Inuyasha had never experienced true panic before. Even as a child, when bad things started to happen all around him, his default response quickly became sullenness or anger. A person only experiences panic when they have something to lose, and he never had. Now he did. Now he had Kagome.

When she ran for Naraku's door alone, he felt waves of prickly fear. He had thought he was experiencing panic then.

When a sinister tentacle snaked around her and pulled her in, a much more potent sick feeling enveloped him and he was sure that, this time, it really was panic.

Then she screamed, and he knew that he was wrong both times. Because when she, the women who was so used to fear that she didn't see the need to ever let her voice express it, screamed in response to something Inuyasha couldn't even see, he felt undeniable, unequivocal panic. His body felt numb, his blood rushed in his ears. Helplessness, despair, and gut-wrenching terror overwhelmed him. Without even knowing what he was doing, he sliced indiscriminately through the bodies blocking his way. The restraint that had kept him from killing dropped and he no longer cared who fell or how they were faring. He had to get to her.

What he saw when he did was like something out of a nightmare. It was Naraku, wicked face lit up with malice, tentacles slithering around him forming a grotesque halo around the unconscious girl slumped in his arms. Kagome. Was she dead?

After that, Inuyasha's mind went blank.

He came to by a river, feeling like a lot of time had passed.

Slowly, his senses gave him a fuzzy picture of what was going on. He was lying on his back, half submerged in the mud and half in the rushing water. It took him a couple seconds to fully realize this, but when he did he groggily tried to sit up. Gentle hands pushed him back. Kagome? He sniffed. No. Sango. His eyes snapped open.

"Is she alive?" he croaked.

"Yes."

"Is Naraku? Did we succeed?"

Sango's face pressed into harder lines before she finally responded. "No."

Inuyasha closed his eyes again in pain. He almost didn't want to hear what happened if it didn't end well. Maybe he shouldn't. Later would be better. First, there was something more important. "Can I see her?"

"No." His eyes flew open again.

"Why not?"

Sango didn't answer. She just kept dabbing at his wounds. But her face filled him with the dread that had never quite left him. "Where is she?" he pressed.

"I don't know…" Sango whispered.

Inuyasha leapt to his feet, ignoring the raw pain the action caused, and grabbed Sango by the collar. "Tell me what happened," he growled.

"I don't know!" Sango protested. "You ran in there, you went demon, you and Naraku fought. Then the next thing I knew, you were slumped on the ground and Naraku and Kagome were nowhere to be found."

"So you just left!?"

"What were we supposed to do? We didn't know where they had gone! Half our troops are dead, and you were unconscious!"

Inuyasha felt a cool hand on his, and glanced up to see Miroku.

"I understand how you feel," he said softly. "But it is not Sango's fault. Let her go."

Gritting his teeth, Inuyasha roughly unhanded her. "I'm sorry," he grumbled.

"I forgive you. Honestly, I'm just as upset as you are. She's my best friend."

Inuyasha doubted that anyone could be as upset as he was, but he didn't argue. There were more important things.

"You said that half of us were dead. Who?" She named five wolves and the lion. That left Kouga, Sango, Miroku, a wolf named Jenna, and himself. Not ideal.

"Some guards joined us, though."

"How many?"

"Ten."

"So we are fifteen."

"Plus whoever's back at camp. They're mostly women and children, but if we take the time, maybe some of them could be trained…"

"We don't have time!"

"We don't have anything BUT time, Inuyasha!" Sango exploded suddenly. "It was Kagome's power that united us! Hell, it was Kagome herself that united us, and now she's gone and we don't know where she is!" The woman choked on her last words and looked like she was about to cry, but then hardened her face and subdued it. "We don't know where she is," she repeated, this time with an even tone.

"Well then we will find her."

"How?"

"I don't know. But we will. Even if I have to die trying, we will."

Sango sighed bitterly. "I wish I could believe that. But we have to be practical…"

Inuyasha growled, ignoring another warning look from Miroku. Sango just stared him down.

"I'm sorry, but what's your plan? Tracking? They disappeared! No one could catch a scent! We have no leads! If we did have a course of action, believe me, I would be behind you 100%, but there's nothing. So what exactly are you going to do?"

He looked at the ground and didn't answer, anxiety twisting in his gut.

"I'll tell you what I'm going to do," she continued. "I'm going to keep tending our wounded so that we can get everyone who is still alive back to their friends and families in one piece. Let me know when you figure out your plan." With that, she turned around and stomped off, Miroku trailing on her heels. Inuyasha slumped back down in the mud and put his face in his hands. Kagome, he thought. Where are you?