Chapter 3: Captured
“W-where…am I?”
Kagome felt so comfortable and warm, yet her mind was fuzzy; as though someone had stuffed it with soft, fluffy cotton.
She glanced around and noticed the she was in a large, unfamiliar room. The dimly lit room had a few lit torches in the corners of the walls, but the room was so massive that they hardly provided adequate viewing light.
It was then that Kagome had seen the floor, which was covered with different varieties of black and red silk pillows. And as she moved, she became aware of the fact that she was wrapped in a red silk sheet…only a red silk sheet.
Kagome slowly peered underneath the sheet…praying to the gods that she was wearing some type of clothing.
A large blush crept its way up to her face.
Nope.
Oh, Kami-sama… Kagome inwardly winced.
Then suddenly out of nowhere, a masculine and muscular arm snaked its way around Kagome’s waist. She had nearly jumped out of her skin when it had made contact with her, but for some strange reason, she had relaxed in its hold.
Tiny, loving kisses were placed along the side of her neck, as she instinctively tilted her head to the right; exposing the dip of her neckline, where her collarbone and neck were connected.
A deep, satisfied growl could be heard right behind her as the person leaned over to nibble at the spot of her neckline.
Involuntarily a moan escaped Kagome lips.
“Hey, idiot! Are you going to stop daydreaming or what?”
Kagome blinked from her lying position on the floor as she gazed at the angry set of green eyes from across her. She knitted her brows together in confusion as she sat up and studied the scene in front of her.
The dark room was barely lit with the exception of sunlight peeking through underneath a cloth-covered door. She immediately recognized that she was indeed in Kaede’s hut, but in front of her were two people sitting back to back; bounded together with a large beaded rosary.
She immediately recognized their outlines, despite the fact that she had only known them for a couple of days.
“I don’t know what kind of joke you’re trying to pull, but this really isn’t funny! My ass is numb from sitting here for too damn long!” Sakura spat.
“Alright, alright,” Kagome sighed irritably as she crawled over to the two captives.
“How long have you two been there for?” Kagome asked as she searched for a knot.
Shiori shrugged as Sakura tilted her head back to rest it upon the other girl’s head.
“We been awake for about two hours, but I’m assuming that we were here longer than this,” Shiori said calmly.
“And your little partner ran off with some monk and a mutant cat! She didn’t even try to help us out,” Sakura pouted.
Kagome was almost ready to pull off the rosary, when a rush of people burst into the room.
“No, no, no, no, no! They’re bad,” Kaname shouted. Miroku stepped from behind her with Shippo on his shoulder and nodded wisely.
“Their aura is flaring with evil. They may have been connected with the disappearances and deaths of some of the village’s families,” Miroku said firmly as Shippo jumped down and ran over to Kagome.
“W-what?” Kagome stammered. She hugged Shippo briefly before he hopped up on her shoulders and embraced her around her neck.
“Yeah, ‘Kaasan. They were found last night,” Shippo said.
Sango also stepped from behind Kaname with her arms folded.
“Someone had found all of you unconscious outside in different areas of the village last night. You were in front of Kaede’s hut, while Kaname was near the rice field. But these two were discovered near an area where the most recent victims were found dead in their homes,” Sango accused.
Sakura glared at the woman before her.
“What? Are you accusing us of murdering someone? Just because we have a different aura, doesn’t mean that we woul-”
“There’s no way that Kaname and Kagome would do something like that! Besides you two were closer to the houses anyway,” Sango retorted.
Kagome stood up and away from the two on the floor; staring at their faces.
Did those two killed the people that they're talking about? There's no way…
“How long has this been going on?” Kagome asked as she refused to take her eyes off of them.
“Four days ago…when you had left to go home,” Miroku stated.
“But we just woke up two hours ago!” Sakura cried.
“Even if they are different, I highly doubt that they could’ve done something like that. Right, Kaname?” Kagome urged, as she looked at her friend’s chocolate eyes.
Kaname shrugged indifferently.
“I guess so. But you have to admit, it was their fault that we all ended up here in the first place.”
Shiori tilted her head to the side, out of curiosity.
“I merely provided a way to escape. I had no idea that we would end up…wherever we are,” She said harmlessly. “Where are we, anyway?”
Kagome glanced back at the two captives. “I’ll explain later.”
She then turned her attention back to her friends. “They’ve saved our lives twice, the least we could do is to let them go.” She insisted.
Kaname frowned. “I’m still mad about that line-thing. I think they’re fine where they are.”
Sakura struggled angrily against the rosary. “Are you serious? You’re going to let us sit here because of that?!”
Kaname smirked. “We should.”
Kagome offered a small smile to the pair on the floor as she kneeled down to help. “But we won’t.”
“I don’t think that’s for you to decide,” A cold voice stated.
Everyone instantaneously turned their heads in the direction of the voice, only to find two more people standing in the doorway.
Kagome’s mood soured as soon as her eyes connected with them when she slowly stood back up. Sango quietly walked over to her best friend and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
“To what do we owe this pleasure, Kikyo-sama? Inuyasha?” Sango scoffed.
Kagome inwardly smiled when Kikyo narrowed her eyes at the remark. She walked over from her position near the door and approached the two on the floor; her eyes never leaving Kagome’s as she did.
Kagome raised her chin in defiance as Kikyo stood in front of her; both of them glaring into each other’s eyes.
“These two are prisoners of the village and they are to remain as such.” Kikyo said coldly.
“Listen! We. HAVE. NOT. DONE. ANYTHING!” Sakura yelled at Kikyo as she fought against the rosary.
Instantly, Inuyasha leapt from his place at the door and hopped in front of Kikyo in a protective manner.
Kagome’s breath caught in her throat while her heart felt as though someone had ripped it out; he was protecting Kikyo…he was defending her.
He had chosen to stay by that cold woman’s side.
“I dunno know who ya think are, but I’m not gonna let you talk to Kikyo like that!” Inuyasha threatened.
Sakura narrowed her eyes; refusing to back down.
“I don’t fucking care! You release me right now or I swear to Kami that I will commit murder!” She screeched. Inuyasha had flattened his ears against his head due to the shrillness of her scream.
Shiori leaned back to stare at the group behind her. “She will try it, believe me.”
Sango glanced down at her best friend only to notice that she was staring at the floor with her bangs covering her eyes.
“One night.” Sango uttered.
Everyone turned their attention to Sango who still continued to glare at Kikyo during the brief clash.
“If we allow them to stay captive for one night, then we can see if they are truly the ones behind the murders.” She explained.
Silence fell upon the entire hut as everyone pondered Sango’s suggestion. Then after a few seconds, Miroku stood forward; silently acknowledging Sango’s proposition.
“Kikyo-sama, I believe that it is worth a try,” Miroku said earnestly.
Kikyo glanced from the two captives to Kagome, as if she they were conspiring against her. She seemed reluctant, but eventually she gave a quiet nod.
“One night,” Kikyo stated before she turned to leave out of the hut; Inuyasha followed immediately behind, not saying a word.
Kagome felt heartbroken at the sight, and it seemed as though everyone in the room was aware of it. Shippo pressed his forehead against the back of Kagome’s neck and gave her a warm hug.
Sango also leaned over and gave Kagome a small hug before gently placing an arm around her shoulder to escort her out of the hut. Kagome was still upset, but silently allowed Sango to lead her out.
Miroku and Kaname also turned to leave, but were stopped.
“What are we suppose to do in the meantime?!” Sakura snapped.
Kaname peeked back at the two sitting on the floor and smirked.
“I guess you can take this time to become reacquainted with the floor.”
And with that, they both left out; leaving the two captives alone in angry silence.
~*~*~
The rest of the day went by slowly with Sango, Kirara and Miroku hunting for meat. While Shippo, Kaname and Kagome gathered vegetables, water and rice. There were no sign of Kikyo and Inuyasha for the rest of the afternoon, in which Kagome was grateful, but the thought of them together was still killing her inside.
And for a while, Kagome could feel a small rage building up inside of her.
“A heart should never be broken…” Something from within said to her softly.
“Let it out.”
Kagome shook her head, as if she was shaking out the thoughts in her head. She looked up to see the same pair of green eyes staring at her once again.
“You’re angry and you should let it out. Otherwise, you’re going to suffer even more,” Sakura advised.
Shiori had fallen asleep hours ago, while Sakura had remained wide awake thinking to herself the entire time. Even when the monk had returned to bring back firewood and lit it, Sakura still remained silent in her thoughts amongst the casted shadows.
It was until Kagome arrived, that Sakura took interest in the other inhabitant in the room. Kagome had come in and stirred the stew that Sango and Kaname had prepped earlier, but she was doing it halfheartedly since she was preoccupied with her thoughts.
“It has something to do with that miko and hanyou, right?”
Kagome dropped the spoon that she was stirring with into the pot of stew.
“How did you know that?” Kagome asked quietly.
Sakura dropped her voice so low that only Kagome could hear. “Miko, you’re so obvious. I could tell from the moment they came in here.”
Kagome turned away and decided to focus back on her cooking.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” She denied as she began to stir the stew.
Sakura tilted her head back and chuckled darkly.
“Of course, you do. Everyone seems to know about it and even Shiori and I could sense it. But I don’t blame you; the dead miko is a coldhearted bitch.”
Kagome stopped stirring only to stare at Sakura once more, who still had her head tilted back.
“...You can sense that she’s dead…?” She asked quietly.
Sakura chuckled again. “There are a lot of things that I can sense. I could teach you if you want.”
Kagome hesitated, as she wondered what the consequences would be.
“…Somehow, that sounds like a bad idea,” Kagome said warily.
“You’re talking to a dark miko. Of course it sounds bad to you,” Sakura said bluntly.
“I think I’m fine with what I have, thank you.” Kagome said quietly as she returned to stirring the stew.
“But what is it? This thing that you have…do you even know what it is? How to use it?” Sakura questioned seriously.
Kagome fell silent as she was doing her best to ignore Sakura’s proposal. There was some movement outside of the hut, and it was then that Sakura decided to whisper, just in case someone was eavesdropping.
“That dead bitch is standing in the way of your prize. You should take back what is yours…and the only way to do that is to defeat her. And in order for you to defeat her, you must become stronger than her. It is the only solution,” Sakura whispered heatedly.
Kagome shook her head.
“There are other ways around it.” She murmured.
“Like what? Wait for the bitch to suddenly drop dead out of nowhere? I think not, little miko. She has part of your soul…I can feel it. You have every reason to go after her and reclaim what is yours.” Sakura whispered back as she sat back up to look Kagome in the eye; green clashed with blue-grey as they stared at each other.
Kagome glanced around the room before mumbling:
“I’m not the only one who wants her dead.”
Sakura smirked; immediately knowing what she was implying.
“Clever little miko. Why dirty your hands, when someone else could do it for you?”
Kagome’s face remained serious as she stood up to grab various clay bowls for everyone to eat from.
“I’m not like that,” Kagome stated simply.
“But imagine if she was out of the picture. Your life would be so much better, so much easier,” Sakura purred.
Kagome, who was reaching into a small box, paused.
Life would be a lot easier without Kikyo, wouldn’t it?
“She should disappear, and then you could have what you want…” Something in the back of her mind said softly, as if to console her.
Kagome shook her head again as she continued to grab the bowls. Something was bothering her…as though nails on a chalkboard were being scraped in the back of her mind.
“No, I wouldn’t do something like that.”
Sakura narrowed her eyes. “You wouldn’t have to. The other person could just as easily get rid of her…and you would still remain pure.”
“Absolutely not! Why would you even suggest something like that?” Kagome shouted defensively.
“Because this is what you want,” The voice said; the irritating sound never ceasing, as it was slowly being drilled into Kagome’s mind.
“It is what you want, right?” Sakura asked with a smirk upon her face as she gazed at the pained miko.
Kagome’s head felt like it was going to split open because of the throbbing migraine she was developing. Her sight began to blur, as she was covered in a thin sheen of sweat and began to feel nauseous.
“This is what you want…what you desire, is it not?”
“No, t-this is not what I want!” Kagome yelled while tightly closing her eyes.
Please, stop it! Make it stop! Kagome pleaded with herself.
The smirk on Sakura’s face grew into a vicious smile, as she watched the miko in front of her struggle with herself. Tiny sparks of power were flashing as Kagome’s aura started to turn from a soft pink into a darker pink.
She dropped the clay bowl that she had in her hand onto the floor and as it shattered, Kagome placed both hands on her head in agony; willing the pain and the noise to stop.
Tears started to develop in her eyes, as an unsettling fear began to rise within her. She closed her eyes again, and the tears began to fall.
Please…
“Please…” Kagome pleaded softly.
“Are you alright, Kagome?” A familiar voice echoed within her mind.
“What?” Kagome asked it as she slowly opened her eyes.
And as she did, she came face to face with a concerned Sango.
“Are you alright?” Sango asked again as she stared into Kagome’s face; checking her over. “You didn’t touch your food.”
Kagome glanced around, only to notice that everyone was no longer eating their food and was staring right at her. She quickly looked over at the dark corner where Sakura and Shiori were tied, only to find that they were sleeping against one another.
“Oh…yeah. I’m fine,” Kagome said with a small smile. She looked down at her hand and realized that the stew in her bowl had gone cold. She secretly wondered how long she had been there like that.
“Oi, wench! Are ya gonna eat that or what?” Inuyasha called from across her.
Kagome looked up and quickly saw that Inuyasha wasn’t eating alone…he was eating with her.
'A heart should never be broken…' The voice echoed from within her.
Kagome decided to ignore him and change the subject by turning back to Sango who was still eyeing her warily.
“Did they eat yet?” Kagome asked quietly as she gestured to the two captives.
“Um…no, they haven’t,” Sango answered quickly as she watched Kagome stand up and cross the room with her bowl of food. She really wasn't hungry and didn't want any food, but she didn't want to waste it either.
Kagome kneeled down in front of the sleeping pair and tapped them gently on the shoulders; both of them slowly stirred.
“Are you guys hungry?” She asked tenderly.
Sakura was to first to open her eyes, and as she did, Kagome noticed that they flashed a dangerous bright color red before going back to their normal shade of green.
“That’s very kind of you,” Shiori said sleepily.
“Yeah, little miko. That’s really…thoughtful,” Sakura said surprisingly.
“I’m sorry if it’s a bit cold but-”
“It’s alright. It’s the thought that counts,” Shiori assured as Sakura nodded.
“I’m just really surprised that Shiori hasn’t tried to eat herself yet. Or me, for that matter,” Sakura joked.
Shiori glared at her from over her shoulder, as Kagome scooped some of the stew onto the spoon. But just as she did, Inuyasha jumped up and stared out of the window with his ears twitching rapidly.
Kikyo stood up as well and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder out of concern, while Kagome looked on in sadness. Suddenly and simultaneously, everyone's head snapped up to stare out of the window as they began to sense something.
Inuyasha was the first to approach the door carefully, and it was the first time that everyone had noticed that the entire village was completely silent outside. Inuyasha lifted the cloth covering the door and peeked his head outside to glance around. When he stepped back in, his face was that of deep concern.
"Something's not right," He said seriously. "I can't detect anything out there...my senses just go numb."
Miroku stood up, grabbed his staff and walked over to the door, cautiously. He pressed his back against the wall next to the door, and reached in his sleeve to pull out a seal.
He placed it between two of his fingers and did a brief chant, before placing the seal onto the cloth covered door.
"Whatever it is, it's hiding its aura pretty well," Miroku said. "It's really powerful, and it's obviously trying to search for us. But we're safe for now."
"It's trying to mess with our auras and senses. I can feel it," Shiori stated.
Sango rose from her spot and began to walk in another room to change into her exterminator outfit.
"Do you think it's Naraku?" Shippo asked worriedly.
Inuyasha shook his head. "Nah, Naraku's aura is completely different from this."
Kagome turned back to look at the captives and noticed that Sakura had fallen asleep.
"What's wrong with her?" Kagome asked Shiori. She looked over her shoulder again to glance at her friend.
"She's surveying the area outside." Shiori said as Sango entered the room.
Everyone slowly began to make their way to the corner where the prisoners were and stood around the three on the floor, waiting intensely.
Then very slowly, Sakura opened her eyes and as she did, they flashed red again before settling into their normal color.
"Well?" Kikyo asked impatiently.
Sakura glared up at the cold miko. "He isn't here yet, but apparently he has already killed in another place and is on his way here. He's using his aura to suppress ours, so that he can kill more people."
Everyone silently exchanged looks with one another.
"What does he look like?" Sango asked carefully.
Sakura narrowed her eyes in thought, as she tried to remember what she saw.
"He's a youkai wearing a cloak. He was covering his face and aura. The only thing that I could do was to get inside of his head. He's in a forest somewhere nearby."
Inuyasha stiffened as he glanced back at the door. "We might as well stop him before he gets here."
"But how could we do that if he's trying to numb us? It would be foolish for us to fight an enemy who has that kind of advantage," Kaname said wisely.
Kikyo turned her back, walked towards the door and raised her hand in the air. Immediately, two soul collectors were summoned as she walked out of the door; Inuyasha ran after her, calling her name.
Kagome felt a sinking feeling in her heart as he did.
"Can you release us now?" Sakura asked irritably. Miroku nodded as he leaned over to pull off the giant rosary.
Kagome stood up and when she did, she reached out her hand for Shiori to help pull the other girl up. Sango also extended her hand to pull up Sakura.
"Thank you," Shiori said quietly as she and Sakura brushed themselves off.
"We need a plan," Kaname mused.
"Something quick and effective..." Sango trailed as she started to think.
"But we can't go out there, can we?" Shippo asked as he looked up to Kagome.
"I think I have a plan," Kagome said softly. Then she turned to look at the newly released mikos. "Do you think you could help us out?" She pleaded.
Both of them shrugged and exchanged looks.
"What do you have in mind, little miko?" Sakura asked suspiciously.
~*~*~
"Kikyo..wait!" Inuyasha yelled as he ran after her. The soul collectors were carrying her through the late night sky, towards Inuyasha's forest.
The closer they got to the forest, the more powerful the presence became. It was sinister, yet it was weaker than Naraku, which made Inuyasha confident that the demon would be easily dealt with. However, he was still concerned about Kikyo's safety...considering that she was already injured.
It was a few nights ago, when Inuyasha had discovered Kikyo wounded in his forest. He immediately went to help her and stayed with her until she was well enough to walk.
It was when he had returned to the village, that he had discovered that Kagome had already gone home. He knew that she was aware of the fact that he was with Kikyo, but he wanted to explain the reason why.
But it was harder to explain than that, because not only did he take care of Kikyo during those few days...he had already pre-marked her for mating.
He knew that Kagome would be upset if she found out, but he was merely waiting for the opportunity to get her alone with the intention to mark Kagome for his own.
Kikyo was already dead and could not produce pups, but Kagome was alive and well, which meant that she could easily produce strong, thriving pups for him. Thus, he would have a wonderful family with everything he could ever want.
Kikyo was aware of what Inuyasha was trying to do, and was not upset with him. Clearly, he was in love with both of them and could never choose between them.
However, claiming them would require him to mate them at the same time, in which she believed that Kagome would strongly object to.
Kikyo no longer harbored any hatred towards the young miko, but was rather annoyed by the fact that Kagome could never fully understand Inuyasha's intentions.
But eventually, they would have to get along for Inuyasha's sake, something that Kikyo had acknowledged a few nights ago.
"Kikyo, watch out!" Inuyasha shouted.
Kikyo blinked out of her musings, but only to realize that she was too late as the youkai leapt up in the air to claw at her and her soul collectors; she never stood a chance.
Instantly, she fell and as she did, Inuyasha hopped in the air to catch her.
"Kikyo," He said softly as he landed onto the grass.
"I'm fine. It's not a deep wound," She lied. Inuyasha watched as the youkai landed in front of him. He quickly hopped over to a tree to gently place Kikyo down and rushed back to fight him.
He quickly pulled out the Tetsusaiga and charged angrily towards the offender.
"YOU BASTARD!"
~*~*~
Sakura's head snapped to the direction of the forest.
"Your friends are injured." She warned quietly as she stared back at Shiori, the monk and taijiya who were kneeling across from them.
Kagome, Kaname and Shippo who were kneeling silently behind her, slowly began to panic as they moved a little closer for more protection.
Kagome was nervously holding her bow in her hand, when she looked at Sango and Miroku worriedly as Shiori whispered the same thing Sakura said. Their faces immediately were concerned.
They were all hiding in between the huts, behind rice barrels as they were quietly waiting for the youkai to arrive, so that they could ambush him.
Shippo had placed several seals on various objects inside of Kaede's hut with each of their auras and scents on them, to give the impression that they were hiding there. While outside, Shiori had hid all of them under a protection spell as they waited; protecting them from the numbing feeling that was surrounding the area.
Kagome watched as Shiori turned around to whisper something else to her friends and then turned back to nod at Sakura, who nodded right back.
"Get ready," She warned. Everyone held on to their weapons tightly; Kagome with her bow while Kaname held her arrows, Miroku with his staff, and Sango with her Hiraikotsu.
Everyone watched as Shiori produced two daggers out of thin air, while Sakura produced a large scythe.
Kaede's hut was several feet from them and it was easy for Sakura and Shiori to see the youkai entering the hut. But just as quickly as it entered, it exited and slowly began to walk down the path towards them.
Shiori nodded again as everyone prepared themselves to jump out. Sakura stood up and quickly leaned against the wall, hiding in the shadows. She held her scythe in her left hand, while she raised two fingers with her right.
They began to glow a soft orange before she made a quick horizontal slash in the air; the youkai stopped walking and was standing before them; frozen on the spot.
Shiori and Sango jumped out first.
Shiori charged forward, armed with her daggers as she intended to stab the youkai in the heart. But she quickly found out that the cloaked youkai was well protected with an under armor, as the daggers bounced off of his chest with a clang.
Instantly, Shiori ducked and jumped back as Sango threw her Hiraikotsu at him, but it also failed to hit the frozen youkai because it had managed to put up a shield.
Sakura's fingers began to glow red as she placed them onto the blade of her scythe. She then charged out after motioning Kagome and Kaname to join her.
Sango stepped back as Sakura launched foward with her glowing scythe.
"Kamashi! Bunsan sa seru!" Sakura shouted fiercely. She swung her glowing weapon with all of her might and shattered the barrier as it connected.
Kagome immediately saw an opportunity and held out her hand for a bow. Kaname clenched the bow in her hand until it glowed a bright green from her aura. She quickly and carefully placed it in Kagome's hand and watched as she aimed it at frozen youkai.
Kagome's own aura began to surround her bow before she released the arrow and as it hit, the youkai disintegrated as he was being purified.
Instantly, the aura around them that was creating the silence disappeared and everything seemed have to gone back to normal; dogs were barking and the crickets began to chirp again.
Sakura stepped out as the weapon in her hand vanished. She approached the two mikos and patted them on the back.
"Nice work, but I think we need to find the dog and his bitch," Sakura said as everyone gathered together.
"Agreed. Let's go," Miroku said before he started to run to the forest. He stopped when he had noticed no one was following him.
"Monk, there's a faster way to get to them," Sakura said as she raised two purple glowing fingers.
~*~*~
"INUYASHA!" Kagome screamed as she stepped out of the purple line and rushed towards a bloody pile; the smell of blood hit her nose, despite the fact that she had human senses.
Inuyasha was bleeding profusely on the grass and as Kagome stood over him, she noticed that he had several gashes on his arm as well as a large hole through his chest.
The blood around him had soaked into his white hair, staining it crimson.
Kagome's eyes began to tear up at the sight of him.
"Kikyo-sama?" Miroku asked as he approached the unconscious miko. She also had a gash and was bleeding, but it didn't seem as bad as Inuyasha's wound, yet it was enough to make her unconscious.
Just as Kagome extended her hands to help heal Inuyasha, Shiori ran over to her and pulled her away; Sango did the same thing as she ran to Miroku.
"Something's coming and it's really fast," Shiori said quickly as she tried to pull Kagome back.
"No, please just let me heal him!" She cried as she was resisting Shiori. In the meantime, Sakura managed to create another purple line to escape.
"We need to get out of here, now! We'll come back for them late-"
Kagome looked back, just in time to see Sakura lying face down on the ground, with a cloaked figure holding her wrists behind her while standing on top of her back.
Instantly, everyone was on the ground face down with cloaked figures standing on their backs to hold them in place. Their grip on their wrists were powerful enough to crush them, but instead they were all developing bruises.
"So the youkai had friends, huh?" Sakura sneered as she struggled.
Slowly, a speck of white light descended from the night sky and landed silently next to a bleeding Inuyasha.
The light grew brighter as it took a glowing form of a man. And as soon as the the light grew brighter, it suddenly disappeared.
The light revealed a tall, slender man with short, dark hair and a young face. He was wearing a black kimono that had purple diamond patterns on his top left shoulder and wore a purple and white obi, which was above his black hakama and boots.
His dark hazel eyes narrowed at the scene in front of him.
"Are these the ones responsible for Kenta's death?" He asked the youkai around him.
They all nodded as the group of friends struggled underneath them.
"They're the ones, Changmin-sama. I saw them with my own eyes," The one on top of Sakura said.
"An interesting group of travelers...although, I don't know what you were thinking when you killed one of our own. It was a fatal mistake on your part," Changmin said as he looked down at the bloodied hanyou. He shook his head in disgust.
"Who would've guessed that the son of the Great Dog Demon traveled with such a variety of interesting beings. I wasn't even aware of the fact that he was still alive," He mused.
"Changmin-sama, what should we do with them?" The youkai on top of Kaname asked.
Changmin debated for a moment as he paced carefully in between the captives on the ground. Kagome stared at Inuyasha with tears in her eyes; silently praying that he wasn't dying.
She only blinked when she had noticed a pair of black boots were in her line of sight, blocking her from seeing Inuyasha.
"Unfortunately, we cannot execute them here, considering that we are on the Western Lord's territory. But because they have killed one of our own, we must take them back to our lands, so that our lord could deliver the punishment."
He then leaned over to grab Inuyasha by the hair and proceeded to drag him along the grass carelessly, leaving a smear of blood in his wake. Another youkai grabbed Kikyo by her wrists and also dragged her along as he followed.
But before any of the other youkai began to leave, they delivered a swift blow to the back of their captive's heads; causing all of them to blackout as they were also being dragged along.
Kagome's last thoughts lingered on Inuyasha's health, as she felt guilty for not being there and healing him in time.
The thing that worried her the most was the fact that she did not even see him breathe...
Not one single breath had left Inuyasha's body...
The image of his lifeless body was permanently engraved into Kagome's mind.
Please Kami...help him...