Previously:

The demon chuckled maliciously as he stepped through the opening. Kagome's eyes gravitated to the long weapon in his hand. It looked to be a leather whip with tassels sprouting from its end. The talon-like hooks attached to the ends scraped the stone dragging on the floor as he made his way closer.

"Ready for some fun?" he asked in a cruel deep voice.

Naraku closed the door behind him, shrouding the tiny room in impenetrable darkness.

Chapter Eighteen

The End of Games

Inuyasha awoke with a pounding headache. He groaned as he attempted to sooth the pain by rubbing his forehead. After a few moments when the headache continued to persist, he gave up and viewed his surroundings. Cold metal bars made up one whole wall of his cell. Light emitted from a burning torch farther down the hall. A sliver of moon hung in the sky, seen from the high barred window, hinting at the time of day.

Inuyasha struggled to remember his last conscious memory. All he could think of was Kagome's sleeping face as fire from their campfire cast flickering shadows across the trees. He'd left to scout the area and then… nothing. He couldn't remember a thing after that moment.

His current position gave him an idea though. He'd gotten himself captured, he assumed. As he wondered how, an aura began to approach from down the hall. With a sniff, he instantly readied his claws since his Tetsaiga seemed to be missing from his waste and drew his lips back in a snarl.

Naraku came into view holding a torch. "You're awake," he said with narrowed eyes, irritation glinting in their depths. "I leave you for a couple hours and the spell already wore off."

Inuyasha just glared back. At the mention of a spell, fuzzy blurred pictures came to mind: Kagome's face twisting in agony, a demon with a clawed whip, Kagome in chains… His eyes widened in realization.

"Let's change that…" Naraku growled as he closed the space between them.

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Her eyes fluttered open wearily. The exhaustion hit her instantly along with the cold as she adjusted her position to sit up against the wall. She let her head hang, lacking the strength to keep it up.

Where was she? With a flash of realization, she reached her stiff arm around in an attempt to touch her back. Smooth flesh was all her fingers touched along with scraps of clothing that stubbornly stayed attached to her shirt. Her eyes widened in wonder.

It happened again. She was healed without her doing a thing. That demon had definitely whipped her back relentlessly in her last moments of consciousness. She had definitely felt like she was on the edge of life. But now she was perfectly healed aside from the fatigue.

Was she sleepwalking/healing? She shook her head and chuckled in spite of herself at the ridiculousness of the thought.

Was someone helping her? The idea only flitted through her mind for a moment before she ruled that possibility out. No one she knew of in Naraku's gang had the ability to heal. And even if there was, why would they help her if they didn't know her?

The jewel shard. The answer came to her without preamble but she was certain it was the only possibility. That was why she was so tired every time she woke up. It drew from her miko powers to heal her, but left her physically exhausted. She couldn't comprehend how the jewel acted on its own terms, nor could she figure out why it would do such a thing.

She rested her hand on her chest and closed her eyes in concentration. She could feel tiny atoms flowing from every corner of her body until they came together and formed the jewel shard in between her finger tips. The light that emitted from the tiny shard lit up the whole dungeon room clearly.

Eyes open in wonder, Kagome studied the shard closely. At the heart of the jewel was the purest white she'd ever seen. The edges and its aura sparkled pink. She racked her mind, remembering Midoriko's soul fighting demon souls inside the jewel and the four spirits, courage, friendship, wisdom and love, that composed it.

Kagome had had the courage to abandon the path laid out for her and search for independence. She befriended others along her journey, including a daiyokai who hadn't viewed her kindly in the past. With said daiyokai's training, she gained the wisdom needed to overcome physical and mental distractions and limitations. And in the process, she'd fallen in love.

Kagome smiled softly, knowing with certainty that Midoriko had won the battle against the demons. Only this time she would see to it that the win became permanent. She'd make sure the rest of the jewel became just as pure.

Sensing an aura, she made her body go limp and slowed her breathing as the wooden door abruptly swung open. A demon moaned in irritation.

"She's been sleeping all day," a voice complained. Judging from its aura, it might've been the demon that whipped her before. "And why the hell is she still alive?"

"The jewel shard is helping her, taping into her miko powers to heal but leaving her physically spent," Inuyasha's voice answered. She could tell from the tone and his aura that he was still being controlled by Naraku. "Assuming she's had it inside her this whole time, the shard is probably starting to recognize her as its protector."

"What does that mean?"

"Once the Shikon Jewel recognizes its priestess protector, it begins to support her as well. I don't know the extent of this support since Kikyou never thought to protect the jewel this way, but I assume healing has something to do with it."

"Why can't you just take it out of her?"

"That's just it. The shard isn't in one single area. The jewel has disintegrated into her body, mingling with her miko powers. That's why we can't just kill her because only she can call on it to bring it back together."

Another annoyed groan. "Can we speed this process up then?" the demon growled impatiently. "We can't keep her here forever. The Western Lands Lord has already caught up with and slaughtered the demon creating the false blood trail. And Kagura can only hold him off for so long before he comes to hunt this place down."

"I know Iuko," Naraku growled harshly. "He is proving to be more of an obstacle than I'd anticipated. It isn't easy to find this place though." He paused before saying, "Nevertheless, her friends are in our captivity now. It'll only be a matter of minutes before she'll give in once I start threatening them."

The wooden door began to close as the Inuyasha imposter ordered Iuko to guard the door and alert him when the prisoner awoke.

As soon as the door was completely shut, Kagome let out a breath she'd been holding, attempting to order her thoughts. Her friends were captured. Sesshomaru was on a vengeful rampage. And Inuyasha was still under Naraku's control. She did have a few good things on her side, however. The jewel shard was apparently protecting its protector. And only she could take it out of her body.

Still, she couldn't allow her friends to be harmed. It was time to get smart about this and come up with a plan of escape.

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A torrent of wind blew through the air, buffeting his silver hair. Thunder clouds crackled in the distance, blocking the starry night.

"Where is it?" Sesshomaru growled with a feral undertone.

Kagura choked out, "I don't know."

The daiyokai squeezed harder on the wind witch's throat. "Don't lie to me wench, you're wasting my time. I've already wasted a full day with this false trail bullshit." Poison began to seep into his fingertips, putting the smell of burning flesh into his nostrils.

Kagura looked into his crimson eyes. She knew he would kill her if she didn't start talking. But what could she do? If she told him where Naraku's hideout was, Naraku would kill her. If she didn't, Sesshomaru would kill her. She clearly didn't have many options here.

"Tell me!" Sesshomaru roared, digging his claws into her white skin.

Her eyes began to roll into the back of her head. Her life flashed before her eyes. She saw with despair that there wasn't much of her life. All she'd ever done was listen to Naraku's every order. It made her sick.

"Wait," she croaked. The demon instantly released her, dropping her from where he was holding her two feet in the air. She looked up at him from the forest floor, struggling to control the dizziness from the lack of oxygen. "I'll take you," she whispered.

Sesshomaru waited impatiently for her to regain control. She finally stood and began to walk through the forest. She knew she was going to die before all this was over. But she'd kill herself before she let Naraku control her ever again. At least she would have freedom in death.

And if she led Sesshomaru to the bastard, she could die knowing she'd be seeing Naraku in hell shortly after.

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Kagome stared into the darkness waiting for them to come. Iuko had already gone off to tell his master when she'd shown signs of awakening. She had been sleeping since she'd overheard their conversation earlier. She had no concept of time without the sun or moon's presence to guide her so she wasn't sure how long she'd been sleep, but she felt rejuvenated, and that was her main focus. She'd need the energy for what she had in mind.

After what felt like an eternity, footsteps finally approached. Despite the impenetrable stone walls, she could hear their conversation through the cracks of the door.

"Don't overdue it this time," came the controlled Inuyasha's voice. "Her excessive sleeping is taking away from my negotiating."

"Why aren't we threatening her companions yet?" Iuko growled impatiently.

"It seems I slightly underestimated the fox brat," Naraku growled with irritation. "I'll deal with them while you have your fun here. Come get me when you're done. I should have controlled the situation by then. "

She heard them part ways and footsteps come closer. She looked straight at the door as it opened moments later to reveal Iuko.

"Ready for some fun priestess?" he said with a malicious smirk as he dragged his talon whip behind him. The door slammed shut as he put the torch he was holding in a metal ring by the door. He stepped closer to her, glaring down at her with a malicious grin.

"Do your worst," Kagome replied, bracing herself for the pain.

She grit her teeth at every swipe of the whip. The talons dragged along her skin, bringing shreds of skin with it. Iuko didn't only whip her back this time, however. Her whole body became scratched and bloody as the leather and claws tore at every corner. Her already ragged clothes were torn to shreds and fell away from her body, leaving her naked flesh revealed for Iuko to pinpoint any clean area and make it bleed. As he repeatedly hit the same areas, she couldn't help but cry out from the agony of the pain.

Finally he ceased and stood over her, observing his handiwork with a smirk. Kagome panted and stayed completely still in her position on her side to minimize the pain. Iuko kicked her so she was on her stomach, causing her to cry out.

"Had enough miko?" he growled with satisfaction. She made no effort to reply. His eyes swept along the length of her naked bloody body. "Maybe it's time for some new fun," his deep voice purred, eyeing her greedily. He bent down and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up at him. Her eyes were closed.

"Oh, no you don't," he growled, pulling her to her feet by his hold on her jaw. "You've slept enough." His eyes gravitated to her breasts and then traveled further down to gaze at the area between her legs. By scent, he knew she was a virgin. "Perhaps you need me to wake you up," he said with malicious seduction, looking back at her hanging head. "Wouldn't that be fun?"

Kagome was silent for a moment, but was standing on her own now. Impatient, Iuko squeezed her jaw harder and shook her a bit. "Look at me!" he growled.

After a moment, her face finally twitched with movement. Iuko stared with satisfaction until he realized that she was smirking. Unease began to trickle into his body.

Suddenly she snapped her head up to look straight at him. When she opened her eyes, they glowed pure white.

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The open sky folded before the two as they sailed through the morning air. Fresh rain drops from the night before littered the forest below them. Sesshomaru kept his eyes firmly on Kagura ahead of him, alert for any type of trap. His eyes were still tinted with crimson.

The thought of what Naraku could be doing to Kagome infuriated him beyond measure. His beast reacted to even the imagination of her blood being spilled. He could see himself killing everything he found if he saw or smelled even the slightest bit of her blood. He was mentally going crazy, feeling impatient at even a fraction of time being wasted in finding her. He was tempted to tell the wind witch to hurry the pace, but he didn't want her to back out of leading him the way. She could be leading him into a trap, but he hoped she wasn't stupid enough for that.

Kagura began to descend. Sesshomaru followed as she landed before a tiny pass between two mountains.

"His lair is through that pass," Kagura said in a monotone.

Sesshomaru eyed her and the trail suspiciously. "You know I will hunt you down if this one of your games," he growled threateningly.

Kagura sighed wearily. "I'm done with games. At least with Naraku's games anyway." She cast her feather and climbed on top of it. "Do me a favor and kill him for good this time. I'm going to go find a peaceful place to die now. He'll know I led you here as soon as he sees you."

Sesshomaru watched her float off into the distance. If he hadn't been preoccupied with Kagome's safety, he might've felt pity for her. Instead, he took off through the pass. As the mountains loomed over him, he thought over his actions.

Part of him felt reluctant to come to her aid. This was supposed to be her final test. She has to settle her past without his help for her own satisfaction. Her journey will end with Naraku's death by her blow. She would have proven herself to any who dared to doubt her.

But for him, this wasn't his apprentice he was going after. The fact that this was her battle didn't matter to him for the moment. Kagome was no longer an inferior human who didn't deserve his attention. Nor was she his subordinate apprentice in need of guidance and support. No, he was going to save the beautiful woman he was in love with.

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Hello all! My update took forever, and for that I apologize. As a senior this year, finals and college stuff has been freaking me out, lol. When I wasn't concentrating on that, I had some kind of new drama with the family or my love life. Haven't had much time to think about my fanfiction. Well, I thought about it a lot, wishing I could finish the next chapter. Writer's block is a bitch, lol. When I wrote the last chapter, I really had no idea where I was going with it. I had vague ideas of how everything would play out, but nothing really concrete. Which made this chapter extra hard to do.

Anyway, how was it? I hope I haven't lost my ability to write well after all this time, lol. I'm actually not really disappointed with this chapter. I prolly coulda added more details here and there but you all know how I feel about extra fluff like that: Boring! Tell me what you guys think. Suggestions are more than welcome, although I've already got a few things set in stone. Thanks for putting up with me all! Till next time,

Hiko