Chapter Twelve: Courage Part Two

InuYasha walked into camp the next morning in complete shock. There sitting with his group was Kikyo. He had smelled her further back; however, he was positive she wouldn't have headed toward his little pack.

"Kikyo… you… you're here!" You could hear the surprise in his voice when he spoke.

"Surprised, InuYasha?

"Yeah…but how? Why?" His confusion had shown brightly in his golden eyes.

"Are you not pleased to see me InuYasha?" Her expressions became colder.

Immediately, InuYasha reached for her.

"Of course I'm happy to see you. I'm just surprised to see you with Miroku and Sango."

"InuYasha, if I may interject," Miroku broke in, "Kikyo has offered to help in our search to aid the Lady Kagome. Sango isn't so pleased but she has accepted this for now. It is in my advice that you don't push things to far. Kagome may no longer feel towards you the way a lover does, but Sango doesn't know that. She believes Kagome to still be in love with you and will not believe it from anyone except Kagome."

"Advice well given, Monk. How is it that you are in confidence of Kagome's feelings, but the Slayer is not?"

"Kagome hasn't told anyone of her feelings yet. She is coming to terms with it on her own and hasn't felt the need to inform anyone yet. Since she never publicly claimed feelings, she may not publicly claim changes to said feelings."

"Then how do you know what she feels?" InuYasha asked gruffly.

Even though he didn't think of Kagome as a man would a woman, it still hurt a little that she didn't have feelings for him anymore.

"I am merely an observer. Her actions speak louder than her words ever will."

"Monk, thank you for your advice. Until we have had a chance to speak with the girl, we will refrain from pursuing any kind of relations that would be deemed upsetting."

"Thank you for your understanding, Lady Kikyo. Like Kagome, I wish you two the best of luck."

"Feh."

Kagome woke up again, this time feeling less disoriented. Shaking the sleepiness from her head, she looked over to her Daiyoukai companion. What she saw made her smile softly.

He looks so adorable when he's asleep.

Unfortunately, for her, the demon was merely feigning sleep while meditating. He felt her aura shift and could easily guess what she was thinking. Kagome, still believing that he was asleep tied his obi around to help keep her warm in the cold, damp warehouse.

It's obvious that whoever is keeping us here has NEVER heard of insulating a building. Not only cost effective it is also great in keeping out the chill.

While she was lost in her daydreams about the warm Feudal Era summers, Sesshoumaru let out a fearsome growl. The sound of the ferocious growl sent shivers of two kinds down her back. One of which, she could understand, the other reason confused her.

Kagome finally noticed the man who came up to the cage in which they were being held.

"Well, well. What have we here? Aren't you just a pretty, little thing? How about I let you out and me and you can have some fun."

Kagome, being a quick thinker, smiled seductively.

"How flattering, that you find me attractive. Obviously, long hair on a guy is my weakness. How did you know?"

Sesshoumaru stiffened at what she said, and not in a good way. He could sense no lies from her.

Is that wench really this stupid? Or is she like all the other females of her kind? Pathetic.

Sesshoumaru shook his head in disgust, as he looked the boy over. The boy wasn't even attractive by human standards. He had mars all over his face and a disgusting smell. The boy had shaggy hair that looked like it was caught in a blender. Or in Sesshoumaru's terms, a battle between nekos who had their claws freshly sharpened.

Immediately, the boy walked over to the cage and let the miko out. He slammed the door and locked the cage. Not that Sesshoumaru had any interest in escaping while the miko indulged herself in 'fun' with this disgusting human. His respect for the miko dropped tremendously.

Kagome stepped out behind the boy and ran her fingers over his neck in a seductive manner. The boy grinned in delight. He won the girl over. That was easy to tell. Kagome smiled at the boy again and then….

Sango, who had been faking sleep, heard the entire conversations. Did they really believe that she would sleep with that bitch around? Not gunna happen. Still though, what they said was it true?

Miroku has always been more insightful than anyone in our group has. Especially when it came to Kagome's sensitivity with InuYasha. Maybe she has really given him up. So does this mean that she was going to consider Kouga's suit? Or maybe that boy from the future, Mojo, Gogo, Hojo?

Sango mentally shrugged off the future boy's name. He wasn't really important. Kagome was always more annoyed with him than anything.

When Kagome comes back, she and I will need to have girl time.

Sango decided she might as well get some sleep. She was no good to Kagome if she wasn't rested enough to keep herself out of danger. She closed her eyes and snuggled closer to the two demons beside her.

Sesshoumaru watched as she ran her hands all over that boy. Disgust painted his otherwise expressionless face. That girl had pathetically, disgustingly low standards. First InuYasha and now that pathetic boy?

Master, why does our female do that? Does she not realize that makes us angry? We will have to punish her. That male is beneath her standing.

The miko is not our female. Even more so by the fact that repulsive is her taste in males.

Must make our female understand that she belongs to us. She must know her place.

!THWACK!

Our female makes us proud. You shouldn't have doubter her.

Might I point out that you were the one who wanted to 'make her understand her place.'

His beast retreated in the recesses of his mind. He heard the tinkering of the lock on the cage and felt the sutras in place disintegrate.

Kagome shivered internally. She preferred being covered in demon guts than to repeat that again. She looked back at her handiwork. When the boy had thought she was coming on to him, she hit his pressure point. She mentally thanked Sango for showing her some basic self defense moves.

The boy was unconscious on the floor when she stole his keys. She discharged the sutras in place as well. She could feel the dark energy on them. That was a new discovery to add to there list. There was also a dark miko involved. Sesshoumaru slid out of the cage and curled his nose in disgust.

"Miko, when this is over, I am going to throw you in the nearest river. That boy's stench is all over you."

"Throwing me in a river in today's time isn't wise, Sesshoumaru. The rivers are filled with pollutants and other disgusting things. The only thing that would accomplish, besides making me smell worse, is making me sick. There is no telling what germs and other disease carrying microbes are in there."

"Hn. You are still getting a bath. Even if This Sesshoumaru has to bathe you himself."

"I already planned on that. I don't need your help to bathe."

"Hn."

Sesshoumaru's head cocked to the side as his nose twitched. Something bad was about to happen. Sesshoumaru could feel it. Kagome was still smiling over her accomplishment.

The loud cracking sound distracted her from her achievement.

The explosion blasted the two away from each other. Kagome found herself trapped. Again. Sesshoumaru was nowhere to be found. She was utterly alone. She was going to die suffocating from smoke inhalation or incineration. Which ever came first.

InuYasha couldn't believe how accepting his friends were of this. Though he had a feeling it had a lot more to do with Kagome than actual acceptance. That was fine though. He would take what was given. Kagome had an amazing heart.

He sat watching his beloved sleep. He could only smile at the sight. Because of Kagome, he had back the love of his life. Sure, he loved Kagome, but he loved her in a best friend/brotherly kind of way.

Kagome. I hope that bastard takes care of you. I know you and your heart. You will find some reason to make him an acceptable suitor. Your heart is too big and caring for your own good silly wench. I know you will find some redeeming qualities in him. Hell, you may even be the one to teach him to love. Just be careful, Kagome. I love you. You deserve so much more than you have been given.

InuYasha's thoughts drifted off into silence as the sounds of the cackling fire calmed his worries. Soon enough, he too drifted to sleep. Morning would come soon enough. With the dawn, came hope.

Kagome was starting to panic. There was nothing that scared her the way an out of control fire did. She hunted demons and faced the biggest enemy Japan had ever seen. Fires like this though, had her reverting back to the little girl who needed mommy to hold her hand to cross the road.

"Sesshou…*cough cough*" She tried screaming for his protection but broke off as the smoke filled her lungs.

She was on her own. She looked for an escape. She was surrounded by fire. She had no escape. Not unless she could reach the beam above her head. It had managed to stay intact and hadn't caught light yet. She pulled the obi tighter around her.

Suddenly, her fighter's spirit came back to her.

I REFUSE to die like this. I will NOT give up without a fight. I have too much to live for. I won't die a coward. I will not disappoint Sesshoumaru.

Pulling the obi off of her shoulders, she tied one end of the long cloth to a piece of wood that had splintered off. Silently praying her plan would work, she threw the piece of wood at the beam. The Kamis' must have heard her prayers.

The makeshift climber's hook would hold her weight. For now. Next she began thanking people in her head. First her gym teacher for making them climb that stupid rope in class. Next she thanked the feudal era. Without that, she would have surely perished.

She pulled herself up to the beam. Luckily, she saw the Daiyoukai searching for her. With a valiant effort, she flared her aura to let him know where she was.

Sesshoumaru felt her flare her aura. Strangely, it was coming from somewhere above him. He jumped into the air, using his jaki to keep him there. Finding her was easier now. She was sitting on the beam, shaking.

"Sesshoumaru. You came!"

"I don't abandon my pack."

Sesshoumaru gathered her into his arm and vacated the building.

After they had landed a safe distance away, Sesshoumaru turned to the girl.

"How did you manage to get up there?" He was genuinely curious.

She held up the obi by her head.

"I used your obi and a piece of wood and pulled myself up."

"Hn. That was courageous of you. Most humans would have whimpered in fear."

"I think we should head home for the night, ne Sesshoumaru?"

"Indeed."

Soon, they could hear the fire crackling down, then another loud explosion. Debris went flying everywhere. Kagome ducked as she saw a large piece of wood flying towards her. Sesshoumaru caught it as if it were nothing.

"It seems, Miko, that this place was more than a holding cell. They had a very ancient artifact lying in their grasp."

Kagome looked upon the short staff in awe.

"What is it?"

"The Staff of Courage."