naraku." He was beginning to wonder if he made the wrong choice when he didn't follow Kagome in the first place. "And if he knows what's good for him, he'll keep Kagome safe."
Sango allowed her face to break into a small smile. She glanced to where Miroku was standing beside him and nudged his shoulder. In her head, she was imagining him smiling back at her. That usual, lecherous smile he wore most of the time.
Kouga stopped again and peered up at the ceiling. About a three-by-three foot square was mismatched from the other wood. He smirked and turned around to face the others. "I think I found our way outta here." He crouched down and jumped up to the ceiling, sending his fist flying through the wood. Light shone through the hole he had made and spilled into the dungeon. It wasn't much, but it was still light.
Kouga, Ginta and Hakkaku helped Miroku and Sango climb up and through the hole, since it was higher than they could reach. Kirara was being cradled in Sango's arms. Hakkaku leapt up next, followed by Ginta and finally Kouga.
Miroku kicked a bit of wood that was laying on the ground. He dropped it into the hole and listened to it drop to the hard ground below. "Now that we're out of there, don't you think we should continue our search for Naraku?"
Sango started searching the halls, looking for any sign of Kagome and Inuyasha. Kirara knew something was on her mind, so she sat on her haunches and nuzzled her head against Sango's leg. She patted Kirara's head absentmindedly. "Do you think Inuyasha and Kagome have found Naraku yet?"
"It's hard to say," Miroku implied carefully. "But we should start looking for Naraku. If we continue on, we're bound to run into Inuyasha and Kagome sometime."
Kirara transformed, and Sango started running down the hall ahead of them. Miroku followed closely behind along with Kouga, while Ginta and Hakkaku stayed behind all of them. Kouga thought it best not to lose them now, so he ran at a moderate pace.
Sango glanced for a second at her arm where the poison had been injected with that flower stem. She grimaced at the memory, and once again prayed that Kagome was alright with Inuyasha. She didn't doubt him, but there was a nagging feeling in her gut. Something just didn't feel right.
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Kagome's arrow wasn't fast enough. Naraku raised his hand and caught it simply between two fingers. She stared in surprise as the arrow dissolved, and fell to a pile of dust on the ground. "He...he stopped it. My arrow didn't even scratch him," she muttered. She lowered her bow to her side and stood up slowly, glancing at Inuyasha. She'd failed him.
Inuyasha growled quickly and swung his Tetsusaiga over his shoulder. Kagome's arrow didn't work... He glared at Naraku, who was once again laughing murderously. Something's not right here. What's he laughing about?
"Inuyasha, you really are a fool, aren't you?" Naraku waved his hand in the air and stepped out of the center circle. "It's all happening right under your nose, and you haven't figured it out yet."
That ticked him off. "Look, I don't know what your playing at, Naraku, but I won't have to listen to it anymore once I cut you down with a slash of my Tetsusaiga!" Inuyasha held his sword in front of him, getting ready to attack.
Naraku snickered and glowered at Inuyasha. "Will you be able to speak so boldly once Kagome is dead?"
Inuyasha's eyes widened as he whirled his head around to look at Kagome. No longer was she standing, but kneeling painfully on the ground. Blood was pouring from the wound in her back. She held a hand on her stomach while trying to gasp for air. Her skin had turned a ghostly white.
"What are you going to do, Inuyasha? Before too long, she'll be dead from loss of blood," Naraku taunted. He was clearly feeding off of Inuyasha's anger. "But of course, I don't have to let her die. She could prove of great use to me." Naraku waved his hand again, and Kagome was lifted into the air, surrounded by a purple light. "Oh no, I won't let her die just yet." That said, Naraku started to disappear...along with Kagome.
Inuyasha bared his teeth and ran towards the spot where Naraku had been standing. "Naraku, you bastard! Come back and fight me!" These extremely loud and furious words echoed throughout the empty room. He was alone, and he let Naraku get away once again. With Kagome, no less.
Tetsusaiga returned to its original form and Inuyasha slipped it back into its scabbard. No sooner had he done that, standing in the center of the room with his head hung in defeat did Sango, Miroku, Kouga, Ginta, and Hakkaku entered the room. Sango saw Inuyasha standing there...but she also saw the blood on the floor. Kouga turned his nose in the air and sniffed, obviously searching for Kagome.
"I..Inuyasha...where's Kagome?" Sango asked hesitantly. Her voice wavered slightly as she examined the destroyed room.
Kouga crossed his arms and stood in front of Inuyasha. "I was wondering the same thing, mutt-face. Where is she?"
Everybody half knew what was coming. Inuyasha raised his head to glare at the wall across from him. "She's gone."
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A/N: See? Sango escaped from Naraku...unfortunately, Kagome wasn't so lucky. I know exactly how this next chapter's going to roll out. I'm so sorry I didn't get it up Friday...there was an emergency and I had to leave home for a couple of days.. Hope this chapter's not too terrible. :( But I need for you to decide. So review and tell me what you think! Chapter 8 will be done Friday.