Sesshoumaru let out frustrated growl as he ran out and over the balcony. He wasn’t about to lose Kagome—not now, not when they were so close to… He couldn’t let her go. Whoever had done this would pay and they would pay very dearly.

Sayaka and Inu Yasha ran out shortly behind Sesshoumaru, closely followed by Kouga and Kagura. The group gathered around the wall that separated Sesshoumaru’s castle from the rest of his lands. Kagura casually looked up to the sky, noting that the weather had taken a sudden turn for the worse. She pointed her fan towards the gathering clouds as she cleared her voice to gain the attention of the rest of the group. "We’ll have to go quickly, otherwise, we’ll lose their tracks. We’ll never be able to locate Kagome-chan after it begins to rain."

Sesshoumaru’s eyes flickered with an indefinable emotion as he turned to the stone wall. He ignored the change in weather, even though everyone else seemed rather concerned. He leapt onto the wall and looked back down at the rest of the group. "I don’t care if the weather is bad, I’ll not lose Kagome."

Kagura shook her head as she flipped through the air and landed next to Sesshoumaru. Her fuchsia eyes bore into his as lightening flashed in the distance behind her. Her hair, which was now out of the bun she normally kept it in, whipped wildly in the winds as she pointed her closed fan at Sesshoumaru. "I agree with you, we should continue. However, do understand that this weather is beyond my control. Whatever is causing this is a much greater power than myself—I’ll make no guarantees. Feh, I can’t even fly in this weather…"

Sesshoumaru gave one last glance at the group waiting for his next action and shrugged. "Let’s go."

~ ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~ -^_^- ~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~

Kagome pushed herself closer to the Taiyokai’s form as she felt the chill of the cold winds. She flinched when she saw a flash of lightening and heard the boom of thunder that followed. "Sesshou-kun, how much longer? It’s going to start raining soon…"

An uncharacteristic smile spread over his face as he glanced back at Kagome and laughed. "Are you that afraid of a little water?"

Kagome stared at him in disbelief. [Sesshoumaru doesn’t laugh like that…] Kagome cautiously leaned forward, her cheek touching his. "Sesshou-kun, do you want to go to where we were yesterday afternoon?"

A slight pause seemed audible as they continued through the forest. "We’ll go somewhere else today."

Kagome leaned back, as far away from him as possible. "Who are you really?"

"Huh?"

Kagome leaned forward again, a sly grin donning her features. "We weren’t together yesterday. Sesshoumaru doesn’t laugh as you did moments ago. I know that you are an imposter—who are you really?"

The two came to an abrupt halt and Kagome was gently set on the ground as he turned to face her. Gradually, golden eyes gave way to green, silver hair became bronze, and another man’s face seemed to suddenly emerge from the one that had appeared to be Sesshoumaru. "I was originally hoping that you wouldn’t realize that I wasn’t your Taiyokai, but I’ll not waste my energy pretending when I don’t have to. I am Enryomaru. I was sent by a woman known as Michiko."

Kagome took several steps back, worried that the man before her would bring sudden harm to her. "Why does she want me?"

Enryomaru chuckled as he moved towards Kagome more quickly than she could move away. He placed his hand on her shoulder just as lightening flashed behind him, making him look all the more menacing. "You are no more than a pawn at the negotiating table now, girl. Michiko-san has noticed that you seem to be very important to Sesshoumaru."

"What does she want Sesshoumaru to do? If it’s anything reasonable, you wouldn’t have to go through these ridiculous measures!" Kagome gasped as she felt Enryomaru’s grip tighten on her shoulder.

His green eyes flickered in anger for a moment before he threw Kagome over his shoulder and began running in the direction that he had previously been heading. "That is not of your concern, human. Sit still and I’ll try not to injure you, understood?"

Kagome allowed herself to go limp in Enryomaru’s hold as she began to conceive a plan of her own escape.

~ ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~ -^_^- ~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~

Sesshoumaru wasted no time waiting for the others as he sped through the forest. He knew that Kouga had chosen to carry Kagura, as she was less able to maneuver quickly without use of flight. Sango and Miroku rode Kirara while Inu Yasha and Sayaka followed behind them, making sure that no clue was left unnoticed.

As a bolt of lightening struck the ground shortly in front of them, the entire group came to a sudden halt. Smoke rose from the ground from where the lightening had struck. A low, feminine chuckle came from within the smoke. Sesshoumaru quickly drew his sword, prepared to do away with whomever had come to stop him from reaching Kagome.

The seven friends strained their site as the silhouette of the woman slowly became visible. With a distant flash of lightening, the woman’s face became visible. Her eyes were a vivid scarlet and the hair that whipped around her head was a shining ebony. Her scarlet gaze locked into Sesshoumaru’s eyes as she approached the group. "Sesshoumaru-sama, out in the rain and dreadful weather? Why is that?"

Sesshoumaru’s alert gaze suddenly became dull and his defensive stance became relaxed. He slowly released his sword, as though he had lost complete will to fight. He slowly walked forward, not stopping until he was within an arm’s reach of the woman.

The rest of the group tensed as they watched Sesshoumaru, each in his or her own wonderment of the situation. Finally, Inu Yasha drew his Tetsusaiga and stepped forward. His eyes flared in rage as he growled at the woman. "Who are you?"

The woman’s scarlet eyes rose from Sesshoumaru and focused on Inu Yasha. She withdrew a fan, much like the one that Kagura carried, and waved it gently in front of her face. "A mere hanyou? Speaking to I, Michiko, in such a tone? Well, I’ll just have to deal with you first, then…"

Inu Yasha’s eyes widened in surprise as the woman turned away from Sesshoumaru and began walking towards himself. Remembering Sesshoumaru’s sudden change in will after staring into the woman’s eyes, Inu Yasha chose to look away from her gaze. A low, feral growl escaped from his throat and his ears flattened against the back of his skull. "Don’t you come any closer to me!"

Michiko chuckled as she continued moving towards Inu Yasha, confidence in her eyes. "Are you afraid of something? What, do you think my eyes will stare a hole through you or something?"

Kouga snarled as he stepped forward, next to Inu Yasha. "Inu kuro, have you not the masculinity to look at this woman?"

Inu Yasha shot Kouga a cold glare and noticed that Kouga was staring straight at Michiko. "Don’t look into her eyes!"

By the time Kouga would’ve been able to realize his mistake, it was already too late. His eyes glazed over as he walked towards the woman. He leaned forward as she reached out and grabbed his neck. He showed no sign of reaction as she began tightening her grip on his throat, rather, he seemed relaxed.

Kagura would watch no more. She jumped forward and slid to a stop on the wet grass. She held her fan back, prepared to attack. Anger laced her every syllable as she warned, "If you wish to survive, I advise you to drop him."

The scarlet-eyed yokai grimaced as she side-glanced at Kagura. Reluctantly, she dropped the wolf leader. "If he must have a woman to defend him, then he isn’t worth killing."

Kagura snickered as she stepped between Michiko and Inu Yasha. "You can’t do anything to a woman, can you? Perhaps you can physically attack, but you cannot simply look into my eyes and take from me my will to fight. Am I not correct?"

The woman leered at Kagura as she took several steps back. She placed her hand on Sesshoumaru’s shoulder as she held her fan in the other hand. "Tell him that if he ever wants to see that human woman alive again, he’ll have to give in to my demands."

Sayaka drew her two swords, catching on to Kagura’s realization of the yokai’s weakness. "And what are your demands?"

Michiko chuckled as she leapt into the air and, with the wave of her fan, began to float away. "He’ll understand when I speak with him next—but only when he is alone."

Sayaka angrily leapt into the air, slashing at the disappearing woman. Before Sayaka had landed on the ground, the area clouded with a fog so dense that she was unable to see the rest of the group. She sheathed her sword and listened for whatever clues would lead her closer to her friends. In a matter of moments, a cold wind pushed past Sayaka and threw the fog back, allowing Sayaka to see the rest of her friends.

Kagura shifted uneasily as she set her fan back into a fold in her kimono. "She’s more powerful than myself… yet has many of the same abilities as I do. She is able to command all of the weather—much more than just the wind. She’s going to be a formidable foe…"

Sesshoumaru shook his head as he stood. He looked, wide-eyed, at his allies around himself. They were all watching him intently, waiting for his word. "Where did she go? That woman… she was talking to me… telling me that she wanted…"

Inu Yasha moved closer to his elder brother, curious. "She told you? She didn’t speak to you all that much…"

Sesshoumaru glared down at Inu Yasha. "She requested something that is not so easy to give in return for Kagome’s safety. For my own reasons, I shall not elaborate the finer details."

Kouga rubbed his neck gingerly as he, too, stood. "Sesshoumaru, I heard what she spoke to you about—why is that so difficult to do for Kagome’s sake? Would you lose her so easily for something so simple as—"

"It isn’t that simple!" Sesshoumaru held his hand over his sword as he looked pointedly at Kouga. "You’ve no idea of what that entails, so don’t just go speaking of that which you do not properly understand."

Kouga growled and clenched his fist, holding it up at Sesshoumaru threateningly. "What is there to understand? She’s gonna hurt Kagome if you don’t hand that thing over!"

Sesshoumaru’s eyes narrowed as he coolly moved his hand away from his sword. "Much more than just Kagome’s life will be at stake if I simply give into that woman’s demands. With something such as this, one must carefully plan and not simply jump into whatever instinctual action comes first."

~ ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~ -^_^- ~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~

A.N. Well… I finally got my website up an running. You can check my profile for a link or simply go to https://www.angelfire.com/anime5/ryokoyuy. I’m still working on some parts of it, but you should be able to navigate it fairly well. For example, you can go and view my Profile, complete with a picture of me! ^_~

But anyhow… ^_^ For everyone who was waiting for an update for Angels in Purgatory… Gomen ne, mina-san… (deep bow) I’ve been busy… You know, the usual, work, social problems, school, sleep… it all takes some time…

Oh—one more thing! The Inu Yasha movie is out on DVD today!! Rush to your local anime or movie store today to get your copy!!!

Ja ne,

Ryoko Yuy / V Shape Otaku