Sango quietly followed behind Inu Yasha and Sayaka. Since Michiko’s appearance, everyone had been quiet and the storm had completely lifted. Sango knew as well as anyone else that Michiko had put the storm on as a mere diversion and to make tracking Kagome all the more difficult. Still, there were other things than just Michiko’s sudden appearance and her mysterious ultimatum that bothered Sango. [When that woman was trying to kill Kouga… For some reason, all of us were unable to move to do anything, yet Kagura jumped to his defense. I thought that… they were still enemies…]

Kouga occasionally glanced to his side, seeing Kagura acting strangely. For some reason she no longer tried avoid his gaze nor did she even try to walk at a distance from him. Rather, she seemed to be acting rather familiar with him. He reached for his neck and rubbed where Michiko had apparently tried to strangle him. When he had awoken, Kagura had been standing right next to him, as though she had been guarding him. [But that doesn’t make any sense… What does she have to gain from defending me? After all, she could’ve gotten herself killed when she did that… I know that I carried her out here… but that was just a courtesy, not worth risking her life over… Maybe…]

Sesshoumaru stared at the ground below him as he walked back to his castle. What had been asked of him—he could, indeed, retrieve it, though it would be slightly difficult to find. But he was the only one who could. However, even if he did manage to save Kagome by handing that item over, what good would having her in his care be when Michiko used the item? Not even he, Sesshoumaru, would be able to protect Kagome from what could happen.

Sayaka edged closer to Inu Yasha. She understood that he wasn’t going to be the least bit happy considering that one of his best friends had been kidnapped, but he was making it seem as though she had died. She wasn’t sure if he was crying, but she could tell that his eyes were at least watery enough that he couldn’t see well—he had nearly tripped four times! Finally, she slid her arm over his shoulder and pulled him closer to herself. Not comforting him at a time such as this would only be selfish.

Inu Yasha flinched when he felt Sayaka’s gentle touch. He felt a twinge of guilt for once again being so worried over Kagome in front of Sayaka. He was ignoring her and wallowing in his own sorrow—what kind of man was he? Everyone, possibly with the exception of Sesshoumaru, seemed to be dealing with what had happened fairly well. Then again, he also wondered how many of the others realized just what danger Kagome was really in. The fact that Sesshoumaru had seemed as though he would be unable to comply with Michiko’s demands told Inu Yasha that there stood a chance that no matter what Sesshoumaru wanted to do, he’d still lose Kagome. Inu Yasha knew very well that Sesshoumaru never lost anything that he considered his own.

Kagura sighed as she noticed that, even after their enemy had been gone for over an hour, no one had chosen to speak yet. She thought back on what had happened and began wondering about the entire event. Who exactly was Michiko and why did she need something from Sesshoumaru? As she felt Kouga’s gaze once more, she recalled what had happened to him. Michiko put Kouga under her spell, yet Kagura had jumped to his defense. [Why did I do that? I could have gotten killed… but right then, it was like I didn’t care. I was too mad to care. That look in Kouga’s eyes reminded me of Kohaku when he was under Naraku’s control. I wasn’t about to watch another coward choke the life from someone… not him…]

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

Kagome sighed to herself as Enryomaru gently set her in a dungeon cell. He had been fairly kind to her—that is, aside from the whole kidnapping part. She had asked him at least once if he would simply release her and claim that she had somehow escaped, but he couldn’t. He explained to Kagome that he owed his life to Michiko and faced death if he did not comply with her orders.

Kagome leaned back against the cool stone wall. She realized that without her bow and arrows, she was defenseless. As she watched Enryomaru leave the room, she recalled her first visit to the feudal era. Considering the disasters she had faced since then, her first few encounters were no more than child’s play. How was it that she was able to defend herself? [When Mukadejoro attacked me—before I released Inu Yasha from the spell that bound him to Goshinboku—I was so scared… I was scared enough that I summoned powers I never knew I had…]

Slowly, realization crept over Kagome’s face as the thought dawned upon her. She had been able to use those powers while the Shikon no Tama was inside of her body! Perhaps now, since she was simply wearing the jewel around her neck, she would be able to use the jewel to help herself!

No, that wouldn’t work either. As grand as the idea was, Kagome realized that doing such a thing would have made her no better than any of the yokai that she had once fought for the jewel shards. She would have been using the jewel in selfish gain—the worst possible way to use the jewel. She remembered, from when Sango first explained to her the jewel’s origins, that the jewel would remain and grow stronger with evil energy if used selfishly. Only if Kagome could use the jewel selflessly would she finally be able to be rid of the jewel and free Midoriko’s soul.

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

Sango took in a deep breath as she sat on a chair in Sesshoumaru’s castle. As they had made their way back to the Taiyokai’s domain, Sango had been frustrated as she had desperately tried to develop a plausible theory as to what Michiko’s weakness had been. She crossed her arms and looked up, noticing that Kagura and Sayaka were the only others in the room. [Kagura was unaffected by Michiko’s spell… and then Sayaka suddenly was able to break from the spell as well… But Sesshoumaru and Kouga—two of our strongest—were immediately subdued by her. Perhaps… the only reason that I was affected was because I expected to be. Then… maybe it’s just men that Michiko is able to control… Yes… she retreated as soon as Kagura and Sayaka caught onto her…]

Sayaka watched as Sango seemed to realize something—Sayaka had no idea what it was—but it was something important. Sayaka’s eyes widened as Sango slapped her right hand into her left fist. "Sayaka-chan, she’s unable to affect women!"

Sayaka slowly took in the information, considering Sango’s idea. The thought seemed very plausible, once she considered it. Sayaka shifted her gaze to Kagura, who nodded in agreement. "Kagura-san, Sango-chan, do you think that we may be able to save Kagome-chan?"

Kagura leaned against a wall, turning the thought over in her mind. She was becoming bored in this castle, yet she didn’t quite feel like going out on some rescue mission. She shrugged as she looked into Sayaka’s eyes. "If she has such a weakness, she’ll have a way to defend it. This woman reminds me too much of Naraku—she’ll never fully endanger herself and will go out of her way to use every available resource she can to cause suffering and to personally gain from such suffering."

"There are three of us—I’m sure we can handle her." Sayaka replied coolly.

Kagura shook her head. Perhaps the taijiya understood what was being said, but Sayaka obviously did not learn much from meeting Naraku. A person such as that never would be so easy to conquer. Given the fact that Kagura knew that Michiko was able to control the weather, it should have gone without saying that simply facing her would be a monumental task of its own.

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

Sesshoumaru stood in Kagome’s room. He slowly made his way to the balcony of the room. No matter how much he tried to ignore it, her scent filled the room. He stared down at the gardens through which Kagome, his Kagome, had been whisked away. The wind lifted his long silver hair as he fell deep into thought. [Father… once he asked me what it was that I wanted to protect… if I had something that was precious to me. I thought that protecting something precious was a waste of time. I never imagined that I would be worried, much less agonizing, over the safety of a single human girl.]

Sesshoumaru absent-mindedly ran his hand over the hilt of his Tenseiga. [I thought that this sword was useless… Instead, it has delivered to me the greatest gift I could have ever imagined. Father was truly wise to have known then… that I would have needed this sword so… I heard that he used this sword to save Inu Yasha’s mother before he died… I had always thought that he had wasted his life, dying to protect that woman… but then again, he knew what was going to happen, how his time was limited. Now… now I think he made perfect use of his final moments. I know… I would gladly die if it meant that Kagome could live on.]

As Sesshoumaru sensed a natural change in weather, he turned around and re-entered the room. He was hesitant, but closed the doors behind himself. His eyes traveled over the room, finally resting on Kagome’s backpack. Her odd contraptions and personal items from the future all were held in that bizarre satchel. [Perhaps… if she is sent back to her time… she will have a chance…]

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

Kagome leaned back against the wall of her cell. Several hours had passed and yet she still had no idea of how to escape using the Shikon no Tama. If she didn’t do something with it, whoever that Michiko woman was would use the jewel for a much more sinister purpose.

Kagome’s thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of footsteps. With a swish, the doors slid open and a rather annoyed yokai woman stood glaring at Kagome. Scarlet eyes flared with contempt as they fell on the miko. "You’re the one? A mere human girl? Feh, not even a woman of striking beauty, yet you seem to have some hold over that man…"

Kagome remained silent, knowing that if she spoke, she would likely anger the woman more. Suddenly, Kagome remembered that one question still remained—what exactly did this woman need? Kagome knew that she had been kidnapped as a bargaining chip of sorts against Sesshoumaru, but for what? Kagome gritted her teeth and looked away from the woman, realizing that whatever the woman wanted from Sesshoumaru, it wasn’t anything simple.

Michiko leaned against the bars of Kagome’s cell. She reached her arm between the bars and lifted Kagome by the collar of her kimono, bringing the young miko close to her face. Michiko’s voice was deep and velvety, almost joyous as she spoke, "Do realize that if he doesn’t comply with my demands exactly that I will first torture you, then kill you. I’ll take my sweet time killing you, just because such a thing gives me indescribable pleasure, understand?"

Kagome nodded, now more angry than frightened. How dare this woman whisk her out of Sesshoumaru’s castle just to try to frighten and threaten her? Now, more than before, Kagome was determined to escape and return to Sesshoumaru.

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

Gomen ne, mina-san… I needed a break—this is probably the first long break I’ve had since Chapter 6. Yes, that’s right, non-stop from March to September—no wonder I was getting worn out. Not only did I need a serious break from writing, but I did get caught up with the rest of my life, simply put as: fighting with an ex boyfriend, (yes, same one as before…) enjoying time with my friends, meeting and spending time with a new guy—I must say, he’s worth it—and spray-painting my door black with a white Punisher skull. ^_^ new guy, new guy ^_^ (Perhaps that's why I've been away from the computer…)

I’ve seen the first half of the third Inu Yasha movie and plan to incorporate some of the… information learned in the movie into the next few chapters—which is also why I’ve been taking so long to update, I’ve waiting for the second half to come in the mail.

Anyhow, enough with the excuses, I’m sure you all understand how life can catch up with a person… new guy, new guy :-D

Working on the next chapter, I swear,

Ryoko Yuy / V Shape Otaku