InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Solstice ❯ Chapter 6 - Submission ( Chapter 6 )

Solstice

Notes: 6,400 words | 10 pages - So FFnet BUTCHERED the formatting of my last chapter... All of my dialogue quotes were left open and Kouga's name was missing a number of times -.- Hence the reason I was forced to re-upload the last chapter. Should be fixed now... This is a little shorter than the last few chapters, but I was at a really good stopping point so until next time! Kurayami no Naka de Hikari will be updated next!

Chapter 6 – Submission

The child Kagome was still clutching to her chest managed to wiggle his way out of her arms and drop to the ground. As she reached down to scoop him up, she saw him hold a leaf to his forehead and, in a puff of smoke... disappear! Her eyes bulged out as the kid was just gone!

"Grab that kitsune brat before he sneaks out." Kouga said offhandedly as he lifted Kagome up and tossed her over his shoulder.

"Put. Me. Down." Kagome said in a deathly quiet voice as fire seemed to fill her veins. Her ridiculously short fur dress was hiked almost up to her waist and his hand was squeezing her butt as he balanced her on his shoulder casually.

"A bitch needs to learn her place and shut the fuck up." Kouga snarled as he smacked her on the ass like he'd done before to keep her awake. This time, instead of feeling gratitude, she felt white hot fury burning inside her. 'That sexist pig!'Her inner voice snarled and that warm sensation she had felt earlier when she'd sent him flying across the room returned.

"Umm, Kouga?" A meek voice said from their right, grabbing the attention of the arrogant wolf. Kouga's eyes narrowed on the mohawked wolf in front of him, but he indicated for him to say whatever he'd started saying. "The human is glowing..."

"Hmm?" Kouga mused as he turned his eyes to look down at Kagome. "Heh, you're right. This little bitch has spunk."

Kagome was slightly surprised when he placed her feet back on the ground. She gave him a confused look and the warm sensation slowly faded away. Before she could react, he caught her chin in his hand and slammed his lips onto hers. Eyes widening in surprise, Kagome was frozen like a deer in the headlights when she felt his tongue slide into her mouth and rub across her own roughly. His hand pressed her body close to him as it found her lower back and before she could even comprehend what was happening and get angry, he pulled back and smirked down at her.

"I'll enjoy breaking her." Kouga said grinning down at her, his eyes glinting maliciously as he licked his lips in anticipation. His hand enclosed around her wrist and tugged her still stunned form after him. She followed obediently and slowly raised a hand to touch her lips. They were already back in the cavern she'd awoken in when the anger hit.

"What the hell?" Kagome yelled as she ripped her wrist out of his hand. "Who do you think you are that you can just dothat to me?"

"Shuttup woman. You're mine fair and square. I beat that mutt in a duel so you belong to me now and I'll do what I want with you." Kouga growled out as he raised up to his full height and glared down at her.

"I don't belong to you or ANYONE!" Kagome yelled, stomping her foot in anger at his possessiveness. "I belong to me!" Kouga's eyes flashed and before Kagome could cry out in fear, she felt her back meet the wall and a pair of hands squeezing her upper arms painfully tight.

"I bested that fucking mutt so his claim belongs to me. If he had twelve tramps, they'd all belong to me. I doubt that mutt could even manage one since he obviously hasn't even rutted you yet!" Kouga snarled out angrily, his fangs showing as he stared her down.

Kagome's cheeks immediately began to burn in embarrassment at Kouga's term rutting. 'Does Inu-chan really want that from me?'Kagome thought to herself as she blushed furiously, completely forgetting about the angry wolf bearing down on her. She couldn't help but picture Inu-chan's bare chest as glistening drops of water streamed down his pale skin and into the soft silver hair that lead down from his belly button to an area that had been submerged in water and out of her view. Her imagination kept running wild and she pictured the water lowering and revealing what the water had hidden... his manhood, large and ready for her. She shook the image of his glistening body from her mind when she looked up and saw piercing, hooded blue eyes boring into hers. Definitely NOT the beautiful golden eyes she'd pictured that belonged to her Inu-chan.

"Hmm... like what you see, bitch?" Kouga growled out in a low, sensual tone. He pressed her up against the wall and breathed in her scent deeply, the sweet scent of female arousal filling his nose with it's delectable aroma. "You smell so fucking good." He growled out as he felt a pang of excitement below the belt.

"Would you stop that!" Kagome growled as she snapped out of her daydream violently. She shoved against his chest, not wanting his hands to touch her. His eyes were cold and he was way too pushy and forward with her. When Inu-chan had held her against him, he had been trying to keep her quiet. And even when he had let go of her mouth, he had been more playful and teasing than forceful like the brute before her.

"Heh, I like you. That spirit is sexy." Kouga said with a smirk as he let the human female push him away. She seemed surprised when she stumbled forward and it took several steps for her to catch her balance.

He found himself losing more control the longer he was around her. 'How is it that a HUMAN can smell so intoxicating?' He wondered vaguely as he studied her from several paces away. He had never met a human that he thought smelled good in his life, so why now? Did it have to do with her spiritual powers? Somehow, he doubted that was the reason. She wasn't the first female with spiritual powers he had met. He winced slightly at the stinging pain on his shoulders from the angry red burns she'd left on him. Heightened healing abilities didn't mean shit if you were burned by spiritual powers. If she had been able to control it, she could have purified him completely and far from scaring him, it actually turned him onthat she could hold her own against him.

Kouga flopped down on his bed, which consisted of some straw for padding, covered by a stack of heavy furs for comfort and warmth. He leaned back against the wall lazily with his hands crossed behind his head. He hadn't forgotten his original goal of locating the Shikon no Tama, but the strange human female has his interest piqued. He assumed he needed to at least rut her once or twice to get her out of his system. Maybe eventually mate her even though she was human, but she would have to prove her worth beyond a few spiritual burns.

"So, you got a name, bitch?" He questioned conversationally as he peeked one eye open at her. He smirked in amusement as she puffed up indignantly and crossed her arms over her breasts, inadvertently pushing them up and giving him a view of generous cleavage. He couldn't help but lick his suddenly dry lips as he stared at her mostly bared body.

"Of course I have a name, you pervert!" She snapped angrily, but made no move to approach the wolf that had just been groping her. "Not thatyouneed to know!" She snapped as she sent a nasty glare in his direction. If she hadn't seen how fast the wolf laying leisurely on the bed in front of her was, she may have attempted an escape again. She could see the muscles taut in his legs as he appeared to be relaxing. He was watching her intently and even if she did make it back to the main part of the cave, there was no way she'd make it passed the whole freaking pack!

"Just tell me your fucking name or I'll just call you koneko-chan." Kouga said as his eyebrow ticked in annoyance at the strong-willed bitch standing defiantly before him. Kagome's cheeks flushed in anger and she balled her hands into fists at her sides. 'The nerve of this guy!' Her thoughts screamed in her mind. 'The most arrogant, self-assured, cocky asshole in the universe!'

"The name is Higurashi-san to you!" She snarled back as she pointedly refused to take even one step closer to the perv. She had thought Miroku was a perv until she had met this jerk! She would never call him a lecher again if she managed to get away from the pointy-eared man!

"I don't like that." Kouga said lazily as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes, his head cradled between his hands. "I think I'll just call you koneko-chan anyway. Or maybe usagi-chan, they're more innocent than kittens."

"U-usagi-chan? I'm not three years old, you arrogant jerk!" She snapped, her anger only rocketing up higher at his cutesy little names. "My name is Kagome!" She immediately snapped her mouth shut, inwardly cursing herself for losing her temper and revealing her real name. 'Dammit dad!'Kagome thought to herself angrily. 'Why'd you have to pass me your damn temper! Why couldn't I be laid back like mom?'

"Ah Kagome! I like that!" Kouga said as he say up and beamed over at her, giving her a little wink.

Kagome felt her cheeks heating up in embarrassment at the gesture and her back stiffened visibly. She wasn't sure what his next move was going to be. One minute he was slamming his fist through Inu-chan's chest, the memory making her chest ache with sorrow and worry. Then he was dragging her through the snow forcefully to his cave. He kept her awake long enough in her hypothemic state to get her to safety, but then tries to force himself on her after threatening to kill her if she didn't give him some legendary jewel! And NOW, he was acting all nice and flirty with her! 'What is this guy's deal?'She inwardly questioned as she eyed him suspiciously.

"You need to relax, you're gonna get gray hair if you stay that stressed out." Kouga commented idly as he leaned back against the wall.

"Relax? How the hell can I relax?" Kagome snapped as her temper flared again and she raised herself up angrily. "You kidnapped me and then tried to force yourself on me!" She cried as she gestured wildly with her hands.

"Humph, claim or no claim, I'm not into forcing myself on an unwilling bitch." Kouga growled out in annoyance as he glared at the angry human female.

"Stop calling me a bitch! It's very derogatory, you jerk!" Kagome snapped back, attitude flaring. The nerveof him saying he wasn't like that when he had clearly shown her earlier that he was like that.

"Maybe to you humans, but to us wolves, it's what we call females." Kouga said in an amused tone as he watched her cheeks redden and her hands ball into fists. 'Damn this bitch is sexy when she's pissed.' He mused as he eyed her up and down, taking in her long, milky legs and rounded hips. He just needed some time to win her over because he wasn't about to rut her by force, he'd get her to beghim to give herself to him. He had all the time in the world since that stupid mutt was dead.

Kouga couldn't believe it had taken him that long to kill the sneaky little fucker. The damn mutt only came out when it was a snowstorm or during the early morning when his pack was hunting for food or resting so by the time they'd get to his suspected territory, his scent would have been hidden and footprints erased so they had no idea he was actually underground! It had been the girl's muffled scream beneath his feet that had given away his hole. He'd go back in a few days to string up his dead body as a warning to any others that dare invade his pack's territory.

"Kouga-san." A timid voice called from the doorway, causing Kagome to jump in alarm at the new presence. She hadn't heard a thing behind her as the person speaking approached. "Umm... it seems that the kitsune pup managed to sneak out. We have a small party tracking him, there is a blizzard brewing so he won't get far."

"How the FUCK did a hundred warriorsallow some little BRAT sneak by them?" Kouga growled as he jumped to his feet and stalked toward the terrified looking wolf standing in the doorway, knees shaking as he looked about to wet himself.

"I-I don't know, Kouga-san." The wolf said meekly as he tilted his head to the side and turned his eyes to the floor as a sign of submission. Kagome also noted that his tail was between his legs like a chastised dog as he tried to make himself as small as possible under Kouga's gaze.

"Sniff that little brat out! That was supposed to be my dinner tonight!" Kouga growled back as he shoved the other wolf out of the entrance to the cave. Kagome gasped at what he said and her eyes filled with tears instantaneously.

"No!" She yelled as she ran after Kouga down the dimly lit tunnel. He turned ice-blue eyes toward her in a dark glare as he reached back and grabbed her wrist firmly, pulling her up against him.

"Submit, bitch." He snarled angrily as he grasped her hair and tilted her head sideways, forcefully. There was a time and a place for her fiery temper, but right now was not that time while there were subordinates around to see.

"You can't hurt that poor kid!" Kagome cried as she tried to pry his fingers from her hair with her free hand.

"I said submit!" He growled out angrily, his eyes flashing as he forced Kagome to her knees. She cried out in pain at the pressure on her wrist and her tears streamed thickly from the pain of his grip.

"Please..." She whispered as she turned her face to the ground and stuffed her free hand into her mouth to stifle the sob that threatened to rip from her throat. Only then did she feel the pressure on her wrist loosen and release.

She dropped to the ground and cradled her sore wrist as she rubbed at the tears that ran down her cheeks, trying to erase the sign of weakness. He grabbed her by her upper arm, not squeezing too hard, and hoisted her to her feet. She followed along as she was ushered back into his chambers and forced onto his bed in the corner.

"When you catch that little brat, bring him to me." Kouga commanded before dismissing the submissive wolf back to his duties. Then he rounded on Kagome, his cheek ticking in anger as he glared down at her hunched form. "You can't challenge me in front of my subordinates, moron! If I can't control one human bitch, all order will be broken down! I'm going to teach you to submit to me!"

Kagome lifted her face up tentatively, not liking the anger she heard in his voice. She kept her face carefully blank and took in his words. It made sense that he would have to maintain a certain air about him in the presence of those that followed him, but who was he really? She wasn't sure if she should fear him, or feel bad for him since he could never truly be himself around his pack. She had always heard the term it's lonely at the top, but this was the first time she'd ever actually SEEN it. So who was he? The arrogant jerk that flung her over his shoulder? The angry monster demanding obedience and dishing out punishments for minor infractions? Or the carefree, laid back but still confident man that had been giving her cutesy nicknames until she got pissed and blurted out her real name? It was a puzzle she desperately needed to solve because it may lead to her eventual escape from Kouga.

"It's time for your punishment, Kagome." He said in a deadly soft voice, his ice blue eyes looking as cold and frozen as the world outside of the cave.

He advanced slowly with a grace she hadn't even taken note of before. It was the grace of a predator and SHE was the prey! The strong muscles of his legs rippled as he stalked toward her and a lump formed in her throat as her fear began to build. She scooted back across the bed quickly, eyes wide and confused. His movements blurred as he pounced forward, pinning her down against the pile of furs before she was truly even aware he had moved. He held her hands above her head and her legs were pinned down by his much heavier body as he straddled her. 'He wouldn't... would he?' Kagome silently wondered as she swallowed thickly, staring up into his eyes that looked like two chips of ice as he assessed her trembling form. 'He said he wouldn't force anything... Or was he just playing another role to put me at ease?' She worried her bottom lip with her teeth as he leaned in closer. Her eyes instinctively closed as his face lowered slowly toward her and her breath stuck in her throat. 'Please don't...'She silently begged as she felt soft lips trailing across her own.

- l - l - l -

Inuyasha trudged along the deep snow, the cold slowly seeping into his bones in a way that it hadn't done since he'd been just an orphaned kid. Even without the fire rat robe on his upper half, he shouldn't feel the cold as strongly. The flow of blood from his chest wound had, thankfully, stopped several minutes ago. He still felt light-headed and woozy from blood loss, but at least he wasn't going to die from bleeding out. It also meant that the wound had healed enough for the wound to clot, which meant that by the time he found that mangy fucker, he could take him on. That is, so long as the wound didn't break open in the process.

He could feel and hear the wind picking up more and more the further he trudged through the snow. The storm would hit within a few hours and he had no idea how much longer it would take for him to reach his mate. With the way things were going, he wasn't sure he would be able to make it there before the scents were washed away by the moisture and the snow. As it stood, he could only pick up on the slightest hint of her scent as he followed the almost non-existent footprints of the pack in the snow.

"Fuck..." Inuyasha growled out as he leaned heavily on his makeshift crutch to help save some of his energy. He had already followed three paths that turned out to just be scouting trails and had to double back until he found her scent again. Now it was so incredibly thin, he almost couldn't catch it at all. And with the unfamiliar area, he could only feel the general area of his mate, not the path he needed to take to get there. He needed to take the most direct route and not have to mess around with rugged terrain that slowed his already slow progress to a crawl.

He sniffed the air once more and caught a different scent that he hadn't noticed before. It smelled like a kitsune, and a young one at that. But what the hell was a kit that young doing alone? He knew how protective kitsune were over their cubs from experience. It was not something he wanted to do again... So he decided to just skirt around the brat in case his parents were somewhere upwind from him so their presence hidden. That is, until he caught a strong whiff of her scent that made his back stiffen in alarm! 'Why does a kit brat have my mate's scent covering him?'He growled to himself as he turned in the direction of the sweet scent of his claimed bitch.

As Inuyasha slouched through the snow, now using the branch as leverage to push himself through the snow, he felt a pang of suspicion come through the weak bond from his mate. There was no fear in the bundle of emotions he could faintly feel from her so that was definitely a good thing. Again he cursed himself for not finishing the ritual. What he could sense from her was faint and hard to notice let alone to decipher unless she was feeling particularly strong about something.

As he approached the kit, he paused to lean his branch up against a tree since it was encumbering his ability to move quietly and crept as quietly as the snow allowed toward the unsuspecting kit. Thankfully, the wind was picking up so the small amount of noise he was making would be covered up, also he as upwind of the brat so his scent wouldn't give him away. Kitsune didn't have as sensitive sense of smell so the heavy blood smell shouldn't be noticed either.

Inuyasha positioned himself behind a broad tree and peeked one eye around it to find a tiny kit with reddish hair huddled against the cold as his teeth chattered audibly. It was a very young kit that was burrowed down under a fallen tree where he'd cleared the snow into a sort of burrow. Seeing the brat half frozen and on his own convinced Inuyasha that he was alone and, for whatever reason, his parents weren't around.

After waiting a moment for the brat to snuggle down into his little burrow and bury his face into his bushy tail, Inuyasha crept slowly forward. He slipped unnoticed toward the fallen log, as stealthily and silently as the environment and his wound would allow, which, due to his heritage, turned out to be quite sneaky. He perched himself on the log above the kit and reached down one hand, plucking the brat out of his makeshift burrow by his fluffy tail. The kit's reaction was instantaneous as a growl ripped from his throat and his little arms and legs began flailing and trashing as he tried to free himself.

"Lemme go you stinking wolf!" The little kit growled out, eyes squeezed tightly shut as his fists met nothing but air. He was so small, Inuyasha didn't even have to hold him at a full arms length.

"Shut the fuck up, brat!" Inuyasha snapped as he bonked the kit on the head, and not lightly if the lump that raised up was any indication. He wasn't in the mood to put up with any shit, the brat wouldtalk and quickly. He wasn't surprised when the kit stopped flailing and rubbed his tiny, clawed hands across his head as tears threatened to spill from his emerald orbs.

"Hidoi..." He sniffled as his hands rubbed the sore spot. Sure he had suffered worse treatment by the wolves who wanted to cook him up for dinner, but a dog with such a terrible wound shouldn't be picking on a kid just because he was too weak to defend himself. At least, this is what went through the kit's mind as he sniffled and fixed a glare up at the blood-stained, silver-haired dog holding into his poor tail.

"Quit sniveling and tell me where the fuck my mate is!" Inuyasha growled out, already annoyed at how long it was talking the kid to talk. He held up one clawed hand to indicate what would happen to the little brat if he didn't hurry the fuck up.

"How should I know? I don't know your mate." The kit squeaked out, eying the sharp claws that were being slowly drawn in as a warning growl sounded in the back of Inuyasha's throat.

"The hell you don't!" Inuyasha shouted angrily as red began to bleed into his eyes. "Her scent is all over you!"

"You mean that miko girl?" The kit asked nervously as he watched the red start to subside slowly. He had seen his father's eyes bleed red like that right before he transformed into a vicious, feral looking fox. This was, of course, after they'd siphoned enough life energy from the humans that had been hiding in the attic and regained their bodies.

He remembered a time when a group of humans came into their borrow and how angry his parents had been about it. One of the females, the obvious alpha female, had filled the air with some foul smelling stuff that stung his eyes and burned his nose. His family had picked up and moved any time it seemed those horrible humans would come back. He hadn't known why they had stayed so close to the humans until later when they had absorbed enough latent life energy from them an gained their true forms.

"Yes!" Inuyasha snapped angrily, patience something he never possessed much of was slipping away quickly. If he weren't so desperate for the information, he'd have either killed the brat or left him to the wilderness already. "Tell me where the fuck she is already!"

"She-she's in the mountains!" The kit squeaked in fear as he curled in as much of a ball as he could hanging from the dog's hand. His little paws were pressed down over his ears and eyes were squeezed shut tight. "She-she helped me escape!"

"You're gonna lead me to her, brat!" Inuyasha barked as he glared at the tiny kit, his injuries forgotten in the light of finding his claimed mate.

"What?" The kit squeaked out as sheer terror rippled through his body. "You're nuts if you think I'm going back there! Do you 'know' how many wolves there are in there?"

"I don't give a flying fuck how many wimpy fucking wolves there are!" Inuyasha spat out angrily as red began to bleed into his eyes once more. "You're gonna show me where the fuck she is!"

It was not a question, it was a command from a stronger being. One the poor little kit had no option of disobeying no matter how terrified he was of the wolves. It was suicide to go back into that den, especially with that human girl down deep in the mountain. There was no chance of the dog holding him by the tail going in and coming back out, especially with the injury that was visible. Still, he had no choice but to do as he was told. The kitsune kit went limp in Inuyasha's hand and nodded his head in assent, which sparked a smirk to spread slowly across Inuyasha's face as he tucked the kit under one arm and took off into the snow, his makeshift crutch left behind as the pain became a dull thud in his mind.

- l - l - l -

Miroku grunted in discomfort as Sango shoved him from below to get him up the ladder. Ryo stood above him, pulling on his arms to hoist him up into their attic hideout. Miroku hated this weak feeling that spread through his whole body, but at least he knew what they were dealing with now. His limbs felt like jelly and his head was a bit fuzzy as his eyes slid down, wanting to close and sink into the comforting embrace of sleep. But no, not just yet. Some things needed to be discussed before he could get some shut eye.

With one more grunt and a great heave from Sango below, whose lovely delicate hands were deliciousness cupping his backside, Miroku was finally pulled up into the attic. He lamented the loss of those delicate hands touching him, but allowed Ryo to lead him several feet away from the trap door to one of the few chairs that they'd found in the attic. He sunk down into the chair and gave Ryo a grateful nod as his listened to the almost silent footsteps as Sango ascended the stairs to join them.

"So what the hell happened out there?" Tetsuyo demanded angrily, his speech completely steady from his lack of any sake in his system. Miroku was glad to see that the man had finally set the stuff aside, but greatly annoyed at his grumpy attitude at the lack of said sake in his system.

"Are you all right, Miroku-san?" Ryo asked, his eyebrows drawn down in concern.

"I'm fine, just a bit tired." Miroku admitted quietly as he gave the kid a reassuring smile.

"So did your little 'disappearing act' work?" Tetsuyo asked snidely as he rolled his eyes, apparently still a non-believer. Miroku only smirked tiredly as he looked up at the older man.

"Actually, yes. It was a complete success." Miroku said lazily as he leaned his head back and sighed in contentment. It wasn't the most comfortable chair in the world, but in the aftermath of such a success, it felt like a throne to him at the moment.

"You mean you actually disappeared?" Ryo asked, his eyes widening in surprise and admiration.

"In a manner of speaking. I was able to shield our bodies and auras with spiritual power." Miroku explained softly with a knowing look filling his tired gaze.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Tetsuyo growled in annoyance as he rubbed his temples. Sachiko slapped him upside the head and turned a nasty glare at him.

"Watch your mouth! Miroku just saved our asses, somehow!" She stated seriously as she turned her gaze toward the rest of the occupants of the room. "I couldn't see anything around us, but that toad thing and that... man couldn't see us. We weren't more than a few feet from them and they looked right passed us." She had no way to put into words the feeling of stark terror and vulnerability she'd felt when the man with long silver hair had found the frog thing.

"So you have something to use against them, but what are they and how the where the hell did they come from?" Sango asked as she settled onto the ground cross-legged at Miroku's right side. A small almost amused smirk filled Miroku's tired features as he looked at the tall, seated woman. A smirk that said he knew what they are and how they'd gotten here now that his suspicions had been confirmed.

"Do you remember the old ink paintings you see of monsters devouring people or destroying things?" Miroku asked leisurely, waiting for the nods from the people listening, an impatient one from Tetsuyo. "Well, those aren't pictures of hell, that's what they actually saw back in the feudal era. There were monsters that were in constant battle with the humans."

"Humph! Yeah right." Tetsuyo snorted while crossing his arms over his chest. Besides being grouchy from alcohol withdrawal, he was acting pissy since he was seated on the floor. "And they also had crazy stories for why the sun rose and why the grass was wet in the morning."

"That may be true, but in this respect, the paintings are accurate." Miroku explained calmly, no thrown off at all by Tetsuyo's skepticism. "They're called youkai, also called demons or just plain monster. The scrolls I found spoke briefly of them being mostly animalistic but the most deadly could appear human."

"So that man we saw?" Sango asked, one delicate eyebrow raised in question.

"He was a youkai, from his aura I'd say we were lucky he didn't feel threatened or we'd have been dead before we knew he'd attacked." Miroku explained, his carefree facade melting into seriousness instantaneously. "The scroll stated that around five hundred years ago, a very powerful priestess created a seal that subdued all youkai and banished them to eternal sleep."

"Wait, you mean like that little shrine that we saw in the woods with Kagome?" Sango questioned as she recalled several weeks prior the strange black smoke that had billowed out of a tiny shrine house at the base of a tree. It had struck her as odd to see a tiny shrine in such a remote location, especially with the strange events that happened afterward. That was the day of the winter solstice, a day that she normally didn't even note, but that seemed to be when it all started... The black smoke, Kagome's wrists being sliced open and her almost bleeding to death, and the animals becoming crazed and attacking people.

"I suppose that could have housed a seal of that power." Miroku said thoughtfully as he was picturing that night in his mind, it replayed vividly in his head and made his anger burn at his inability to protect her. "The scroll didn't say where or how the priestess sealed them or how the seal could be broken. The only thing it mentions about the priestess is her name, Midoriko."

"Wait, I think I heard Kagome's grandfather mention a priestess named Midoriko before!" Sango cried as she sprang to her feet. "He used to go on and on about her, and something called the Shikon no Tama!"

"I'd forgotten..." Miroku said softly as his eyes widened in remembrance. The old man had been sick for so long now, and the fact that most of the time the man spent chasing him down and plastering him with sutras for his cursed hand, he had completely forgotten his story of the Shikon no Tama. "No wonder her name sounded family when I first read the scroll. He said that Midoriko was the ancestor of the Higurashi's, didn't he?"

"Yes, he said that they were descended from her and that she was the protector of a powerful jewel that disappeared when she died." Sango said as she gripped his hand with her shaking one.

"I don't think this was a coincidence..." Miroku said darkly as he squeezed her hand back reassuringly as he glared at nothing in particular. "Kagome wondering off in the woods was odd and when we found her, I don't think she could hear us at all. She looked so out of it."

"Are you saying that dead girl is what caused all of this shit?" Tetsuyo snapped as he listened in on their conversation, his eyes narrowing dangerously with every word.

"She's not dead!" Sango snapped back angrily as she turned an evil glare on Tetsuyo, but the effect was spoiled somewhat by the tears she felt brimming in her eyes.

"You saw the same thing we saw. That wolf dragged her away... the same as Ryo's father." Sachiko said quietly with her eyes lowered and an apologetic look toward Ryo for the mention of his late father.

"Kagome wouldn't give up without a fight. I know she's still alive, that girl is too stubborn to die like that." Sango said firmly, she didn't noticed the doubtful and sorrowful look that Miroku cast up at her tense form.

"Either way, I think something bigger is going on here. Kagome is a part of it." Miroku went silent for several minutes as he tried to formulate a plan. As unlikely as he thought it was that Kagome survived, something was pulling on his consciousness and telling him that they needed to go find her. It was a feeling he was finding harder and harder to fight as the days wore on. When he lifted his eyes to look to Sango he was met with a look of hope on her perfect features that had been absent for quite some time and it synched his decision before him. He nodded to Sango and a small smile turned up the corner of his mouth.

"We're going to help you all get out of here as we promised, but-" Miroku started before he was cut off. His eyes remained fixated on Sango's beaming face.

"What do you mean 'but'?" Sachiko demanded sharply as she glared at Miroku. "You said you'd get us to safety!" Miroku gave her an apologetic smile before continuing with what he'd been saying.

"Sango and I are staying behind to find Kagome." Miroku stated calmly, seeming to ignore the chaos that ensued at his pronouncement.

"What do you mean you're staying behind!" Sachiko cried as she bounced to her feet, fear slipping into her carefully placed indifferent mask. She had put the mask in place when the silver haired youkai in the forest had left so she could numb her fear and not freak out before they returned. It slipped further and crumbled within moments as everyone spoke over everyone else trying to be heard. Tetsuyo sat with a rather self-satisfied look on his face while three other voices filled the air with complaints and reasons they needed his guidance.

"We don't stand a chance without you!" Ryo said in a hiss as he glared at the man he'd started to idolize, betrayal burning in his gut. "How are we supposed to stay safe without you?"

"Have you noticed that since Kagome was taken, there haven't been any more attempts by them to break into the attic?" Miroku asked quietly, his calm demeanor immediately making any more arguments stick in their throats.

"I-I didn't even notice..." Sango said quietly as it suddenly dawned on her that Miroku was correct. Sure, they'd had some weak ones try to trick their way in and they'd had that run-in with the foxes but... they hadn't seen the white wolf at all since he yanked Kagome out of the attic.

"What does it matter?" Tetsuyo growled out in annoyance and irritation as he rolled his eyes. "That girl has been dead for the last month."

"No." Miroku disagreed as he made eye contact with Tetsuyo, a slight smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "More and more I'm thinking she's still alive. She's the key to everything and Sango and I haveto find her."

::FIN::

July 30, 2012

Notes: Meh, couldn't think of a good chapter title for this... I hope you enjoyed it, the rescue should be in the next chapter and Sango and Miroku will be finding out Kagome is still alive soon. Can't wait for the confrontation between Miroku and Inuyasha, that's gonna be FUN! Anyway, I hope you're enjoying reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it!