Trinity Blood Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Shadows of Time ❯ Chapter 17

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Title: The Shadows of Time

Author: Ryukotsusei

Fandom: Inuyasha and Trinity Blood

Rating: NC 17

Warnings: Violence, torture, language, lemons, spoilers for the entire series just to be safe, and the possibility of out of character characterizations. Read at your own risk.

Pairings: Tres Iqus x Kagome Higurashi x Abel Nightroad

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Trinity Blood. The series belong to Rumiko Takahashi, and the late Sunao Yoshido. I make no money off of this fan fiction.

Special thanks to Madmiko for taking the time to beta this chapter.

Chapter Seventeen

The sunlight pouring through the window was what pushed Kagome into wakefulness and she bit back a groan. What she wouldn't give to be able to bury her face back into the pillow and forget about the things that they had to do today. 'As tempting as it sounds, I'd better not. I don't think Inuyasha will wait much longer before barging in here whether the inn keeper likes it or not.'

It was a bit surprising to her that he hadn't done so already and it would be best not to push her luck. Reluctantly, she sat up and winced when she felt how sore she was from the nights earlier activities. As much as she enjoyed the activity, she was going to have to refrain from indulging at all until Naraku was dead.'I can see it now, Naraku will show up expecting a fight and I'm going to be too damned sore to move.'

A sour glance was directed at the person responsible for her current condition. It would figure that he was still sleeping peacefully, and knowing him, he wasn't likely to be suffering at all once he did wake up. Speaking of which, if she couldn't continue to sleep, neither should he.

“Hey, Tres,” Kagome said and sharply nudged his bare shoulder, “Wake up. We need to get going if we're going to get the stuff that we need.”

It was enough to rouse him from his slumber, even if he hadn't wanted to leave the particular dream that he'd been having. But once he realized that since she was awake, it meant that particular fantasy didn't have to stay in his mind. Quickly, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her down on top of him. “Don't worry, Kagome,” he murmured into her hair, “We'll leave within the hour.”

“Tres,” Kagome whimpered and tried pulling away from the insistent redhead. It was obvious what was on his mind, given what was currently prodding her in the thigh. “We don't have time for that.”

“Are you positive?” Tres asked her, cocking an eyebrow at her refusal. The night before she seemed to be rather enamored of the idea of trysting again before they had to depart, but now she was acting completely different.

“Yes, we have to go before Inuyasha comes to get us,” Kagome replied and sat back up, wincing again when specific muscles throbbed. Somehow she was beginning to doubt that she'd ever become accustomed to this sort of thing. 'He needs to license that thing as a dangerous weapon. If I'd known how much I'd be hurting right now, I'd have told him to get that thing away from me while I had the chance!'

The way the miko moved so gingerly however, did not go unnoticed. “Are you injured?” Tres inquired with concern while looking her over carefully. He'd known that she hadn't gone anywhere during the night, so the only thing that he could surmise was that he had somehow been the one to cause it.

“No, I'm fine, just a little bit sore. It'll pass,” Kagome said with a sigh and stood up as carefully as she could. The next hour or so was going to suck considering she didn't know how much walking they were going to have to do. With luck, they'd be able to find everything they needed at one place, even though it seemed unlikely. 'I should look for more of the herbs Kaede gave me as well. I've only got another few days at most before it's completely gone and I've been stretching my supplies thin enough as it is.' She could only hope that the diluted tea she'd been taking still worked as effectively as a full dose, otherwise she was in trouble. Of course, she hadn't exactly expected to be having an intimate encounter with Tres, but as she'd come to learn, she couldn't exactly plan for everything.

“If you are certain,” Tres replied and stood up to join her. It was rather annoying that they couldn't continue with what he'd had in mind, but there was no getting around the fact that he'd just have to deal with his... current problem.

Kagome turned to look at him when she heard the resignation in his voice, and nearly laughed when she saw what he was looking at. “Is that even going to fit in your pants, or am I going to have to do the shopping while you wait for it to go away?”

The look that he gave her was enough to set her off and it only got worse as her laughter continued. On one hand she could sympathize with the man, but he made it so damned difficult when he was looking at her with that look of resignation. 'Poor boy, one taste and he can't get enough. I think I might have created a monster.'

Shaking her head with mirth, Kagome began walking around the room and collecting her clothing. While it was gross that she'd have to wear yesterday's clothing, with luck it wouldn't be long before she could change into a fresh set of clothes. “We should hurry,” she said at last, “the inn keeper could walk in at any time and I don't want her getting a look at my man.”

The wink Kagome gave him was enough to shake Tres out of his resignation. He rather liked the way that she'd put that, even if she had just been teasing. Quickly, he snatched up his pants which just happened to be laying nearby and he began to yank them on. Of course, the process would have gone faster if the miko hadn't chosen that particular moment to bend over. Really, he didn't know how the hell the Crusnik had managed to contain himself around her all this time when he knew what was awaiting him beneath that clothing.

Seeing that the redhead's attention was wandering from what he was supposed to be doing, Kagome sighed in exasperation, “I can go behind the screen you know.”

“Negative, such action is not necessary,” Tres replied and buttoned his pants. With the threat of the show he'd been enjoying being removed, he didn't hesitate to move a bit faster when dealing with his shirt. The jacket and his borrowed gun was the final touch to be added, and soon enough he stood ready to go.

“Alright, let's hurry,” Kagome said while trying to untangle her hair with her fingers. She knew that she had to look a mess, but if nothing else, maybe she could do a little damage control. 'Whose bright idea was it to leave without overnight supplies? We're going to be lucky if they don't turn us away on sight!'

“Your appearance is satisfactory,” Tres said as he walked, trying to reassure her enough that she'd actually pay attention to where she was walking. She was lucky she hadn't bumped into someone yet while they traversed the hallway. He had to admit he rather liked the tousled look that she was wearing, and the fact that he was the cause for it made it all that much more enjoyable.

“Just satisfactory huh?” Kagome asked ruefully and stopped fiddling with her hair. It would be too much, she supposed, to expect him to actually say that she was attractive or anything of the sort. Perhaps in time he'd figure out more... complimentary ways of expressing what he thought. But for now she wasn't going to worry about it. She'd seen his reaction to her earlier, that was more than enough to tell her what he thought of her looks.

The question she posed didn't seem to require an answer, so Tres remained silent on the subject. They reached the main room quickly enough and to his surprise the inn keeper was nowhere to be found. It was customary, Kagome had told him, to thank their host for giving them shelter through the night, but they were on something of a schedule. When he didn't see the old woman, he looked to Kagome, “We should continue. There is a chance that she has duties of her own to attend to.”

“I guess you're right,” Kagome said and took one last look around. There were a couple of people in the room, but no one that she recognized. Shrugging her shoulders, she continued walking towards the door and made her way outside. The bright sunlight made her squint for a moment, but she wasn't given a chance to pause for long.

“It's about damned time you two got up, it's almost the middle of the day!” Inuyasha hissed from the roof top, gaining the miko's attention. He'd heard every word of the conversation within and Kagome had been right. If they'd taken much longer he would have found a way in to wake their asses up.

“Inuyasha!” Kagome hissed, her eyes going wide with surprise, “What are you doing out in the open? Someone might see you!” Really, the hanyou had a poor sense of when to reveal himself, especially considering the bright clothing that he wore.

“I was waiting for you. What does it look like?” Inuyasha retorted and ducked down when someone slowly walked past. Once the coast was clear, he looked over the edge at the miko again, “Now, if you don't mind, hurry it up. We need to get back to Totousai's so we can get started.”

“We're going, we're going,” Kagome said, huffing lightly before she turned and walked away with Tres following her closely. It would seem that things would never change where Inuyasha was concerned. 'Once a slave driver, always a slave driver. Oh well, the sooner we can get this done, the sooner he'll quit complaining.'

“The market is this way,” Tres said quietly and led Kagome in another direction. The way that she'd set off would take them to the outskirts of town, and no doubt Inuyasha would be there to ask where the hell they thought they were going.

'It figures. He gets me so flustered and then I forget where I'm even going.' Kagome thought and allowed Tres to guide her. It wasn't long before the crowd thickened and she realized they were attracting quite a bit of attention. In order to blend in, she kept her entire posture demure as a proper woman should. If nothing else it would help the people to relax around them a bit, even if they were obviously not from the area. Their clothing if nothing else was more than enough to proclaim that much and they didn't need the problems that being an outsider could bring.

Fortunately, no one stopped them in order to ask questions, although when she looked up into Tres' face, she immediately knew why. Even though most people would say that he was expressionless, he radiated a cold, foreboding chill that kept people at arm's length. He looked every part of the bodyguard that he was, and then some. Shaking her head, Kagome took to scanning the shops until she found the one they were looking for. “In here, Tres.”

Quickly, the redhead followed her into the building she'd indicated and scanned the room until he saw the one who was most likely the shop keeper. Without breaking stride, he walked over to the man and immediately gained his attention. “We are looking to purchase gun powder and were informed that you would have an adequate supply for sale.”

“Gun powder?” The shop keeper repeated suspiciously. It wasn't often that someone inquired about it and he was reluctant to admit that he had any in stock considering that the man was an outsider. A strangely dressed one at that. "Who is it that's asking and why?"

“Excuse me,” Kagome said, bowing politely before taking her place next to Tres, “You must forgive my husband. We are not from around these parts and we were told that you were one of the few people who might have what we are looking for.”

“I see, young Miss. Tell me, you look to be familiar, although I cannot place your husband. Might I have seen you before?” He was a good one for remembering faces and he was certain that he'd seen this particular woman at least once or twice within the past couple of years.

“You might have,” she replied with a smile, “My name is Kagome and I've come through this village a few times while we were hunting Naraku. I remembered stopping here to purchase supplies a few times, so I'm sure we've done business together before.” She nearly breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the recognition dawn in his eyes.

“I knew that I had seen you somewhere before, honored priestess,” the shop keeper beamed with delight, “it is most fortunate that you have come to our village once again. You said you were seeking gun powder?”

“Yes,” Kagome replied and graced the man with another smile, putting all the charm she could muster into the conversation, “We've run out, and I'm afraid that it is imperative that we acquire a supply to carry us through until we reach home. Please tell me that you have some on hand.” If they didn't, Kagome had the feeling they were shit out of luck, but she wasn't going to borrow trouble before she had to.

“We do,” the shop keeper said carefully, “I'm sorry that I might have led you to believe that I didn't. We must be careful about who we sell our supplies to. Even after all the battles that have been fought to make this village safe, we're still plagued by bandits and demons looking for an easy mark.” Not more than a month ago they'd been hit by a spirit kitsune of great repute, but fortunately the beast had been looking for things such as silks, jewels and exotic spices. Most of which, they did not keep in abundance because it made the entire village a target.

“I understand. These are troubling times and we've got to take whatever precautions are necessary,” Kagome said with a wave of her hand. While the village's troubles were bothersome, there really wasn't much that she could do to help them. At the moment, their number one priority had to be Naraku's elimination. With luck, once he was gone the unrest among the demons at least would calm somewhat.

Tres watched with interest as the miko engaged the man's attention with ease. Now he understood why she was so insistent that she come along. If she hadn't, most likely the man would have insisted that they didn't have the gun powder in stock. He would have been forced to return empty handed and face the criticism of the demon exterminator once again.

That, however, wasn't something that he was going to need to worry about. Kagome was doing an excellent job of securing what they needed, and even now the man was leading her to the store room so that she could determine just how much they needed to take. Quickly, Tres followed the two of them, reluctant to let the miko out of his sight. While he didn't expect that anything would happen, it was best to be on guard against the unexpected.

“What do you think, Tres, will three bags be enough?” Kagome called back to the redhead who was staring at them intently. While the bags weren't huge, in her opinion three should be more than enough to take care of the ammo problem for a while. If not, they could always return to get more, but hopefully they wouldn't get to that point for a while.

“Positive. That will be more than enough to suit our purposes,” he replied calmly and ignored the look that the shop keeper gave him. The man didn't trust him, that much was clear, but at this point it really didn't matter. That the man was willing to work with Kagome was the only thing he was concerned with, and that was no longer in question. While he stood watch, his lover paid for the gun powder and just when he thought they were ready to go, she inquired about a few more things. One slender brow raised as she rattled off a list of what had to be herbs that he'd never heard of before. Later, once they were away from the village he'd have to ask her what they were for.

Kagome's hope that she might find the last of what she needed was quickly dashed when the shop keeper shook his head. “Do you know of any place nearby where I might find them?” she asked in a last ditch effort to get the things she needed.

“I'm sorry, but our miko is on a journey to help a neighboring village and she would be the one that you'd need to speak to. Are you ill?” the shop keeper asked with concern. The miko didn't look to be sick, maybe she just needed to replenish her own supplies and hadn't been able to acquire them on her journeys.

“Oh no, it's nothing like that. I just like to have them on hand in case they're needed,” Kagome replied uneasily. She really didn't want to get into a discussion of why she needed them, especially with a male from this time period. Birth control wasn't especially condoned with most of the population and she'd be looked down upon even moreso seeing as she'd said that Tres was her husband. To insinuate that she did not want his children would be seen as a blemish on the redhead's honor. Of course, Tres wouldn't be likely to say anything about it, but the rumors would spread and she didn't want to have to deal with any possible repercussions from them.

“I wish you well on your search then. Perhaps you can return in a month's time, our priestess should have returned by then and maybe she can help you with what you're looking for,” the man replied helpfully. He wouldn't mind if this particular woman returned to their village to replenish her supplies. Besides being good for business, it would raise the prestige of the village to be known as the famous miko's stopping place.

“Thank you,” Kagome said softly and bowed a second time before turning to leave the shop. With Tres in tow, she quickly made her way to the outskirts of the village where she knew that Inuyasha would be impatiently waiting on them.

As far as Tres was concerned, the sooner they were out of the village, the better. While he was used to the stares that they had received thus far, he felt naked without his own weapons and it was beginning to wear on his nerves. The sooner they returned to the swordsmith's cave, the sooner he'd feel normal again. So he hurried his steps, forcing Kagome to quicken her own pace until the familiar sight of the hanyou came into view. As expected, Kirara was seated next to him in her larger form and ready to get underway as soon as they climbed aboard.

“It's about damned time you guys returned,” Inuyasha groused once they were within hearing distance, “You got the stuff, right?” The question was really immaterial considering that the scent of gunpowder was tickling his nose already, but he wanted to make sure they'd gotten enough. 'So help me, if he runs out of bullets again I'm going to dump his ass off the nearest cliff and Abel can take over watching Kagome.'

“You do see these bags I'm carrying right?” Kagome asked, pointedly arching a slender eyebrow at their silver haired companion with slight irritation. When the hanyou nodded tentatively she snorted, “Then don't ask me any more silly questions.”

“It's not silly,” Inuyasha retorted, “I have to make sure you didn't screw up and get the wrong stuff!” Not that that was likely, though. If nothing else, Kagome knew how important this was and if she didn't, Tres most certainly did. "And you can lose the attitude anytime, Kagome, it wasn't because of anything I did that this trip was even necessary."

“Oh give me a break, that's something you'd do, not me,” Kagome replied dryly and walked up to Kirara, who had stood up as she'd gotten closer, “and don't start. This whole problem isn't anyone's fault, so stuff it.” Without the confusion of the night before, she mounted the fire cat's back and arranged the bags between her legs as best as she could. Moments later, Tres had climbed up behind her and to her delight, wrapped his arms around her waist. The feel of his hard body next to hers sent some indecent images of the previous night in her mind and she couldn't resist a small wiggle on the pretense of getting settled against him.

Taking one look at the pair, Inuyasha wrinkled his nose in disgust. The way Kagome was leaning against the redhead's chest was borderline sickeningly sweet. “Whatever. Let's just go, alright?” he said at last and turned away from them. With luck they wouldn't do anything stupid like attempt to make out with each other on the way back. If they did, he wouldn't be surprised if Kirara dumped their asses in the coldest lake they came across. He really wouldn't blame the fire cat if she did, it's what he would end up doing if he was the one stuck in that particular position.

But the trip passed with no incidents, of attacks or inappropriate gropings, much to Inuyasha's relief. However, he was tempted to tell Kirara to dump them in the nearest lake anyway, because his nose was more than sensitive to the smells that blanketed the both of them. 'All the years I've known Kagome, and she bitches about if she misses bathing even one day. One night with him and she gets the sense fucked out of her, leaving us all to suffer! I'll be damned if I can tell her she stinks though, I'd be eating half the dirt in Japan for sure.'

Shaking his head, Inuyasha moved a bit farther away from them. Of course, it was probably the fact of who it was that bothered him more than any smell, but that was beside the point.'Maybe Nightroad will pick up on it and deal with the problem. At least then I won't get caught in the shit storm when she blows up.' As the thought crossed the hanyou's mind, he was beginning to like the idea better and better. The Crusnik seemed to be far more adept at dealing with the miko when something ticked her off. Relying on Tres to calm her down probably wouldn't work, because Inuyasha had seen just what methods he used to accomplish that. So help him, if the redhead decided to push her against the tree and repeat the previous night's actions in front of him... 'Kagome won't have to deal with keeping the peace between the two of them anymore cause I'd have to shove the Tetsusaiga straight up his ass.'

“What are you chuckling about over there?” Kagome asked the hanyou suspiciously. For the past couple of moments he almost looked like he was plotting something and when a distinctive snicker reached her ears, she had to ask. Something told her that there were things that were sometimes best kept secret and as she took in his expression, she wondered if this might be one of them.

“Keh, nothing that's any of your business,” Inuyasha said, trying to keep the amusement from his voice. It would figure that she picked up on the exact moment that he thought about causing lover boy over there bodily harm. To keep her from asking any further questions he hurried on ahead of them. Kirara could easily keep pace, but with luck she'd actually hang back slightly. Of course he realized how futile of a hope that would be since they could see Totousai's cave from their current position.'Keh, who am I kidding? She's probably just as anxious to get back as I am.'

That was exceedingly close to the truth, and even though they'd been traveling for a couple of hours Kirara was more than ready to end the journey. Quickly, she picked up speed and surpassed Inuyasha, leaving him to stare after her in surprise before hurrying to catch up.

“Hey, wait up!” Inuyasha called and sprinted after them, leaping from outcropping to outcropping. To his irritation the fire cat wasn't inclined to listen to him and continued to eat up the remaining distance with a grueling pace.

Up ahead, both Shippo and Miroku were keeping watch and the moment that they sighted their friends in the sky, they stood up. Miroku stepped into the entrance of the cave, taking only a moment to allow his eyes to adjust to the darkness, “The others have returned.”

Sango immediately got to her feet and started towards the entrance, but she was beaten there by one anxious priest. She rolled her eyes at the way he tripped over a loose rock and nearly fell in his haste, but she refrained from commenting. 'You'd think they'd been gone for a month with the way he was moping last night and now he's going to kill himself getting out there if he isn't careful. Oh yes, that would be interesting trying to explain. One Crusnik with a broken neck, done in by a rock because he was being too stupid to watch where he put his feet.' Fortunately the priest managed to recover before he was the one left eating dirt, even if Shippo had to scramble out of the way to avoid being trampled on.

“You really should watch where you're going, Father Nightroad,” Shippo admonished with a wag of his finger before he turned to greet the miko. He'd become rather accustomed to sleeping next to her or Kirara at night and since they'd both been gone, he'd had to settle for the Crusnik, which in his opinion, was a rather poor trade. It made him doubly glad to see her again since maybe tonight he'd be able to get a decent night's sleep.

“Kagome! Did you get the stuff?” he asked, bounding up to the woman who was just now getting off of Kirara's back. His nose twitched at the unusual scent that covered her, but he didn't make a comment. He wasn't so young not to know what that meant. 'No wonder Father Nightroad couldn't sleep last night.'

“We sure did! They had enough for three bags, and if it's not enough we can always go back to get more,” Kagome said and held the bags out for Sango to take, “Did you guys make any progress on the loading press?”

“Actually, we have. Your friend's diagrams were surprisingly accurate and it should be finished today,” Totousai said as he walked somewhat stiffly out of the cave to join the conversation.

Kagome's brows shot up in surprise, “Wow, they must have been to have it almost done already. It's a good thing they had pre-made gun powder then, or we'd be waiting on that instead of the press.”

“Well,” Totousai began, scratching his chin, “It's not exactly a difficult concept, once I saw what he was talking about and it isn't like it has to be finely crafted like a sword. This is just the bare essentials to get you on your way. I'm sure with some time I could perfect the device, but I'd wager you're not wanting to stick around that long.” In all truthfulness he'd probably refine the design anyway once they'd left, just to amuse himself if nothing else. The advancement in weapons that they'd shown him were intriguing, even if he did still believe that a sword was the best weapon a person could wield. It just had to be the right one to be effective.

“You're damned right we don't. We've wasted enough time as it is, even if it couldn't be helped. If you've got it that close to being finished, it means we'll be able to leave tomorrow,” Inuyasha replied with his arms crossed. He was just as anxious to get out of there as Totousai probably was to get them out of his hair. Besides, they needed to catch up to Kouga before the fool did something stupid and got himself killed.

“Oh sure, if you expect one of us to work through the night and get absolutely no sleep,” Kagome said, rolling her eyes at Inuyasha's eagerness. Somehow it didn't surprise her that he was already planning their departure without stopping to think things through. “Did it ever occur to you that the bullets won't make themselves? I sure as hell don't see any electricity around here either, so someone's going to have to do it by hand and that takes time.”

“Alright, fine. How long is this going to take?” Inuyasha asked with a sigh that was as much frustration as it was irritation. As he figured it, not one damned thing was going to go right for him today.

“I'd still say you're looking at at least another day, Inuyasha. Not only do we have to load them, but I've got to make the casings as well. I was able to use one of the bullets as a mold, but it's still going to take time to make sure they're correct enough to use,” Totousai said, not bothering to sugarcoat the truth. One day was at a bare minimum in his opinion. If things went wrong, it could easily take three or four days to perfect the method, however, he wasn't about to tell the hanyou that.

“Then what are we standing around here talking for?” Inuyasha snapped, not even attempting to hide his irritation over the situation. He'd completely forgotten about that aspect, but that wasn't surprising.'This is just another example of why swords are better. We wouldn't be dealing with half this shit if Tres could just use one of them instead.'

“Give it a rest, Inuyasha. We'd probably be inside already if you weren't standing here asking all these questions,” Sango pointed out helpfully and turned to go back inside. It was pointless to stand there bickering over imaginary deadlines. This wasn't something that could be rushed, no matter how much she or anyone else might wish otherwise. 'He'll never change, sometimes I'm amazed he's managed to live as long as he has.'

“And I thought Kagome was the only one that needed to get laid,” Inuyasha muttered beneath his breath. However the comment didn't go completely unnoticed since Father Nightroad had been lurking nearby, silently taking in the situation. Even from here Inuyasha could smell the uncertainty radiating off of the man. While the others went inside, Inuyasha turned to look at him, “Well? Are you going to go and talk to her or not?”

“I wouldn't know what to say,” Father Nightroad replied quietly, watching the girl disappearing into the cave. It saddened him somewhat that she'd kept her distance from him, but could he blame her? He'd known she was going to get considerably closer to Tres, but that didn't stop the sting of jealousy he felt. Even though he thought he'd come to terms with what he had known would happen, the reality of it had been revealing. 'Is this how Tres felt all this time?' He wished he had the answer to that particular question, but there was no way of knowing unless he asked and somehow that just didn't seem the right thing to do.

“Hello would be a good start,” Inuyasha said with a snort, “You're being stupid, priest. Tres had to deal with the same shit you're going through now when you decided to consummate this relationship, but he sure as hell didn't avoid her like the plague. So what are you going to do? Go back to trying to hide from her just because they've fucked? I hate to tell you, that shit might have worked at the village, but it's not going to work here.” Not if he had any say in it. If things got that bad, he'd personally kick the Crusnik's ass until he got over himself.

“Don't presume to judge me, Inuyasha,” Father Nightroad replied without heat, “you cannot possibly understand how I'm feeling about this. Nor can you understand the strength of the feelings coming from Tres through the bond.” Although Tres had said nothing to him before venturing into the cave, he'd seen the brief look he'd been given as well as felt the quick flare of possessiveness. In a way it could be equated to a dog protecting a new toy, there was no way in hell it would give it up without a fight and that was exactly what he was feeling from his partner at the moment.

“Wait... You're telling me I can't understand what? Possessiveness? That's a crock of shit if ever I heard it,” Inuyasha said with a snort, “Kagome never told you about the time I showed up at her school during a festival, did she?”

Father Nightroad shook his head and looked at the hanyou, his face showing none of the emotions that he was currently feeling, “What does that have to do with the current situation?”

“It's illustrating a point, pay attention and learn something,” Inuyasha replied curtly, even though a slight smile tugged at the corners of his mouth with the memory. “They were having a play and I happened to walk into the room while this one idiot was on stage with her.”

“Do I dare ask where this is going?” Abel asked, even though his curiosity was piqued. At this point nothing would surprise him where Inuyasha was concerned. “Let me guess. This poor stranger was just acting out his part and you happened to walk in while they were kissing.”

“Keh, not quite. The guy wasn't a stranger, not by a long shot. See, there's things you need to understand. You're not from Japan and know next to nothing about the culture, right?” Inuyasha asked quietly.

“I learned the language and enough of the culture to get by if necessary, however, that was many centuries ago and in my own time, Japan no longer exists as you know it,” he replied with a shrug of his shoulders and then waited to see just where the hanyou was going with this.

“Come on, let's take a walk,” Inuyasha suggested and turned to walk towards a nearby rock formation where they could sit and talk. The others really wouldn't question their disappearance so long as they didn't take hours to get back. Once they were seated comfortably, he began his explanation, “The society Kagome grew up in, in some ways is still similar to this time period. The guy that Kagome was in the play with, was attempting to court her through the first year or so that she was here in the past with us and her friends weren't helping.”

“And Kagome is abysmal at turning people down,” Father Nightroad replied immediately. He'd seen that much in their interactions with Kouga, and this was after she'd bonded to him and Tres. He could only imagine how she was prior to that, when she could still be considered little more than a child.

“Yeah, she sucked at it. Her friends weren't helping the situation either. In her time, status holds just as much importance as it does here. By choosing a high status male for Kagome, it shows just how highly regarded she is herself. Someone like me would never be good enough for her, not in their eyes, so they continued to push them together and I'd have to watch because she wouldn't let me interfere,” Inuyasha replied with a trace of bitterness lacing his voice. Old wounds still ached when he thought about how he was considered an abomination by so many for so long, even if Kagome had accepted him.

“She was afraid of what you'd do to him,” Abel supplied with a sigh. It sounded like something that she would attempt to do. It was clear she disliked conflict, especially when it involved her friends.

“That's putting it mildly. So I showed up at this festival because Kagome inadvertently brought some dried demons through the well and I walked into the room to see this moron on the stage, proclaiming his devotion to her,” Inuyasha said mildly. Looking back on the situation now, he could see the amusement of the situation, even if he had been willing to gut Hojo at the time.

“Oh dear heaven,” Abel said, almost dreading what was coming next. In his mind's eye he could just see the massive amounts of blood that had to be spilled. Now Inuyasha's reaction to his statement was making sense. He'd been put in a position where his love interest was threatened, even if the circumstances weren't quite as complicated. As much as he dreaded the answer, he had to ask the question burning in his mind, “You didn't kill him, did you?”

“No, I wanted to, though. I ended up blowing a hole in the roof and taking Kagome out of there. It's just my luck though that we take care of that particular idiot, and then we run into his ancestor in this time period,” Inuyasha said with a snort. At the time he swore fate was conspiring against him, and he still believed that to be true at times.

“His ancestor?” Abel asked skeptically, “How can you be so certain?”

“Because he looked just like him and the bastard fell in love with her, too,” Inuyasha replied with a roll of his eyes. “Kagome told me she talked to Hojo later and the idiot had brought his family history for her to look at. Akitoki Hojo, the same ancestor we'd run into here, had taken a bride and asked her to change her name to Kagome, because he couldn't get over the woman he fell in love with. How's that for being stupid? The Hojo in her time took that to mean that he was destined to be with Kagome, for some reason. I'm convinced that entire family isn't all there upstairs.”

“That's more than a little extreme,” the Crusnik said, silently agreeing with the hanyou's assessment. Something had to be desperately wrong with a man that asks his wife to change her name to that of a woman he couldn't get over.

“Yeah, well, Kagome seems to have a talent for attracting the weirdos. I'm not sure what it is, but they flock to her. It used to drive me nuts, but it's not my problem anymore. You and Tres need to figure your shit out while things are relatively calm. You thought it was bad when Kouga ran off with her? There's a lot of other demons that would risk their lives for that chance,” Inuyasha tossed out and shifted to get more comfortable, “Hell, I bet even Naraku would take her if he thought he had half a chance of getting close to her without worrying about getting his dick purified.”

“Naraku's not going to get a chance because he's going to be dead,” Father Nightroad replied with venom. Even if the bastard hadn't attacked everything he held dear, he wasn't about to give Kagome up to the likes of him. It was difficult enough that he had to share her with Tres and he was still no closer to resolving his issues with that than he was at the start of the conversation.

“Well at least you're clear on one thing then. Now we just need to get this shit between you and Tres worked out, otherwise you're going to drive Kagome crazy trying to keep the peace between you,” Inuyasha said with a snort, “you'll be lucky if you both don't end up with a rosary at the rate you're going.”

“I'm afraid it's not going to be that easy,” the priest muttered tiredly. It was one thing to know that they were sleeping together, but with the level of emotion his partner was willing to give her, could he even compete? A good portion of his heart still belonged to another who was far beyond his reach, wrapped in death's cold embrace. Was it fair to Kagome to insist that she split her heart between the two of them, when he couldn't offer her all of his own?

Shaking his head, Inuyasha stood up. “When it comes to Kagome, nothing ever is. But if you don't do anything you're not only hurting yourself, but her as well.”

Sighing heavily, Father Nightroad watched him leave, yet he made no move to do so himself. For now he was content to remain where he was, alone with his thoughts. Things would have to be resolved sooner or later, but for the moment he didn't know how to even begin. Hopefully an answer would become clear soon.

Inuyasha somehow wasn't surprised that the Crusnik didn't bother to follow him. The man obviously needed time to think alone, and that was something that he wasn't going to get back at the cave. Unfortunately, he doubted the priest would be left alone for long though. Sooner or later Kagome was going to want to know just why he was giving her the brush off, and the man wasn't going to get any rest until she was satisfied with the answer. 'Keh, maybe that's what the dumbass needs.'

It was just a question of how long she was going to wait to go after him, and whether or not Tres was going to attempt to stop her.'With luck, Miroku's figured out what's going on and he can run interference. The last thing Nightroad needs is his partner breathing down his back, they'll never get anything worked out if that happens.'

As predicted, the moment that he stepped within the cave, the miko was looking at him expectantly. Before she could ask where the Crusnik was, he jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Nightroad is out there sulking if you want to talk to him. If not, I'm sure he'll come in at some point. It'd be a cold day in hell before that man missed dinner voluntarily.”

“Sulking?” Kagome asked, her brows furrowing in worry. She'd noticed that Abel hadn't bothered to say two words to her when they'd gotten back. At the time she thought that maybe he just wasn't sure what to say, so she'd left him alone to figure it out. But now Inuyasha made it sound like there was something wrong. “You didn't say something to upset him, did you?”

“I didn't have to say anything to upset him. He was well on his way when he realized the two of you were back,” Inuyasha replied with a snort and moved closer to the fireplace. He pointedly ignored the way that Sango and Miroku were looking at him curiously, as if waiting for an elaboration. It wasn't his place to say and if they were too stupid to figure out the man was jealous, it wasn't his problem. Instead he looked towards the pot warming over the fire and took a tentative sniff, “Are you making dinner already?”

“This?” Kagome asked in surprise, “Oh no. This is my tea. I didn't have a chance to have any this morning, so I thought now would be a good time to make it.” She stared down into the clear liquid and wondered how much longer she should let it steep.

“You mean that stuff you normally make in the mornings?” Inuyasha asked dubiously and took another sniff, “It doesn't smell the same. I don't know what your fascination is with the stuff, but I doubt it's going to taste any good if I couldn't even tell what it was. You might as well dump it out and get started on dinner.”

“It's weaker than normal,” Kagome replied carefully, “I'm almost out of the ingredients and you know how much I like it. So I've been stretching them out until I can get a new supply.” Stretching it out was putting it mildly. Normally the color was a dark amber and what she had in the pot now looked barely tinted with any color at all.

“Are those the supplies you inquired about at the village?” Tres asked from his position against the wall. He'd been wondering what she'd been trying to obtain since they'd left, but he hadn't found a way to bring it up without just coming out and asking. When the man at the village had inquired as to what she needed them for, the miko had been more than a little embarrassed by the question and it had piqued his curiosity.

Kagome nodded and hoped that they'd leave it at that. Inuyasha was probably right about the tea. It probably was worthless, but what else could she do but continue to take it? If it wasn't strong enough to work now, it was a little bit too late to be worrying about it since she'd already slept with Tres. There was absolutely nothing that she could do now, but wait and see what happened. 'And pray that it's still working.' The thought weighed heavily on her mind while she poured herself a cup of the liquid and brought it to her lips.

Shippo watched the miko with interest, his tail twitching every so often. “So does it still taste good?” he asked once she'd taken her first sip. There were times he would have sworn she hated the stuff with how she grimaced at the taste, but it didn't stop her from drinking the stuff. 'Maybe it's a human thing. Some of the stuff they do is just plain weird.'

“It's just fine,” Kagome said, trying to give the kit a smile even as she lied to him. It really did taste like water now, with none of the former bitter taste that she'd grown used to. Shrugging her shoulders, she downed the rest of the cup and removed the pot from the fire so that she could rinse it out and begin dinner like the hanyou had suggested.

Immediately Sango stood up and took the pot from her hands, “Allow me to worry about dinner tonight, Kagome. Why don't you grab your stuff and go take a hot bath. Afterwards you can go and talk to Father Nightroad, I think he needs to get some things off his chest.” As much as she wasn't inclined to help the priest, having him mope around was going to make things infinitely more difficult on them. But sending Kagome off to go talk to him in her current condition wasn't likely to help matters. Even though she could see that the miko had attempted to look somewhat presentable, the girl was still thoroughly mussed up from the earlier trip.

The question almost prompted Kagome to ask if Sango was implying that she stank, but she thought better of the idea. A bath sounded good and it got her out of making dinner for the group. Quickly she nodded her head, “Alright, I'll be back in a little while. Just let me get my stuff.”

“Do you want me to go with you, Kagome?” Shippo asked eagerly from the rock that he was seated on. It wasn't often that he got to bathe with her anymore since the men tended to stay around her one way or another and if he was going to be honest he missed the time they used to spend together.

“No, she doesn't need the company, runt,” Inuyasha said before she could answer the question. “Nightroad is out there and they need to talk. It's not like this is the first time he's watched her take a bath.” The last thing they needed was the kitsune poking around while they were trying to have a serious conversation and Inuyasha was determined that one way or another the conversation was going to happen.

“But, Inuyasha,” Shippo whined and turned bright green eyes onto the miko. His pleading expression said it all and he hoped that it would be enough for her to overrule the hanyou's decision.

“Inuyasha is right this time, Shippo. I'm sorry, but I do need to talk to him. Maybe next time you can come with me,” she said, and slung the bag of bathroom supplies over her shoulder. However when she started to walk off, she had to pause when she noticed that Tres was following her as well. “I'm afraid that means you too, Tres,” she said and gave him an apologetic smile, “Don't worry. We'll be fine out there, I promise.”

The rebuff had Tres scowling at the woman and debating his chances of getting away with telling her to deal with it. He was not happy about the idea of allowing her to go off alone. But at the same time, he knew that she needed to speak with Abel and resolve things. However, that didn't mean he had to like it either. “Acknowledged, you will be careful while out there,” he said at last and fixed her with a hard stare. At the first sign of trouble, he had every intention of going out there and dealing with it.

“Of course I will,” Kagome said, trying not to sound too exasperated with the man. Before he could change his mind, she hurried outside and began making her way to the hot spring she knew was nearby. While she could have used the wooden tub that Totousai kept nearby, it meant having to lug water and she had no intentions of straining her back if she didn't have to. However, half way there she felt someone staring at her and when she turned to see who it was, she met Abel's gaze. Slowly she walked over to him, gaging his expression to see if he was in the mood to talk. “Would you like to come with me?”

His first reaction was to tell her no, but that meant she'd either be forced to go alone, or to return to the cave to ask Tres. Given those two options, he decided that accompanying her would be the best choice for them all. A not so small part of him was still willing to snatch at any chance he could get to have the miko all to himself, even if it was only for a short time and apparently this was going to be the only way he was going to get it.

“I'll accompany you, Kagome,” he said quietly and stood from the rock he'd been seated on. Once he was standing, he questioned himself as to whether or not this was wise, but he quickly silenced those doubts as he took his first steps towards her.

“Good, I was wondering for a minute if you were going to tell me no,” she replied with a slight grin. She could feel his hesitancy, but it wasn't making him revert to his previous avoidance behavior which was a step in the right direction. “I'm glad you're coming with me, we really haven't had any time to ourselves these last few days and I've missed spending time with you.”

The statement startled him and for a moment, Abel was wondering if she was suggesting what he thought she was. He shook his head after thinking about it for a second, what she'd said was the truth. They really hadn't even had time to talk over the past few days and they had things to discuss. “It has been rather busy,” he said at last and accompanied her on the way to the springs. “Hopefully things will calm down soon and that will no longer be an issue.”

“That would be nice,” Kagome agreed with him before casting him a sidelong glance, “just being able to relax and not worry about what the next day will bring would be a welcome change.” Of course, that statement included everything with Naraku and the situation between the three of them, but she was sure that Abel had picked up on that.

“It'll all be over soon, I'm sure,” Father Nightroad replied, but in his heart he wasn't sure if he believed it himself. The miko wanted reassurances that things would be fine between him and Tres, yet how could he give her that when he wasn't sure if it was true? Things were so uncertain right now and could go any number of ways. Hell, there was a good chance that one of them could die in the upcoming fight which could complicate things even further.

“Maybe you're right,” Kagome murmured and dropped the pack at the water's edge. Without turning around, she began divesting herself of her clothes, not caring in the least that she was being watched. It wasn't like she had anything that he hadn't seen before and somehow she doubted that he'd object to getting the free show. Once she was settled comfortably in the water, she looked at him again, “So were you okay with the others last night?”

“Totousai is a good host,” Father Nightroad said in answer, “I take it you and Tres got things worked out.” He didn't necessarily want to go down this path, but he had to know just where she stood. Tres' feelings were obvious, but he wasn't so clear on where Kagome's lay.

“I think you know the answer to that,” Kagome murmured quietly. There had been no hiding what had happened, nor would she have tried in the first place. The man sitting beside her deserved better than that, especially after everything he'd done to help her. She wouldn't deliberately hurt him but she wouldn't lie to him either.

When she saw him sigh, Kagome levered herself back up out of the water and touched his cheek gently, “You're wondering where this leaves you, aren't you?” Her eyes searched his as she tried to find a way to reach him, to let him know that she wasn't just going to toss him to the side. Yes, her relationship with him was slightly different than the one she had with Tres, but it was no less special.

“How can I not wonder? This changes things, even I know that much,” Abel replied uneasily. Truly he didn't know what to say to her. Was she asking that he confess his insecurities? Those should be fairly obvious by now and he didn't want to have to voice them anyway.

“Of course it changes things, but I wouldn't look at it as necessarily a bad thing, Abel. The three of us knew from the start that this would be complicated and I made a promise that I wasn't going to choose one over the other. While our relationships might be a bit different, they're equal. I know that and Tres knows that, now I just need to get you to accept that as well,” Kagome said earnestly. A breeze swept over them, causing her to shiver, but she bore the discomfort in favor of trying to make the Crusnik see the truth of her words.

“Tres might know it, Kagome, but do you really think he accepts it? Search the bond, Kagome, and tell me what you feel,” he replied quietly and waited for her to do so. In many ways, the miko was blind to things that were going on right in front of her and this was one of them.

“He's upset,” she stated with a shrug of the shoulders, “I could have told you that he would be. But don't think it's because he doesn't accept that you're part of the picture. He's upset that he wanted to come down here with me and I told him to stay behind.”

“Are you really so blind, Kagome? Do you really think that's what has upset him?” the Crusnik pressed on, determined to make her see the truth of the matter. When she continued to stare at him with the air of someone who knew better, he chose another, more direct path and kissed her. The gasp of surprise she gave allowed him to take possession of her mouth and to his relief, she didn't push him away.

The move had taken her completely off guard and he could feel the surprise pulsating through the bond, as well as a spark of anger that flared higher, coming from a completely different source. Still, he wasn't about to pull away from her either because he needed this, and he had a point to prove. She'd see reason when Tres came storming down to break them up, but until then he was going to savor each stolen moment he was able to share with her.

But Kagome was equally determined. She knew exactly what he was trying to do and this was one battle she wasn't going to lose. Her belief in Tres was strong and she was certain that no matter how jealous he would become, he wouldn't come down to interfere. It just wouldn't happen, because he knew how important Abel was to her as well. Quickly her hands went to his jacket and she shoved it off of his shoulders. There was one way she knew that would reassure the Crusnik, where words had failed. To hold back would give those doubts a chance to resurface and she couldn't allow that.

The moment her hands began to undress him, warning bells went off in Abel's head, but there was no way that he could deny that he wanted this. Oh Gods did he want this, he wanted her, all of her, even if he knew that he could never completely possess her. There would be hell to pay later, that much he knew, but for one last moment with her, it would be worth it. After this he'd have to step back and allow things to happen as they were supposed to, but for the moment he could push those thoughts aside. She was here, in his arms, and she wanted him, just as he wanted her.

~Back In The Cave~

Inuyasha stood over Tres with a scowl on his face. This was one time he really wanted to curse them all to hell and back, because he knew exactly what was going on. 'What the hell are they thinking?! I said to talk, not fuck! Now we're sitting here trying to keep Tres under control while they conveniently forget what the hell they're supposed to be doing!' When the redhead struggled again, Inuyasha's eyes narrowed, “You're not going anywhere, so you might as well sit there and behave unless you want Miroku to put another damned ward on you.”

“Release me now. Your preferences in this matter do not concern me,” Tres said, his voice cold and precise. The combination of what was happening between Abel and Kagome was irritating enough, but to be confined in such a fashion was beyond infuriating.

“And let you go storming down there like an ass? I don't think so,” Inuyasha replied with a snort, “I think you might actually need more help pulling your head out of your ass than Abel does. At least he's willing to consider the idea of keeping things equal between the three of you. You on the other hand, you get your dick wet and now all of a sudden you're the only one who matters.”

“Inuyasha!” Sango gasped, scandalized that the hanyou would be so blunt, even if it was what they'd all been thinking. “Watch your mouth, Shippo does not need to hear that kind of talk.”

“It's no worse than what he's heard before and if it bothers him so much, he can go outside. This needs to be settled now before someone gets killed,” Inuyasha stated flatly and crossed his arms before looking back down at the priest, “Is that what you want? Because that's whats going to happen if you can't calm the fuck down. The two of you are going to be so busy going at each other's throats that neither one of you will be looking out for Kagome. And if it comes down to a choice between her, or you two, I'll take the both of you out myself. I watched over her before you two morons got her, I can damned sure take care of her after you're both gone.”

“That option is unacceptable and it's no longer your place to interfere,” Tres replied just as coldly and tested his bonds a second time. The fact that a tiny slip of paper could subdue him was irritating and he longed to be able to rip it off, but he couldn't even move his hands to do so.

“Like hell it's not my place,” Inuyasha snarled angrily, causing even Shippo to back up a pace. “Kagome's welfare will always be a concern of mine and if you can't do your job, then someone else is going to have to. I'm not going to let her get hurt just because you can't get a rein on how you feel. What is it that Kagome says? Oh yeah, you need to chill the hell out. If you want to talk to her, fine. But it's going to wait until she gets back and if you can't keep a lid on it, Miroku can always shut you up.”

Said monk's lips twitched in amusement at the look that crossed Tres' face then. Clearly the man hadn't thought about that being a possibility, but it was an option if it came right down too it. However, two explosive tempers in the same room weren't likely to solve anything and it was time for cooler heads to prevail. “If I may, Inuyasha,” he began and held up a hand to forestall whatever was going to come out of the hanyou's mouth next. “Tres, you want Kagome to be happy, do you not?”

Without hesitation Tres nodded, although he wasn't sure where the monk was going with this. Yes, he wanted the miko to be happy, but with him. He couldn't help the way that he felt whenever she was out of his reach and he couldn't see any reason to deny himself that.

“How do you think Kagome would feel to know that you were so jealous that you could no longer continue your friendship with Father Nightroad? I assure you, Kagome keeps all of her friends close to her and to see any of them in pain, hurts her deeply,” Miroku said quietly, trying to break through the stubborn walls that the redhead had put up. Until Tres could look beyond his own feelings, this was never going to work, so it was up to them to help him to hopefully see reason.

“Our friendship is not in question, his continued proximity to Kagome is,” Tres replied stubbornly. They couldn't know, they couldn't understand. What they felt on a day to day basis was nothing compared to what he experienced because it was so new. What they thought should be easy to control, was in fact like a flood that was impossible to hold back. It was enough that he allowed the other man near her in the first place, but for the Crusnik to spirit her away from him he just couldn't handle.

“You know, it's not often that I agree with Inuyasha, but this time I do. You're being stupid. I might not like the situation Kagome's found herself in, but you're making it worse. You didn't seem to have a problem with it before. Kagome told me how you watched the entire thing, so what changed?” Sango asked with irritation coloring her voice. This wasn't something that she wanted to talk about, or even hear for that matter, but it had become obvious that until the issue was settled she was going to have to step in.

“You mean he watched them...” Miroku trailed off, his expression turning to one of contemplation. For once he wasn't thinking about how lucky the redhead had been to find himself in the situation, but instead he focused on ways to make this easier on them all. “Tell me, Tres. If you were to be out there with them right now, invited, would you be so angry?”

For a moment Tres didn't reply, but after a moment he sighed, “Unable to answer the question due to insufficient experience. We have not encountered that particular situation before, so I cannot gage what my reaction would be.” While he'd watched them the one time and felt the first stirrings of jealousy, he somehow doubted it would have manifested if he'd been included. But whether that was because it would have been a learning experience or not, he could not begin to speculate and he refused to try.

“You really think that would make a difference?” Sango asked the monk skeptically. She couldn't imagine not being jealous if she was being forced to share Miroku with another woman.

“I'm sure it would, provided Kagome didn't focus more of her attention on one than the other. It's obvious she cares for the both of them and they for her. The fact that they were friends prior to this is helpful, the distrust only came later. I'm guessing it's not an issue of not being willing to share in this case, but an issue of not wanting to be left out. After all, how long was poor Tres here forced to watch and wait, while Father Nightroad had Kagome all to himself. He wants his time too, and his partner just ran off with her again,” Miroku said, rather pleased with his explanation. It made perfect sense to him, even if the redhead appeared to be relatively unconvinced.

“So what do you suggest, Miroku?” Inuyasha asked with a raised brow. It sounded like he might be onto something, but he'd come to take everything the monk said with a grain of salt. Half the time the man was full of shit, and this could very well be one of those times.

“What I suggest is that there be no more sneaking off for alone time with one or the other. Kagome's going to need to keep the peace between them, so I'd say she's looking at equal time, if you know what I mean,” Miroku suggested, wiggling his brows while he did so. It was the easiest way, to his way of thinking, to solve this childish bickering going on between them.

For a moment Sango just sat there uncomprehendingly until just what Miroku was suggesting dawned on her. “You have got to be kidding me! You mean both of them? At once? I've heard some crazy ideas come out of your mouth, Miroku, but have you lost your mind?” Sango said in disbelief, her expression one of complete shock.

“No, he might be onto something. I can't believe I just said that,” Inuyasha muttered beneath his breath. It sounded like an absurd idea, but if Tres had been fine watching Abel with Kagome once, would being included keep him from having these little bouts of jealousy?'I dunno if it'll work, but it's worth a try.' However, someone was going to have to bring it up to the girl in the first place, but who? Scanning the room quickly, he dismissed all the males sitting there. Miroku was too much of a pervert, Shippo was too young, and Tres was the cause of the problem in the first place. “It's a good idea,” he said at last, “Sango, when Kagome gets back it's up to you to explain the problem and what she's going to have to do to fix it.”

“Me?” Sango stared at the hanyou like he'd grown a second head, “Why do I have to be the one to do this?” It wasn't that she minded helping Kagome, but things like this weren't supposed to be discussed in the first place. 'And now they want me to go to Kagome and tell her that she should be with both of them at the same time?!'

“Because you're a girl and you're the only one she's likely to listen to,” Inuyasha stated plainly, ignoring the indignant look that the exterminator was giving him. It was far from the ideal solution, but it was the best one they had at the moment, now it was up to Sango to sell Kagome on the idea.

“Fine,” Sango replied with a glare and crossed her arms, “I'll talk with her when they get back, but you all owe me for this one.” While she wasn't sure exactly what to say, it was probably going to be far more tactful than anything the boys could come up with. Now she only hoped that she could sound convincing to Kagome because she honestly wasn't even sure that she believed it to be right herself. 'This is going to be a hard sell.'

“Good, now that that's out of the way, what's for dinner?” Totousai asked at last, finally joining in on the conversation. He and Myouga had taken in the argument with interest, but said nothing because it really didn't concern them. Of course, it was rather nice having someone else bear the brunt of the hanyou's anger for a change so he was determined to enjoy it while it lasted.

The question had Sango sighing while she turned her attention back to what she was supposed to be doing. Fortunately she'd managed to get the water boiling and part of the vegetables chopped for the stew, before the situation with Tres had interrupted her. The thought of the redhead had her glowering over at the man who still looked ready to kill. Under normal circumstance she might have felt a bit of sympathy for him, but right now her thoughts were far from charitable. After all, he was a direct reason why she was being dragged into this... mess, in the first place.

Snatching up another carrot, she started cutting it with vicious strokes of the knife. Someone shifted uneasily nearby, causing her to look up into Totousai's wide, staring eyes. When he looked about ready to ask again, her eyes narrowed dangerously in warning. 'If he can't figure out what we're having while I'm in the middle of making it, so help me I might have to chop him into bits!'

“I'll just go back to work,” Totousai muttered and shuffled away. Messing with women were dangerous in the first place, but messing with one that happened to be a demon exterminator was just tempting fate too much.

“A wise decision, if ever I heard one,” Myouga replied from the swordsmith's shoulder. He'd seen that look plenty of times before and Sango's irritation was not something to be trifled with. Fortunately for him, he wasn't the one that would have to be the one to suffer that wrath. By the looks of it, that alone was reserved for the two men that had captured the miko's affections. It was a strange relationship to be sure, but one that had just as many benefits as it did drawbacks.'I wonder if maybe I could find another woman who would be willing to indulge in the same kind of relationship? Then all I would have to do is to convince the missus.'

Finally, after what seemed like ages, Kagome and her missing companion returned to the cave, only to stop and stare with wide eyes at the sight that greeted them.

“Miroku,” Kagome said calmly, “Why do you have Tres warded?” She'd wondered at the burning fury that she'd felt coming from the redhead and Abel had tried explaining that it was the jealousy and possessiveness he felt around her. He'd almost had her halfway convinced, but now that she saw the position the priest was in, she was certain he was pissed because he couldn't move, more than anything else.

“Don't be stupid, Kagome. If we hadn't tied him up, you would have gotten dragged away from the hot spring whether you liked it or not,” Inuyasha said with a snort before continuing on, “I swear, you've got some of the worst timing of any person I've ever seen. Next time, think before you pull a stunt like that.”

“Excuse me?” Kagome growled in irritation, causing Inuyasha's ears to flatten, “Are you telling me that I need your permission before I go off to talk to Father Nightroad?”

“Talk? No. But we know that ain't all that you two were doing, otherwise we wouldn't have had to do this to Tres,” Inuyasha snapped in return, letting the woman know that none of them were stupid. If nothing else, the signs were obvious of what had happened. Father Nightroad's hair was just as wet as hers and he hadn't bothered tying it back yet either. The sight of them together like that was damning enough as it was without Tres' reaction to go on.

Hearing that statement, Kagome flushed scarlet with embarrassment. 'Oh my God, is everyone going to know what's going on whenever I go to spend some time alone with Tres or Abel?' The very thought was mortifying and she wasn't sure how she was going to handle that one. “You didn't have to put it like that,” Kagome moaned, trying to figure a way out of this one.

“Kagome, we need to talk,” Sango said before Inuyasha could make a crude retort. Quickly she stood up and squared her shoulders for what she was about to do. Sparing a glance towards the Crusnik, she turned her attention completely towards the miko, “Let's go, I'm only going to say this once and we don't need an audience.”

“I'm not so...” Kagome began, but was cut off when her friend gripped her by the arm and began leading her out of the cave.

“I am,” Sango interrupted her firmly and continued walking until they were a good distance away from the cave. “Have a seat, we've got to get this problem worked out now.”

“Don't you think everyone's overreacting just a bit, Sango?” Kagome asked curiously while she perched on the edge of a rock. Sure, Tres might have been a little upset, but they'd probably just made things worse by restraining him. Maybe it was time to talk this out, that way any grievances could be aired and put behind them.

“How do I put this delicately?” Sango started, her expression flat, “No. You're going to have to get those two to stop acting like idiots, or they're going to have to leave, Kagome. Inuyasha wasn't kidding, the ward was necessary because Tres can't handle the thought that you're with another man. I don't know what started this little jealousy streak in him, but it ends now. The situation puts everyone in danger, and I'm not risking my life by trusting them when they can't work their problems out.” It was a blunt way of putting it, and perhaps a bit cruel, but it needed to be said.

“And you think choosing between them is going to make it any better? I can't just send one of them away, Sango,” Kagome replied, her voice tight with the frustration that she felt. Sure things were a bit tense, but that was to be expected. Hell, the men in her time were just as unyielding when it came to sharing things and she had been surprised that they'd even been willing to accept what was happening in the first place. "If you have any suggestions I'm willing to listen to them."

“I didn't say you were going to have to choose between them, but you're being blind to the situation and I'm beginning to think it's deliberate. You don't want to acknowledge the problem and until you do, it's going to continue to get worse,” Sango said and took a seat next to the miko. As much as she hated doing this, the woman needed a wake up call. “Let me see if I can make you understand what's going on. When you came back with them, things were fine between them because you didn't show a preference for one over the other, right?”

“I'm not playing favorites now, Sango,” Kagome insisted. In fact she tried to split her time between them evenly, but much of it depended on who she thought needed her company the most at the time. 'I haven't been neglecting either of them, have I?'

“You may not think you are, but it's happening,” Sango replied gently. This was going to be difficult for the miko to accept, but she was going to have to if this was going to continue to work. If she didn't, then sooner or later the two priests were going to end up at each other's throats and she had the feeling it would be Tres instigating the confrontation. “When the three of you got here, you spent most of your time with both of them. Things changed, Kagome and after the cave in, Tres pretty much had you to himself.”

“But then things happened between me and Abel,” Kagome said quietly, realizing that after that she'd spent a great deal of time in the Crusnik's company. “But... Tres was there when it happened and he seemed fine with the situation!”

“And I'm sure he would have been, but you and Father Nightroad became almost inseparable there for a while. Even though you included Tres in often, you rarely went out of your way to spend time alone with him,” Sango replied, showing the miko just where she'd gone wrong with the entire situation. “So when you and Tres finally went off alone, I'm guessing he realized how much he liked having you to himself. I imagine that he believed you would treat him like you did his partner afterwards, but almost as soon as you got back, you became... preoccupied, and it wasn't with him.”

Kagome stared off towards the cave, her heart in turmoil. “And he didn't say anything because...”

“He probably thought you already knew,” Sango finished for her. “You've said it yourself that he's not sure how to handle the strength of these emotions. With the way he thinks, is it any wonder that he'd think that? You've always been human, you've grown up learning how to react appropriately to situations. He assumes that you know how he feels without having to say a word.” Add into it that men weren't the greatest at expressing how they felt in the first place and you had a recipe for disaster.

“He must be so angry with me,” Kagome muttered, ashamed that she hadn't seen this sooner. 'How could I have been so blind to what he was feeling? Dammit, even with the bond in place I'm still screwing things up!'

“I don't think he's angry with you, Kagome. Father Nightroad on the other hand, might be a different story. If we'd have let him go after the two of you, there probably would have been a fight between them. Now you just have to figure out how to fix the problem,” Sango said quietly. The entire situation was tearing the group apart and something had to give soon. She could only hope that whatever action Kagome took would be enough to mend the rift that had formed between the two men.

“What can I do though? If I spend more time with Tres, Abel is going to start avoiding me again. But I can't neglect Tres either or this is just going to continue to get worse,” Kagome said with a sigh. Of all the people she knew, her life had to be the most complicated.

“You want an honest answer? Go back to the way things were at first. You weren't favoring one over the other and things were fine,” Sango said, musing over the problem. “It pains me to say it, but when you want to... be with either of them, you're not going to be able to pick one over the other.”

“You mean?” Kagome raised a brow at the other woman. The blush staining Sango's cheeks answered the question for her. Talking about sex just wasn't an acceptable conversation in the first place, but it was clearly something that was going to have to be discussed in order to resolve this issue completely.

Drumming her fingers against the rock, Kagome considered the situation, “It might work, once they both have a chance to cool down. Tres was there watching... that first time. It didn't bother him then, so maybe if he's being included things will get back to normal.” Of course she didn't want to consider whether or not she'd be able to handle it considering the sheer amount of effort it took to satisfy one of them. Trying to picture both at the same time was almost enough to make her take a vow of chastity. 'I'd better give up on the idea of ever walking again. They're going to kill me, I swear.'

“It's worth a shot,” Sango replied quietly. She really didn't want the details of what had happened with the two men, nor what plans Kagome might form for in the future. All she needed to know was that the miko was going to take care of the problem. “I'd suggest talking to them individually before we leave. This has to get settled before we start hunting Naraku again.”

“I'll take care of it,” Kagome said firmly, even though she wasn't exactly sure how she should broach the subject with them. After all, just walking up to either one and announcing that if they wanted to have sex with her again, the other had to be present wasn't the most tactful of ways to put it. Fortunately she had at least few hours to think before they left. She was going to need it.

~Two days Later~

When Kagome had stated that she would take care of the problem, she'd been hoping for a quick resolution, but she hadn't counted on the stubbornness of men. Or actually one male in particular, namely Tres. Although he hadn't outright refused her solution, it was clear that he wasn't exactly happy with it either. Tensions were running high, but at least it wasn't quite so overwhelming as what it had been when she'd returned from talking to Sango.

'I suppose I should be grateful that they're even willing to speak to each other at this point.' It was a step in the right direction, however small. Even more of an accomplishment was that it hadn't come down to physical violence between the two. Abel seemed as amendable as ever, if a bit reserved, but at least he wasn't avoiding her. That would have only compounded the problem since Kagome knew she would have had to specifically work on bringing him back around to her way of thinking.

Tres, on the other hand, had no reservations on showing everyone just where he believed his place to be and it was more than a little frustrating. Even now it was like he was glued to her hip and while it seemed that he wasn't paying her much attention, she was very aware of the fact that that was far from the case. 'He's going to drive me nuts if we can't figure something out soon.'

On her other side, Father Nightroad walked quietly. There was little he could say that would make much of a difference and he understood the importance of keeping the peace, at least until the danger had passed. In his mind, there wasn't much chance of this resolving itself peacefully and to his way of thinking, one of them was going to have to bow out of the relationship before things got much worse.

'But to do so now would set the entire group off balance and we cannot afford to give Naraku the advantage.' His heart felt heavy as he looked to the future. They'd win the battle, of this he had no doubts, but what would come after? Sadly he shook his head, lost in his innermost thoughts as he tried to resolve the problem. 'Do they really think that we can all settle down and act like there is nothing abnormal about the situation? Better yet, what happens when Kagome is forced to make a choice between us? It would cause her immeasurable pain to do so, but even she can't dictate the direction her heart takes.'

In his heart he knew that the miko would choose his partner. The level of devotion that Tres showed to her made it clear that he would never leave her. There had only been one other woman that had held Gunslinger's heart in such a fashion and Abel knew that ultimately, Tres needed someone to belong to. It's what kept him focused and to take that away from him seemed almost criminal.

'I guess that leaves me then.' Even though Father Nightroad was no stranger to loss, that didn't make it any easier. But what other choice was there? He could make the decision for her and bring her some pain, or he could leave it to her and end up hurting her worse. In the end then, there really wasn't a choice. 'If my leaving will lessen the pain she'll feel later, then that will be my course of action.'

That begged the question of where he would go, though. There was no way for him to return home, at least not to the time period that he'd come from. But there was no way he could remain here once the final battle was over. The temptation to return would be far too great and that would only cause greater heartache. 'I have no choice but to leave the country. Yet, dare I return to Rome?' The idea was tempting, in spite of the fact that none of his friends would be there.

The possibilities were endless, though. With his extensive knowledge of world history, he could pick and choose where would be the best place to go. He would need something to keep his mind occupied and off the woman walking next to him. Methods of travel in this age were extremely limited, but did it matter when he wasn't limited to a human's lifespan?'For that matter, I could travel to the Americas. Columbus has already staked his claim and settlements have been formed.'

But did he want to go to another wild and untamed land? One of the things he missed now was the culture that being within a large city provided. While it wasn't essential, it was a luxury that he would enjoy having around if he couldn't remain by Kagome's side.

Above all, though, he wanted to avoid getting drawn up into another war. His vow still stood and to be drawn into a battle that didn't concern him was something he wouldn't do. 'That may be difficult to accomplish, Europe was torn up by war throughout the Medieval period and even into this century. There may not be any escaping the possibility of battle, regardless of what path I take.'

The prospect was daunting, but he had a bit of time to consider his options. In the meantime he would enjoy the remaining time he had with Kagome, even if he could not keep her to himself. His only consolation was that when he left, he'd always be aware of her through the bond and he could be assured of her continued happiness, even if it wasn't with him.

“Are you okay?” Kagome asked, her voice one of concern. Ever since they'd left Totousai's, he seemed abnormally quiet and withdrawn. Even if he hadn't been, she would have been worried with the emotions coursing through the bond. Resignation was prevalent, but a deep sadness threatened to overwhelm it at times.

The question jerked Father Nightroad out of his thoughts and he tried to smile at the woman in reassurance, but he could tell it wasn't working. It felt fake even to him and he just couldn't muster the enthusiasm to convince her that everything was fine. So he settled on a partial truth, one that she wouldn't question too closely. “I was just thinking of home.”

“You miss everyone,” Kagome said gently and laid a hand on his arm. She was quite familiar with the feeling as well and could sympathize with the man. It was difficult leaving everything you knew behind and know there was no chance of returning. The well would not be able to take him back to his family, just like she could never return to hers. Yes, she knew that particular pain well.

“Very much so,” Father Nightroad agreed quietly and ignored the look that Tres cast over the top of the girl's head. While he was sure it wasn't hostile, Abel didn't want to see what lurked in those eyes. Curiosity, for certain, and he didn't want to give the man a reason to pry with Kagome so close. 'Surely he suspects though, and he will demand answers sooner or later. Yet I do not believe he would attempt to stop me from my chosen path.' Yet the time came sooner than he could have ever expected and he watched in surprise as Tres redirected Kagome's attention for a moment.

“Kagome, please accompany Sango and Miroku while I speak to Father Nightroad,” Tres asked calmly and ignored the wide eyed stare he received from the Crusnik.

“Whats... going on?” Kagome asked suspiciously. It wasn't often that either of them outright asked her to leave and she was beginning to wonder if the silent truce between them was about to blow to pieces.

“Nothing of importance, merely battle plans should we encounter Naraku,” Tres lied and turned his attention to the group walking ahead of them.

The statement had Kagome staring at him in suspicion, “Then why do I have to leave?” This was something out of the ordinary and while they had never really discussed battle plans in great depth before, she didn't see why she couldn't stay to listen.

“Because there is a high probability that you will inadvertently move into the danger zone and we must discuss the measures we will take to ensure your safety. Please accompany Sango for the duration of the conversation, you will be safe there,” Tres stated calmly and watched her with a detachment he didn't feel as he waited for her to do as she'd been told.

“This had better not turn into a fight,” Kagome said and gave him a stern look before walking ahead of the two priests. It wasn't of any surprise when Sango looked at her in surprise, but the miko just shrugged her shoulders. “Don't ask me. The boys want to talk and apparently, girls aren't allowed.”

Once Kagome was well outside of hearing distance, Tres fixed the Crusnik with a penetrating gaze, “Why did you lie to her?” While Kagome might not know the signs of deception that the other male gave off, he did and he wasn't going to let this go unless he knew what was up and the reasons for it.

“Because to tell her the truth now would bring her pain and distract her from her goal,” Father Nightroad replied quietly while watching the girl walk up ahead of them. “I know that things have been difficult between us, both here in the past and in our own time. But I know that I can trust you to keep her safe, so I'm going to cure the problem once and for all.”

“You intend to leave then,” Tres stated flatly, unsure of what to think. On one hand it would leave Kagome as his completely, but he knew that Father Nightroad was right, it would bring her immeasurable pain. “Why have you decided upon this course of action?”

It was a question that deserved an answer, that much Abel knew. A sigh escaped his lips as he contemplated how he would answer. “She deserves more,” he replied after a few moments, “As it is now, she is constantly worrying, waiting for everything to fall apart. How long do you think it will take until she breaks?”

“You do not give her enough credit if that's what you choose to believe, but I can tell you she is stronger than that,” Tres countered although he was careful to keep his voice low enough that the others could not hear him. There was a level of hostility in his own voice that the other man might not understand, but that wasn't his problem.

Father Nightroad fixed the redhead with a serious look, “For now, but what about later when things become more complicated? How will she feel when it's time to settle down and the pressure of trying to conform to this time weigh heavily upon her shoulders? There's no way to put this delicately, but it would be impossible to do so. She deals with the scorn from her friends every day even if they try to hide it. None of them are happy with what has happened, and they are more accepting than most. Don't try to convince me I'm wrong in this, Tres. I know I'm correct and if you really stop and think about it you'll realize it as well.”

What might have been a valid point with a normal person, held no meaning to Tres and he shrugged his shoulders, “Kagome has never cared for the opinions of others and does not hesitate to stand up for what she believes. That is not the only reason you are contemplating this course of action, so explain to me the rest of it.”

“No,” Father Nightroad replied wearily, “It isn't. You sense how uneasy she is? It's like she's waiting for the rug to be pulled out from under her again and it's centered around us.” If the situation hadn't been so serious, it might have been comical watching the woman try and split her time exactly down the middle between them. But now all it brought was regret on his part, knowing that he was once again causing her difficulty. For the briefest of moments he wondered if Tres felt guilty before he shook his head. Guilt had never been in the man's vocabulary and most likely he still believed himself to be the one with a stronger claim to the girl. He wouldn't see a reason to feel guilty.

“And you do not believe that this will work?” Tres asked with genuine curiosity. Even though he had his own doubts, Kagome seemed to be so convinced and wouldn't hear of anything that suggested otherwise. She was pushing herself to accomplish that goal and while the outcome was still in the air, no one could question her determination.

“Could it work?” Abel queried quietly before shrugging his shoulder, “Perhaps, but is it worth the devastation that failure might bring in the end? There is no way to know for sure and a choice will have to be made soon. Do we risk it, or do we take the path that will guarantee her happiness in the long run?”

For someone accustomed to dealing in possibilities and percentages, Tres refused to answer right away. Something told him that if the Crusnik left, it wouldn't be something that Kagome would just get over. But was Father Nightroad correct in his way of thinking? They'd been through much together and an attachment had been formed, yet if this was allowed to continue, just how much deeper would the bond grow before they were separated?

“I believe that you should allow Kagome to be the one to make that decision,” he said at last. While he wouldn't mind having her all to himself, if she found out that he knew and didn't tell her, Kagome would never forgive him.

“Telling her before hand would be cruel and I will not do that to her,” Father Nightroad replied firmly, “It would lead her to worry more and stretch herself further an attempt to make us all happy. If this is to be done, it needs to be done cleanly. Promise me that you will stand by her once I am gone.”

“I have my orders, as do you, Crusnik,” Tres replied, reminding the man that even in the past, he has sworn his loyalty to Lady Caterina and vowed to follow her orders. She had told them both to remain with the miko and regardless of the circumstances, that was what he intended to do.

A frown creased Abel's face at the blatant reprimand, “I'm well aware of what my orders are. I have no intentions of leaving before the battle, however, afterwards my life is my own to lead. Swear to me that you will not breathe a word of this to Kagome, nor anyone else. I will tell her in my own time.” However, that was not going to happen until the day that he left. He would make a clean break and live with the regret for the rest of his life.

Although he didn't like it, Tres nodded. It would seem that the Crusnik had indeed made up his mind and would not be dissuaded. It was only the fact that they were still searching for Naraku that made him agree to such a ludicrous notion in the first place. They just didn't need the distraction, if it became one it could prove to be fatal to them all. Then the lives of everyone here and those in the future would be a moot point.

“Are you two done yet?” Kagome called back over her shoulder to the two men lagging behind. They were nearing the mountains again and Inuyasha had just caught the faintest traces of Naraku's scent.

“Yes we are,” Father Nightroad replied and hurried to catch up to the girl, leaving Tres to do as he wished. However when he noticed the tenseness of the others he paused, “What is wrong?”

“We're getting close to Naraku,” Inuyasha stated stiffly, not bothering to look at the taller male. Instead his gaze was trained ahead on one of the closest mountains. What had begun as a faint stench was steady growing stronger and he was almost certain that Naraku was nearby.

“Searching for target,” Tres said coldly and began scanning the nearby area with his guns ready. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but he knew just how deceiving that Naraku could be. The only thing that was fortunate was that there was very little foliage in the area. The acidic properties of the ground kept most plants from growing, leaving little cover for the hanyou or his minions to hide in.

“He's underground again, isn't he?” Kagome whispered, looking towards the mountain range ahead of them. A feeling of dread settled over her and if she could, she would have convinced the others to turn right around and leave. They'd gotten lucky the last time they'd fought the enemy and there had been no casualties. What were the chances of it happening again?

“Probably,” Inuyasha replied uneasily. Each time they went underground, someone nearly died and it was likely that this time would be no different.'The bastard's had months to familiarize himself with the tunnels in there. We're walking into a trap, I just know it.'

“Is there any way of drawing him out?” Father Nightroad asked, trying to come up with an alternate method of fighting the enemy. Going directly into Naraku's lair would give the demon the clear advantage and that was something that had to be avoided at all costs.

“Not likely. The bastard knows we're here and there's no way he'll come out on his own. The fact that I can smell him is because he's leaving a fucking engraved invitation for us to come in,” Inuyasha said with a growl. It would have been simple for Naraku to have erected a barrier like he had in the past and then they would have never known that he was nearby so this was something new and it immediately set everyones nerves on edge.

“We'll just have to accept his invitation then,” Miroku said quietly and checked his supply of sutras, making sure they were easily accessible. There was no telling what they'd run into while they were hunting for the dark hanyou. If there weren't any obstacles, he'd be greatly surprised.

“Let's go then,” Inuyasha said and began to lead the way. To his relief, everyone stuck together in a close knit group with Kagome and Shippo in the center. With the weaker members protected, they had just a bit less to worry about and every little bit helped. “His scent is getting stronger. I'd lay money it's coming from that cave over there,” he indicated with his hand towards an ill concealed entrance that none of the others had noticed yet.

Each of them looked towards the entrance that Inuyasha was pointing to only a few yards away. It was conveniently placed, and relatively well hidden by several large rock formations. Had the sun been positioned a bit lower in the sky, the shadows would have completely obscured the tunnel and they would have never seen it.

“Should we make a torch?” Shippo asked uneasily from his perch on Kagome's shoulder. He didn't like the idea of heading into the mountain any more than any of the others, and he danged sure didn't want to do it in the dark.

“There's no need for that,” Inuyasha said, wrinkling his nose as he did so, “Don't you smell the oil burning? He's extending the welcome mat.” Just as he thought, as soon as they squeezed past the rocks concealing the entrance, a spacious tunnel stretched out before them and along the walls were carefully placed torches to light the way.

“Stay close everyone and be ready for anything,” Sango warned before venturing farther in. It wasn't surprising to see that there was more than one pathway within the mountain and if someone wasn't careful, they could easily get lost.

“It stinks in here,” Shippo complained and put his hand up over his nose in an attempt to block out the smell. The smell was overwhelming when mixed in with Naraku's vile scent and it was enough to make his stomach turn.

“You want to go wait outside?” Inuyasha snapped at the kitsune. His nose was just as sensitive as the kit's and if he had to endure it, too, he didn't want to hear any whining. In fact, it'd probably be better if Shippo did wait outside, but he knew just how likely that was to happen.

“You're not getting rid of me that easily, Inuyasha,” Shippo replied immediately, daring the hanyou to make an attempt to send him away. His stake in this was no less personal, even if he hadn't lost someone to Naraku directly. Inuyasha had already avenged his parents, so that was no longer in question. No, his desire for vengeance came for Kagome and what Naraku would do to her in the future if he weren't stopped now.

“Keh, didn't think so runt,” Inuyasha snorted and began walking again. The tunnels were narrow, forcing them to abandon the tight group they'd been in earlier and form two lines. Sango paced along beside him While Abel and Kagome were directly behind them. Bringing up the rear were Tres and Miroku. The only random factors now were Shippo, who moved from shoulder to shoulder as the need suited him and Kirara who trailed along at the very rear of the group. It was far from perfect, but it was the best they were going to get until the tunnel widened.

“Which way do we go now?” Shippo asked when they came to a place where the path split. Tentatively he sniffed the air, trying to get a direction, but the smell was everywhere, rendering the idea useless.

Quickly Inuyasha weighed their options and came to a decision. Both tunnels were lined with torches, giving no indication of which path to take. So in the end he settled on the one that gave them the most room to move. “We'll go to the right.”

Before he could take more than two steps in that direction though, the pathway disappeared, leaving a stone wall in it's place. “What the hell!”

Sango stared curiously at the stone and laid a hand on it. “A mirage, maybe?” The idea wasn't exactly impossible since they'd seen Naraku do similar things before and she could just imagine Naraku watching them from somewhere and laughing his ass off at their reactions.

“Perhaps,” Miroku replied skeptically, “However I do not see any symbols that would indicate one had been put in place.” For Naraku to have progressed past the point of needing some sort of sutra or spell didn't bode well for them. But what other option was there?

“Well, it's not like he could move the wall, could he?” Kagome asked uncertainly. She didn't like the idea of Naraku herding them, but there wasn't any other name for what it was that he was doing. 'I feel like the proverbial sheep being led to a slaughter.'

“Who knows. We need to keep moving, standing here just makes us sitting ducks,” Inuyasha stated and began walking down the only path left to them. To his dismay, it only got narrower until they were forced to walk single file. The slight decline of the ground was enough to tell him that they were traveling on a downward slope as well. 'Straight into the belly of the beast. I hope this isn't a repeat of last time.'

Another thought began making itself at home in Inuyasha's mind and that was the fact that he hadn't come across one sign of Kouga yet.'Damn, what happened? Did the idiot get lost or something?' Something told him that wasn't the case, not when the wolf demon had told him exactly where he intended on looking. Was the smell of Naraku that overpowering that he couldn't even catch a hint of his long time rival? It hardly seemed likely, but he didn't have any other theories to go on. He just hoped that Kouga hadn't managed to get himself killed off, he was needed in the future.

A small sigh of relief escaped him when he saw the path extended into a fairly large room up ahead. Maybe now things would be a little easier to move around in. Fighting in close quarters just wasn't his cup of tea and he began to wonder if he had become claustrophobic and hadn't been aware of it.

Their footsteps echoed off the walls as they proceeded and the dark, musty smell only increased with each step they took. To their surprise there were four pathways that split off of the main room and they all paused to survey their surroundings.

“What do you want to bet that we'll pick one and it'll close off again,” Kagome muttered unhappily. Carefully she looked around the room and took a step closer to the others when she saw the slime covering a nearby wall. Her nose wrinkled in distaste at the thought of what it felt like. It literally looked like someone had sneezed and a big snot ball had exploded from their nose to coat the wall. 'Gross, that mental image is going to haunt me for days to come.'

“Most likely, we should keep going. If last time was any indication, Naraku will keep us from taking a path he doesn't want to,” Miroku stated and began walking towards on of the entrances. When he passed through the opening he paused in surprise, “What are the chances that I'd pick right on the first guess?”

Kagome's brow furrowed uncertainly, “That is rather odd. Maybe these tunnels all join up at the same place further down so any one of them are correct?” To test her theory she began walking towards one of the other tunnels and was able to pass through.

Something didn't seem right to Father Nightroad and he shook his head, “Somethings wrong. Everyone come back to the center of the room!” While he couldn't say what it was, his gut instinct was rarely wrong and he prayed that for once everyone would listen to him without question.

Before Kagome could get more than a step back towards the main room, the entrance vanished and effectively cut her off from the others. “Inuyasha!” she called out and placed her hands against the stone. “Abel? Tres? Can you hear me?” She fell silent and listening carefully, but no sound permeated the wall. Knowing that the others had to have noticed what had happened, Kagome moved back away from the new wall and anxiously waited. There was every chance that they'd try and destroy the wall to get to her and she didn't want to get caught beneath several tons of rock if they succeeded.

On the other side, three men were frantically searching for a way through the stone. It had happened so fast, there was no chance of grabbing Kagome before the barrier had appeared. More than once they'd called to her, trying to reassure her that they would get her out, but they never got a response.

“Fuck this. Move out of the way,” Inuyasha snarled and unsheathed the Tetsusaiga. With Naraku so close, there was no way in hell that they were just going to leave her there if he could help it.

“Inuyasha no! If you use the wind scar, you might collapse the tunnel she's in,” Sango said quickly, trying to stop the hanyou from doing something that might potentially kill their friend.

As much as he hated to admit it, Sango was right. Without knowing what condition the tunnel was in, they just couldn't take the chance. “Dammit,” he swore and resheathed his sword, “What the hell should we do then?”

None of them had an answer, but it was clear that both Tres and Abel were about to take off to go and search for her. It was a risk, but standing there doing nothing was also a risk and wouldn't get Kagome back either.

“We'll have to search. There's a chance that the tunnels will rejoin somewhere down the line and if not, you can always use the Tetsusaiga once we're far enough down the tunnel that Kagome isn't in danger,” Miroku said quietly, “there's three other tunnels, two of which run parallel to the that Kagome is in.”

“So we split up,” Inuyasha stated firmly and began to walk towards the tunnel that Miroku had stepped through earlier. Shippo and Sango were hot on his heels, not that he really cared whether they followed him or not.

“You both take the other tunnel. I'll remain here with Kirara just in case the barrier falls,” Miroku said quietly and watched as the two men disappeared within moments. It would be just like Naraku to separate the group and then take away the obstacle in their path. If that happened, Kagome would be alone yet again and there's no telling which path she'd take in her attempt to find them.

The path that Tres and Abel had taken was a bit darker than the main room had been, but neither of them were going to allow that to hinder them in the least. Carefully they scanned the walls as they proceeded deeper into the cavern. They didn't want to take the chance of missing even the slightest opening that they might be able to squeeze through.

“We'll find her, Tres, don't worry,” Abel said quietly, trying to reassure himself as much as his partner. It felt like his heart was hammering in his chest and he could feel the desperation closing in around him. He wasn't sure who was more afraid right now, himself or the woman they were trying to find. Naraku had taken her life once, he didn't want to think that it might happen again while they were sworn to protect her.

“That is a forgone conclusion,” Tres replied flatly. There was no chance in hell he was going to allow anyone to stand in his way of finding the girl. There had to be a reason for the separation, but instinct told him it wasn't to kill Kagome. Why would he, when he could use her to his advantage against everyone else. Killing her prematurely would only increase the force he was fighting against, for her death would only increase their rage and determination.

As much as Abel wanted to snap that nothing was certain, he didn't. Tres was obviously dealing with this new development in his own way and denying the possibility that they might fail was it. Every movement the redhead made was precise and calculated, which somehow bolstered his own confidence. 'Maybe Tres has realized something that we haven't.' Either way, he would put his faith in his partner. “Alright, Tres, I'll follow your lead.”

~Deep within the mountain~

Naraku chuckled to himself. Everything was going according to plan and soon he'd have everything he ever wanted. What the fools didn't know was that while they were searching frantically, the miko was safe and sound in that tunnel, at least for now. The only exits were a few well placed air vents and it would remain that way until he freed her. Her fate after that, was entirely up to her. Should she provide him with the jewel, he might well decide to allow her to live.

However, if she denied him, death would find her, although it would not come quickly. There were many methods of torture he would use in making her pay for the trouble he'd been put through. It was all up to her as to whether or not she wanted to take the hardest path.

But before he could contemplate just how exquisite her screams would be, he had other annoyances to deal with first. The others would all reach him eventually, but not at the same time. He'd planned the trap well, and half the group would be delayed while he eliminated their comrades. Once they found him, they'd be greeted with the sight of their friend's mutilated bodies. Even now he could picture the look of horror on their faces and the despair when they realized he had controlled their movements from the very beginning.

“Sooner, very soon the world shall fall at my feet,” he whispered to himself and allowed a cruel smile to grace his lips. The first of his quarry was approaching and would be there within minutes. Prince Kouga, lord of the wolf clan had indeed arrived before Inuyasha, but the foolish hanyou wouldn't have been able to detect the male's scent. He'd made sure of that much. For a full day he'd forced Kouga to traverse the tunnels, becoming hopelessly lost with no chance of escape. However, the time for the rat to wander the maze aimlessly was coming to an end. 'He truly is pathetic, but it is of no matter. It just makes the game more interesting.'

There was a ripple of energy and a mist briefly descended around Naraku's body. When it lifted, it was no longer the image of the hanyou that stood there, but that of the miko that he had trapped in another area of the mountain. Would it be enough to fool the wolf? For a short while, yes, but most likely not for an extended period of time. However, it wouldn't take long to accomplish what he wanted and now that his plan had been set into motion, he would not fail.

Footsteps echoed softly off of the walls and Naraku turned in place, allowing his expression to turn to one of fear. Seeing as he resembled the miko that Kouga was so infatuated with, that look alone would be enough to distract the wolf from noticing the illusion until it was too late. “Oh, Kouga! Thank God it's you!”

“Kagome?” Kouga blinked in surprise and immediately walked up to the girl, “What are you doing here? Where's the others?” The look of fright on the miko's face had him scanning the area warily. To be away from the group meant something had to have happened and he couldn't let his guard down for even a moment. "Tell me what happened!"

“I'm... I'm not sure! We were walking along and I got separated from them. When I tried to go back the path disappeared,” the hanyou said, allowing his fake voice to quiver just enough to cause Kouga to edge closer in a protective gesture.'Soon, very soon, you mangy wolf prince, you will realize your mistake. Too bad it's a fatal one for you.'

The miko's words had Kouga scowling in annoyance, “The same damned thing has been happening to me. I'm surprised I was able to find you, although that might have been just a coincidence. Alright, let's go find the others. Stick close to me, we don't need to get separated.”

As he said this, Kouga closed the remaining distance between them, but the moment that he put his hand on the girl's shoulder, he realized something was terribly wrong. There was no mistaking the youki radiating from her slight form, nor was there any trace of her scent in the room. At first he thought it might be because the stench permeating the cave was so overwhelming, but now he knew the terrible truth. Angrily his hand closed around the demon's throat, “What the fuck have you done with Kagome?”

“What do you mean? I am Kagome, Kouga,” Naraku said and brought his hands up to the wolf demon's wrists. The man wouldn't kill him, not without making sure that the miko was safe first. More footsteps could be heard coming closer and immediately he began struggling in Kouga's grasp, playing the part of the damsel in distress. “Please, Kouga! Let go, you're hurting me!”

“Stop playing these fucking games with me,” Kouga snarled and tightened his grip. There was no way he was letting the bastard go. Naraku would tell him what he had done with Kagome, and then he would die. “Answer my damned question before I tear your throat out!”

“Kouga, please...” the hanyou whimpered, falling even further into the role he was playing, “You don't want to do this, not with me!” He would have had to be spiritually dead to miss the surge of anger that filled the room and his insanity had him chuckling with malicious glee. The next two players of the game had arrived, and they were far from pleased with what they saw.

Abruptly, Kouga found himself being wrenched away from Naraku and thrown into a nearby wall. The impact momentarily knocked the breath out of him and when he looked up, he saw himself staring into the red eyes of Father Nightroad. The man was beyond pissed and he looked to be more than ready to end continue their last fight.

“That's not Kagome,” Kouga snarled and leapt away from the Crusnik, attempting to put some distance between them. The man was more than a match for his own speed and keeping enough space between them might be the only thing that kept him alive until the other two realized they were fucking up. Now he could only pray they realized it in time.

However, any explanations were cut off when Tres unholstered his guns and began firing at the wolf demon. The last time they'd had an issue with Kouga, the Crusnik had been the one to deal with the problem. This time it was his turn and he had no intentions of leaving the other male alive.

“God dammit, you both must be fucking stupid!” Kouga snarled as he leapt out of the way, barely avoiding the deadly projectiles that were heading his way. “It's Naraku you dumbasses, he only looks like Kagome!”

Father Nightroad narrowed his eyes at the statement and turned to look at the girl. All he could sense was fear, which given the circumstances, wasn't unexpected. But would Kouga go so far as to do such a thing to her? Or could the wolf be telling the truth and it wasn't Kagome after all? Suddenly he wasn't so sure.

Naraku could sense the man's growing skepticism and pressed herself closer to the priest's side, “He's lying. Maybe Naraku possessed him or something and he's trying to trick you!” It only took a moment of indecision on the priest's part and Naraku took the opportunity to strike. Blood splattered violently against the rock wall, evidence of the tentacle ripping through the Crusnik's side.

By all rights, it should have been a fatal wound, but Father Nightroad was no ordinary mortal. Even though he hadn't completely transformed into his Crusnik form, he wasn't about to allow Naraku to take him out so easily. While Tres was distracted by Kouga, it was up to him to deal with Naraku. Ruthlessly he shoved the hanyou away and pulled his gun, firing several rounds into the demon's back. While he knew the wounds wouldn't be fatal, it would give him just enough time to heal his own body and then they could see about finishing off the hanyou they hated so much.

“What the hell?” Inuyasha cried, having just ran in to see Father Nightroad shooting Kagome in the back. For a split second his heart skipped a beat, but then he remembered the trick that Naraku had used so many years ago to deceive him. “You bastard,” he snarled and leapt towards the fallen 'miko'. He wasn't going to be fooled by Naraku, not again.

The Tetsusaiga transformed immediately and cleaved through the rock where Naraku had been laying only moments before. Laughing menacingly, Naraku allowed his body to shift back to its true form. “Such theatrics, Inuyasha. I'd wondered if you were going to be smart enough to figure out that not all was as it seemed,” Naraku said, his voice dripping with evil, “Too bad it was a lesson you had to learn at the expense of Kikyo's life.”

“Cut the bullshit, Naraku. I ain't got time to worry about the past. Now where's Kagome?” Inuyasha demanded and eased himself into a battle stance. If he had to cut the bastard up into tiny pieces in order to get his answer, he wouldn't hesitate to do so. "Answer me!"

More laughter followed that question, “Are you so sure she's still here, Inuyasha? Perhaps I've already removed whatever threat she posed and now she's just waiting for me to return to celebrate my victory. Immediately Naraku cast up a shield to repel the bullet that had been aimed for his heart. “Touchy, Tres, is it? If you kill me, you'll never find out where your beloved miko is,” Naraku said, smirking at the smoldering anger in the redhead's eyes.

“Who said we're going to kill you yet?” Father Nightroad said, his voice hoarse with the changes coursing through his body. “Death will come for you eventually, but not before I make sure you suffer in agony for your sins.”

“By all means, priest, do your worst,” Naraku replied darkly and allowed his power to rise. While he was nowhere near his former glory with the Shikon jewel, he wasn't a pushover either. 'This impudent fool will learn that his power is nothing compared to my own!'

“Nanomachine Crusnik 02, power output eighty percent, activate,” Father Nightroad whispered and allowed his body to bend to the nanomachine's will. The high level of energy was justified, both to heal himself and to ensure that Naraku would die. As the others watched, the bloody scythe appeared in his hand and massive black wings unfurled from his back, truly making him appear like an angel of death.

“Oh my god,” Sango whispered, both horrified and enthralled by the look in the Crusnik's eyes. Any doubts she might have had about winning this battle vanished in that one horrible instant and she could only watch as Father Nightroad began the lethal dance that could only end in one of their deaths.

Naraku's smirk never faded as the silver haired male launched his attack. While this form of his was impressive, his own barrier was stronger and he was confident that it would be able to repel any attacks. When the scythe impacted the shield it rippled violently and then steadied itself. “Fool, did you think that you'd be able to cut through my barrier? Not even the Tetsusaiga can do that much!”

Father Nightroad was forced to move when a blast of energy erupted from the hanyou's palms, but his confident expression never faltered. “You are the fool to think that I am at full power now. But it is no matter, I don't mind taking the time to rip you apart piece by piece.”

“Focus on the situation, Crusnik. Naraku's death is not the only priority,” Tres stated coldly, fully focused on the Crusnik and his prey. Kouga was no longer of any concern at this point in time, nor were any of the others. Under any other circumstances he would have been happy to help Nightroad torture the demon, but with Kagome's whereabouts uncertain, it made him want to cut through the bullshit and get straight to the heart of the problem.

A cruel smile formed on the Crusnik's lips, “Do not worry, Tres. I will not be denied in getting the information I seek.” The malice in his expression was easily matched by his opponent, but he had no doubts. Power coursed through his body and manifested itself in jagged bolts of lightning that arced off of the walls and caused everyone to take a step back, lest they be caught in its fiery grip.

“Like hell you're doing this alone,” Inuyasha snarled and concentrated on the Tetsusaiga, willing it to glow red. While he'd never been able to use it to break Naraku's barrier in the past, there was a chance that it would work now if it was combined with the Crusnik's attack. Either way, he needed to try. His desire to find Kagome was just as pressing as the two priests, and he wasn't going to just stand there and watch while he waited for the fight to end.

Seeing what was about to happen, Sango took a few more steps back and made sure that Shippo was protected behind her. While she wanted to fight, she also needed to keep the kitsune safe. “Stay behind me, Shippo,” she said and waited for all hell to break loose. 'I hope you can feel what's going on, Miroku. We might need your help.'

The room fell silent and Inuyasha poised himself to strike. The moment that Father Nightroad began to move, he did as well. The Tetsusaiga struck Naraku's shield at the exact same moment that the scythe did, but he was immediately thrown backwards. The clash of power rippled and then exploded outwards, slamming into the walls and ceiling, sending shards of rock raining down around them.

“Fuck,” Inuyasha growled and rolled out of the way just as a boulder crashed to the ground where he'd been laying down only moments before.'Son of a bitch! How the fuck are we going to get to the bastard if we can't get through his barrier?'

Naraku's mocking laughter echoed through the air as he manifested a spear in his hand. “Fools, did you really think I would make it so easy on you? Come now, you're going to have to try harder than that. There's no way you'll win, not without the miko here to aid you.”

Had Kagome been present, it might well have been another story and Naraku knew it. However, with her confined as she was, there were no worries about her or her powers. His smirk widened when he realized that the monk was on his way as well and he decided to give the man something a gift to remember him by before he died.

Sango's eyes narrowed when the bastard's gaze settled on her and she just knew what he was going to attempt. Immediately he disappeared from her sight, but she had anticipated his actions and brought her sword up to defend herself. She was literally in between a rock and a hard place, with very few options, but she wasn't just going to lay down and die. The air whistled when her blade cut the air, however she wasn't aiming for the bastard himself. Instead she focused on turning aside the spear that was meant to pierce her chest. “You're getting careless, Naraku.”

“Whatever do you mean, dearest Sango? Just because you managed to buy a few seconds of precious time does not mean that you've saved yourself,” Naraku said, his voice little more than a silken caress. He was going to enjoy savoring their deaths and perhaps he would be gracious enough to allow them to live for a while longer, although it would be for his enjoyment only.

“Now, Tres,” Father Nightroad growled and leapt forward to attack a second time. While it had become clear that his power alone would not be enough to bring down the barrier, Naraku had made a critical error in reminding them of Kagome's abilities.

Gunfire rang out through the air, echoing off the walls just as Naraku turned to face them and a smirk formed on Tres' face. Purifying energy erupted surrounded the bullets as he pulled on the bond between himself and Kagome. With great satisfaction, he watched the horrified expression overtake the hanyou's face when he realized what was happening, mere moments before they punched through the barrier.

Yet they were far from finished and Abel was well into an attack of his own when Naraku decided to move just a fraction too late. Miasma filled the air as the scythe cut deeply into the demons skin and the Crusnik knew that this was when things were going to get serious. “Everyone get back!” he shouted. While the poison wouldn't affect him, he knew that the others would be at risk and needed to vacate the area.

“Like hell,” Inuyasha growled and tried to shield his face with his haori. The stench was overwhelming and his lungs burned with every breath he took, but he refused to back down. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Sango was in the process of pulling her mask out.

As much as she hated to do it, Sango tossed it over to the redhead, “Put this on,” she shouted and then snatched Shippo up into her arms. Abandoning the fight was not something she wanted to do, but she'd been forced to make a choice. To use the mask herself would mean leaving Tres and Shippo vulnerable to the gases affects, yet giving it to Shippo would be pointless as well. He would be useless in the fight and it would leave her at the mercy of the miasma.'I just hope the idiot doesn't take too long. Another couple of seconds and he'll be taken out of the fight.'

Quickly, she turned to run and nearly slammed face first into Miroku. Catching herself at the last minute, she cast a worried look at the man. “We have to move, Naraku's injured and the room is filling with miasma,” she said and pushed the man back in the direction that he'd just come from.

“But what about the others?” Miroku protested and tried to see through the thickening fog that was extending up the tunnel.

With a growl, Sango shoved him harder, urging him to start moving his ass. “They can take care of themselves. Come on, we've got to find Kagome!”

In her mind, that was likely to be the deciding factor in the battle. Kagome alone could purify the miasma enough that the others would be able to breathe again and it was only a matter of time before even Inuyasha succumbed. Whether the Crusnik would be able to stand against it was a matter that they didn't have time to contemplate as they tried to move away from the poisen.

“You're right, let's go!” Miroku said and began leading the two of them back up the tunnel. Guilt plagued him because he knew that if he still had the wind tunnel, he could have cleared the miasma in short order. But now, without it, he felt virtually useless in this fight. The vengeance he longed for his father and the suffering he'd gone through would be unfulfilled, simply because he didn't have the means to avoid the poison. Even his sutras wouldn't be enough to clear out the entire room and he could only hope for the best for those being left behind to fight.

The incline back up the path was brutal, but still they pushed on. The sounds of the fighting were growing dimmer by the moment, however they knew that it was far from being finished. Another blast rocked the cavern and sent them to their knees while the shock waves reverberated through the walls. More rock rained down on them, pelting them with the evidence of the power that was being unleashed not far away.

Shippo pushed himself to his back to his feet as soon as the dust cleared and he sneezed, trying to clear his nose. However, as soon as he did so his eyes widened when a new scent came to him. Quickly he dashed on ahead to see if he was right in his suspicions.

“Shippo wait!” Sango yelled and pushed herself up as well. While he was heading away from the battle, she didn't want them to get anymore separated than what they were already. There was no telling what else lurked in the darkness.

“Hurry up, Sango,” Shippo called back over his shoulder, but didn't pause in his headlong dash up the path, “I smell Kagome!”

Sango and Miroku exchanged a startled look and bolted after the kitsune. If the small demon said he smelled the miko through all the dust and the smell of miasma, she had to be fairly close. It wasn't long before they caught up to him because he was kneeling along a large crack in the wall.

Immediately Miroku went to his knees, “Kagome? Can you hear me?” He couldn't sense anything on the other side, but that wasn't much of a surprise with the power that was being thrown about without care. 'Thank Buddha that they're not holding back, otherwise we'd still have little hope of reaching her.'

The sound of her name being called had Kagome looking up in surprise and rushing in the direction that she'd heard it from. “Miroku? Where are you?” She'd known that the battle was commencing, the sheer amount of rage she'd felt echoing through the bond had been enough to leave her stunned. Frantically, she had continued to search for a way out, but it had seemed all but hopeless.

“We're over here, Kagome,” Shippo replied with relief evident in his voice. At least they knew where she was now, even if they still weren't sure how they were going to get her out of there. The crack that had opened up wasn't all that large and he knew there was no way that she'd be able to squeeze through. It wasn't even large enough for him to get his head through. With teary eyes, he turned to look at Sango, “How do we get her out?”

The answer came to the exterminator quickly, “Kagome, I've got a plan to get you out, but I need to know something. With all the explosions that have gone on, how much has the cave that you're in collapsed?”

“No that much,” Kagome replied immediately, “Some rocks have fallen, but it's mostly remained intact. What are you thinking?” Hope began to blossom in her chest. If Sango had an idea, she was as good as free.

Sango breathed a sigh of relief, if the cave had collapsed too much then what she had in mind wouldn't have worked. “Kagome, I need you to walk back towards the entrance of the tunnel. Don't go too far, but stay out of the immediate area. I'm going to try to blow a hole through the rock.”

The statement had Miroku's brows raising, “You're going to try and use what's left of the gunpowder?” It was at best a risky proposition, especially seeing how much of their own tunnel had collapsed, but it might well be the only way they could get to the miko.

“Yes. We've got one bag left that I can use. It should be just enough to enlarge the hole so she can crawl through,” Sango said and untied the small bag from around her waist. Now more than ever she was thankful that they hadn't used it all. Carefully she untied the top and used the rope that had been holding it shut as a fuse.

Miroku picked Shippo up as soon as Sango removed one of the torches from the wall and prepared to light it. “Move now, Kagome!” After issuing the warning, he carried the kitsune to safety and waited for the exterminator to finish up.

“I'm lighting it now,” Sango announced and lit the fuse before sprinting towards the others. It only took a few seconds for the explosion to rock the cavern and it sent her sprawling. Ignoring the stinging pain in her hands, Sango regained her feet and looked back towards the crack. “It worked,” she breathed out upon seeing the gaping hole.

As they walked back towards it, Kagome slid through the opening and gave them a grateful smile, “Thanks, I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to get out.” Before they could respond however, she turned and looked towards the bottom of the path where she'd felt the outpouring of power, “They're down there, aren't they?”

“Yes, Naraku is injured, but they're still fighting. We had to leave because the miasma was getting to be too strong,” Sango replied uneasily. She already knew what Kagome's next move would be, and there wouldn't be a damned thing that she could do to stop her. The boys needed her there, even if it meant she'd be in danger.

“I'm going,” Kagome announced and began to run towards where the battle was taking place. There was no way in hell she was going to retreat to safety while the others risked their lives. The visibility was dismal the further down the path she went, but her natural powers of purification cleansed the air around her enough that she could see and breath without a problem. Yet it wasn't enough to give her a clean shot at Naraku once she reached the end of the tunnel. Growling to herself, she un-shouldered her bow and reached for an arrow. While she couldn't fire directly into the midst, she could aim above the room and allow the energy to rain down. 'That should be enough to give me a clear shot.'

The streak of pink light caught everyone off guard, and brought about a mixture of relief and dread. Kouga was down on one knee, breathing heavily and cursing Naraku's very existence. This was supposed to be finished before Kagome got involved, and here he was letting the other three do most of the work. It was only sheer determination that forced him to his feet. “Your time's up, you bastard!”

Sensing that the tables had turned, Naraku snarled towards the miko. She had to die, otherwise there was a chance that the others would manage to succeed in killing him. Even though he was bleeding profusely from his wounds, he turned away from the Crusnik and launched himself towards the girl. If nothing else, she was a bargaining chip that could allow him to escape.

Kagome saw him coming and was not about to be cowed into shrinking back. Already she had another arrow prepared to fire and when he got within range, she did so. However, she knew that he would attempt to evade the projectile, so she altered her aim just enough so that it struck him in the shoulder. The impact caused him to scream in both anger and pain while she smirked at him. 'Move your asses guys, he's not going to be down for long.'

Still, Kagome knew that she was in trouble because she didn't have enough time to grab another arrow. He'd be upon her long before she had a chance to draw back on the bowstring. Her only hope lay in the four men that had been fighting Naraku only moments before and she prayed they would be fast enough.

Before Naraku could reach his target though, Abel had sprung into action. Ruthlessly he thrust his hand through the bastard's chest and gripped his heart in a vise like grip. “What were we saying about never turn your back to the enemy?”

“Do you think that will kill me?” Naraku sneered and began to allow his body to morph. Just because the Crusnik had a hold on him meant nothing. He'd still succeed. It just wasn't going to be as easy as he'd thought.

“This? No, but that wasn't the way I planned on ending your life anyway,” Father Nightroad replied and began to pull. The food supply he held in his hands was immense and would easily recover all the energy he'd expended throughout the fight and then some.

Suddenly it struck Naraku that this was no ordinary hold that the priest had on him. Weakly, he struggled to break free, but it seemed as if his body was paralyzed by whatever the man was doing. His body pulsed in response to the Crusnik and he was helpless against the agonizing effect of having his blood and energy ripped from him. A scream tore its way free of his throat, but soon that was silenced by the blood that welled up in his chest. His powers of regeneration were all but useless, and soon, he didn't even have the energy left to try.

Father Nightroad dropped the hanyou's limp body to the floor and watched coldly as the man made a feeble attempt to crawl away. There was no sympathy in him, nor in any of the others while the dying man struggled. “In return for your sins, I demand the ultimate sacrifice of your life. May God condemn your soul to hell for all eternity.”

Not satisfied with the proclamation, Tres stalked forward and trained both guns on Naraku's head. He remembered how the hanyou had managed to escape death the first time, and he wasn't going to give the man a chance to do it again. Quickly he squeezed off two rounds and watched as the demon's head exploded under the close impact. “Target eliminated. Now it's over.”

Slowly, Kagome walked up to the remains and reached a hand out, allowing the power to surge through her. She watched, feeling almost numb as his body turned to dust and her power obliterated his soul. It was truly over and the nightmare that she had thought would never end, had finally come to a close. Where she had expected to feel relief or elation, there was simply nothing and she didn't understand it.

“Let's go, Kagome. It's time to go home,” Inuyasha said quietly and looked towards the other three men. It was easy to see by the look on her face how she was feeling, and it didn't surprise him any. A small part of him didn't believe that Naraku was finally gone either, especially since they'd believed it to be true once before. But this time, there was no chance of the other demon coming back simply because there was nothing left of him to be able to pull off such a feat. 'Once she realizes that, maybe she will feel better.'

End of Chapter Seventeen

I know this isn't a YYH fic, however, I'd like to put the word out that the talented Madmiko has created a message board dedicated to the Hiei/Kagome pairing. There's even a contest set up for registered members, so feel free to stop by and participate. New members are always welcome!
http://thedeadliestsin.proboards55.com/index.cgi