InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Tangled Ambitions ❯ Desperation ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer- I do not own InuYasha or any of the original characters; they are the property of the brilliant Rumiko Takahashi. This story is an individual creation for personal and shared enjoyment of true InuYasha fans that I hope is up to the quality of the real series. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

Chapter 3: Desperation

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The man Akunin raises the blowgun in his hand to admire the polished wood in the sunlight and smiles, "I need to thank that old potion-maker, he really knows his stuff."

He is standing deep in the forest and he looks down at the young girl and the hanyou lying on the ground at his feet. "Where the likes of you belong," he sneers and kicks the red-clothed creature, "At my feet, you Abomination!"

He slips the blowgun into its special sheath, squats down and grabs one of the dog-like ears that poke out from under the long silvery-white hair and uses it to lift the creature's head.

"Look at you," he spits in disgust at the oblivious human-seeming face, "you're worse than a stinking youkai!" He releases the ear, allowing the head to hit the ground with a satisfying thud. "Your very existence sickens me," he stands up, "and there is nothing I'd like more than to paint this entire forest with your blood!" He raises his hands over his head and stares at them, picturing them bathed in red…

He closes his eyes and drops his arms with a sigh then laughs at himself, "but that would only cheat me out of a hefty fee." He looks back down and glares at the unsuspecting hanyou. "I can wait…you'll get yours eventually," he kicks at him again, "Filth!!" He spits on the ground near the lolling head.

He notices the sword in the hanyou's belt, "and who did you steal this from?" He bends over and removes it, drawing it from the sheath to examine it. He makes a sound of disgust at its chipped and rusty length, "too stupid to take care of it properly." He slams the sword back into the sheath and tucks it into his own belt next to his katana. "Might be worth a few coins once I clean it up."

His gaze drifts over to the dark-haired girl with entirely too much leg showing, "I do have to admit, cur…" He steps over the hanyou's body to stand looking down at her, "You have good taste in women."

He kneels, reaching out a hand to touch her pale cheek, to stroke the smooth line to her chin and then brushing the hair off of her forehead. "Yes," he smiles, "a very pretty bird."

He suddenly frowns a little and turns his head to look at the still smoldering leaves and the blasted remains of the tree that he had hidden behind. He raises a brow and studies the long lashes and her innocent face, "No…" he corrects himself and lifts her to remove the quiver of arrows and tosses them aside, "More like a fierce lioness!"

He jerks a thumb in the hanyou's direction, "And here I thought big-ears over there would be difficult," continuing to talk to her sleeping visage as if she were listening. He sighs, "Too bad really…" he pinches her chin to tip her face more toward him, "I like `em spirited." He lets go of her chin and shakes his head, "But you've defiled yourself," his voice rises with his temper, "associating with the likes of that!"

Something glinting catches his eye and his eyes are drawn to a small bottle dangling by a thin tie around the girl's neck. He reaches for it, "What…?" and snaps the string the better to examine it. Tiny shards of some crystalline material rattle inside and wink at him with an inner light.

"Shikon Shards," he breathes in awe. "1…2…3…4! Four Shards!" He smiles, laughs and kisses the little bottle then tucks it away into a hidden pocket. "This is too easy!" He stands up and bows flamboyantly to the unconscious girl, "And I thank you for your assistance!"

He straightens and puts his hands on his hips, "Now…" frowning down at them, "what to do with you…" He scratches his short hair and looks from the hanyou to the girl then back again. "I hadn't planned on two of you…Hmm…"

He takes a deep breath, shrugs and kneels once more next to the girl, lifting her over his shoulder and standing with a grunt. Shifting Kagome more comfortably, Akunin walks over to the hanyou. He leans over, grabs a handful of the red material on InuYasha's shoulder and begins dragging the limp form.

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Sango sighs tiredly as she slides off of Kirara's back in front of Kaede's home. The cat sits and Sango wraps her arms around the furry neck, resting her forehead on Kirara's head between the black-tipped ears. The cat rumbles and leans against her troubled mistress with her eyes closed.

Miroku steps out of the hut and watches silently, waiting for the young woman to notice him. She had taken to wearing her Taijiya clothes all the time since the Kitsune's disappearance, but her warrior's façade back-lit by the setting sun couldn't hide her weariness…not from him.

`If only she would embrace me like so…' His involuntary sigh of longing startles her and she straightens, wiping her eyes and turning her embarrassed face away from the good-looking Monk's observation.

She notices that the last bit of sun has dropped below the horizon, leaving the sky to the approach of nightfall. Already the boldest of stars were visible, twinkling merrily as if waiting for the rest of their brethren to come out of hiding. "Suns…" she says out loud.

Miroku steps closer and asks, "What?"

Sango points at a brilliant pinpoint and says again, "Suns."

He moves closer, almost touching her but not quite and looks where she is pointing. "Suns?"

"Hai, Houshi-sama - Suns." She stares at the emerging lights and explains, "Kagome-chan told me once that every star up there is a Sun, like our own, but so far away that it takes years just for their light to travel here and be seen."

"Light traveling?" He looks again, trying to imagine such a distance. "Amazing." He looks at the back of her head and says again, "simply amazing…" not talking about the stars now. He blinks and asks, "Did you find…?"

She shakes her head, still not looking at him.

He crosses his arms and sighs, staring down at the ground, "It's so quiet around here…without…"

"Hai, Houshi-sama."

She finally turns to look at him, "Have Kagome-chan and InuYasha come back yet?"

"No, not yet."

Sango gazes back at the deepening evening sky and the shadowy forest beyond the fields. "They should…soon." Crickets begin their serenade and other night dwellers join in with each unique sound.

She faces him again, features softened in the dimming light, "How is Kaede-sama?"

He gives a low chuckle, "All the villagers are almost fighting over who will have the honor of taking care of her." His grin widens, "they finally get to return the help and kindness she has given them all these years." He watches a small smile replace the sadness on her face and is glad of it. "She's like a Hime with loyal subjects just waiting for a chance to pamper her!" He chuckles again, "She certainly didn't need me here."

He reaches over to give Kirara a pat and slants a wicked look at her sideways, "I think they would chew her food for her if she'd let them."

Sango giggles and she sees out of the corner of her eye his hand, so close to hers on Kirara's shoulder. She blushes and bites her lip, stifling her laughter, and thankful that the darkness will hide her red face from him.

The last of the light has faded from the sky, bringing true dark and the end of another day. The stars only grow more brilliant with no other celestial competition.

Sango stares up at the nightly parade and her thoughts turn to the regrets that we all contemplate in the dark hours; personal demons in the mind that we torment ourselves with, even the things that happen that are beyond our control.

All mirth gone, she sighs softly and feels his hand cover hers. Her eyes widen and her heart does a rapid little dance. She covers the betraying flutter with her free hand but dares not look at him though she leaves her other hand under his.

"Sango…"

The pounding in her chest increases, "Hai, Houshi-sama?"

"…Are you hungry?"

One last skip and her heartbeat slows to normal and her shoulders slump a little, her breath coming out in a little puff, "Hai…Houshi-sama."

"Come inside then, there's plenty." His hand leaves her with the memory of warmth as he turns for the doorway of the hut. "They've been bringing food not unlike at some of the Great Houses when I exorcise the Evil Spirits for them."

This was said in a pious tone, and she spins on her heel to raise her eyebrows at his boyishly handsome face. She crosses her arms and says sternly, "Don't' you mean when you lie and cheat them into thanking you just so you won't have to sleep outside?"

He waves his hand at her words, "Unimportant details," and holds the flap open for her.

She walks forward and stops in front of the unrepentant Monk and stares him right in the face, illuminated by the fire from inside, "Oh…Maybe I'll ask them the next time if they think that the details are so unimportant."

His face looses its smugness and becomes uncertain, "You wouldn't…?"

She gives a feminine snort and "harrumphs" past him and enters the hut with her nose in the air, secretly satisfied that she was able to tweak his conscience.

"Sango!" He follows on her heels, "Just a minute!"

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She continues to alternately ignore and prod the poor Monk as she eats. Miroku defends himself the best he can, putting his foot in his mouth again and again to the amusement of the old one-eyed woman who watches silently, refusing to be caught in the middle.

The time passes and the argument dies down. Minutes turn into hours of uncomfortable silence as they wait.

Miroku listens to the fire snap and watches the woman seated across from him. She has been silent and staring at the door for too long…

He's startled when she suddenly jumps up and starts rummaging in Kagome's backpack that had been sitting in the corner all day.

Kaede is unsurprised and states the obvious, "You're going to look for them."

Miroku rises and grabs his staff that was leaning against the wall, "It will be difficult in the dark…"

Sango pulls the flashlight from the bag and stands, holding the silver cylinder for them to see, "Not with this!"

She slings her giant Boomerang across her back and heads for the doorway, "Kirara!"

The cat pricks her ears and leaps to run past her mistress and out the door.

Miroku looks down at Kaede, comfortably ensconced on her futon with her bum foot elevated on its own cushion, "Will you be alright, Kaede-sama?"

She shoos him toward the door, "Go! Before she leaves without you!"

He nods and dashes out.

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The Glade in the forest if easy to find considering Kirara and Sango had been here many times. The half-moon has risen and it's pale light aided their task. Truth be told, even though the small clearing took on an ethereal beauty in the moonlight, the Taijiya was beginning to hate the sight of it.

They land in the center of the clearing and the man and woman dismount. Sango works the control on the flashlight and beams its light around for a quick look. "Nothing new, Houshi-sama. All is as it was when I left them here this morning.

She pats the cat-youkai on the back and sends her forward, "find their trail, Kirara." The watch as the twin-tailed feline casts about for the scent of their missing companions.

Sango turns off the light, remembering Kagome telling her of its limited power and that it must be conserved. Something called "bat-er-eez". She grips her friend's belonging with both hands like a talisman, `Kagome-chan…where are you?'

Miroku is right behind her as they follow Kirara through the forest with her nose to the ground. Neither was willing to break the silence, much quieter here than near the village with the lack of crickets that inhabit cultivated ground and the occasional cry of some predator's prey.

Shadows are much deeper here, the trees blocking the moon and stars, and Sango reluctantly uses the flashlight, hoping it has enough energy for if they need it later.

Though the invisible trail goes first this way and that, it continues in a northerly direction with Kirara often stopping to test minute changes, and then moving on. Suddenly she stops with all four feet planted firmly, head up, tails twitching and eyes widely dilated to take advantage of every bit of light.

"What is it?" Sango flicks the light off and pulls her sword. She feels the Monk's robes brush her calf as he moves in closer.

Kirara twitches and with a deep growl, leaps forward too fast for their eyes to follow in the dark. They stand back to back and wait for a response from their four-footed friend, straining to see anything in the heavy blackness around them.

"Merroow," comes from the direction that Kirara had taken and Sango relaxes, recognizing the tone of the cry from long hours of practicing just such strategies. She flips the switch for the light and motions for Miroku to follow her, though she does not re-sheathe her Katana.

The cat-youkai blinks her large eyes as the beam of light finds her, sitting to let them know that there is no immediate danger. She is holding something in her mouth.

Sango gasps, "Kagome's bow!" She puts away the sword and handing the flashlight to Miroku, she rushes to take the bow from the gleaming fangs and runs her hands over it. Finding a small metal needle imbedded in the handgrip she tugs it free and examines the discolored tip.

He watches with curiosity as she sniffs the odd looking object with the padded end. "What is that?"

She frowns, "It's a weapon, Houshi-sama. I've not seen one before but I have heard of them. My father…" she pauses, takes a deep breath and continues. "My Father would tell us many tales, and these darts," she holds it up for him to see the tip better, "are the tools of a Shinobi, or assassin." She bites her lip and blinks back tears, "They are most often envenomed. My Father considered them dishonorable, he said we should meet the youkai on e-e-ven ground." Her broken words betray her emotion and she looks tearfully at the Monk.

He looks away to control his own feelings and moves the light around on the ground, one word echoing in his head, `…envenomed…' He notices the quiver a few feet away with arrows spilled across the grass and closes his eyes. The thought of something happening to the happy young girl that had befriended him…and believed in him, was causing him real pain.

The flashlight is yanked out of his hand and his eyes open to see the distraught Sango go running around in the dark, casting the light crazily over the trees and yelling, "Kagome-chan!" He watches with a weary frown and listens to the panic in her voice, unable to think of anything to say that would comfort her…not when he would like to join in.

He sighs and walks over to the discarded quiver and stoops to gather the arrows, placing them one by one back inside.

"Houshi-sama!"

He looks over his shoulder at her call, and follows her transfixed gaze to where the light falls on the blasted remains of a tree, the jagged fragments shockingly highlighted.

The both approach the debris-covered ground and the blackened and splintered trunk standing vigil over its decimated remains. Miroku spies and picks up what is left of an arrow, the head missing and fletching half gone, but unmistakably identical to the ones in the quiver.

Sango moves the light once more to better effect this time and they see several singed-looking gaps in the foliage of the nearby trees. She steps closer to him and puts her free hand on his sleeve. "Houshi-sama…"

He looks up from staring at the broken arrow in his hand and sees the same degree of emotion in her eyes.

"Do you think it was Naraku?" she asks.

He looks back at the mess at their feet and shakes his head, "Who can say," and tosses the shaft down. "We still don't know much," he spins on his heel and strides back to the bow and quiver where they had been dropped, "but I do not believe it a coincidence." She follows and watches him retrieve and shoulder them. "That first Shippo is taken, and now…" He points to the ground for her to place the light's beam there, and then carefully picks up the tiny dart lying in the grass, wrapping it in a small cloth he pulls from a pocket.

He looks purposefully at her, seeing determination replace the tears on her face in the dim sidelight. "Kagome and InuYasha must also have fallen to the same villain." He picks up his staff and waits expectantly.

Sango firms her lips and nods at him. Taking a bracing breath, she calls Kirara over to begin again her tracking.

The Cat, having sat silently the whole time to await direction, twitched her ears, stood and turned to follow the stronger scent of the Hanyou. Though the scent was now overlaid with the smell of his and the girl's blood, she was unable to comfort her mistress that there was no stench of death. Kirara stopped to look back at the two following behind her, sneezed and went back to leading the way.

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The night continues on, the moon passing overhead though it was often hidden by the dense forest's canopy. At these times they would use the flashlight to keep going until the moon was visible once more.

They were about to cross a small stream when Sango stops, flicks on the light and begins scanning the soft dirt bank. "Ah…" she frowns, shakes her head and looks to the left and right of the marks impressed in the soil. "One…" She crouches to better examine the tracks left behind and answer some questions that had been spinning in her mind.

Miroku squats next to her and tries to understand what she is looking for. "One what?"

She points to the deeply imprinted shape in the mud that even to an inexperienced eye, belonged to a human foot. "One person - either very heavy…" She looks at him, her eyes reflecting the moonlight off the water, "…or carrying something heavy. And here," she points a little to the side of the deep print to shallower marks, "this here is something being dragged."

He puts out a hand to touch the shallow grooves in the mud, "Dragged?"

She stands up, gives the surrounding area another glance and turns off the light. He stands next to her and she explains, trying her best to be professional and keep her emotions under control. Her lapse earlier would not be repeated. "My guess would be that we are dealing with one ruthless person." She looks at him, "We didn't find any…" she swallows a rising lump, "…any bodies, and they obviously put up a fight. If they were…dead…what would be the purpose of taking them."

Miroku stares at her, "You're saying they are alive?"

She nods at him, "I believe so. There is no reason to take them unless they are alive." She looks down at the muddy bank, "But there is only one walking, and to carry them so far…he must be very strong…" She shakes her head in befuddlement.

He frowns at her conclusion and thinks aloud, "He must be carrying Kagome-sama as she is the lighter of the two…"

She nods again and looks at the faint marks in the faint moonlight, "and he's dragging InuYasha." She crosses her arms and heaves a sigh, watching Kirara take a drink from the stream. "But still, to carry them so far…to what purpose…and where?"

Miroku switches his staff from one hand to the other, looking a little odd with the bow and arrows slung across his back. "Those are questions that will only be answered once we find them."

She drops her arms and straightens her shoulders, giving him a determined nod, "Hai, Houshi-sama." She turns and, stepping lightly and using a few exposed stones, she crosses the stream that the huge cat easily leaps.

Her lithe movements capture his attention before he follows this nymph-like warrior back to the hunt.

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The moon sets, and still they follow the enigmatic Kirara. The flashlight eventually gives out and they must trust the Cat's senses even more. She allows the night-blind humans to hang onto each of her tails, slowing her progress through the dark forest.

Kirara can hear them behind her, their footsteps and breathing loud in her sensitive ears. The woman has been pulling on her tail this last half-hour, more so than the Monk, and has begun to stumble…too stubborn to give up.

Sango blinks her burning eyes, straining to see anything in the blackness, 'I might as well have my eyes closed…' Her footing is unsteady and her breath coming in rapid puffs but she keeps walking…stumbling…

She hits the ground hard with a grunt, not remembering falling. She lies there, stunned.

Kirara stopped the second her mistress had dropped her tail. She turns around to sniff her nose in her beloved Sango's hair.

The Monk, still hanging onto the Cat's tail, is unsure what had happened and why they have stopped. "Kirara…?"

The cat-youkai, the only one of the three who could see at all, bends around to pull on his sleeve with her teeth and leads him to Sango, still lying on the ground. She pulls down on the sleeve until he is kneeling and directs his hand to the woman's back.

"Sango!"

Done with her task, the Cat sits on her haunches and begins licking her paws, 'nasty mud…'

Miroku is surprised when his hand touches what he realizes is the Taijiya lying on the ground. "Sango! Are you alright?"

She lifts her head and spits dirt out of her mouth, "Hai…" She sighs, crosses her arms in front of her and drops her forehead on them, "Just…" she pants out, "…give me a few…minutes…Houshi-sama."

He sits back on his heels in relief and starts to think. 'She's been on the go since Shippo disappeared, and we've been walking most of the night…' He frowns and berates himself for not seeing how exhausted she must be. He had been with Kaede-sama all day while she was searching…

He bows his head in shame, "I'm sorry Sango."

She lifts her head and turns in the direction of his voice, "Eh?"

"Hai, for allowing you to so exhaust yourself," he said contritely.

Sango raises an unseen eyebrow dangerously and repeats, "…Allow?"

He continues heedless of her tone, "We must stop to rest. We cannot see, and you are too tired to continue."

She pushes herself upright with effort, "Houshi-sama - "

He cuts her off, "Besides, we're in no condition to run into anything like this. Wandering in the dark is dangerous and we cannot expect Kirara to protect us from things we would normally avoid." He sighs and she stays silent, taking in his words.

She slumps and agrees, "Hai, it's foolhardy to continue." Sango feels the large warm body of Kirara lay down behind her and she removes her Hiraikotsu to set it down to the side. She reaches out a hand and searches for the Monk, grabs his arm and tugs until he moves closer.

"Sango?"

"We'll rest until morning," she says, still tugging till he is sitting next to her by the Cat. She lets go and leans against the soft fur with a sigh, feeling Kirara's rumble of contentment through her back.

The Cat curls her head around to touch her nose on Sango's leg. Her mistress lays a grateful hand on the large feline's head. The purring kicks up a notch.

Sango leans her head back, looks up and sees a few stars through gaps in the leaves, bright enough to be seen but not bright enough to light the shadows. Her vision blurs and she closes her eyes.

Miroku sits there unsure, listening to the low rumble from the Cat and the soft even breathing from Sango. His hand finds Kirara's warm body in the dark and he tentatively scoots around to lean back against her. He waits for a protest and gets no reaction, so he removes the bow and quiver and relaxes with a sigh, his staff held upright against his shoulder under his crossed arms.

He's just about to drift off when something comes to rest on his right shoulder. His eyes pop open. When he hears a soft sigh, he realizes it is Sango's head and he smiles. Carefully shifting his arm over her head, he lays it across her shoulders and pulls her closer. She easily turns toward him and leans on him bonelessly.

He rests his cheek on her hair, smells her unique fragrance and heaves a happy sigh. Still smiling he falls asleep with the gently purring Cat guarding them, her eyes open and piercing the dark…

- - - Earlier - - -

The pounding in her head is persistent, and the constant jerking sway of whatever she's lying on isn't helping the nausea either. 'If Souta is shaking the bed, I'm gonna…' The loud creaking ends that thought, nagging at her to open her eyes and see what it is.

'I don't want to…too tired…ten more minutes Mama…' The sound is not her alarm clock, and she frowns, 'what is it?'

Curiosity winning over sleep, Kagome lifts her heavy lids and tries to focus on…something…red… She blinks rapidly and her vision clears enough to see in the dim light her Hanyou lying next to her, his eyes closed and head lolling with every jerk. She tries to move and finds her hands tied behind her back and her ankles bound. She pulls at her bonds but there is no give in them. 'Damnit!'

Anger burns the fog out of her head as she looks around more alertly. There is not much to see in the shadowy space between the wooden sides of… 'Must be a wagon, boats don't---' A particularly hard jolt causes her to grunt, '--jerk this much.' She looks back at InuYasha and notices the heavy chains wrapped around him from neck to knee. She whispers, "InuYasha?" There is no response so she tries again…and receives not a flicker.

Kagome listens to the clopping of horses' hooves and is determined to get them away from that wacko. 'If I can…' She begins wriggling closer to the unconscious Hanyou and discovers that the muscles of her abdomen are sore when she moves. Picking up a few painful splinters, she reaches InuYasha. Pushing her torso up onto his, she puts her ear on his chest and gives a sigh of relief at the strong beat of his heart. Kagome uses her body to nudge him and softly calls his name again. Still…nothing.

It is then, while she is staring at his face hoping for a response, that she notices two more of the darts sticking in the side of his neck. '…That dirty…rotten…' She grits her teeth against her rising anger and inches herself farther onto his chest, trying to get far enough to reach them with the only thing she could use to remove them with…her mouth.

Laying half across him she manages to pull them one at a time and spit them angrily away, 'Damn things!' She relaxes against him with her forehead resting on his cheek, a little out of breath. One of the chains is digging into her hip and she moves a tiny bit. Raising her head, she looks at his sleeping face and says softly, "What are we going to do?"

After a few more minutes of shaking him and calling to him, she gives up and slides off onto the wooden floor of the wagon. The girl firms her lips and rolls onto her back, 'I've seen this in movies, let's see if it works.' Raising her legs up till her feet up in the air and bending at the waist until they touch the floor behind her head, she pushes and strains trying force her bound hands below her bottom, hopefully to slide them up the back of her legs.

Bent almost in half is not a very comfortable position, nor is it very attractive. But after minutes of panting effort and staring up at the evening sky between her thighs, her hands edge past their hurdle and are free to slide along the back of her legs…and get stuck behind her knees. She lies there trying to catch her breath for a few more minutes before unbending her knees and sliding her bound hands the rest of the way over her calves and past her feet, in front of her and of more use.

She smiles in triumph and lifts her hands up to examine the binding. It is a simple coarse rope but the knot is on the side facing away from her and too hard to reach with her teeth. She finally gives up trying to undo the knot and sits up much easier with her hands to help.

The wagon gives a great lurch and, by the way it is tipping this way and that, the ground must not be as well traveled and beaten down. The wagon soon comes to a stop and Kagome listens silently, holding her breath, as the man with the deep voice calls out to someone, "Hey! You there, fetch some water for my horses."

An older woman's voice answers, "Fetch it yourself! Have ye no respect for your elders?"

Kagome's eyes open wide. She looks over at InuYasha, so unnaturally helpless, and stokes her anger at this man's crudity and callousness. She reaches for one of the darts lying on the floor, takes a deep breath and yells as loudly as she can, "HELP ME! PLEASE! I'M BEING KIDNAPPED!" She proceeds to kick her bound feet at the closest wooden side, shaking the whole wagon, and continues to scream, "SOMEBODY - PLEASE HELP ME!"

Akunin whips his head toward the noisy racket coming from the back of the wagon, "What the…?!"

The old woman peers up at this rude man and brandishes her walking stick at him, "What's this? What are ye up to?" She squints at him with suspicion, "Who've ye got in there?"

The man turns back to glare at the old woman maliciously and she steps back in fear, "Mind your own business, Hag!"

She cries out, "Begone! Leave here, I want none of your trouble!"

He raises his hand as if to strike her. She cries out and backs away, stumbling for her home beyond the well in the yard. The thumping and screaming is still coming from the wagon; he curses and strides toward the back of the vehicle.

Kagome takes another deep breath for another scream and hears footsteps approaching. She gives the side one last kick and sits up, carefully hiding the dart in her hands.

Chains rattle and the tailgate drops. He's standing there, face black with anger and she feels her heart skip fearfully. He glares at her, glances at the still Hanyou, then reaches like a striking snake for the rope binding her hands. She gasps as he drags her out and throws her to the ground.

He watches her try to sit up and snarls at her, "Think you're smart, little bird?"

She turns her head and shoots him a hate-filled look, eyes blazing at the nickname, "I'm not a little bird! You rotten -"

Lightning quick, he grabs the front of her school shirt and yanks her upright, tearing the green collar with his grip. He brings her face close to his as he hisses, "and you're not smart either-" He looks down at the pinprick, sees the dart in her hands poking his stomach and looks back into her eyes.

She gives a little smile and says smugly, "Who's not smart?"

He pushes her away and backhands her hard, sending her flying back to roll in the dirt. "Little bitch!" he yanks the dart out and tosses is, giving a little laugh at her stunned expression. He walks over and yanks her up again. A bruise is already forming on her cheek and her eyes are dazed. He shakes her till she focuses on his face.

He sneers at her, "Do you think I wouldn't carry an antidote for such a powerful potion as is on those darts." Satisfaction fills him as her eyes widen at this taunt, and he backhands her again letting her fall. Standing over her limp form, he rubs at the burning spot on his stomach and laughs, "…Lioness."

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Translation notes:Shinobiis another word for Ninja. Himemeans princess or highborn lady of a particular house/family. Katanais a sword (duh!)

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