Chapter 12- More allies

I do not own Inuyasha but I do own Isane and Nakazo! ^_^

Kagome looked out the window at the sun rising and sighed. She had been in this hut far from all her friends for an entire day now, and she was beginning to worry that she would never get away. She had tried to talk to the dark miko and attempted to escape a few more times during the night. Nothing seemed to work. She was trapped.

Kagome walked to the entrance of the hut and saw the dark miko again sitting on that same rock. She only left her position to get Kagome food. At those times, she would put a spell on the hut to keep Kagome inside. She looked very bored.

"Hello," Kagome called, as if she weren't there as a captive. "Nice day, isn't it?" Kagome asked calmly.

The dark miko only looked at her for a moment, and then rolled her eyes. "Is it? How would I know? I have been too busy watching over you to notice." She sounded somewhat angry, while remaining bored.

Kagome was getting good at guessing what would upset her. After all, Kagome had nothing better to do, and this dark miko was fairly predicable. "Well, you don't have to stay here, you know. You could be out doing something fun. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Kagome said this more to annoy the dark miko than for any other reason, and it succeeded, of course. Kagome grinned at the disgruntled woman.

"Oh, yeah, as if I can just walk away and leave you here! As if Nakazo wouldn't kill me for that." The dark miko sighed in frustration.

"Well it was worth a try, right?" The slightly older looking woman rolled her eyes again. "By the way, I never did ask your name. What is it?" Kagome asked kindly.

"Why would you want to know my name? And why are you being nice when I am holding you here against your will?!" The dark miko all but spat at Kagome.

"Well, there isn't much I can do about your keeping me here for now, and I guess you aren't being too bad. I mean you haven't hurt me except when I try to leave, and you bring me food. I would just like to know your name. Is that such a big deal?"

"Yes it is. Not many people care what my name is. And not many people are nice to me either." The dark miko responded, with a sad voice, but with a blank expression on her face.

"Well I can't imagination why people don't like a dark miko! HA! Maybe if you tried being nice to them they might be nice to you. Did you ever think of that?" Kagome all but yelled at her.

"You know nothing about me! And you know nothing about my life, so shut the fuck up!! I was good once and people like you shunned me! No matter how hard I tried, everyone just turned their back on me in the end! I don't care about people or anything else!!" Now she was angry and Kagome could, literally, see it. The dark miko was glowing with black energy.

'Interesting. It looks as if I hit a nerve,' Kagome thought to herself. For some reason, this woman didn't scare her anymore in the least. Kagome did not move when the dark miko came close to her face with a deadly glare and black energy all around her.

"You are right. I don't know you, but whatever happened to you couldn't have been so bad that you gave up all hope. You must still have some good within you. I won't believe that you are all bad! I can't." Her voice softened when she said the last part.

"If you believe that, then you are more pathetic than I thought." She turned away from Kagome, who was now very close to her. 'Why does this girl care about my name or my past?' she sighed. "My name is Yuma. Now, if you don't mind, I am going to sit on my rock, until I die of boredom!" She climbed onto the rock once more and sat there with a blank stare.

"If that's what you really want." Kagome turned, sat down in the doorway, and put her head on her knees. 'This is going to be another long day, I can tell already.'

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The group searching for Kagome stopped for the night, feeling a bit more rested in the morning. As soon as the sun was up, Inuyasha had all but forced them to awaken and continue looking for Kagome. The only reason they had gotten him to stop in the first place had been because it was dark and much harder to see.

"How are you feeling, Sango? Any better since you got some rest?" Miroku asked. He and Sango were both riding on Kirara. He was worried about her, since she was still hurt from the fight not long ago.

Sango turned back to look at him and smiled a bit. "I am feeling much better. Thanks."

Miroku wrapped his arms around her waist. "I am glad." Sango was blushing now.

Sango was healing, but she had to be careful not to reopen her cuts. There was only one that was worrying her though. She still had a deep gash on right hip. One of the demons had gotten her badly there with his claws. It had stopped bleeding long ago, but if it reopened, she would be of no help to the others. She sighed, then. Glanced around to see where Inuyasha was below them.

Inuyasha stopped dead in his tracks. So did everyone else when they noticed. "What's wrong, Inuyasha?" asked Miroku looking worried.

Isane, however, was the one to answer. "Two demons are approaching, fast." He was remaining in human form as they traveled most of the time now, so he could tell someone immediately if he sensed Nakazo.

Inuyasha growled a bit, but didn't seem to move at all. He knew who the demons were. Isane quickly reached for his sword. Inuyasha put his hand over the sword and shook his head. Isane just as quickly put it away.

"You know who it is?" Isane asked, but got no answer.

By this time, everyone else could see the two whirlwinds approaching. They stopped right in front of Inuyasha.

"Kouga, Ayame? What are you two doing here?" Miroku asked as Kirara landed. He and Sango hurriedly dismounted.

"Just passing by when we smelled you guys. Why are you here? Is Naraku nearby?" Ayame asked, while holding onto Kouga's arm. This caught every one attention.

Sango whispered in Miroku's ear, "are they together now?" Miroku shrugged and looked at them.

"Seems that way, doesn't it?" He smiled at her and she giggled.

"You know we can hear you," Ayame stated calmly.

"Oh sorry!" Miroku laughed nervously. "And no, Naraku is not nearby. Or at least, I don't think so. We are here looking for Kagome." He was now serious again.

"What do you mean, you are looking for Kagome?? Why isn't she with you?" Kouga all but yelled, while glaring at Inuyasha.

"She was taken by Nakazo. He is Naraku's son. We are not sure what he wishes to do with her yet, but we must find her. We don't have much more time," Isane stated sadly.

"Who the hell are you, and since when does Naraku have a son?? Who would ever mate with him??" Kouga looked nauseated momentarily.

Sango stepped forward and briefly explained everything to Kouga about Nakazo and Isane, mentioning the whole battle they had just fought. Kouga looked upset, but determined for some reason. Inuyasha had not said a word, he just watched Kouga closely. Ayame looked upset at what she heard, then shook her head.

"I won't let that asshole hurt Kagome! We will find her! Come on Ayame." She nodded to Kouga. They appeared set to leave in search of Kagome, even though they had no idea where to look.

Inuyasha put his hand on Kouga's chest, so he couldn't leave. "YOU will NOT go looking for Kagome! That is MY job! She is not yours, and she NEVER will be! Just go the fuck away!" Inuyasha screamed, directly in Kouga's face.

Kouga sighed. "I know Kagome is not mine any more…" he was cut off by Inuyasha.

"SHE NEVER WAS!!" he spat at Kouga.

"Yes, fine. She was never mine and she made that clear last time I saw her. After what she said, I realized that she and I would never have worked out anyway. I have no idea why, but she loves you and not me." He crossed his arms and scowled before continuing. "So I went back home for a while, and Ayame was there. We have decided to become life mates, once we kill Naraku."

Ayame smiled happily. "It's true. So you don't have to worry about him trying to take Kagome from you. He is mine now." She held Kouga's arm tighter and continued to smile.

Kouga also smiled as he looked into her eyes and then looked back at Inuyasha. "You don't have to believe me. I don't really care dogface, but Kagome told me she still wanted to be my friend even after what happened and I won't let her be hurt!"

Miroku stepped in between the growling demons and put one hand on each of their chests to separate them. "If you really want to help Kagome, then you would be much more help if you would come with us, instead of going on your own. You don't even know where to start looking. Her smell is nowhere to be found, and only Isane has a clue where to look next." He looked serious and annoyed.

"I don't need HIS help!" Inuyasha yelled.

"You may not need his help, Inuyasha, but he wants to find her as much as we do. And we could use some help. We need as much help as we can get to fight Nakazo. We aren't in the best condition at the moment." He turned to look at Kouga. "Will you help us, Kouga? Do you think you two refrain from killing each other long enough to save Kagome?" Miroku desperately wanted to find Kagome; he knew they had a better chance of success with Kouga and Ayame helping them.

Kouga looked at Ayame who nodded. "Fine but dog face over there had better keep his mouth shut!" Kouga said with a grin on his face.

Miroku was again holding the two apart and he sighed. 'This is going to be a long day.'

Kouga and Inuyasha continued yelling insults at each other until Sango come over to them. She was angrily grinding her teeth. "WE HAVE TO FIND KAGOME!! If you two are just going to stand there and fight, we will go on without you!!" Sango then turned away from them, and looked at Isane. Isane backed away a bit as she approached him.

'She sure can be scary some times,' Isane thought as Sango continued to rant.

"This is unbelievable! Inuyasha won't let us rest for more than an hour, other than to sleep, but he can stand around and yell at Kouga all day!!" She was fuming.

Inuyasha walked over to her slowly and put a hand on her shoulder. "You are right. We need to find Kagome. Kouga do you smell her at all?"

Kouga shook his head. "We have been in this area since yesterday and I had no idea she was nearby."

"Well, we aren't getting any closer to finding her just standing here! I may not be one of Kagome's close friends, like the rest of you, but I want to help her too. We need to go now, if we want to find her before dark. She can't be that far away, can she?" Ayame asked, then turned to walk away, abruptly stopping in her tracks. "Which direction should we head?" They all looked at each other and then glanced around at where they were.

"Well, we have been heading this direction for a long time now," Miroku pointed out, while looking at the slightly calmer Sango.

Isane looked around at where he was and started to think. 'I know this place, but why?'

Everyone except Isane started to walk in the same direction they had been heading before the approach of the demons. Isane just stood still, deep in thought. Ayame noticed that he wasn't following, and turned around to look at him. "Is something wrong?" she asked, watching him for a moment.

"I…think I know this place…but I can't remember why," Isane said, distantly, still in deep thought.

Everyone else had stopped now to look at him. "WHO CARES IF YOU KNOW THIS PLACE?? We need to keep moving if we want to find Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled, annoyed at being stopped again.

"Wait, Inuyasha, give him a minute. Maybe he can tell us which way to go, if he knows this place." Miroku suggested. Sango was on Kirara, but Miroku was still with Kouga and Inuyasha on the ground, prepared to make sure they didn't attempt to fight again.

"THAT'S IT!!" Isane yelled loudly and everyone looked at him as if he were crazy.

"What's it???" Inuyasha asked.

"I know where they are! I know where he took Kagome!" Now he had Inuyasha's full attention.

Inuyasha walked up to him and was mere inches from his face. "You know where she is?" he asked calmly. "How do you know?"

"Well I knew this place looked familiar. When Nakazo and I were young we came here sometimes. It was far from his hut, but we came out here a few times with his mother looking for herbs and spices that could only be found here for some reason." Inuyasha was looking annoyed again, so Isane got on back on track. "The only place around here that would be hidden from everything is his old hut! He must have taken her there."

"You think he is stupid enough to take her somewhere that you know of that well?" Kouga asked looking annoyed as well. "Sounds like a trap to me."

"I don't think so. It is a very well hidden hut. Even though I was there many times, it will be hard to find. See his mother was trying to keep Nakazo away from Naraku so she did everything she could to hide from him. Once you get close to the hut, the scents are overpowered by the flowers of which there are an abundance nearby. Also there is a barrier up around the hut so you cannot see it. You must know where the hole in the barrier IS to get in. The whole thing is surrounded by trees, and it is deep in the woods. I think I can find it. There WILL be traps there and tricks to make you think that you are getting closer when you are not. His mother was amazing and could hide from any one. The fact that Naraku found us there is still unbelievable to me." Isane sighed.

"Ok, so which way do we head and how far do you think it will be?" Ayame asked.

Isane thought for a moment and then looked around. He pointed slightly to the right of the direction they had been heading. "This way. Though I think we have been going a little off course. It will be at least nightfall before we find him now. We may have to wait until morning to find her."

Inuyasha looked determined. "Well then, let's go! We have to find her now!" he yelled, then started running without looking back to see if anyone was following him.

"WAIT! Inuyasha! We need Isane to lead or we may go father off course!" Miroku yelled, running after him.

Inuyasha stopped and turned around. "You better run fast Isane or you will have to deal with me!" He growled and showed his claws while baring his fangs.

"I will run as fast as possible, Inuyasha. I want to find her as much as you do," Isane said. Then he ran as fast as he could in front of Inuyasha, who was right on his heals. 'Wow, he is fast when he is worried about Kagome,' Isane thought.

They all ran as fast as they could now in hopes of finding Kagome before it was too late. The fighting between Kouga and Inuyasha had stopped, and they were all working together now.

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It was now late afternoon and Kagome was bored. She couldn't figure out why she had been brought there, or what Nakazo wanted to do to her. She sighed. 'I just want to go home.' Kagome stopped to realize that she no longer thought of her era as home. When she thought of home, Kagome now pictured Kaede's hut and Inuyasha. This thought brought a smile to her face. Thinking about Inuyasha was pretty much all there was to do there, and it made her feel a bit better.

Suddenly she felt a chill go down her spine. 'What is that?' she thought to herself. 'Something is not right.' She looked around, and saw that Yuma must also have felt something, because she was now standing and looking off into the woods closely.

"He is coming," Yuma said calmly and yet did not seem her normal bored self. She looked almost worried.

"Who is coming???" Kagome yelled, looking scared.

"Nakazo. He is coming for you." Yuma stated in a raspy voice that scared her even more.

'Oh god. What do I do?' She was moving back toward the hut and was back up against a wall when she saw a shadow moving through the woods. She gasped.

He laughed at her. "You are afraid of me," he stated as he walked closer. His calm voice was not making her feel any better. Kagome could now see him completely and she didn't like that.

"I am not!" She yelled, though she was sure her shaky voice must have given her away. 'Inuyasha, where are you?? I need you!' She had never been so scared before, and all she wanted was Inuyasha there with her.

Nakazo walked right up to her, putting his hand on her face and looking directly into her eyes. "You are afraid. I can smell fear all over you." He grinned evilly at her. "Don't worry little miko, it will all be over soon." He laughed at her.

Yuma didn't look too happy. She was watching intently as she stood nearby. She wouldn't be any help and Kagome knew it.

Kagome did the only thing she could think to do. She screamed as loudly as she could, all the while knowing it couldn't possibly help her. "INUYASHA!!!!!!!!!"

Nakazo just laughed harder and louder. "This will be fun." He grinned.

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The rescue party had all been running flat out for maybe an hour when Inuyasha stopped dead in his tracks once again, but this time he fell to the ground writhing in pain. He held his head as if it hurt more than anything ever had before.

Everyone looked at him "INUYASHA! Are you ok???" Sango yelled as she jumped down from Kirara to check on him.

"It's….it's Kagome!" He was stuttering in his anguish.

'This can't be good,' everyone else all thought at once.

'It hurts. What the hell is happening to Kagome??' Inuyasha thought as he held his head in pain. "I don't know what is happening. I could hear her! She yelled my name. I can feel her. She is so scared. What the hell is that asshole doing to her???!! We have to find her NOW!" He got up despite the pain, and headed off once again in the direction they had been going. Everyone else followed closely, as Isane tried to get in front of Inuyasha to lead.

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I am so sorry that it took me so long to update. Many things have been going on and I just didn't have the time to write. I will try and have the next chapter up soon. I promise it will be a good one! ^_^

Proof read by Bonnie217.