Kagome was running. She didn't know were but that didn't matter. All she wanted was to get away from the memory she had just seen.

"I hate him. I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, I hate him. Why would I think he would pick me over her? After all, I'm just his weak jewel detector. While she is strong, powerful priests he promiced to go to hell with. I'm so stupid."

Loud growls shot through the air as somewhere behind Kagome Inuyasha found his release inside his corps lover. Kikyo had finally won and soon Kagome would be left all alone in a world she could not escape.

Months ago, Naraku had discovered Kagome's dirty little secret and took it upon himself to destroy her only way home. Ever since then everything in Kagome's world had slowly started to disintegrate. Relationships were tested constantly, her mental state had been crushed because of the verbal abuse of her companions and her physical body wasn't much better. It seemed no matter how hard she trained or how much she tried, the miko powers within Kagome's body just wouldn't develop any farther than they had, which wasn't that much. She was a burden, and very few were afraid to tell her so.

Kagome ran faster as all the complaints of her friends came back to her. Every insult Inuyasha spat crule things at her, Sango screaming at her to leave because she wasn't strong enough, Miroku pushing her out of the way and telling her to keep out of it. Only Shippo had stayed by her side, but even that was gone because of his training in a secret kitsune village in the mountains. Nothing was going right anymore.

Soon Kagome couldn't run any farther and she let her legs give out from under her. It had just started to snow for the first time that winter and the fluffy flakes glowed in the light of the full moon. All she could seem to think at that moment was how pretty it looked through the trees.

=.:^:.=

It took the group three days to track down their missing member. Inuyasha used his nose and finally found her hidden under a stone ledge on a steep hill. She was completely still and her skin was blue.

"Stupid wench! What the hell do you think you're doing out here. We have more shards to collect you idiot!" Inuyasha roughly yanked the girl out of the hole of snow and shoved her on Kirara. "Hold on to her. We need to keep moving and I don't want a frikan icicle on my back."

It wasn't until late noon that the traveling party found a suitable cave to camp out in. Kagome had become coherent enough to realize that the group had grown by a person.

Kikyo walked next to Inuyasha, smirking at her reincarnation every time she could. It simply broke Kagome a bit more inside.

"Stupid useless bitch can't even get off her lazy ass for five minutes to help us set up camp." Kirara growled at Inuyasha's comment before laying Kagome on the ground and covering her with both tails. Sango huffed but kept gathering what wood she could find.

"Leave her alone Inuyasha. She isn't as durable as us. By tomorrow she will be fine and we can keep moving." Miroku spoke up as he placed more sutras on the cave entrance.

"She could at least try. Even being as weak as she is I'm sure she could at least help gather wood. Or maybe even that is giving her too much credit." Kikyo sneered and Inuyasha nodded in agreement.

"I'm sorry." Kagome whispered.

"Oh now she's sorry! After all the times we had to save her she only sais sorry now. Dum wench." Inuyasha moved toward the end of the cave and sat on a large bolder, Kikyo not far behind. "You should apologize about a lot more than that. Your weak, stupid, have no power."

"I'm sorry."

"You can't use any other weapon besides a bow, and you suck at that too!"

"I'm sorry." They could hear her crying now.

"God and to top it all off you're pathetic! Stop crying and make some food you whore." Kikyo laughed and glanced up at her mate. "You know what? It isn't even worth it. I'm going to bed."

The couple started farther down the cave, most likely to do something Kagome didn't want to think about. Sango tried to call Kirara into bed but the cat wouldn't move so she gave up so she cuddled up to Miroku on the opposite wall.

Around three or four in the morning, the fire began to die but no one was awake except for Kagome. Kirara had moved in her sleep and was no longer toughing her. She calmly lifted up and moved to put another log in the fire when she froze. She had felt it earlier, but dismissed it for her imagination. But now it was there, right outside the cave entrance.

It was still bright out because of the moon, so it was easy to see the glow of Naraku's white baboon pelt.

"Hello dear. How have you been? You don't look so well." Naraku studied his new experiment. She didn't move, didn't blink. It was completely silent between them and it seemed as if the hanyou could almost literally see her crumbling. She would try to fight him but in the state she was in it wouldn't pose a challenge to him.

"Come with me." She shook her head.

"I don't want to. Leave me alone."

Naraku laughed. "Well dear, you don't really have a choice." Something caught Kagome's attention but before she could call for help, Hakudoshi had already knocked her to the ground unconscious.

"Hurry before the others wake to find their precious shard finder gone."

=.:^:.=

Kagome felt cold. It was dark inside her cell and the temperature had dropped significantly even for it snowing in the outside world. She had only been awake a moment when a door she hadn't been able to see opened and an annoyed looking Kagura stepped in.

"Get up." Kagome slowly tried to stand but finally made it with a rough tug from the taller female. "Hurry before we both get in trouble!"

They swiftly moved from hallway to hallway. The shoji doors indicated they were in some kind of castle or high ranking estate because of their pictures of battles and noble beings. A similar door stood at the end of a long hallway and opened when Kagura flicked her wrist. In side there were dark stairs leading to the basement of the castle.

Kagome tried to struggle but something seemed to be calling her toward the bottom of the stairs. Something evil yet alluring.

It didn't take long to figure out she was being called by Naraku's yoki.

When they finally reached the bottom, Kagome gasped at what she saw.

Naraku was sitting in front of a giant dais, and on the dais was a huge Inu demon. His fur was black but the hair around his muzzle was almost completely gray. A barrier encased the giant beast, preserving his body which no longer held any life. Ancient armor rested next to him along with two blades; one a worn males sword and another slightly smaller females sword.

"Do you like it?" Naraku turned and watched Kagura yank Kagome to a low stone table and force her to lay on it while leather ties secured her ankles and wrists. "He is an ancient demon, one that has been lost for longer than any can remember. The first Two Tail Inu, an all-powerful creature with strength unlike any other. Have you ever heard the legend of the Two Tail my dear Kagome? Probably not."

Kagome thrashed and cried as more ties laced her torso and neck. She couldn't move away as her male captor ran his hand over her body. When she tried to use her miko powers they simply bounced back into her and zapped her system.

"Oh now don't hurt yourself. The rope it enchanted with demon magic so your gifts won't be able to get past them. Why don't I tell you my story while you calm down?" Naraku moved back to look at the long dead demon.

"Many millennia ago, there was a woman who had nothing. No home, nor family. Not even a copper piece to her name. But there was one thing she had that she loved more than anything. A two tailed demon dog, much like that cat your slayer friend has. That dog was everything to the woman and the woman was everything to the dog. They spent their entire lives together in the valleys surrounding this mountain and never left one another alone. But one day, a nearby village discovered them and proceeded to hunt them down. You see it was practically forbidden for a human and demon to be together in any way, even more so than today. Well, during the hunt the woman was killed. The dog demon was so enraged that he exploded into a giant and was going to kill everything in sight. But the spirit of the woman entered his body and told him to spare them. He let all the villagers go and tried to revert back to his mortal form, but the second soul inside him altered the processes, and instead he turned into a man with the senses of a demon dog, and thus the Inu demons were created. It is said that for the rest of his life he protected those of innocence from any evil that wish to cause harm, and eventually he died. The burial place was always kept a secret, guarded by the same village that's ancestors killed the women. I however found it out. It was of no difficulty to get rid of those pests."

Kagome had stilled but had not yet given up her fight. "So what does this all have to do with me? Why don't you just absorb his body and be done with it!" Naraku returned to her side and sat next to her.

"Well you see I tried. The barrier is old and has lost most of its power but the blood with in his veins is very powerful still. When I tried to bond it with my own, the power was overwhelming, too great for even me. But you, with your miko powers and pure heart, should be able to hold it at bay." Naraku began to trace the cords of hide over Kagome's neck, which was keeping her head from moving.

"What's the catch?" Naraku burst into laughter.

"You truly are a smart girl. Why that fool Inuyasha chose that imbecile over you is beyond me. To answer your question dear, the effects of the blood are so great, it will most likely drive you insane. But not to worry, by that time I will have absorbed you into my body and you will be long dead." More laughter left him.

"Now shall we get started? I already took the liberty of collecting the blood we need so all you have to do is drink it." Kagome watched wide eyed as minions began to carry out three large jars of dark blood.

"I won't drink it." Her voice was shaky.

"Well you really have no choice in the matter, now do you?" Kagura reappeared with some kind of metal ring and proceeded to force it into Kagome's jaw. It pulled so tight, there was no way she could get it out without her hands.

"Now Kagome, let us try to make this as clean as possible." Kagura lifted the first jar and began pouring the contents into Kagome's mouth. Whenever she tried to breathe blood would run down her cheeks and into her hair. The blood itself was sweat but it was also thick with clots from sitting out. It made her gag and loose more blood.

The first jar was soon discarded, later followed by the second. As Naraku handed Kagura the third, the effects of the blood had already begun and Kagome was starting to hallucinate and mumble around her gag. The wind witch almost felt bad for the young girl.

As the last few drops were forced down, pressure began to build in the air. Power surges from both Kagome and the dead Inu flashed back and forth and soon the ropes began to tear apart from the electrical currents.

The minions were caught in the cross fire, evaporating into clumps of flesh. Naraku began to laugh psychotically, believing that he had finaly been able to harness the power of th eTwo Tail, but soon that was cut off as he too was destroyed by a powerful whip of energy. Kagura realized it was not a power surge and looked to see that Kagome had broken out of her restrains and was making her way to the dais.

Before she could see more, the roof began to fall in and she couldn't stay any longer. The last thing she saw before running out was Kagome laying down next the giant Inu demon.