InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Pack Law ❯ To The Rescue ( Chapter 27 )

Pack Law

 

Chapter 27: To The Rescue

 

 

“Ow! Fuck, fuck, fuck! Shit… owwww,” InuYasha hissed as he leapt from building to building, absolutely ignoring all the rules suggesting he keep his feet firmly planted on the ground when in an area where unsuspecting humans could see. `It fuckin' burns!'

 

Concealed from people below in a bubble-like barrier, Miroku and Sango swept down on Kirara. InuYasha had just been tearing across Tokyo; what in kami-sama's name would stop him now?

 

InuYasha panted and winced, hands on his knees. Just as quickly as the burning had begun, it flickered and stopped. He had enough time to take a breather before it returned full-force, hitting so hard he went to his knees.

 

`I'm so sorry; I know it hurts!' InuYasha blinked rapidly, thoroughly distracted from the burning sensation. `Kagome?' The first voice in his head hadn't been his… he knew his friends would call him crazy, but he could have sworn he heard Kagome again.

 

“InuYasha!” Landing on the roof near the hanyou, Miroku hurried over. “What's wrong? One minute you're running like a bat out of hell, the next minute you're acting like you're in pain…” He gasped, and then reached out and grabbed a handful of InuYasha's hair.

 

“Fuck! Don't yank on my head; that's attached, moron! What the hell are yo-” For the second time in only a few moments, he found himself blinking with astonishment. He had black streaks in his hair… “What the hell is going on?!”

 

Miroku studied his alpha closely. “Have you been near any purification energy?”

 

“I was fine when I left,” InuYasha all but screamed. “What the hell kind of energy would purify me without…” He stopped, staring at his thankfully-still-clawed hands thoughtfully. “Kagome.”

 

“What?” Sango joined the discussion in confusion, looking from her husband to InuYasha in interest. “Did you just suggest Kagome was purifying you? How could she do that without being near you?” She looked about, as if expecting to see Kagome standing on a nearby rooftop.

 

InuYasha pinned his companions with a look, daring them to refute him. “I-I heard her. In my head. It was like she was pulling me this way.” He held up his hand when Miroku looked like he would interrupt. “About halfway here, it started to burn. What if that was her?”

 

Miroku's eyes widened in understanding. “You said she smelled like you. She had youki mixed in with her spiritual powers… you think she was somehow absorbing through you? And now can contact you mentally?”

 

InuYasha huffed. “I know it sounds crazy but what the hell else could it be?”

 

Sango bit her lip thoughtfully. “But you don't know how she's doing it?”

 

“N-no… but that don't mean she ain't,” InuYasha insisted. “Anyway, I can still jump fine and it don't hurt any more. Let's go.” He put actions to words, taking off and leaping in the direction he'd been going. `Hang on, Kagome. Just hang on until I can get there…'

 

**********

 

`I swear it; I'm going to kick her…' Ki scrubbed irritably at a pan, wondering if the kidnapped miko would object to oden for dinner. `She better not. She's lucky Master Naraku ordered me to feed her in the first place or I'd have torn her limb from limb…'

 

At the thought of her master, she huffed, scouring at the pan angrily. She'd very easily kidnapped Kagome from the school; a strong fist to the back of the neck did wonders. Ki had hoisted up her prize and brought her back to the lair Naraku had fashioned only to find it empty.

 

`Where could he have gone?' Ki sighed. She'd found a note on her bed explaining that he was on a very important mission, and to make sure Kagome was comfortable. He'd also warned Ki there would be dire consequences if she failed him…

 

`What could be so important that he'd go himself instead of sending me? He used to make Ken do all his dirty work…' She'd wondered, while studying the note, if he had somehow lost faith in her since her recent efforts to grab the Shikon shards Kagome possessed had been thwarted. Frustrated, feeling as though all her hard work had been in vain, Ki had tossed on some music and decided to take a nap. She'd whacked Kagome pretty strongly in the back of the head; the miko would likely be out for quite a while.

 

Of course, the nap had been anything but comforting and restful. Ki sighed, slicing carrots and potatoes. Images from her dream came back to her: she'd been standing in a similar fashion, only on a chair to reach the counter. She laughed as a woman - her mother? - sang a silly song. A younger girl laid under the blanket at the kotatsu, shivering and coughing slightly.

 

Ki shook at the dream took full force in her mind. A man with red eyes, watching her play outside… picking up a pretty piece of stone - a jewel shard, she realized now - the man patting her on the head, asking her for the pretty black rock… the horrible smile that crossed his face…

 

The youkai whimpered, kept chopping but closed her eyes against the thoughts, the pictures… the memories? They flooded her brain…

 

The red-eyed man wielded a knife. Blood… screaming… crying… the flash of sirens and knowing the kind woman was dead, body still huddled around a child-Ki… talking to a man in blue, holding a blood-stained teddy bear and wondering what would happen, what had happened…

 

The same, scary man - Naraku? The eyes were the same, his calculating smile… but he'd looked so much different, so obviously Japanese and mortal, except those eyes - talking to the officers, gesturing wildly and crying for some reason… Then he held her, wiped her eyes with a cold handkerchief that smelt sweet… kind of fruity… then everything went black.

 

A sharp pain shot up Ki's arm; she stared, almost disconnected, at the blood welling up on her finger. `Such a weird feeling,' she mused, watching the skin knit itself back together. She knew, deep down, she had not always been youkai. She had the same instinctive needs as a human… were the dreams she kept having… possibly memories?

 

`It couldn't be. The girl in the dreams was a child - I do not have that mentality. Master Naraku may sometimes be cruel but he would never go so far as to harm a child, would he?' Ki sighed, head tipped back as though the ceiling held the answers she craved. She'd been having such unsettling dreams lately, this one shouldn't come as a surprise and yet she couldn't shake the effects…

 

Setting the pot on to boil, filled to the brim with food, Ki allowed herself a satisfied smile. Naraku did not eat, not having a corporeal form for the most part, but he enjoyed the various smells from her cooking. It was a matter of pride to Ki: she could provide for her master, if need be, as he provided clothing and shelter in turn for her.

 

Ki wasn't sure how long she sat in the kitchen, trying to think of anything but those frightening, bloody dreams… `Why the hell am I frightened? I am youkai; I am stronger than this!' She rose, scooping the food onto dishes and grabbing the kettle for tea. Perhaps the miko, as insufferable as she could be, would prove to be a better distraction.

 

Kicking the door back open, Ki caught Kagome snatching her hands behind her back, apparently trying to cover up her face with an innocent look but failing rather spectacularly. “Did anybody ever tell you that you can't lie worth a damn?” Ki questioned dryly, setting down the food.

 

“Oden!” Kagome gasped happily, ignoring Ki's comment. She bounced up, then groaned and put a hand to the back of her head. She hissed. “You couldn't have hit me a little lighter, could you? I'm going to have a headache for a week,” Kagome grumbled.

 

“You'll live,” Ki shot back. `Insolent little bitch, isn't she?'

 

Again, Kagome ignored Ki's reply, this time to dig into the food. Ki quirked an eyebrow at the girl's happy look. `At least she won't complain about dinner…'

 

“This is delicious, thank you!” Kagome looked up with a smile. “Usually by this time I'd have been threatened a few times, or someone would have tried to control me… or my captors would have tried to cook me,” she added thoughtfully. “I can't think of any that actually cooked for me before.”

 

She stopped, choking a little at a stray thought, and then gazed at the bowl as though seeing it for the first time. “Y-you… you didn't poison this or anything, right?”

 

Ki scoffed. “For whatever reason, Master Naraku said to treat you well.” Meeting Kagome's dry look she added, “And I found that out after knocking you out, so that doesn't count. Still, poisoning would be breaking his rules.”

 

Kagome blinked down at her dish, biting her lip. Sighing, Ki crossed the room and snatched a bit of meat from the bowl. “Here, look.” She popped it in her mouth, making exaggerated moans of delight and earning a scowl for her troubles. “There, I ate some, too. And you can't suggest the bowl was poisoned, because I ate food from your bowl. Would I do that if it were dangerous?”

 

Kagome studied her dish quietly, looking back at Ki with narrowed eyes. After a few moments, she shrugged and dug back in.

 

**********

 

InuYasha groaned, looking out over the group of warehouses. He'd gotten to this point before whatever was tugging on him suddenly vanished. He feared that if it were Kagome, something had happened to her… `You'd better be okay, wench!'

 

Panting, Kirara landed next to him. Miroku and Sango stared out over the area. “So she's somewhere in there,” Sango said, more of a musing question. InuYasha snorted and nodded.

 

“Yeah. Whatever was dragging me here is gone now, though.”

 

“You don't think-”

 

“I don't know,” InuYasha interrupted Sango's worried sentences. “But I do know that just sitting here ain't doing a damn bit of good. She's gotta be in there, I can feel the shards… but I can't figure out exactly where they're at.” He sniffed the air thoughtfully, but his shoulders drooped. “Her scent's all over the damn place, too. Don't smell like Naraku's nearby, though.”

 

Miroku put up his hand. “We should act with caution, though. Remember that he doesn't have a real body, so his scent may be diminished… if there is one at all.”

 

“No splitting up then, right?” Sango checked her guns. “It won't be safe.”

 

Miroku agreed, and then chuckled. “Who would've thought Naraku would take up residence in an abandoned warehouse? Castles used to be more his style… this just seems cliché. I feel like we're in a dumb American action movie.”

 

InuYasha rolled his eyes, not deigning the lech with a response, and then leapt off the roof. `Kagome… hang on. Wait for me.'

 

**********

 

“I'm just saying it isn't plausible,” Ki argued, fists clenched at her side. `She's so damn infuriating!'

 

Kagome rolled her eyes. “You're a youkai. I'm a miko.” She fingered the chunk of Shikon around her neck. “We have part of a super-powerful jewel right here with us. You can order plants to do whatever you want… and you don't believe in time travel?” Kagome stared wide-eyed at the girl, obviously incredulous.

 

Ki scoffed. “I didn't say that. I just think the whole well story is a fake, that's all. A cover, probably.”

 

“What, like my brother is some sort of super-genius and made a time-machine? Yeah, right.” It was Kagome's turn to scoff. “Don't you think if it were some sort of time machine, I'd be able to use it whenever I wanted? I wouldn't have missed so many stupid tests if I could've carried it with me.”

 

Throwing up her hands, Ki leaned against the wall. “I didn't say you could carry it around, either! Stop putting words in my mouth!” She was amused by how red the miko seemed to be growing. Apparently, Kagome didn't like being called a liar. “A well just doesn't have the power to go through time! I can understand a phone booth,” she continued, “or even a car because of the electricity and stuff. But a well? A well can't move,” she reasoned.

 

“It's a magic well,” Kagome pointed out, teeth clenched, “so it really doesn't have to follow science fiction laws. Or the laws of physics. Magic just… is.”

 

“Prove it,” Ki demanded.

 

“What?”

 

“I said `prove it,' and if you can, I'll admit you were right.” Actually, she'd do no such thing, but it was still rather entertaining to argue with this girl.

 

Kagome blushed, though it was hardly visible through the red face she sported from the argument Ki had started. “I-I…” she played with the fabric of her skirt. “I can't,” she admitted. “You see, a while ago, InuYa-”

 

“Suuuuure. Make excuses,” Ki drawled. “How incredibly convenient that the oh-so-magical well suddenly doesn't work.” Ki chuckled, wondering if all the blood flow in Kagome's body had to have stopped for her face to look that bright…

 

Kagome huffed. “InuYasha will back me up when he gets here,” she declared, crossing her arms. “So there.”

 

Ki cocked an eyebrow. “You seem really sure this InuYasha is going to come for you. But my Master told me InuYasha loved me… so why would he be with you? How can you trust him?”

 

Taken aback, Kagome stared. “You… I-InuYasha… wait, what?”

 

“I don't get it, either,” Ki shrugged. “But Naraku never lies to me.”

 

“How can you trust him?” Kagome shot back, actually taking a great deal of pleasure in throwing those words back at Ki and realizing the anger was only partially her own. `How dare she question our relationship?' Kagome conveniently ignored the fact that she'd been doing the same thing just a week ago…

 

Ki glared at Kagome, a look that would have frozen a lesser person in their tracks. “You don't know what you're talking about. I'd suggest you keep your mouth shut before I happen to forget I ever saw the note Master left for me.”

 

“He left you a note?” Kagome asked. “He's not even here?” It crossed her mind that she hadn't felt the other jewel shards and suddenly felt foolish. She should have known that already. “Where did he go?” she asked, hoping she could finally get some information.

 

It became quite clear that wherever her enemy was, Ki wasn't too pleased. “Shut up and stop asking stupid questions,” the youkai snarled, grabbing the dirty dishes and marching out the door, slamming it behind her.

 

Kagome stared at her ring, rubbing it. She refused to show it to Ki, but that comment about him loving Ki… it was ridiculous, wasn't it? `He didn't even know who she was when she showed up outside the Council meeting,' she reminded himself.

 

`What if he was just putting on a front, though?' The thought came from nowhere, and Kagome shook it out of her head the moment it appeared. `No, he's not that good of an actor. Besides, Ki said Naraku told her InuYasha loved her, not that she'd experienced it herself.' She was somewhat mollified by this statement, though the follow-up thought took a few moments to kick in.

 

`Wait, does that mean Ki really is part of Kikyou?' A wave of frustration washed over her - not hers, but InuYasha's. She stared at the ring again for a moment. She knew it hurt him to talk to him… probably because of her spiritual powers. She could feel the burning pain as she tried to talk to him. But it had been working, InuYasha had been feeling hopeful, which had to mean something…

 

Pulling her wits together, she gathered her powers and tugged at his youki again. `Come find me, InuYasha! Ki's out of the room… hurry!' She weakened the power in her fingers, so only the lightest pulse connected her to him, hoping it was still strong enough to draw him.

 

`I wonder if there's a way to alter this so he can talk back,' Kagome mused, keeping an eye on the door. Unfortunately, the window was quite out of her reach; there would be no self-made escape plans unless she suddenly learned to fly.

 

“KAGOME!” The miko threw up her arms to shield her face as InuYasha came sailing through the glass, landing in a crouch. Shards scraped across part of her skin, cutting her collarbone and upper arms.

 

Kagome gasped as she got a good look at InuYasha: his usually silver hair was peppered with black strands… and his eyes were an intriguing shade of dark purple, speckled with gold.

 

`Oh no! He's not as strong if he's purified!' She shot up, running to InuYasha who gathered her in a hug. “I'm so, so, so sorry,” she mumbled, “I didn't want to purify you. I didn't know how to do it without hurting you. Oh kami, you've got to be so angry with me…” She realized she was babbling, she knew she was crying and that her tears always freaked InuYasha out but she couldn't stop herself.

 

“Kagome!” He shook her lightly. “Look at me!” She couldn't. She couldn't look into those funny-colored eyes and feel anything but ashamed. `What kind of mate would do that?'

 

Seeing she wasn't going to respond, he hooked a finger under her chin and forced her face up. “I'm fine,” he soothed, ears trained on the door. “I'm fine. You did what you had to. Where's Naraku?”

 

Kagome wasn't given enough time to answer. The door flew off their hinges in toward the room; InuYasha cut through it with a clean swipe of his Tetsusaiga. He shoved Kagome behind him in the same movement, noting Sango had her guns loaded and trained on the young woman at the door.

 

“Ah, InuYasha. I was wondering when you'd arrived,” Ki purred. Kagome bristled at her tone. InuYasha growled a warning to both of the women: Kagome to stay behind him, and Ki to stay out in the hallway. Neither listened.

 

Kagome gasped, inadvertently drawing InuYasha's full attention as she shot out to the right, near where Miroku was standing. Eyes moving ahead of her, he realized why: the glass from the window had cut the necklace the jewel was on; the shards lay on the ground where anybody could pick them up.

 

Too heavily focused on Kagome's movements, InuYasha was torn from making sure she was safe by the sounds of Sango shooting. Ki muscled her way into the room, vines snaking out from the walls. Still quick on his feet though he was purified, but not fast enough, InuYasha grunted as Ki barreled into him with a laugh.

 

“Fuck,” he breathed, rubbing what was most definitely a cracked rib lightly and wincing. He pushed the pain to the back of his head as the sounds of his friends fighting the vines snuck through the haze.

 

Sango had dropped her guns, he noticed, and was relying on her wakizashi to fend off the vines. Like snakes, they approached from all sides, all heights; the taijya spun and ducked, cussing under her breathe as she tried to fight her way toward her husband or Kagome.

 

“Damn it all,” InuYasha muttered, realizing there was no room to use his more powerful attacks. One “kaze no kizu” would clear the room of creepers… and probably bring the whole place down. As it was, they were just barely able to maneuver in the room with all of them and the vines… he swiped at some of the vines, which tried to tangle themselves around his neck.

 

Kirara snarled, sinking her teeth into a larger vine, and then shrinking to her kitten form to more easily slip through the creepers. Climbing around, she braced herself to leap onto Ki's back, but was caught mid-air. Hissing and spitting, she tried to flare up into her larger size once more before beginning to cough as the vines began to cut off her air supply.

 

“Kirara!” Sango spun, slicing through the creepers, focused on freeing her companion. The slayer moved like a blur but was no match for the earth youkai; within moments, she was strung up next to the neko youkai, vines creeping around her body, over her mouth and chest. Angry, Sango continued to writhe futilely. Kirara let out a whine as she slowly faded out of consciousness.

 

InuYasha dug his claws into his upper arm, smothering them with blood. “Hijinketsusou!” A mass of creepers swarmed in front of the blow, refusing to release their prisoners. InuYasha rolled to the left, barely avoiding getting his head taken off. `Fuck, but it's hard to focus on the creepers and the youkai bitch at once…'

 

Ki cackled. “You move so smoothly, InuYasha. Why are you with a useless little girl like her when you could meet your match in me?”

 

InuYasha blinked, shaking his head and pushing himself to his feet. He spun, slashing at the vines nearby and daring to take a glance at Kagome, who was fending the sneaking vines off with small bits of lighting of her power. `She's gonna be exhausted soon…'

 

Miroku had never cursed the lack of his kazaana more as he saw his wife hung up, caught by the enemy and left dangling helpless. He bit his lip; losing his mind wouldn't help matters any. Spinning, Miroku saw Kagome holding her own. He tossed some ofuda her way, burning away some roots that had attempted to creep up behind them.

 

“It's like fighting Naraku all over again,” Kagome shouted, sending a fireball of power to one corer and jumping up over a snaking vine the next second. “These aren't going to end unless somebody knocks out Ki!”

 

Miroku nodded his agreement, not wasting his oxygen with unnecessary words as he twirled his staff. There wasn't room to create even a small barrier; with the way InuYasha was hopping around, he'd probably crash into it, and that'd do nothing but distract him.

 

“What the fuck are you going on about?” InuYasha asked, turning his attention back to Ki. She remained in the center of the room, looking amused with the various battles being fought. After a moment, she twisted back toward the hanyou, a smirk on her face.

 

“You surround yourself with insignificant humans,” she drawled. “When you could be so much more. You used to love me; you could love me again.”

 

InuYasha was brought up straight at this comment, head quirked in confusion. “Loved you? Who the fu- ahhhhh!” Ki chuckled menacingly; while InuYasha was focused on her, a clump of vines with small purple flowers on them pierced his shoulder, releasing a dangerous toxin into his bloodstream.

 

`It burns! Fuck!' InuYasha scrabbled at his shoulder with his left hand, slicing through the poisonous creepers and tugging them out of his shoulder.

 

“It's too late,” Ki snarled, “The poison has already entered your body; you'll be burned from the inside out!”

 

Kagome cried out suddenly as she clawed at the vines picking her up. Her hands glowed a pale red as she burned the creepers away. The red intensified as InuYasha fell to his knees, scrabbling at the floor in agony as the poison seemingly burned through his body.

 

Miroku spun, swung his staff to cut Kagome free; she fell to the floor with an “oomph” and a thud. As he focused on freeing the miko, he was caught unawares by the vines snaking across the floor. They wrapped around his ankles, lifting him into the air upside-down and twisting around the arm holding his shajoku. His hand went numb; the staff fell to the floor, jingling loudly.

 

With a wave of Ki's hand, InuYasha was easily overwhelmed by the vines. He tried to roll, only to find Ki's foot pressed against his exposed throat. Growls could be heard, muffled by the vines but unmistakable.

 

Ki laughed. “I dreamed of you and me, you know. We could have been together, but that girl tore us apart!” Motioning with her arm, creepers snuck around Kagome's body, holding her hand apart and behind her, and removing the jewel shards from her hand. Clasping the shards, Ki smirked. “But no, you insisted you wanted to be with her. So I'll let you be together - in death!”

 

The vines binding InuYasha's body gripped tighter, his holler of pain almost drowned out by the cracking of his shoulder and ribs. With a howl, InuYasha's head fell back, peppered hair steaming across the ground. Then his body began to pulse. Confused and a big unnerved by the turn of events, Ki began backing out of the room.

 

“InuYasha!” The hanyou's body thrummed as Kagome called out, the youkai reacting to the fear in her voice. The miko figured this out too late, clasping her hand over her mouth as the hanyou-turned-youkai lifted crimson and teal eyes to the group.

 

`Those eyes…' Ki was suddenly thrust back into her dream… the eyes were different and yet they were that same crimson color… the color of blood… blood… the bloodied bodies…

 

Ki gasped, clutched at her stomach, only aware a moment later that InuYasha had freed himself and had torn a gaping wound into her belly. She slumped to the ground, bleeding freely. `Blood…'

 

The humans in the room cried out as the vines began to shake angrily, a reflection of their mistress' mental state. With a howl, InuYasha started tearing through the creepers, freeing his pack members, starting with Kagome.

 

All free, Kagome threw her arms around InuYasha. With his transformation, his hair had gone back to its normal silver shine, though it was matted with both his blood and that of his enemies. Whispering apologies, Kagome let a little bit of her purification power through her hands and pressed them against his temples.

 

InuYasha slumped to the ground, transformation reverting as his body began to writhe with renewed pain of the poison in his system. The pain grew, sending him into spasms, until he finally reached his incredibly high limit and passed out.

 

“Hurry,” Sango said, wrapping her arm around InuYasha as Miroku did the same. Kagome grabbed Sango and Miroku's weapons and picked up Kirara. Then the three shoved their way through the doorway, past a panting Ki whose eyes had gone blank, lost in a memory only she could see…

 

**********

 

Hours later, Naraku stood outside the door to his converted warehouse, sifting through the scents warily. `InuYasha was here… Kagome, the monk and slayer as well.' The promise of power pulled him through the doorway, where the sun's last rays glinted off golden hair.

 

Ki lie in the middle of the hallway, curled in the fetal position, eyes blank. “Blood,” she muttered softly, “Blood-red eyes…”

 

Naraku's own eyes flashed. `There's no way she can remember… the process doesn't allow for it…' He sneered and kicked the youkai in the ribs. “Get up, useless wench.”

 

“M-Master… M-Master Naraku…” Ki blinked the glaze from her eyes.

 

“What happened here?” The tone of voice was a demand, not a question. There would be no evasive answers this night.

 

“I kidnapped Kagome like you told me to, Master,” Ki said, remaining on the floor. “Somehow, InuYasha and her friends came to save her. There was a battle - InuYasha was gravely injured, my lord,” she said quickly, hoping to appease him.

 

“And the girl?”

 

Ki cringed. “She escaped, my lord.” His anger rolled off him in waves. “But look! I did not fail you!” On her hand laid a chunk of the Shikon no Tama, black but smeared with dry blood.

 

Naraku smiled; an evil smile, not approving, not disproving, more amused than anything else Ki could pin-point. “You did not fail me, you say?”

 

Ki gulped.

 

“You say you did not fail me. My instructions were quite clear, I believe, my dear. Collect for me the miko Kagome and her shards.”

 

Ki's eyes widened as he took a step closer, reaching out to her.

 

“I did not say `the miko Kagome or her shards,' filthy wretch. I said `the miko and her shards.” He plucked the shards from the earth youkai's hand. “One of my demands does not constitute all, dear Ki.” His eyes flashed again, red to black, “And I do not tolerate failure.”

 

Ki screamed.

 

A/N:

 

“Hijinketsusou” - “Blades of Blood”

 

Major thanks go out to angelica incarnate, who holds the leash to my run-away ideas and sentences, and Phalon, who always gives me somebody to bounce ideas off of when necessary.

 

Sorry for the wait on the chapter, guys. I've been overrun by plot bunnies recently with all sorts of stories that are making my head spin. Plus, Ki didn't want to cooperate with me at *all* this chapter.

 

I'd like to thank areefa for nominating “Pack Law” for Best Inu/Kag Romance at the InuYasha Fan Guild! There are some fantastic stories I'm up against this time around. Seconding begins January 25th and voting begins February 15th.

Good luck to all!

 

Holy COW talk about lots of reviews for one chapter. I'm absolutely mind-boggled!

 

I love hearing what you have to say about the story! Thanks go out to -

lavie - (Welcome to the pack! If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask! As you saw, I enjoy answering or clarifying whatever I can.)

Lunabell - (Hahaha, I've been waiting to write that kidnapping scene for a long time now. You'd figure it'd be old hat to her by now, right? Ahhh the wonders of the ring…)

kokoronagomu - (OMG that'll teach me to watch these videos at work… everybody STARED as I cracked up. Mixing Spongebob with South Park [one of my favorite SP songs, at that!] is just… mind-boggling amusing to me. As for Kagome… I think she's been soul-sucked enough in the show. Naraku can't be TOO repetitive, after all…)

BlueKitten - (Welcome to the Pack!)

DeathMVP - (Ooooh… you're getting to be very perceptive when it comes to this story… *big grins* Or does that mean I'm getting too cliché?)

CatLover260 - (You hit the nail on the head! Things are suddenly much easier… and yet so much harder for their relationship.)

Hitsugaya630 - (Wow, I'm honored you came out of review-lurkdom to leave me such an uplifting message! I'm so glad you're enjoying the story and hope you'll stay on board through the end!)

---no name---

Sovereignty - (Haha, his attitude follows her wherever she goes, yes? O.o;; Sounds like you have had a rough several days! Be careful on the roads!!)

angel-up-above-heaven

catbaker - (I know, I'm really anxious to see what happens. Well, you're in at least another one, since I popped you in there in my noms, so good luck! I'm glad you enjoyed the idea of the ring connecting them. I hope the rescue lives up to your expectations!)

jfeulner

wbk - (*lots of laughs* Is that what you expected with the whole power-of-the-ring going both ways? *grins* Poor Yasha… Now Ki is the only remaining mystery!)

Ichigohime - (Exactly! She wouldn't be herself if she didn't throw herself to the mercy of the wolves once in a while… poor, naïve Kagome…)

Ai Kisugi- (I'll certainly try my best! I'm a fan of happy endings, so don't worry… I just make my characters work for them ^_^)

kodiaqkitten - (Glad you enjoyed! I hope the rescue scene lived up to your hopes!)

 

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or any other characters from the anime/manga. They all belong to Rumiko Takahashi.

 

I do, however, own the original characters in this story. Please don't steal them! (I may let you borrow them if you ask politely.) Arata is the creation of the fabulous Phalon - I've done a bit of tweaking, but she is for all intents and purposes not mine.