InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Destined Souls, Part I, The Diary ❯ The Search Begins! Inuyasha Meets The Kidnapper ( Chapter 3 )

Author's Note: Yes, I know, the last chapter was a little strange, but I think that if he really got a good look at her, Sesshomaru might like Kagome a LITTLE bit. Not as much as Inuyasha or Koga, but just a smidgen. And besides, it's my fanfic, so I'll let whatever I want happen. Also, I let too much happen in the first two chapters, so this'll probably be a REALLY short fic. More reviews please!

Chapter Three

The Search Begins!

Inuyasha Meets the Kidnapper

The well glowed brightly in the night as Inuyasha returned to the Sengoku Jidai. He hopped from the bottom of the well and landed lightly beside Sango, Miroku, Kirara, and Shippo. He could smell that Koga wasn't too far away. Inuyasha tried to tuck the Shard into his kimono fast enough that no one could see, but he wasn't quick enough to fool Shippo.

"Welcome back, Inuyasha. Do you know any more about where Kagome was taken or who took her?" Miroku had a worried expression on his face. He was thinking of Naraku. That bastard had formed the Wind Tunnel in his grandfather's hand, and it now was passed down to Miroku. His right hand, the hand that contained the Kazaana, tightened into a fist at the thought of the demon who had caused so much trouble for everyone. Sango and her family, himself with his Wind Tunnel, Inuyasha with Kikyo... will Naraku stop at nothing to cause pain?

Shippo glanced at the monk, then turned back to Inuyasha. "What did you put in your clothes, Inuyasha?" Shippo jumped onto Inuyasha's shoulder and tried to reach for the object hidden in Inuyasha's shirt.

Inuyasha growled and picked up the little kitsune, tossing him to the ground. "None of your business, whelp." He started to turn and walk away when Miroku whacked him over the head with his staff.

"What do you have, Inuyasha? I can see a glow coming from your kimono." The monk kneeled beside the cursing hanyou. Inuyasha glared at Miroku as a warning to stay out of his clothing. Miroku became annoyed and hit him again. He reached into Inuyasha's shirt and felt the Sacred Jewel Shard inside it. Miroku pulled it out and looked at Inuyasha accusingly.

Inuyasha glared again at the monk. "What? I just brought it with us in case we find more shards when we find Kagome! That's all there was to it."

Miroku seemed to buy this, but he still held suspicions. He walked over to Sango and handed her the Shard. "Keep this in a safe place. Don't let it out of your sight." Before he turned away from the demon exterminator, he couldn't resist temptation. He lightly placed his hand on Sango's rear, which earned him a hard slap on the cheek and a hit over the head from Sango's hiraikotsu.

"Hentai, when will you ever learn to keep your hands to yourself?" Sango placed her huge bone boomerang on her back again and put the necklace that contained the Shard around her neck, tucking it into her shirt. She looked at Inuyasha. "Well, shouldn't we get going?"

The guys agreed and headed off in the direction that Inuyasha and Shippo detected Kagome's scent. Shippo rode on Inuyasha's shoulder, and Miroku and Sango were atop Kirara in her huge tiger form. Soon, Koga joined the traveling group and helped sniff out Kagome's whereabouts. Inuyasha couldn't help but deeply inhale the smell of Kagome's hair and body. She was the most precious thing to him, and he'd never let anything happen to her. Memories came rushing back about the times when the Thunder Brothers, Miroku, and Koga had kidnapped Kagome because she was pretty and could see the Jewel Shards. He was so stupid to have let Kagome be taken away from him. He couldn't forgive himself sometimes. And now, she was kidnapped AGAIN! But... there was one thing he couldn't understand. Why had the kidnapper only taken Kagome and her diary and leave her Shikon Shard? This was the true mystery besides where Kagome was.

`Kagome, where could you be?' Shippo thought. He was sniffing the air while Inuyasha was sniffing the ground. Shippo was worried that his "mother" was hurt, or going to be, at any rate. He missed his friend so much. He was almost brought to tears when he thought of all the terrible things that must be happening to her. He'd felt so responsible when Kagome had been kidnapped the first time. `It was all my fault. Maybe I could've stopped Manten from taking Kagome... oh, who am I kidding? It would've been worse if I'd even tried. We'd both probably be dead, and Hiten and Manten would've been some of the most powerful demons in Nippon!'(A/N: In case anyone doesn't know, Japan was called Nippon back in the medieval times.) Shippo gasped lightly when he detected a different smell. It was human, he was sure of that, but something was different about it. It was an empty scent. There was no other way to describe it.

"So, you smell it, too." Koga glanced at the little fox. "I picked up the scent a few miles back. I'm sure that Inuyasha," he shot a cold stare in the hanyou's direction, which was returned with an equally frigid stare, "also got a huge whiff of it, since he's been practically snorting in every scent around him." This comment was replied with a fierce growl from Inuyasha.

"But, what's up with it?" Shippo inquired. "Why does it feel so... I dunno. It's like there was no soul behind the scent. Is that possible?" This was the question that plagued the three demons' minds.

"Shippo, what do you mean?" Miroku crossed his arms trying to understand why the child had described the smell that way. No soul? But it must be impossible for any human or demon to travel the Earth without a soul.

"He means that there's a puppet or dummy or something wandering around this place, and I understand what he means," Inuyasha explained. "It's like this human we're hunting after is a pawn in a game. Like a servant of some sort. But who would it be working for?"

"Well, it could be Naraku," Sango suggested. "I mean, Sesshomaru is a possibility, but he's got Jaken."

"Jaken isn't even of much use to that stupid brother of mine. The only reason he keeps that little toad around is so he can take his frustration out on him, or so he can use him, like he did when they were trying to find Father's tomb."

"Naraku is a good suspect, though." Shippo thought a moment. "I mean, he did have puppets before, remember? And he'd have a good reason for taking Kagome."

"Yes, I remember. But Sesshomaru could have had a reason as well." Sango looked at Inuyasha's hip where the Tetsusaiga bounced slightly with every movement of his left leg.

Miroku looked at Sango. "You're right, and Sesshomaru's just desperate enough to take Kagome in order to get Tetsusaiga. But where would he get the puppet? Surely not from Naraku. I heard that they were not on good terms with one another."

Kirara's ears suddenly perked up. "What is it, Kirara?" ask Sango.

Inuyasha, Koga, and Shippo came to attention as well. "Someone's coming," Inuyasha said.

"I think it's the puppet," Koga stated.

Shippo started to tremble. `What would this kidnapper look like? Who would it be?'

The party came to a halt when a voice crept from the trees around them. "Who are you? What are you doing in the Great Lord's territory?" A female, no larger than Kagome herself, approached the group slowly through a mysterious mist that suddenly appeared.

"We're just passersby!" Shippo cried out.

"You stupid little whelp," the girl said. "I know you're not going through and minding your own business. You are on a mission. What is it?" The girl's eyes turn from blue to a glowing, fiery red. In the little light that was provided by a sliver of the moon, the three youkai could see the young woman produced small fangs and long fingernails that looked like claws in a matter of seconds. This was definitely not normal for a human.

Inuyasha set Shippo down, and Kirara landed, letting Sango and Miroku slide off her.

"We're looking for Kagome, so if you have her, I'll give you to the count of five to let her go!" Inuyasha started to crack his knuckles, and reached for his sword. He slowly began to count. "One..."

Sango got her hiraikotsu ready, and Miroku prepared to take away the prayer beads that sealed his Wind Tunnel. Shippo stood off to the side, while Kirara stood tall, preparing to strike at this strange young lady.

"Yes, I did take Kagome. Ye won't get her from me, though. Ye'll have to go to my master." The human crouched, ready to defend her master's turf.

"Two..."

Everyone began to tense up, anticipating a battle between this one strange mortal and the six travelers. Soon, Inuyasha was tired of counting and skipped a few numbers.

"FIVE!"

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Teaser: "No, Sesshomaru, don't!" Kagome cried as she ran from the Great Demon of the Western lands, tears streaming down her face.

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NL: Well, what a cliffy, huh? I must say, I impress even myself with how good I am. ::stands with hands on hips, grinning while two colors go around behind me::

Cast: Oh, PLEASE! Get over yourself! Besides, you're not important in this story, it's us!

NL: Well, maybe I should change that...::pulls hammer back on handgun::

Cast: Never mind!

NL: That's what I thought...heheheh. Well, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, and I'd like to thank my reviewers for... well, reviewing! And thanks to SerialThriller for the correct spelling of Tenseiga. (But the real deal is, I already knew the spelling. It's just I was too lazy to change it in the chapter. ^-^;;)