The next chapter! Yays! . Anyway, school starts tomorrow... well, when I'm writing this. So, when you guys are going to read this, school started yesterday. It started on the fifth, okay? Anyway, I can't tell you how it went yet, because it didn't happen... Well, when you read this it will have happened, but if I haven't written the next chapter before school started, I'll tell you how it went there. Anyway, on to the chapter, and may the FORCE BE WITH YOU. -shifty eyes- Yeah, I watched a bunch of Star Wars movies.

Edit (though, it's before the chapter is out...) : Okay, I'm not going to be able to update as often. Either I'll try to update once every three days, or once a week. Though, I am taking driver's ed...

Edit: AGH! I forgot to put the chapter up! Ok, you guys will get two chapters because I'm such a loser, but please, review both!

Save Me From Myself

Chapter Nineteen: Falling Through

We hadn't found Naraku yet, but I could tell that we were close. But how could we find him if he had evaded us for so long? Were we just going on a wild goose chase?

The news of my blood turning into a youkai's was horrifying, though I think that everyone else knew it but me. InuYasha and Shippo would be able to smell it in my blood, and I'm sure Miroku could sense the increasing youki in my aura. That, and Sango told me what they had found out by InuYasha. InuYasha had explained to them that while we were fighting that female youkai, she had said that my blood was being replaced by that of a youkai's. He also suspected as much.

When Sango told me, I wasn't really surprised, since I had been there when that youkai told me what was going on.

Could I really be turning into a monster? Did I have a way to save myself? If I could save myself, would I be on time?

Only the future could tell, but I was afraid of what was to come.

- - -

"Today we're going to find him," InuYasha said, looking off towards the mountain that Naraku's scent was coming from.

Shippo sighed and said, "If you say so, InuYasha."

Kagome agreed with Shippo. Naraku could flee all he wanted and the rest of them would never even hope to catch up to him. But that's one of the things that she loved about InuYasha. No matter how grim the situation looks, he always keeps going and has a positive outlook, though it may not seem like it. Kagome smiled at him and nodded.

"I'm ready!" Kagome cheered, trying to make herself feel more confident.

"Me too," Sango said, adjusting her Hiraikotsu and Kirara mewing on her shoulder.

"As am I," Miroku added.

"Let's go!" Shippo yelled out, pumping his tiny fist into the air.

So they set off, making their way to the mountain. It would be late until they would make it up to the top, but they knew that they wouldn't tire as easily if they took frequent breaks.

As they climbed, whenever one of the members of the party, usually Shippo and never InuYasha, was tired, they would all take a break.

At noon, they all ate generous lunches, giving themselves energy for the climb, and the battle that they sensed was coming.

Through her calm exterior, Kagome was a bit worried. Everyone could feel that it was going to be a hard battle, but Kagome felt something else.

She could almost feel the youkai blood in her stirring.

Whenever she felt it yearn for blood, she would clasp her hands around the few jewel shards that they had obtained. There weren't many, but they were pure, and that's what mattered.

InuYasha felt anxious for battle as well, but he just wanted to kick some ass. His glare hardened as he led the group behind him up the mountain, sniffing out Naraku.

Kagome's eyes widened. "I sense the Shikon Jewel!" she exclaimed suddenly.

Everyone looked at her in surprise, even though it shouldn't have been a surprise at all.

I would have thought that Naraku would have kept the Shikon Jewel hidden, or at least tried to keep it undetectable by Kagome, Miroku thought. He looked at the others, all of them slowing down as they reached the top. Even though Kagome had said she sensed the jewel, they had not stopped to contemplate this.

"I sense a trap," Miroku said, tapping his finger on his chin.

"Well, we're just gonna have to play into it," InuYasha said. "It's the only way that we'll get to Naraku, because the scent stops up here."

"I wonder what he's planning," Sango said, her voice sounding confident. Then she thought, I hope it has nothing to do with Kagome, but lately, that's what all his plans have in common.

Noon quickly changed to dusk, and the group had reached the top of the mountain. Before they decided to go off and look for Naraku up there, they all rested their bones and surveyed the area.

After a few minutes, InuYasha said to them, "Let's go. His scent goes this way."

"But the jewel goes that way," Kagome said, pointing in the opposite direction.

While the miko and hanyou glared at each other, Miroku stepped up and said, "Why don't we split up? Kirara will lead Sango and I towards Naraku's scent, and Kagome will lead InuYasha and Shippo towards the jewel."

"That works," Kagome said, receiving a nod from most of the others.

InuYasha frowned. "Keh. That's stupid."

"Do you have a better idea?" Kagome inquired.

InuYasha looked at her for a moment before turning towards the direction the jewel was in and saying, "Well? Are ya gonna show me where that jewel is or not?"

Kagome 'hmph'ed and walked off, the jewel determining the path before her. InuYasha and Shippo obediently followed, and Miroku, Sango and Kirara went the other way.

- - -

"We haven't found anything yet. Maybe Naraku left," Sango said as she followed the large demon cat.

"Kirara wouldn't keep going if she didn't think that Naraku was here," Miroku said, watching the nekomata as she slowed down while sniffing the ground like a dog.

Soon enough, Kirara stopped in the middle of a small clearing. She sniffed the ground and the other two stopped next to her.

"I don't think it's a good idea to be stopping," Sango said, looking at the oddly placed clearing that they were in. She had a bad feeling.

Miroku looked around and shrugged. "I don't feel any youki around here," Miroku said.

Right when he finished saying that, the ground beneath them collapsed and the two humans and youkai fell, all of them worried about their safety.

"I don't think that's what we should be worried about!" Sango shouted at Miroku. She managed to move over towards Kirara who was straightening out and would make sure to stop before they hit the ground, wherever that was.

Sango got on Kirara and grabbed Miroku, yanking him on back.

"Keep going down, Kirara! Follow Naraku's scent!" Sango ordered, hanging on tightly to Kirara's neck, but not managing to hurt the youkai.

- - -

"The jewel goes down from here," Kagome explained, kneeling down and glaring at the ground. "The ground feels different here, somehow," Kagome also said, looking around them. It wasn't a clearing that they were in, but there was an odd space in-between the trees.

InuYasha stepped towards Kagome and stopped, feeling the ground moving more than it should beneath his foot.

"I think we've found the trap Miroku was talking about," InuYasha said, before the ground collapsed and sent the three of them falling into a huge hole.

InuYasha quickly grabbed Kagome, trying to shield her from any impact that the ground may have. He put his feet down and ignored the consistant tugging in his hair that was Shippo trying to hold on for dear life.

Kagome screamed, trying to get her bearings, but not managing very well.

Kagome looked up and screamed out, "InuYasha! Watch out!"

InuYasha looked up as well and tried to move before a large rock hit him in the head, but he failed and was knocked out. Shippo seeing this, said to himself, "Now that InuYasha's done, I have to save us!"

Shippo managed to go in front of Kagome and InuYasha and transform in time for them to have a soft landing. The miko and hanyou bounced on the large bubble-like Shippo, Kagome holding onto InuYasha to make sure that he wouldn't fall to the ground.

Kagome's grasp loosened, and she accidentally let go, causing InuYasha to fall, and her to fall with him.

She was only a few feet from the ground when she let go, but the fall caused her to roll backwards several meters.

"Ooh..." Kagome said, rubbing the back of her head with her hand. She opened one eye and saw InuYasha slowly getting up, with Shippo by his side, poking the large lump on the back of his head.

"InuYasha!" Kagome said, smiling and running over to them. She stopped when she heard a strange sound above her.

"Will you quit that, Shippo?" InuYasha shouted at the kitsune poking his head. The hanyou slapped away Shippo's hand.

The two of them noticed that Kagome stopped running and the noise that was coming from the surrounding area.

"What's that?" asked the kitsune.

InuYasha looked up and saw the ceiling start to crack.

"Kagome! Look out!" InuYasha yelled, causing Kagome to stumble back just in time to avoid being hit by a giant boulder. More rocks tumbled to the ground, and InuYasha was afraid that the ceiling would collapse on Kagome on the other side.

Once the rocks quit falling and had made a thick wall of stone, InuYasha ran over to the hill and started moving some of the rocks in the way.

"Kagome! Can you hear me? Are you alright?" InuYasha yelled through the rocks.

Kagome stood there, her clothes a little dusty, but otherwise okay. "I'm fine, InuYasha."

InuYasha nodded and said, "I'm going to try to get through! I'll have to move these by hand, though. If I use the Tetsusaiga I may hurt you."

"That will take too long; there's a tunnel behind you, and there's one on this side, too. You go through that tunnel and see where it takes you. This way there's the Shikon Jewel," Kagome explained.

InuYasha's eyes widened. "No! Naraku will kill you! Wait for me to get there!" InuYasha shouted, glaring at the rocks.

"I have to! Besides, I may be important to him. He might not kill me because of the Bachiatari Jewel," Kagome said. "Hurry, InuYasha! I'm going to go now!"

"Stop, Kagome!" InuYasha shouted, glaring at the rocks. He could hear faint footsteps, but they faded away quickly.

For a few moments InuYasha just stood there, up against the rocks. Then he turned to Shippo and grabbed him by his tail, taking the kitsune with him down the tunnel.

- - -

"Do we go down this way?" Sango asked, pointing down the path to the right from where they entered.

"Well, either path may go to the same spot," Miroku said, looking from one path to the other.

Kirara was too confused. Naraku's scent went both ways, so she couldn't decide what way to go.

Suddenly her head went up and she looked down the tunnel to the left.

"What is it, Kirara?" Sango asked, looking down the tunnel as well. All of them watched, and soon Miroku and Sango could see a bit of white running towards them. The tunnel's faint light soon let them see that it was InuYasha with Shippo in his hand and he looked distraught.

When he was near them, and running really fast, he started to yell quickly, "KagomegotseperatedsonowI'mtryingtofindherandtakeShippowithyou!" The hanyou threw the kitsune at Miroku as he ran by, sending everyone's hair flying back from the wind that he caused from his speed.

"Kagome got separated?" Sango asked, looking down where InuYasha ran.

"How did you understand him?" Miroku asked, turning to Sango.

She smiled sadly. "Kohaku. My little brother would always do that when we had a demon attack," Sango explained.

Miroku smiled a bit, happy that Sango had opened up to him, but then it hit him. His eyes widened and he shouted, "Oh, crap! Kagome got separated?"

Shippo popped up from his position on the ground and said, "By a bunch of falling rocks! And she went to fight Naraku!"

Miroku and Sango turned to look at each other for a second before taking Shippo and riding Kirara after the hanyou.

- - -

Kagome stood up, cradling her ankle a bit. It didn't hurt very much, but she had tripped on some loose rocks. The tunnel had started to make a decline, and any loose rocks worked like marbles.

She gripped her bow and single arrow in her hand tightly, ready to shoot whenever she had to.

The miko saw a light in front of her, and it just got brighter as she got closer, as lights at the end of a tunnel usually do. It was like the one she saw just last night with the mother youkai and her eggs, except this was less green, and more yellow.

Soon enough, Kagome could see what was inside.

"Naraku!" Kagome shouted, notching the arrow in her hand and pulling it back against the string.

Kagome's eyes widened as she felt a strange sensation in her back. She let go of the arrow before causing the bow to fall to the ground, clattering against the rock that it hit.

The miko grabbed her head and started to rub her palms against her temples.

Naraku avoided Kagome's arrow easily and smirked at the miko's situation. His influence was working well.

She continued to rub her temples, chanting, "No. No. No. Not now. Please not now!"

The air seemed to pulse around Kagome, and suddenly her nails started to grow at an extraordinary rate, and black, leathery wings tore through her shirt once more. Before she could feel bad about losing another shirt, her mind was completely taken over by the demon within.

- - -

"There!" InuYasha exclaimed, seeing the light in front of him. Kirara had been trailing behind, but had slowly started to catch up. InuYasha's eyes widened as the scents from the large room entered his nose.

"Oh no."

InuYasha continued to run, at an even faster pace yet. Once he reached the room, he skidded to a halt, turning to face Naraku and his new puppet.

"Naraku," InuYasha hissed.

The shape shifter smirked. "InuYasha. So you came," he said, the tentacles coming from his body slithering around him quietly.

InuYasha took out his sword and sent a Kongousouha blast towards Naraku, destroying any barrier that he may have had.

Kagome readied herself for attack, as did everyone else.

Just as Sango sent her Hiraikotsu flying towards Naraku, Kagome bolted towards the exterminator, fully intent on killing her.

Chapter End