AN: Well how has it been for anyone who's still bothered to stick around? I know, it's been over a year, which is an extremely long time to delay an update. What can I say, life gets in the way? As much as most of us would like to think that we are fanfiction authors first, and human beings second, that's completely reversed in reality. Although that really in no way excuses me from not at least trying to update once, which for that I'm really sorry. Anyway, since I was determined to finish this fanfic, it's most likely better than I at least did update, even if it took a year. I know I get annoyed if I read a fanfic that never finished, so I'm trying to avoid doing that to anyone who is still reading up to this point. So for those of you who bothered to stick around, here is the long awaited for chapter seven! By the way, I'm also updating all my other chapters, checking for any missed mistakes and changing the layout a little, so ignore all the mulitple alerts you will get.

Now time for an overdue Thanks To: YASHA3393, AwesomeHachi1521316, Navitz, Musicookie, and pumpkinpi for reveiwing!

Disclaimer: Let's see, let's see...what do I own? The idea for this story, check. These words I'm typing for this story, check. The fanfiction account that this story is on, check. The anime and manga Inuyasha, that this story is based on...not checked. If you haven't clued in, that means I don't own Inuyasha.

はじめ。

Chapter Seven: Howl of the Wind

"Dance of Blades!"

Tossing the untrained priestess cradling the kit onto her back, Kilala once again flew out of the way of the oncoming attack. Kagome just managed to hang onto the nekomata and Shippo without falling off herself. "Thanks Kilala." She said to the demon cat who only meowed in response. Glancing over at her friends who were still in range of the attack, Kagome called out to them. "Sango, Miroku, are you two alright?!"

Still having the barrier up, the attack only rebounded off the barrier, causing no harm to the two inside. "We're just fine Kagome!" Sango called out, turning to look at Kagome, while Miroku moved his Shajuko into an offensive position, dispelling the barrier. "How about you and Shippo?"

"It's okay, Kilala got us out of the way in time."

Seeing everyone evade her attack so easily, Kagura's attention was shortly drawn away from her targets, if only for a moment, as she noticed the demons around her behaving restlessly. 'They don't think that I'm being serious. If only there weren't so many, I could trick those humans into destroying them all for me, then escape.'

Again she waved her fan, sending another Dance of Blades attack at the monk and demon slayer, as they seemed to be the only threats, as long as Kagome wasn't able to shoot any Sacred Arrows at her. From what she remembered of the human's conversation, the young priestess did not have enough arrows to be risking using them all up in this battle.

Not having enough time to erect another barrier, Miroku leapt out of the way of the attack to dodge it, as did Sango who also managed a flip in midair when she jumped back to dodge.

Being quick to react, Sango tossed her Hiraikotsu at Kagura once again, though just as before, the wind sorceress merely blew the weapon back, increasing the time it rotated in the process. The Hiraikotsu was now spinning too quickly for Sango to catch, and being unable to dodge the attack in time, it hit her upon its return, knocking her back.

"Sango!" Seeing the slayer getting hit by her own weapon, Miroku rushed over to her, concern evidentially etched in his features.

As the monk got to her, Sango moaned audibly, though managed to sit up. "I'm fine." She answered, before anyone could ask the question. However, the immense pain that throbbed through her ribcage caused her to suddenly grab them while she attempted to stand up, wincing from the pain. The attack from her Hiraikotsu had done a considerable amount of damage, yet Sango was sure nothing was broken at least.

Despite her response, Miroku could easily tell that the demon slayer was not in any condition to fight so soon. Of course, trying to convince her of that was on the borderline of impossible. "Sango, maybe you should go to where Kagome, Shippo and Kilala are, to make sure that Kagura doesn't attack them again. I can-"

"No, Miroku. I told you that I'm fine." He had aided her to her feet, by offering his hand so that she could use it to relieve some of her own weight when standing up. "Besides, you can't expect me to just watch you fight Kagura on your own with the Hell Wasps restricting the use of your Wind Tunnel."

"But-"

"I'm going to fight by your side, and there's nothing you can say that will change my mind."

"I suggest you two save your lovers' quarrel until later, and pay attention, otherwise you'll end up dead." Interrupting their little moment, Kagura sent her Dance of Blades at Miroku and Sango the moment they had turned their attention back to the fight. Immediately they managed to dodge, although Sango moved a little slower than normal, due to her injury.

It was obvious that they weren't able to fight Kagura from a distance. With the wind in her control, she'd always be capable of using it to deflect any attack they threw at her. The two hadn't even needed to communicate aloud of what they were planning – it was clear to them both that they had to attempt boxing Kagura in for a close attack.

To start the attack, Miroku pulled out three of his sutra, and threw the scrolls at Kagura.

'Do they honestly believe that mere paper would be enough to break through my winds when much heavier weapons could not?' Even to the wind sorceress, this seemed like a foolish move. However, it hadn't stopped her from waving her fan, summoning a gust to blow the scrolls away. They hadn't even gotten close enough to be considered a real threat.

Something cold and hard wrapped tightly around her arm – the arm in which she had her fan in – catching Kagura off guard. "What?!" Looking at, what she now saw to be, a chain she followed it back to its source. "What's this chain?" Standing just a few more paces forward, Sango had been holding tightly onto the chain, trying to constrict her movement, and the demoness frowned. It just became apparent to her that the earlier attack had only been a diversion.

Grabbing her fan with her free hand, she fanned it down with a harsh, sharp movement. "I am the wind. I won't be contained so easily!" The silver blades of her Dance of the Blades flew at Sango, traveling up the direct track that the chain had created to get to the slayer.

Sango hadn't moved, at first, keeping a tight hold on the chain to stop Kagura from moving after initiating her attack. Within the last second, she let go and performed a cartwheel to the side and evaded the attack. However, the move was not without its consequence. After regaining her balance, she had to hold her side, groaning softly in pain. When this fight was over, she'd be sure to take a well deserved rest.

Just as Kagura thought she had a second to spare, immediately she caught Miroku coming up at her in the corner of her eye. He had slashed his Shajuko, swiftly, and she was sure that if she weren't a demon, she wouldn't have had the speed to have dodged it in time. Although two of the jade beads of her earring had been sliced off – which just went to prove how close the monk had been to hitting her.

With the momentum in his favour, Miroku pursued after Kagura, again slashing the Shajuko at her. Except this time, she had been prepared for the attack, and had planned to create some distance between them so that she could return to being on the offensive again. Jumping back, not only did she dodge his last attack, but she had been on the verge on making that distance she desired.

Seeing the chain rising as Kagura was leaping back, Sango was quick to react by grabbing her Hiraikotsu that had been abandoned on the ground for some time and slammed it into the ground, catching onto the end of the chain too. 'That should stop her!'

The chain had done its job – Kagura was pulled back towards the ground, to her surprise. Having forgotten the dreaded item that wound its way around her arm, she couldn't prepare herself for the impact, as she fell to the ground. 'These damn humans are starting to get on my nerves.' She had first thought that this task would be easy because Inuyasha wouldn't be here to fight, however the monk and demon slayer were proving to be more of a match than she expected. If only she could fight seriously and just kill them, but if she did then that would only benefit Naraku, and then she'd never be free.

This would be it. With Kagura dead, there would be one less incarnation for them to deal with when pursuing Naraku from now on. All Miroku had to do was finish the demoness off with one swing. Except, he held his Shajuko in place, reluctant to move it. A serious expression was locked on his face as he contemplated what he was about to do; something wasn't right with this situation to him.

'I don't understand, why haven't the demons surrounding us tried to attack yet? Kagura could possibly be killed, and they don't even appear ready to even move. Naraku wouldn't have just sent these demons to only keep us from going after him and Inuyasha…then there wouldn't have been a need for Kagura to be here. Why is that? What could Naraku be up to?'

By now, everyone had noticed Miroku's hesitation, including Kagura who was getting quite annoyed by it. "What's wrong, monk? I thought you were trying to kill me, or are you unable to?!"

"Kagura, why did Naraku send you along with the demons?"

Eyes narrowed distrustfully, the demoness took her chance to get back to a vertical basis, when she figured that her life was being spared to be questioned. "Why do you think? Are you that stupid that you can't even realise when someone has been sent to kill you?!" Taking a wary glance at Sango, she noticed that while the monk before had lowered his guard, the slayer was prepared to attack the second she moved. So escape was not an option at the moment.

He almost expected this; Naraku was never the type to divulge too much information, even to those that worked with him. One could argue that if Kagura had known better, she was only lying, but Miroku was more than certain that she hadn't been told of her master's true intent. "Are you certain that that was the true reason for you being here?"

She had been about to say some sort of insult in retort, but paused on the first word when she noticed the demons around her stir. Was it her imagination, or were they reacting to something the human had said? 'Is it possible that this human could be right? I know Naraku doesn't care for my life, but was I really sent out here for another reason that he didn't want me to be aware of?'

"What's Miroku saying? Why else would Kagura be here, she only ever comes to fight us." Shippo commented from the distance, listening intently as Kagome was. However, while the young kit was doubting the sanity of their friend, Kagome couldn't help but begin to think of what Miroku had just said. "Does he mean the demons?" She suddenly came to the same realisation that the demons weren't here for the reasons they suspected. They hadn't even moved once to help Kagura, nor did they seem about to attack them to keep them from going after Naraku.

Sango looked back at Kagome, only taking her eyes off the wind sorceress for a second before quickly returning her gaze on her. "They haven't tried to attack us yet." It was a confirming statement, meaning that she now understood the same thing as everyone else. Though that didn't mean she was going to let her guard down for a second – simply because Kagura didn't know why she had been really sent to distract them, didn't mean she trusted Miroku being so close to her.

Not that she was willing to share with them, but Kagura knew better than to think that the demons there were for her protection. They were only there to make sure that she did her job and didn't attempt escaping. However, Miroku's question did make her consider something – if the objective was only to distract these humans, why would he have sent so many demons and also command her to come as well? Surely this number of demons could preoccupy the humans long enough for Naraku to do whatever he needed.

"Is that's all you have to go on?" Her normal bitterness returned, making it seem as if she could care less of their assumptions, despite that their thoughts were giving her some fair few things to think about.

He couldn't make out anything from that reply. Whether Kagura knew that much or not, Miroku was sure that her response was only a way to move on. It wasn't intended to give any sort of information, which he figured he would get little of, her being an enemy and all. "Not quite. I was just wondering what you knew of Naraku's plan that requires him to…need Inuyasha?" He didn't know if the incarnation already knew that Inuyasha had been turned into a female, so he thought it was safer not to say it so blatantly. After all, he could only just imagine the half demon's reaction once she found out that he had told Kagura. The resulting thought caused him to mentally shudder.

"You mean Inuyasha being turned into a female?" She shrugged. "What would I know? If I wasn't even trusted to be told the true reason for being here, then why would I be trusted with information as valuable as that?" That had been one of the thoughts plaguing her mind. Why would Naraku change Inuyasha's gender and then willing go see her? Inuyasha had to be the biggest threat – even if Kagome's power would obliterate him in an instant, she was evidently an easy kill if there was no one to protect her from being attacked – to Naraku, so it was uncharacteristically reckless of him to do so. Although if he had made a small enough mistake, Kagura hoped that Inuyasha would use it to kill the dreaded evil demon.

"Are you sure there was nothing else? Anything that could have-" Miroku didn't even get the chance to finish his question before receiving Kagura's remark. "I don't have anything else to tell. And even if I did, why would you think an obvious enemy would do so? If that's all you had to ask, then it's about time I ended this."

Their guards had been down now, and this would be the easiest chance she'd get to escape. Before anyone even had time to process what she had said, she waved her fan, sending some of her wind blades to attack the monk that had been standing foolishly close. He didn't even have the chance to block or dodge. The attack knocked him back a distance, though that hadn't been the worst.

Nothing had hit anything vital, but there was still a considerable amount of damage done. One of the blades that carved into all along one arm, while another had nipped a part of his shoulder then spread across half of his chest, and there had been two direct hits to his torso. Despite the wounds, Miroku had to be fortunate that Kagura's Dance of the Blades hadn't had as much power in that attack.

Few cries of "Miroku!" could be heard as his body hit the ground. Though the loudest of the three had clearly been Sango, who now turned to look at Kagura with murder in her eyes. Grabbing her wakizashi she ran at the wind sorceress, ignoring any pain that throbbed from her injury.

Taking this time to take off the annoying chain that had prevented her from escaping previously, Kagura had only freed herself of its bind when she noticed the slayer's attack stabbing her in the shoulder through to the back. She gasped in a mixture of shock and pain, before turning to Sango.

Sango ripped the wakizashi out from the incarnation's shoulder, opening the wound further. If Kagura had been born like most beings, rather than detached from Naraku, blood would have gushed from the hole. However, no veins ran inside her body, no blood coursed under her skin. Naraku didn't have need for a servant that could be weakened by the mere flow of the crimson liquid.

Hesitating from the astonishment of the lack of red substance that Sango expected to see, Kagura took this opportunity to cause a burst of wind that flung the demon exterminator away. Before anyone else could try to stop her, the wind sorceress plucked one of her ornamental feathers in her hair, tossing it up in the air. The feather enlarged and then she leapt up onto it, causing an updraft to float away on the now giant feather.

Moaning in distress, Kilala fidgeted restlessly, wanting to soar down and check on the slayer. While Kagome was too aghast with watching both her friends being knocked down to notice, Shippo had at least realised what the large cat they rode on wanted. "Kagome, I think Kilala wants to go to Sango." That caused her to look down at Kilala to see the bristling of her fur and feel the slight ebbs of Kilala wanting to charge forward. "Kilala, let's go check up on Sango and Miroku." Kagome hadn't even finished the command before the demon was soaring straight to her mistress.

Despite having open wounds, Miroku had been the one to get up first, albeit he had to use his Shajuko as an aid. He groaned a little and muttered a small curse under his breath; it had been too long since he last had been wounded by a demon by means other than poison and he wasn't as used to ignoring the pain of bleeding injuries. By the time he reached Sango, Kagome and Shippo had already gotten off Kilala who was now nuzzling her chin against the pained demon slayer.

"Are you okay?" Kagome asked the two worriedly, holding onto the large yellow bag that had mysteriously just appeared. She dropped it to the ground with a dull thud from its weight, and began looking through it for something that'll help them. Bandages were the first thing that came to mind. "Yes, I'm fine." Miroku replied casually but he had a hard look in his eyes as he watched Sango gingerly sitting up. It was difficult, and she had to grab at her side to support it, but she wouldn't rise any higher than from a sitting position. "But Sango…"

It was difficult enough to get to where she was now, and as much as Sango wanted to get on Kilala and fly after the female demon that attacked them, she couldn't get to her feet just yet. "It doesn't hurt that much." She quickly cut across anything Miroku had tried to said, and gave a stern look towards his injuries. "Kagome, go tend to Miroku first. He's bleeding and needs the attention more than I." Her hand began stroking Kilala's fur in acknowledgement of her affection. The large cat chuffed in response.

Waving his hand, Miroku attempted to dismiss the concerns she had about his injuries by insisting that her injuries were worse than his. "You shouldn't be so worried for me; at least I am still able to stand."

"What about Kagura? Isn't she still getting away?" Shippo had ended any argument that was about to begin by pointing towards the escaping wind demoness, resulting in everyone looking up towards her. She was already high enough that if they tried to fly after her she could easily disappear into the clouds, plus she also had a height advantage to attack them from.

That was enough fighting for her. After the stab and having been almost exorcised, Kagura wouldn't risk hanging around there to be killed. Especially as she was sure to have angered both of the lovers as she dubbed them enough for them to want her dead for some ridiculous vengeance. Following Naraku's orders wasn't worth losing her life over, and that was enough incentive as ever. 'I was being careless. They may be only human, but even going easy on them enough to not use my Dance of the Dragon almost costed me my life. I didn't expect to have to leave because of such a circumstance.'

Unfortunately, amidst the processing of her thoughts, Kagura had forgotten the reason that had stopped her from merely leaving in the first instance. At the obvious show of disobedience, the demons that had surrounded the clearing rumbled in low tones before the most restless of them shot up to attack the fleeing detachment. By the time she sensed the discourse break out from the previously silent demons, she turned back to see it too late for her to have done anything to cover for her apparent endeavour at escape.

With their attention solely on the woman getting away on the large feather, none on the ground had yet to notice the restless movements of the demons around them. However, almost simultaneous as the demons, Miroku was already preparing to pull off the prayer beads around his hand. With his target in the air, as long as he kept his back to the two females and two demon companions, none would be in danger of his cursed hand. "Stay back. I'll finish this." Regardless of the Hell Wasps that surrounded them, his resolve was set in what he was about to do. It was his hesitation and curiosity that caused him to lower his guard and not end Kagura's life when he had the chance, resulting in her injuring Sango. In his mind, he had taken full blame of her condition, and now he wanted to rectify his mistake even at the cost of his own health.

Sango began forcing herself to stand, completely ignoring Kagome's worrying about her injury making her unable to. Albeit, there had been a lot of pain trying to subdue her, but knowing what would happen when Miroku unleashed his Wind Tunnel was enough motivation to keep her standing. "Miroku, don't! The Hell Wasps are still-"

"WIND TUNNEL!"

It had been too late. He had pulled off the beads, releasing the powerful winds that began to draw in everything in the path of the black hole in his hand. The rushing sounds drowned out the rest of Sango's warning that even Shippo had strained to hear the rest of her words, despite having advanced hearing.

The demons had been about to reach Kagura, when she saw them gradually being pulled back towards the ground. She had only enough time to see what the monk had done before she felt the power of his curse slowly begin to pull her feather downwards. Eyes widening in fear for a second, quickly she began thinking of a way to escape with her life. She had been pulled some metres down before she decided to send a powerful tornado down on the humans to use as a diversion. "Dance of the Dragon!"

That attack had been instantly sucked in with the demons, although not without destroying a large amount of those annoying insects along the way. As deadly as it could have been, with Miroku not only braced to suck in the vast amount of demons into his Wind Tunnel (and also, enduring the massive quantity of poison that was currently entering his body) but also having such a curse kept Kagura's Dance of the Dragon clear from harming anyone. Yet, even without the attack ever reaching them, the cursed monk was still weakening; his knees almost buckling as each wasp his hand drew in only increased the dosage of deadly poison spreading in his system. As much as he knew closing his Wind Tunnel would alleviate any further suffering on his part, he refused to when knowing that it would leave his friends in danger of the remaining demons. Not to mention that he still had a score to settle with Kagura for hurting the woman that he cared for to that extent.

Again the demoness sent another Dance of the Dragon attack, and again after that one subsided. Though it didn't appear to have any effect, it did just enough as Kagura required to get away. The force of her blasts of attacks pushed the wind of the human's Wind Tunnel back enough that she could eventually pull her feather out of range. Also, it destroyed many of those pesky demons, who she knew would tell Naraku of her flight from the battle if any had survived. With a final call of "Dance of the Dragon!" she exerted more force into this last attack before finally succeeding in getting her feather to fly high enough so that it was out of range.

With a scarlet smirk unseen to those too far below on the ground, the wind sorceress soared above the clouds to cover her escape. Though she had been the initial cause of humans' detour, she decided at least to do one deed that would aid them, and more importantly, surprise Naraku with their unexpected appearance. Before snapping her fan close, she waved it once more.

Meanwhile, Miroku continued to draw in the remaining demons into his Wind Tunnel. Although Kagura had escaped, now he couldn't risk closing it as it would leave them open to any attack. His body felt heavy now – a mixture of poison and depleting blood wasn't exactly the condition he could continue to withstand for this long a period of time – but nonetheless he kept his ground and repressed any fatigue that would try to overtake his resolve. That was, until he felt a firm grip around his arm, surprising him almost that he would have fell backwards if he hadn't already braced himself for anything unexpected when unleashing his cursed hand.

"Sango?! I thought you couldn't stand." As much pain as there was throbbing in the bones of her ribs, Sango's grip on his arm was not any weaker than if she had done so while completely healed. She stood a little wobbly at first – she wasn't as accustomed to standing so close to the source of the powerful magic-induced winds as the monk – but once she regained her footing she held her ground just as well as he had. "Miroku, close your Wind Tunnel! You can't suck in anymore of those Hell Wasps!" She had to yell, even at this close distance, as the winds that pulled everything into his hand roared too loudly for anything less than a yell to be heard.

He had been about to argue, but the slayer hadn't given him any option. When she knew he wasn't about to close the black hole in his hand, she took liberty upon herself to snatch the prayer beads from him and forced it around the hand of the curse, efficiently sealing it and causing silence to surround the clearing once the deafening winds had dispersed.

Miroku couldn't stop himself from staring at her; he couldn't figure what she had been thinking that made her act as she did. Being that stunned, he didn't even notice when his body slowly began to fall back until he realised that he was sitting down. "Sango…why…?" His breathing was course as he panted heavily, and it came as a surprise to him when he realised how out of breath he was. His chest heaved outwards and inwards as his lungs struggled to gain as much air as it could.

Though her breathing remained even, Sango felt her body lagging downward too. Without the worry of the monk's life occupying her mind, the pain returned tenfold. She moved slower, careful not to pull anything as she made to sit down, but instead she found herself leaning into Miroku for support. "You were getting poisoned. Isn't it obvious why?"

"But the demons are free to attack us now."

As the words registered within her mind, she now noticed that the oncoming demons still charged forward, this time on their own. With the Wind Tunnel closed, the swarm planned on taking out the person responsible for it before he had the chance to use it again and finish them off. Unluckily for the two, now that Miroku had acknowledged how the poison had weakened him, he knew he couldn't stand up to the force of his Wind Tunnel to use it safely, and Sango had only now remembered her forgotten Hiraikotsu, which was too far for her to get to in time for use, especially in considering how slow she was moving already.

Just as the swarm were within striking distance, a glowing arrow streaked above the monk and demon slayer, purifying all the demons that had the misfortune of getting in its way. Any surviving demon had the intelligence to stop, lest they were to be next obliterated. The two humans turned back, with looks of relief as they saw their friend readying another arrow. "Kagome…" They said her name in unison.

With everyone else either absent or injured, Kagome had taken the opportunity to prepare what was left of her arrows for an attack. The demons had easily forgotten her as an opponent – an unscathed and fully powered opponent at that – and while her friends needed her help she would more than gladly use the demons distracted states against them. 'There isn't that many left. I think I can take out the rest of them without using all my arrows up if they stay together as they are.' With Kagura gone, the only thing in their way was the small group of demons that survived either getting sucked into Miroku's Wind Tunnel, or being destroyed in the onslaught of Kagura's Dance of the Dragon. And Kagome gathered that her chances of purifying the rest of them were quite high if they didn't decide to scatter.

She pulled the string back of the bow, and that was when the demons saw the very thing the young untamed priestess had already predicted. Immediately they fled, having a duty more important to them than losing their lives for a petty vengeance; although it wasn't as though they had much of a mind of their own to have done anything other than what they were instructed. As they flew upwards, after the traitorous detachment, Kagome had lowered her bow, her target no longer within hitting range. "They left."

"Were they only here to protect Kagura?" Shippo inquired while sitting atop of the still transformed Kilala, who was padding over to her mistress once again. She carried the heavy yellow bag in her fangs, by one sling, then dropped the heavy object with a groan by the two that needed the modern remedies inside. Sango patted the large feline on her muzzle in silent thanks.

Putting away the unused arrow, Kagome walked up to the rest of her friends. "But didn't we already discuss this before? If that's so, they would of attacked before."

"Maybe they were only here to stop Miroku from using his Wind Tunnel." Sango suggested while she rummaged through the bag. Though it was difficult for her to find what she needed, as she wasn't accustomed to the medicine in Kagome's time to know what they did. Seeing her trouble, Kagome had crouched down by her friend to help her in selecting the right items. "It looked as though half of them were those poisonous insects and that was the only time they reacted." From their view during the fight, it had seemed to them that the demons had only acted to shield Kagura rather than attack her for betrayal, and everyone else thought that Sango's assessment seemed sound.

The wind had changed, and Kilala looked up, turning in the direction of where the wind had came, her fur bristling. Shippo had looked down at Kilala, about to ask the demon cat what was wrong until his nose twitch, catching the same scent that he figured she had. His eyes widened and he sniffed the air again as he double checked that it was indeed that being's scent he could smell. "Kagome! Kagome! I can smell it! It's…"

"Can you smell Inuyasha's scent?" Kagome interjected hopefully, before Shippo could even finish or before she even had time to think of what she had said. The scent had been faint before, and that was even with the wind blowing the scent in their direction. With all the time they wasted by fighting Kagura, she should have known better than to think they had the chance to pick up that scent now. But she couldn't stop herself from hoping.

Waving his hands, almost hesitantly, Shippo resumed the sentence he hadn't been able to finish. "No. It's Naraku's scent!" There was a mixture of excitement and dread in his tone. Kilala hissed at the mention of the name, supporting Shippo's exclamation as she also could smell their nemesis's presence nearby. The meaning of this news was not lost on others, although Miroku was the first to say what the other two adults had realised. "If Naraku is this close, then there's a good chance Inuyasha is also there."

Hope had never left; in fact it only expanded once she gathered how high the possibility would be that she could see Inuyasha again, if they left now. Quickly pulling out the rest of the antidotes she believed was needed, she stood up shortly after, wearing a serious expression. "Miroku, Sango, I'm going on ahead. You two need to get bandaged up, but I have to go to Inuyasha now while we still have a lead." The two were shocked by the news they were given, and they blinked at the younger female. "But Kagome, if Naraku's there then it's too dangerous for you to go on your own." Sango had begun to say, but a curt wave of the hand and shake of the priestess' head was enough to stop any other argument. "I'll be fine. Inuyasha will be there. You two won't have to worry about me."

There was a glint of determination in her eyes, that none felt they could say anything that would convince her otherwise, no matter how logical their argument may be. "It would be better if we all faced Naraku together rather than you going on your own. And it's not as if I can't wait to-" Miroku had tried to offer, but immediately found a stern glare being directed at him from Sango. "Don't say something so ridiculous. Not only are you poisoned, but you're practically pale from bleeding. You need to be treated to now." She had crossed her arms, although winced slightly after having done so too tightly against her chest.

"I can't wait." Kagome added, her tone softening. "Whenever I needed his help, he wouldn't let me wait for him if he could help it. It wouldn't be right for me to make him wait anymore the one time he needs my help." It was clear on her expression that she felt guilty for not having being able to be by the hanyou's side already, and although as much as they knew letting her go on her own against Naraku was dangerous, Miroku and Sango both knew it would be asking Kagome too much to keep her away from Inuyasha any longer.

When no one spoke to stop her, Kagome turned to Shippo, trying to force a smile. "Shippo, could you please take me? I can't ask Sango for Kilala because they'll need her to catch up to us later." The kit had been taken aback by the question, but after a few minutes he managed his response. "Ah…sure." He didn't sound as certain, but once he jumped into the air and transformed into a pink floating balloon in a puff of smoke, Kagome knew that he was more certain of himself than his voice had allowed. She climbed on, and once he was sure she was sitting in a way where she wouldn't fall, he hovered away after the scent.

The couple watched as their friend left, and as much as they had wanted to go with her, they also knew just as well that in their state they wouldn't be of much help. Being the first to look away, Sango gingerly turned to the items Kagome pulled out for her, and began looking through the ones that were familiar to her. "You don't have to force yourself to sit up now."

"Huh?" Miroku blinked once, but hadn't made any sudden movements. His head was already swirling around in a hot fever, and he felt sticky from a mixture of sweat from the fever due to the poison, and from the blood coming from his neglected wounds. "What do you mean, Sango? Haven't you been the one leaning against me for support this entire time?"

Her hand paused just as it touched the top of a bottle she remember was the antiseptic, but she kept her gaze directed at the items before her. "The poison has gotten to your head." Although it was true that she was the one to need the support to sit up more than him, she didn't want to have to admit that she had to keep suppressing her own need for medical attention. She was certain he wouldn't let her try to bandage him if he knew that much. "Do you want my help or should I just leave you to figure out which medicine you need for yourself?" Smiling nervously, Miroku waved both of his hands; he knew better than to try act stubborn when he was offered aid when he desperately needed it. "I wasn't saying anything like that. Besides, I don't know anything of the medicine of Kagome's time."

Clasping her hand around the bottle, Sango lifted it up and sighed in relief. She already had a roll of bandages and a cloth to use, and kept them just by her leg for easy access. As she reached for some water, she cringed having shifted her torso uncomfortably. She withdrew her outstretched arm to nurse her injured ribs, however she found that Miroku had already placed his hand there as he put his arm around her. "What are you doing? I can't bandage your wounds like this."

His eyes only closed, and now his breathing seemed a little easier. "If it's the poison that's making me imagine that you're sitting this close to me, I wouldn't mind remaining poisoned for a little longer." Of course he was certain that he wasn't just imagining it – he hadn't been poisoned long enough to have hallucinations yet – but his senses were becoming dull from fatigue. He hadn't been sure that she was really leaning on him as he said until he had put an arm around her. For now he was content with knowing that she was close, although he couldn't see how a bright red blush was starting to glow on her cheeks. 'He really isn't feeling well. We're so close now and he hasn't even tried to grope me yet.' As much as she just wanted to indulge in the warmth of his presence, she knew that for his sake she couldn't. Inhaling deeply, she forced herself to turn towards him, forcing down any wince or cringe she felt wanted to come. "Just stay as you are then. I won't be able to help you if you try to move." With that she grabbed the first item she needed and prepared to clean his wounds.

Kagome was still sitting atop the transformed Shippo, as he floated over trees in a single direction. "Thanks for this Shippo. I just hope that I'm not asking too much from you." She looked down at the round being, but unable to see the expression on his face. "Don't mention it Kagome. It's a lot easier to take you without Inuyasha stomping around on top of me."

Flashing a small smile, although she was aware that he wouldn't see it, it soon disappeared as she looked up ahead. The wind still blew against their faces, with the scent Shippo followed lingering on its invisible waves. She may not have been able to smell anything, but she was sure when they were close enough, she'd sense the Shikon Jewel that Naraku always carried in order to strengthen himself. "I just hope that we're not too late."

Then a thought struck her. Why was Naraku outside of his barrier? He had always gone to such length to make it impossible for them to track him, so why now was he making such a critical error unless it was a trap? Also, now that she really thought of it, if Naraku did kidnap Inuyasha why did he not just disappear as he usually did so that there were no leads for anyone to follow? Something was amiss, but she couldn't place her finger on what it could be.

Shippo began to slow, and a sweat drop was forming at the side of the face his balloon like form had. "Uh…Kagome, I think I made a mistake."

"Hm? What mistake is it, Shippo?"

It was a little hard for him to have to admit, especially as he knew Kagome would get upset the moment he told her. However if he didn't say anything, then he may only be taking her in the wrong direction continually, which wouldn't help them any. "The scent's stronger now and…I don't think it belonged to Naraku." He had a feeling that he would need to explain further – something he wasn't looking forward to – and he could just imagine the look of confusion on her face as she asked, "What? It's not Naraku's scent? But I thought you said it was."

"Well I…I'm not very good with tracking. I thought it was Naraku's scent but…his detachments smell really similar, so from a distance it's too hard to tell the difference. I'm sorry, I didn't know it would be a false lead." By now he had completely stopped; the thin arms at his transformed side with small round yellow balls for hands dropped at his disappointment. And he had thought his tracking ability had improved more than that. Although he was still young, and had many more demon skills he had to develop, including basic survival skills. It hadn't helped that his parents were killed before they could teach him most of his demonic abilities.

Patting the round transformed demon she rode on, Kagome looked down at him sympathetically, of course mentally she was upset that this meant they had no lead to finding Inuyasha. "It's alright Shippo. It's my fault for asking too much from you in the first place." Just then, an idea came to mind and her eyes lightened expectantly at the fox demon child. "Wait, did you say it was a scent from a detachment? Do you mean Kagura's?"

Those large eyes tried to look up at the expression on the face of the teenage girl on top on him, however his eyes couldn't reach any higher up. "Yeah. No one else attacked us except for her and those demons that came with her."

"Then do you think if it's Kagura's scent that she's going to see Naraku? Maybe if we keep following it, then we'll find Naraku."

Shippo floated forwards once again, with a new found vigour once he knew that while it wasn't the scent he had thought it was, it was still a good lead to their destination. Even Kagome noticed that he was moving a little faster than before, of course floating was still a slow moving process, and their current lead was soaring way ahead.

Whatever hope had been renewed came to an abrupt end as the sounds of multiple growls could be heard gaining on them. Turning around, her eyes widened and a silent gasp escaped as she noticed that a group of demons (identical to the one that had left after Kagura), quickly gaining. Beneath her, Shippo started, yelling in fright. "Waaaah! Kagome, where did those demons come from?!" They were both sure that all that remained had gone on ahead – but apparently that wasn't the case at all. Some must have remained to stop them progressing any further after their missing hanyou.

"It's okay Shippo, just keep going! We can keep ahead of them." Kagome tried to coax the young demon kit; unfortunately the urgency of her tone gave way to her own doubt. In this form, Shippo's speed was vastly reduced, and those demons had appeared so suddenly that it was very possible even more hid in the forest's canopy. Although he kept moving forward, knowing that if he did anything that caused the demons to get too close, he'll become frightened and lose his concentration on the transformation he had. That wasn't to say he wasn't worried now, but at the current moment they were still at a safe distance.

The demons had closed half of the distance, and though the young fox demon did his best to not look back so as to keep a strong lead, he couldn't ignore the wringling sounds of flesh from the demons nearing. So he began making a mental checklist of some of the tricks he had which could help him get Kagome away from the demons – in his case, as long as he reverted back to his original form he could hide or outrun the demons, but the human Kagome had no such power to help her escape. Before he could think of the right item, he noticed a sudden whirlwind approaching them, and as there had been a wind sorceress attacking them previously, Shippo had been startled by the thought that they were heading straight into an attack.

On the other hand, Kagome didn't react as negatively, instead she only looked on curiously. There was a slight nagging feeling in the back of her head that she only just registered to being the pull of a Shikon shard nearby. In fact, she could feel two, swiftly approaching. "Shippo, I can sense two shards-" Before she even finished, the whirlwind had already appeared causing a shocked Shippo to lose his concentration and poof back into his original form while they were still in mid air. The rest of her sentence was drowned out by her and his screaming from the fall.

The whirlwind aimed straight for the falling two, engulfing them before either hit the ground. Despite it going straight through a forest, not one tree had been uprooted. Once it subsided, on the forest floor it revealed a familiar wolf demon who had just caught Kagome cradling Shippo. "Kagome, are you alright?" He asked, causing the teenager to blink at him, a mixture of relief and surprise. "I'm fine, Koga. Thanks for catching us."

Koga still held Kagome, bridal style at that, although he didn't at all seem to notice Shippo who was still there in Kagome's arms, making a comment about how the older demon had forgotten that he had saved two people and not just Kagome under his breath. "Where's that stupid mutt face? Did he just leave you to defend yourself?" He only took a quick glance around, but he hadn't need to as he could already smell that Inuyasha's scent was nowhere in the vicinity.

"It's not like that. We think Naraku took Inuyasha." Kagome explained, much to the confusion of Koga. "What? That dog was kidnapped by Naraku?" He had thought to put Kagome down first, which considering how her reply caught him off guard, he was just glad he hadn't dropped her. Certainly he didn't like Inuyasha, and thought the half demon to be less capable than him, but even still, Inuyasha wasn't someone that was easy to keep down for long, so he couldn't figure how it was possible for Naraku to get Inuyasha in a vulnerable enough position to actually kidnap the pain. In fact, why would he keep Inuyasha alive? The wolf was sure it'd be less of a hassle for Naraku to just kill the bothersome dog demon than to keep him alive. "How did that happen? Who'd want the stupid mutt face for anything, anyway?"

Almost opening his mouth to explain, Shippo had been stopped by Kagome before he could tell Koga of what happened to the hanyou in question. "It's probably for some plan, but none of us are sure." She smiled nervously, hoping he'd see nothing through her wary expression. Although she trusted Koga as a good friend and useful ally, she also knew that Inuyasha would never forgive any of them if they told Koga that she had been turned into a female. No one needed to second guess what the full demon's reaction would be – they couldn't think of a worst humiliation for the overly sensitive half demon.

Rather than wisely taking advantage of their prey's distraction, the swarm of demons had rumbled loudly to alert the three who had been standing idly in the forest of their approach. Turning towards the swarm, Koga stepped forward, initially ending the conversation there. "Don't worry Kagome, I'll take care of this sorry lot for you. Nothing's going to harm my woman while I'm around." He hadn't noticed that the girl had sweat dropped at the term he was so fond of calling her when he charged forward to attack the demon fodder.

Using the shards in his legs to speed up his actions, he had met the opposing insect-like demons head on and kicked through the few that were nearest. A pink glow had formed around his leg, strengthening the kick so that they had been sliced by the aura of kick before his leg made contact. After that he touched the ground for less than a second before quickly bouncing off again, keeping up the accelerated momentum he had. His claws extended out – not that they were as noticeably long compared to those of other demon species – and hacked into the demons he rushed through.

It was quick work thanks to the shards, that Kagome could hardly see the wolf demon slashing apart the demons by hand, while Shippo was just struggling to keep up with his rapid movements. Not even the demons in the fight could keep up. As soon as they turned in one direction, Koga had already fled through and taken a few demon heads on the way with him, and was already preparing to rebound back at them from behind. And in the time it took them to turn in that new direction, he had repeated the process and was again behind them, going in for another attack. With the last remaining demons, he had ended it with another kick, more powerful than the one he had started the onslaught with.

Demon parts still rained down, even after Koga was done and returning back to where Kagome and Shippo stood. That was how quick he had killed the extremely weak demons, and Kagome and Shippo were still struggling to count correctly how many times he had gone back and forth in the practically one sided battle. In the end, the two gave up and decided just to be thankful that they didn't need to fend off the demons for themselves.

"So what were you doing here on your own with all these demons around? Didn't you have your other friends?" Now that the imminent danger had been dealt with, Koga returned to what was important: discussing the safety of his woman.

"Miroku and Sango were hurt in a fight against Kagura. Shippo and I had to go on ahead by ourselves." For a moment, Kagome paused, wondering if her friends were still safe. If there had been some demons lingering around here to wait to attack them, she could only hope that there were none back at the clearing. Seeing the concern in her face, Shippo decided to add in his opinion on the matter. "But they still have Kilala to protect them at least." That much was true, and it made it easier for Kagome to try move on without feeling as guilty. "Yeah, that's right. So Koga, what brought you all the way here?"

"I came here when I caught scent of Naraku. It was only for a short while, but he was outside of his barrier long enough for me to get some idea of what direction he's in. Then I noticed your scent was near and decided to come check on you. I wanted to make sure that stupid mutt was keeping you safe for me." As he spoke of coming to see Kagome, he had taken her hands into his, clasping them lightly in affection. Regardless of how sincere his expression was, she couldn't seem to respond with anything other than a sheepish expression. "That was…that was really thoughtful of you, Koga." It took a few more seconds of processing, before Kagome's mind replayed the section of his reply that caused her to pull her hands free of his and stare at him with a determined expression. "Did you just say that you knew where Naraku is? Could you please take me there?"

The rapid change of emotion from what he thought to be modestly shy to a strong determination had Koga fumbling for a minute before he could finally reply confidently back at her. "Yeah, I know where Naraku may be. But I can't take you there. It's too dangerous for you to be anywhere near someone like Naraku." Not only was it evident in his tone and expression, but even by the way he put both of his hands onto her shoulders, and softly squeezed them a little, expressed the concern he had for her wellbeing. Although one of the things he admired her was because of her bravery and willingness to help anyone, but this was one of the times he would wish that she could stay back to keep herself safe. "How about I go and defeat Naraku for you? You just need to wait for me to come back; unlike dog breath I can actually kill that damned Naraku."

However, not even Koga's worry and reassurance to kill the troublesome hanyou everyone hunted down was enough to make Kagome back down. Her look only became harder, leaving no more room for argument. "I have to go. Inuyasha needs me. I don't want to stay back where it's safe while he's in danger."

That was it; as much as Koga wanted to argue back he knew that wasn't going to help. Kagome could be stubborn, and he never wanted to do anything that would really upset her, such as disagreeing. Even so, he couldn't help but feel somewhat jealous of Inuyasha still being at the forefront of Kagome's thoughts, even when the accursed dog demon wasn't even there to get in between them. "You know, that mutt isn't easy to kill…he can take care of himself long enough." He had to try, and hope that she would be easier to convince if she thought that Inuyasha wasn't in any severe danger – of course he really didn't care how much of a beating that idiot got.

"Please Koga. I need your help getting there." There wasn't going to be anything that would stop Kagome short of Inuyasha herself coming there and telling the girl from the future that she was just fine, with an added 'feh'. Unfortunately for Koga, he couldn't do anything to win and already knew it; 'That damned Inuyasha, making Kagome worry for him like this.' he mentally cursed before sighing. "Alright. I'll take you there. Just promise me that you won't do anything to get yourself hurt, even if that mutt does need the help." It was the last thing he could resort to, just to make sure that she would be safe.

Kagome gave a nod, and smiled falsely in confirmation. Although the truth was she knew that was a promise she could never keep. If she did see Inuyasha at all disadvantaged, she'd immediately be the first to interfere, no matter the consequence for herself. A part of her did feel guilty for lying to the wolf demon, but the more vocal and resolved part of her that cared for Inuyasha immediately brushed off those feelings as she climbed onto the awaiting male's back, with Shippo on the top of her head, having moved there since Koga's previous advancements. Once he was sure she was on him safely, Koga ran off in his typical fast fashion, yet he slowed it so as not to lose the girl he cared for on the run as he would of with his usual whirlwind.

おわり。

AN: Sango's sword is called a wakizashi. It is NOT a katana, as most fans believe. The sword Sango has is too short, and if you looked in either the manga or anime, you can see it that her sword goes from her waist to not even passing past her thighs. In comparison, Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga in its rusted form, and Sesshomaru's Tenseiga, are both katana and if you noticed, their swords go from their waists to pass their knees. And for the record, both males are taller than Sango - this should give you an idea how different the lengths of their swords are. Katana are typically meant to be long, and not meant to be used safely indoors because of their length. A wakizashi is a shorter sword that while looks like a katana, is usually used along with katanas in a fight and can be used more appropriately in battles that are indoors or in an arena where there's little room.

To be honest...I don't know when I will be updating. I'll most likely be taking my time (between university, studying Japanese and taking time to make sure the chapter is written properly), but I will be putting up the next chapter before the end of this year. That much is certain. This time, I'm not going to make everyone wait over a year for another update...that isn't exactly what I'd think to be a favourable updating schedule. Also, this has been my longest chapter thus far. Which considering how long it took to update...I doubt anyone would accept it being short. So hope you all like it.