Summary: Her Purity revised! Knowing the end was near, Naraku kidnaps and rapes Kagome, leaving her terrified of men, including Inuyasha. With this knowledge, Inuyasha tries to help her, but what happens when her condition only gets worse?
Notes: Her Purity revised.
Chapter Three: Transition
Rating: M

The Crown Jewel

"…not long after you left…"

"…two puppets…sabotaged…"

"No…" a weak voice moaned.

"Kagome's arrow…backfired…punctured her side…"

"No…" the voice said again, a type of urgency behind it that instilled worry and denial.

"Protective barrier…"

The face of a woman flashed suddenly; her skin was deathly pale and her eyes, cold and haunting.

"No…"

"…so much blood…"

"He beat us…and he took her…"

"No…"

"He took Kagome…"

"…she's gone…"

"…Kagome's gone…"

"Kagome!"

Inuyasha snapped his eyes open and winced, closing them immediately and shielding them with his hand to protect from the bright fire that cackled before him. Upon touching his forehead, he felt a cold wetness and hastily wiped away his sweat before slowly sitting up, his head pounding. He gasped quietly, his breath coming out in small coughs as he shuddered. The voices echoed ominously in his head. It took him a minute to remember what they were saying and even longer to attribute those two voices to Sango and Miroku. They bounced off the inner walls of his mind, his brain processing their words over and over again to try and understand what his heart could not.

Regaining his composure, Inuyasha lifted his head and found Sango kneeling by his side with a small towel. He pulled back at her proximity, but accepted the pro-offered towel without hesitation until he noticed something about his hand that had his heart racing twice as fast as before. With blunt-nailed fingers, Inuyasha brought his hand to his head and grabbed a lock of hair, cursing loudly at the dark color. He was still a human.

"What happened…?" he asked Sango in a hoarse voice. Sango bit her lip. She fiddled with her fingers and opened her mouth, ready to speak when he suddenly help up a hand to silence her. It was all rushing back to him in a pounding headache.

He had continued his search for Kagome until his exhaustion finally got the better of him and he collapsed. He felt like he couldn't breathe, but he had questioned Sango and Miroku regardless from where he laid face first on the ground. They didn't answer him at first and primarily focused on helping him, but he didn't deserve the treatment. He wasn't even there to help, and therefore didn't deserve to rest. They had finally answered him the second time he asked, but their answers were broken and hesitant as they watched his expressions change. He didn't need sight or scent to know that they were both fearful of what he would do; their auras could tell him everything. Though he wasn't as strong in this form, he was still a force to be reckoned with.

They had explained to him everything that had happened after he left. Miroku was waking up the girls when the first puppet arrived. They were caught off-guard by the sudden arrival, thinking that he, Inuyasha, had left to head Naraku off earlier. They fought him valiantly, but sustained many injuries. Sango was hit with her own weapon, Hiraikotsu, and though it wasn't enough to kill her, it knocked her out of the fight for a good while until she was recovered enough to help again. Kagome was trying to salvage the small amount of bows she had left by fighting with her bow, pushing her purifying powers into it and wielding it like a sword. Miroku was hindered when he was thrown aside and hit his head on a rock, but he had been the first to notice the second puppet that had sneaked up behind the group. Kirara had been speared by a tentacle from the second puppet and thrown onto the tents, which had caught on fire because of her flaming paws. She struggled to untangle herself and in doing so, discarded the burning tent to the tree line and returned to the fight. The forest had caught fire and the smoke was so thick that everyone was brought to their knees, scrambling for breath. After that, Kagome had pulled out one of her arrows and shot it. No one knew how or why it happened, but when the arrow touched the second puppet, it had a whiplash effect and reflected back to Kagome, hitting her in the side. Incapacitated, Miroku and Sango could do nothing as Kagome fell to the side, only to be caught by one of the puppets and hauled away. More than an hour had passed since she was taken; the fire died down and the smoke was clearing. Then, Inuyasha arrived, but was much too late to be of any use.

After that, Inuyasha had tried to get back up again, asking them what they were doing, telling—demanding that they go and get Kagome back, but his body wouldn't cooperate. His muscles ached, his head hurt, his lungs were suffering. Sango had called him a fool for thinking that they could go on a rescue mission in their condition. They would head out as soon as possible, but required at least several hours of rest. Their primary source of transportation was Kirara, and she was still recovering from a puncture wound in her side. "Besides," Sango had said to Inuyasha, "what will you be able to do while you're human?"

He had passed out soon after that from exhaustion. It was already night fall when that happened, and, looking up at the sky, Inuyasha calculated that he must have been out for only a couple of hours, as the sky was still as dark as ever. Breathing heavily, Inuyasha inquired Sango about Miroku, whom she said had fainted not long after he did.

"He lost a lot of blood because of his head wound," she said softly. She then looked in his eyes in silent question. Inuyasha stared back, assessing her for a minute before looking at Miroku, who lay sleeping on the opposite side of the fire. Half of his head was bandaged heavily, but blood was already beginning to seep through. He looked pale.

"We'll take him to Kaede's before we leave," Inuyasha said with a nod of his head. "How're you? Are you injured badly?" he asked. Despite his half-demon powers, Inuyasha knew that he would need as much help as he could get.

Sango shook her head negatively. "Just bruised my side a bit. Nothing time won't heal," she said.

"Has Kirara healed yet? We should hurry and take Miroku back."

Hearing her name, Kirara gingerly sat up and gave a big, jaw-cracking yawn before transforming. She pawed over to Sango and nudged her side before licking her owner's hand.

"Her muscles are a bit sore, but she'll be fine," Sango affirmed. With that, Inuyasha hauled the unconscious Miroku on Kirara's back and held him there, waiting for Sango to climb behind him to keep him steady. When he was sure Miroku wouldn't fall, Inuyasha quickly examined what he could of the camp in the darkness. The only thing that was still intact was Kagome's huge, yellow backpack. Grabbing it, Inuyasha hauled it over his shoulder easily, as most of the contents have spilled out and are now burnt. He tossed the bag to Sango before climbing on Kirara, who grunted slightly at his extra weight.

Though he always protested assistance from others, Inuyasha knew he couldn't let his pride get in the way this time. Kagome was in danger, and he had to save her.

With Kirara growling loudly, the group quickly traveled east towards Kaede's village and the slowly rising sun, not realizing that they had forgotten one, important person.

oOo

Shippo could barely keep the tears from flowing. He clung to Kagome's back, biting his lip so hard that he felt it might bleed to keep from wailing his distress. During the battle, Kirara had accidentally crushed Kagome's quiver when she was thrown into the tents, so he had transformed into a replacement that his surrogate mother could use. He had no idea what was happening in the fight, but the next thing he knew, there was an arrow in Kagome's side and she had passed out from blood loss. He was too frightened to transform back to his regular state and was therefore taken away by Naraku's puppets. He wasn't sure if the puppet noticed that he was there, but if he did, he took no notice of the small fox, but for safety's sake, Shippo refrained from using his crying mushrooms.

It was past nightfall by the time Shippo felt his powers weakening. He had become much stronger due to excessive training with Inuyasha, but he had never held out on a transformation this long before. Trying as hard as he could to remain in the form of a quiver, Shippo squinted his eyes shut in hopes that it would help, but a small squeal of terror escaped him as his tail sprang into view with a small pop.

Everything stopped suddenly. Shippo kept his eyes closed, but soon became restless and squinted one eye open and looked up. Both eyes snapped open in horror.

The puppet of Naraku was gazing down on him, a sinfully amused expression on his face. Shippo began to shiver with fright, whatever arrows that were left inside his quiver jostling loudly. Death was coming and he knew it.

But to Shippo's surprise, the puppet merely chuckled, a dark look in his eyes, before continuing the journey back to Naraku's lair.

oOo

The small group had only been traveling a little over an hour until Kaede's village appeared over the horizon. A bright red hue was beginning to form over the mountains, but the sun hadn't risen enough for Inuyasha to transform back into a half-demon yet. That wouldn't be for another two hours, which hopefully they could use to replenish and recover. Inuyasha argued heatedly that he wasn't going to waste time resting while Kagome was in mortal danger, and stated that they were only going to drop Miroku off before they left, but Sango was adamant in saying that he would get no where while in human form and might as well wait and get whatever rest he can until the sun rose.

"Kagome's been kidnapped by Naraku before, remember?" she asked, ignoring Inuyasha as his eyes narrowed at the memory. "She'll be able to take care of herself." But deep down, Inuyasha knew that it was different.

Last time, Naraku wanted her eyes. This time, he wanted her life.

Miroku had woken up half way through the journey, which Sango and Inuyasha were grateful for as it meant that his head wound wouldn't be fatal. Kaede was already awake by the time they barged into her hut. Not wasting time asking questions, the old priestess quickly set about examining Miroku's injuries and creating a strong herb paste to apply to his head before wrapping it. She also brewed some herbal tea that she served to both Miroku and Sango to ease the pain their bodies were feeling. While she did so, she also told Inuyasha some very surprising news.

"You're brother visited me yesterday," she said flatly. Inuyasha, who had been dozing, shook himself awake and growled.

"What?"

"He just came to drop of Rin," Kaede pointed to a small, sleeping figure on the opposite side of the hut. No one had noticed she was there before. "He said he wanted her out of the way of the fight, and I assumed he meant a fight with you. But after hearing your story, I think the lad may have gone to find Naraku."

Inuyasha made to stand up, but Miroku's staff slammed into his shoulder, forcing him back down. Pulling back his lips in a snarl, Inuyasha glared at Miroku from the floor before shoving the staff away from his person.

"You'll be killed if you go after him now," Miroku said wisely. Growling in frustration, Inuyasha pulled back his fist and slammed it into the wall. The wood cracked and groaned under the pressure, and Inuyasha's hand began to bleed heavily, but he repeated the action again and again until his knuckles were covered in blood, blisters, and cuts.

It was quiet for a while after that, but it wasn't until Kaede inquired of Shippo's whereabouts that the group realized that the small kit was missing. A lot of worrying ensued thereafter. Inuyasha was cursing nonstop, angry that he lost two packmates as Sango fidgeted nervously before accidentally cracking her mug in her hands. She had grown quite attached to the child and knew him like she knew her own younger brother. Miroku was as agitated as ever, but was constantly told by Sango and Kaede not to aggravate his wound. The tenseness in the room was heavy as everyone waited for the sun to rise completely. There had been much debate between Miroku and Sango about him going to fight as well; he was in far too critical condition to move about so soon, but it was Miroku's fight, too, and he'd be damned if he didn't have a part in taking down Naraku. Sango had reluctantly given in after that and bitterly suggested to Kaede that they go get some supplies together from the village. They returned half an hour later, laden down with herbs, food, and medicinal supplies that they stuffed into Kagome's bag. As they were doing so, Miroku laid his head back, his eyes on Inuyasha, who was sitting cross legged in a dark corner of the hut, waiting for the sun to rise.

"Where were you?"

The question caused Sango to pause in what she was doing, but she hurriedly began to organize her belongings and weaponry.

"I smelt Naraku and Kikyo a few miles away from the camp," Inuyasha replied sourly, a scowl on his face. "I went to see what they were doing." His foot began to tap on the wood floors impatiently. "The sun is going to rise soon. Get ready to leave."

"Kikyo?" Miroku asked, his brow furrowed. He got up and fixed his tangled robes before grabbing his staff.

"She's working with him now," Inuyasha spat. He glared pointedly at Kaede. "Which way did my brother go?"

"Southeast of here," Kaede replied.

"I think that's the same way that we saw the puppets leave," Sango commented. She tightened the buttons to her uniform and straightened out the midsection before beckoning Kirara to her. After a quick examination, she deemed Kirara's puncture wound fully healed.

"Hurry up, then," Inuyasha ordered. "We don't have time to waste." He stepped outside into the bright sunlight and closed his eyes as his transformation finally occurred. He didn't know why he bothered to ask Kaede which way Sesshomaru went; he could sniff him out easily with his nose.

Sango and Miroku barely had time to clamber onto Kirara before Inuyasha took off, the demon cat following behind faithfully. Kaede wished them good luck from the doorway to her hut, but couldn't help the worried feeling that wound itself into her heart.

oOo

"Hurry up, damn it!" Inuyasha yelled behind him. Kirara growled before picking up the pace, but the hanyou was moving much too fast for her to keep up adequately. They were making much progress on their journey; Sesshomaru's scent wasn't getting any stronger, but at least they haven't lost it. Hopefully, Inuyasha's older brother would lead them straight to Naraku.

Inuyasha had told his companions about the entire conversation held between Naraku and Kikyo the day before and growled angrily. They suspected that once Kikyo had agreed to the deal, she set up a powerful barrier around the puppets, which was the reason why Kagome's arrow was deflected.

"He set us up!" the dog demon hissed. "Damn bastard lured me away on my human night to get to Kagome!"

"You can't blame yourself for this, Inuyasha," Miroku stated. "Tricking people is Naraku's forte."

"But what about Kagome?" Sango asked fearfully. She gripped Kirara's fur tightly. "If Kikyo wants Kagome's soul, then doesn't that mean—"

"Shut up!" Inuyasha yelled. Baring his teeth in a ferocious snarl, he forced his legs to move faster and faster until he was almost out of sight of the rest of the group. He already knew that Kikyo could only collect the souls of dead girls, but he refused to hear that Kagome would have to die for that to happen. He wouldn't let it happen. He'd save her in time, he swore it.

But something in his subconscious reminded him that Naraku hadn't killed Kagome on sight; Sango said she was positive that Kagome was still alive when she was kidnapped, but that wasn't part of the deal that Naraku and Kikyo had. What was the bastard up to?

Inuyasha had a gut-wrenching feeling that he was about to find out.

Phew! Chapter 3, done! Anyway, you can probably guess that something terrible is going to happen next, given the summary of this story. It will be WAY more dramatic than in the previous version of this story, but not as graphic, I promise. I was quite disgusted with the way I described the violation of Kagome's body and revolted that I even wrote it in the first place. Most definitely, I will NOT be going into detail (well, maybe a little, but not in the way that you think), but with what's going to happen in the next chapter, well, I don't want to reveal too much.

*Important Note*In this story, Sesshomaru will have BOTH of his arms. I know that he gets them back in the manga/anime, but I don't know the details because I haven't watched the anime in such a long time. All I know is that he gets his signature sword, Bakusaiga, as well. I'm not sure if he still has Tokijin; I heard that it gets destroyed, so could you guys please explain some of what happened to me? Thanks!

~Miyopiyo