Inuyasha followed Sango's scent to the forest clearing, and growled when it mixed with the scents of both Naraku and his brother, Sesshoumaru. Setting Kagome down carefully on her feet, he walked forward, not really sure he wanted to know what had happened. It was dark, the moon hidden behind a mass of clouds, but his nose didn't steer him wrong. He knelt down over the spot where Sango's body had fallen, and touched the ground, her blood coating his finger.
"Inuyasha, what is it? What happened here? Where is Sango?" Kagome asked, fear apparent in her voice. When he remained silent, she walked forward and knelt down next to him. "Please, talk to me. Tell me what's going on!"
He turned to look at her, quite relieved that she still couldn't see the expression on his face. "Well, obviously Sango isn't here anymore. But she was..." He got to his feet, sniffing at the air. "And she wasn't alone. Naraku was here...so was Sesshoumaru."
Kagome gasped and stood up, wavering slightly and leaning against him for support. "Naraku and Sesshoumaru? What were they both doing here? Sango won't have stood a chance if they were working together..." Tears sprung forth from her eyes, and she clung to him, sobbing into his haori. "Inuyasha, she can't be dead. Sango can't be dead!"
He wrapped his arms around her. "She's not dead. I know that much. But I don't know where she is..." he said. "We should go back to the village, there's no way we're going to find her in the middle of the night. And I don't like having you out here with Naraku and my brother close by, I won't let anything happen to you."
She shook her head against his chest. "No, I'm not going back until we find Sango. We can't just leave her out here alone, who knows what happened to her? What if she's hurt?" Then the clouds shifted, and the moon's soft light filtered down through the trees. Kagome looked down and saw the blood covering the ground, and screamed. "Please..please please don't tell me that's Sango's blood, oh God please..."
Inuyasha wanted to lie to her, but the look in her eyes kept his mouth shut. All he could do was nod and swing her gently onto his back again. "She's still alive, Kagome, you have to trust me on this one, OK? And we will find her." He began to move forward, his nose to the wind. "She isn't with Naraku...his scent goes off in the other direction...that means..." He broke out into a run, tearing through the underbrush so fast that she had to wrap her arms around his neck so tightly she was almost choking him to remain in place.
"Oh God...Sesshoumaru..." was all Kagome could whisper.
"Sesshoumaru-sama, what was it you wanted to speak with me about?" asked Jaken, following behind the great taiyoukai about three steps. It always made the little imp nervous to be alone with is master, especially when he could tell that Sesshoumaru was clearly aggitated.
"Naraku has escaped me, again," Sesshoumaru replied, his voice even and devoid of emotion.
Jaken nodded, even though he knew the taiyoukai had his back to him. "I am sure it will be no trouble for you to find him again."
"He is very cunning. Even this Sesshoumaru must think of a plan before going in to battle him."
"Then it is the plan which you wished to speak about, my lord?" the little imp asked.
"It is the taijiya," Sesshoumaru replied. "When I tracked Naraku down, I found her lying dead. He killed her. For him to do so on his own, and not use one of his pathetic incarnations tells me that she must either be meaningful to him or be incredibly powerful."
Jaken listened intently, hoping that he would get more of a response, but when he didn't, he decided to question the taiyoukai further. "So you brought her back to life, with Tenseiga. But why? She is only a human, she is not worthy of your aid!"
"Because I plan to use her."
Jaken still didn't understand. "But why did you have to bring her back here? Isn't one human travelling with us enough?"
Sesshoumaru turned on his heel and glared down at the little imp. "Are you questioning my choices, Jaken?"
He froze in his track, shaking his head and waving his hands. "N..no not at all, Sesshoumaru-sama! I would never! I was simply saying that surely you understand that having her with us will be a burden..." Jaken just couldn't make his mouth stop running. "It's bad enough that I have to look after Rin all the time, who is going to care for the filthy taijiya? She is clearly injured..." With a loud grunt, Jaken fell flat on his face as Sesshoumaru's foot connected with his backside, sending him flying through the air and skidding across the ground.
"Do not speak to me in such a manner ever again," said the taiyoukai coldly. "She will heal, and she will not be a burden. She is travelling with us willingly in the hopes that I will help her to avenge her family against Naraku." Then without explaining himself further, he turned again and began to walk back to their camp. The sun was starting to peek over the horizon, and he wanted to leave as soon as daylight came. There was no time to waste.
Jaken scrambled to his feet and followed as quickly as he could, mumbling under his breath about how unfairly he was treated and stupid humans...