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Soon I know you'll see,
You're just like me.
Don't scream anymore my love,
'cause all I want is you.
-Evanescence
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"Miroku?"

Looking up into Sango's eyes, he tried to smile, but found he couldn't. He simply stared back at the worried girl who'd walked into the room.

"You should sleep," turning to sit beside him, Sango looked down at the bear he was holding on his lap.

It was the middle of the night and most of the family was asleep. Kagome had been gone four days now and they were still looking. They all knew that the longer it took, the less likely she would be found.

"There's a ring in the box," Miroku whispered. It was the first thing he'd said since they'd seen the awful news story earlier that day. Of course, with Kagome's popularity, the story had spread like wildfire. Half of New York was looking for her. They'd decided to inform the media to make the search spread, and it had, but nothing had turned up so far.

Sango watched as he opened the box in the panda's arms and smiled at the sight of their grandmother's ring, "I was so jealous when Dad gave it to you."

"Really?"

She gave a nod, "Yeah, I'd always wanted grandma's ring, but then he explained that it had been handed down to him from his father, and that you were next. I didn't really like it at the time, but I understood."

Miroku sighed, "I never really thought I'd use it."

"At least I like the girl who's going to be wearing it," Sango teased, "If you had given it to that one girl, Amy, I would have killed you."

He chuckled and looked up at a picture of the two girls sitting on Kagome's dresser. They had been about ten years old when they'd taken the picture, and even then they'd pretended to be sisters.

The picture made him smile and suddenly explain. "You know, I'm sure she wasn't expecting it, but I'm ready for this. I never thought I'd want to settle, but I couldn't wait to get us a place. That was going to be her real Christmas surprise, there's an apartment not far from her office that's waiting for her to find the key. It's a two bedroom, of course, and everything is set up, except for the baby's room."

To their mutual surprise, Miroku's voice cracked as he finished the last word. It had been a stressful holiday, Christmas was over, but the gifts were still under the tree. Rin hadn't even bothered to open hers, even though her grandparents encouraged her to. She simply told them she would wait for her aunt Kagome to come home so the whole family could watch.

"Oh god, I can't lose her," Miroku dropped the bear and cradled his head in his hands. "I can't."

Sango slipped her arm over his shoulders, "Don't talk like that, you know Kagome, she'll come out of this just fine. You'll see, we'll find her soon." Sango looked around at her best friend's room, tears swimming in her eyes. "We have to find her soon."

"I know that, but with every night that goes by I can't help but get more anxious." Miroku looked up with an equally haunted expression. "I know how stubborn Kagome can be, I mean, you know how she can get! She doesn't take things lying down. But I also know she wouldn't do anything to jeopardize the baby. I'm just terrified of how far this wacko is willing to go."

At the reminder of the pictures she'd seen of the killer's previous victims, Sango gulped and took his hand into her own, looking down in surprise when she felt it shaking. Having never seen her brother so upset, she simply set her head against his shoulder and held on tight. "Kagome will be ok, you'll see."

(- If only this guy weren't such a psychopath, we could be more confident. Please Kagome, behave. -)

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"I'm sick"

Kagome's rasp of a voice proved she was not making it up. It had gotten a lot colder thanks to a nasty storm that had hit. Once the snow had settled, he'd brought her to the kitchen and he'd had to put her in some sweats, a coat, mittens, a scarf, and fuzzy slippers, and she was still freezing. The snow only made it even creepier in the abandoned hospital.

(- How long has it been? -)

There was no way of telling, as she's been locked up randomly and he'd only let her out a few times. It felt like an eternity, but something told Kagome it had only been a few days. As it stood now, they were trying to eat hot soup in the kitchen. At least he'd shown her around the place.

Still, the night he'd refused her clothes had been the start of her current state of health, and it was quite a bit late to be warming her up with canned chicken soup. Especially since he'd forced her to bathe after realizing how sticky she was from the food he'd smeared on her before. That had been one of the most horrific experiences of her life.

(- Just don't think about it Kagome, you can't afford to spill your food again. -)

Thinking of the feel of his body against hers in the water, of his intimate touches, made her stomach clench and her head spin. Or perhaps that was the fever acting up.

"We'll take your temperature again when you're done eating," Muso finished off his portion of soup and started to clean up.

After a few more failed attempts to lift the spoon to her lips, Kagome gave up with an annoyed moan, dropping the spoon on the floor. "I'm too tired to eat!"

With a sigh, Muso came over and sat behind her, spreading his legs and pulling her close so her back was against his chest. The fact that she didn't even squirm was not a good sign. He quietly fed her, noting the increased heaviness in her breathing and the glassy look in her eyes.

(- Damn it! I didn't bring supplies for this! -)

He barely had a minimal first aid kit, not a good idea when he had all the surgical items he'd used before back in the city. Of course, surgical gear wouldn't be much help against a fever, and it really could mess up her baby.

"You're going to need a medic."

(- Thank god! -)

Knowing this could be her chance to get away, Kagome inwardly sighed as tears of relief slipped from her eyes. She realized almost immediately that letting her emotions show had been a mistake when he suddenly moved his hand into her hair and wrapped it around his fist, yanking her head back with a rough pull.

At her cry of pain, he gave her a lick and chuckled in her ear, "Misbehave at the doctor's office and you won't be the only one in pain."

"What do you mean?"

Muso grinned and lifted them both up, redirecting her towards the room their mattress was in. Handing her the light, he pushed her into the room before him. "It means you're crazy if you think I'm taking you to a medic looking like you do. Oh no, I'm going to have to do something to change your look."

"Like what?"

Turning from the bed, she was just in time to see the door slam in her face. She could hear Muso's muffled voice from the other side. "Behave, little one, I'll be back as soon as I can be."

"No! Please…" Kagome's raspy pleas and muffled pounding fell on deaf ears as he walked away.

(- What could he be planning? -)

Moving to lay on the bed, Kagome sighed and wrapped herself in the blanket, shuddering in the cold against the fear building in the pit of her stomach. With everything he'd done to her so far, there was no telling what he was planning on doing next.

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"Rayne was found dead last week so leave me alone!"

The woman was obviously upset, not that Sesshomaru or Miroku cared. Standing at the counter of the supermarket she worked in, Sessh ignored the customers behind him in line and continued with his questioning.

"You are the Adele Watson that he was sleeping with, however, at the time he left his family?"

The woman snorted, "If you consider that stuffy, overbearing old codger to be family then yes, I am the woman he left the old man for. Now would you leave? I'm working."

Not impressed, Sesshomaru turned to the manager at his side and interrupted before he could speak, "Look, this woman has contact with the man who kidnapped a family member of mine less than a week ago. It's urgent I speak to her now."

"Rayne is dead! He couldn't have done anything to anyone!" Adele surprised them all with a sob, breaking down where she stood.

Leading the woman from her post, all the way out to a bench outside the supermarket, Miroku had her sit and stepped back to stand beside Sessh again. "We can understand that you're upset, but we need to learn as much as possible about Rayne's life before he passed."

After calming down a bit, she sniffed back her tears and wiped her eyes, scrunching up the apron she wore. "There wasn't much to tell, he was a sweet boy, a little confused and with some shady friends, but overall a nice boy. He wanted to be an actor, he could have starred on Broadway, he was that talented."

"Was he very involved in local theaters? Did he have many friends with his passion?" Sesshomaru asked.

Adele nodded, "Of course, we've always moved in artistic circles, I've worked on more sets than I could count, that's where we met, at his high school."

"His high school, yes, it sounds like an interesting meeting, however, we need to know about Rayne's more recent lifestyle. Did he prefer the city or country life? Any special haunts that he may have had? We're trying to locate someone and Rayne was involved with her disappearance." Miroku explained.

"Rayne and I hadn't spoken in some time," Adele shifted a bit on the bench. "Not since the time I walked in on him and another girl. I kicked him out and didn't want to hear about him. Then a friend of both of ours says that he thinks Rayne changed his mind and turned to boys, well, not surprising really, lots of gays in theater you know."

"We know," Miroku agreed. "Did you hear about any of his new lovers? No one strange that you can think of?"

Adele shook hear head, "Except for the one fella with the unlimited money. Our friends were surprised to see Rayne with better clothes and a cleaner place thanks to the guy. Everyone knows that if you're in theater at the level Rayne was in, you're not making the big bucks, but apparently they met at a casting call."

"They were spending on all kinds of fancy clothes, it was kind of odd that they were dressing alike, but Rayne has that kind of obsessive tendency anyways. I think it's more like he tries to imitate those he's around, to fit in, the kid was kinda messed up by that old geezer."

"Did that friend look like this man?" Taking out the picture Naraku had sent them, Miroku held it up for her to see.

Adele took it from him, waving at the manager who came to make sure she was all right. "It could be him, except when I saw him with Rayne he had brown hair, but those eyes are the same. No hiding those, or his haughtiness. He was a cold one."

"Did they ever mention where they were staying? Any favorite places to visit or hang out?" Miroku took the picture back and stepped away.

The woman shook hear head, "Didn't really care after Rayne and I went separate ways."

"I know you were very upset with him, but is there nothing else you can think of? We think this friend of his was the man who killed Rayne." Miroku explained, "Not only that, but the man has abducted my girlfriend."

"His pregnant girlfriend," Sesshomaru added, to drive the point of their urgency home.

"Oh lord," Adele's eyes watered and she looked down, thinking back to her time with the boy. The memories were obviously painful to her, but she focused, eventually shrugging sadly. "I can only think of one place that Rayne may have taken a friend that would be considered odd. I told you the boy was messed up by that old codger and I meant it."

Miroku nodded, waving that off, "Where?"

"The abandoned asylum on his grandfather's property," Adele shrugged, "Oddest place we ever went to at least. Rayne thought it was exciting, but I thought it was crazy."

"You said it's abandoned?" Sesshomaru asked, seeing the hope in Miroku's eyes. When Adele nodded they both knew that's where they would be- it was just the place they would go if they were mad enough to abduct someone.

"It's in the forest, quite a drive from the local town," Adele shivered and stood. "That's all I can think of, I hope, for the sake of your friend, that I'm right."

Giving his thanks, Miroku turned with Sesshomaru and hurried to the car. "It's perfect, old asylums had all kind of holding cells and padded rooms, not to mention people in general tend to stay away for fear of hauntings. It's exactly the place where you could stay and no one would look."

"I'll get Jaken on the line, he'll know how to find it," pulling out of the parking lot, Sesshomaru dialed his assistant, hoping the information wasn't coming too late.

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"You can't do it!"

Kagome shook her head and backed away, lifting the lamp in her hand a little further back.

Muso scoffed, "Of course I can, now put that thing down and get over here! The sooner we get this done, the sooner you get to a medic."

"I think not," swinging the lamp at him, she wasn't surprised when he easily grabbed her arm and pulled her to him.

What he failed to notice until it was too late was that he'd left her facing him, a mistake he quickly realized as she kneed him in the groin and shoved him down with all her meager strength. Reaching down to grab the keys at his waist, Kagome screamed as he grabbed at her wrists. He managed to get one but she had the keys in her free hand when he yanked her down.

"Fine!"

Landing with her knee in his throat, Kagome jumped up as soon as he released her and ran to the door. She made it to the caged door leading to the stairs before she realized he had a bunch of keys that all looked the same. They each had a random color speck on them, but she'd never realized it until then.

"NOOOO!"

Kicking the gate, she turned at the sound of coarse laughter down the hallway and saw him leaning against the door of their room. She'd gotten him pretty hard with the knee to his throat and he was struggling to breathe, much less laugh, but he still found her vastly amusing.

"Good try," he rasped, finally straightening and limping over. "You'll have to pay for that, you know."

"Forget it!"

Looking around, Kagome could see only one way out and went for it, running for the window and getting one leg over the sill before he reached her.

"You stupid little bitch!"

Grabbing her arm, he tried to yank her back, only to have her swing her other leg over, leaving her hanging out the window.

"SHIT!"

"Let go!"

Using what little strength she had, Kagome tried to shake him off, only to be pulled back up and grabbed by the neck with his free hand. Choking, she released the keys to grip his arm, and felt tears escape her eyes as he dragged her back over the window and threw her onto the ground.

"You DAMNED IDIOT!"

Kicking her legs, he ignored her gasps for air, too angry to control himself and giving her a few kicks to her back and shoulders before his temper cooled a bit. Dropping to his knees above her, he straddled her waist and forced her to look up at him, ignoring her pathetic attempts to knee him in the back.

Yanking her up by her shirt, he slammed her back onto the floor, "You are DEFINITELY going to be sorry you dropped those keys!"

Kagome felt her world darkening and managed to whimper a terrified plea before losing consciousness.

Muso grinned, checking her pulse, not surprised to find it was still steady, "You're not nearly sorry enough yet darling, but we do still have to get you a doctor."

Frustrated and angry with her, he decided to forgo carrying her, dragging her instead down the hall to his secret supply room, where he had an extra set of keys for an emergency. He grabbed his handcuffs and scissors before turning at her moan.

"Hello love," laughing, he lifted her onto the nearest table and let her lay there while he went back to get his things from the room.

Moaning, Kagome tried to sit and found she swayed too badly to stay up. Her head was pounding and her body felt like it should be black and blue all over.

(- There's no way I can stand right now. -)

Lying back down, she lifted her hands to her stomach, praying his roughness hadn't hurt the baby.

(- Please lord, I can stand anything but losing my child! -)

"Let's get this done with already, I'm sure you're eager to get to a doctor," Muso grinned and started opening up the boxes he'd been showing her much earlier.

To Kagome's annoyance, he was really good at using the products, and before she'd had time to regain her senses fully, he had covered her hair and was holding her down while waiting for the timer.

"Just you wait, you'll love the new you," he grinned and leaned down to nibble at her throat, working his hands into her shirt. He played with her body as he wanted while they waited, and finally, the timer went off.

"Finally!"

Jumping off her with glee, he surprised Kagome when he lifted her up bridal style and carried her out of the room. He turned a corner, kicked in a door, and promptly dropped her into a tub of freezing cold water.

"AGGH!"

Sitting up with a shout, Kagome barely managed to get a gasp of air before he was shoving her back under and roughly pulling at her hair. "If you'd behaved earlier this wouldn't have been necessary! I would have warmed the water and undressed you carefully, but this works too. We are, after all, in a hurry."

"Stop!" Gasping for air, Kagome was finally dragged out of the tub and stripped.

Muso shoved her through the door and led the way back to their room, ignoring her trembling in the freezing air. He'd stopped caring whether or not she lost the babe. It was the least she could do after all the trouble she'd caused him.

(- If she did lose the brat then I could knock her up with my own! -)

With a dark chuckle, he helped her dress, since she was shaking too badly to do anything, and had her sit while he cut her hair.

"You know, you'll just love the bob I'm going to give you, it's all the rage right now," he laughed and quickly snipped her hair off.

He was meticulous in his work, but also very aware of the time, knowing the doctor in town would leave his office in an hour. Finally satisfied with her hair and their timing, Muso led her out the door, opened the gate with his spare keys and dragged her downstairs with him.

"Time to lose that fever sweetheart," with a cruel laugh, he helped her in the car and jumped into his seat, eager to get this done with.

The less they were seen in town, the better.

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"The town is a few hours drive from here, but it would be too late when you arrive if you were to leave now, I suggest you go in the morning."

Jaken shook his head at their protests, for once showing some compassion, a miracle in and of itself that spoke volumes for the gravity of the situation.

"If she is still alive today she will likely be there in the morning as well, and it will serve no purpose to arrive in town in the middle of the night, only to get lost or skid off the road and die while on your way out to the asylum."

Sango had to try very hard not to smack Jaken despite his attempt to be helpful, his choice in wording was beyond blunt, but he did make a valid point.

"But it is not the middle of the night," Miroku insisted, "We can make it there by eleven!"

His father scoffed, "One more hour won't make that much of a difference son, I agree with Jaken, you would be wise to wait it out. Not to mention that we can inform their police department and have them scope the place out while we wait. What if this is nothing but a wild goose chase?"

Miroku shrugged, "I'll go alone then."

"Don't be stupid Miroku, give the cops a chance to confirm they're even there!" Inuyasha snapped.

"That may not be as wise as it would seem," Hiten came into the room, shaking his head at the drink offered by Sango. "The police in small towns have a tendency to be sloppy, and this guy is pretty sharp, he'll give them the slip if he sees any sign of interest. We have to catch him while he thinks he's safe. If we have the cops check it out and they tip him off that we're on to his whereabouts, he'll jet, and there's no guarantee Kagome will be along for that ride."

"So what do you suggest?" Sesshomaru insisted.

Looking directly at Miroku, he gave the order firmly, "We wait and surprise them in the early morning."

Hating the idea of waiting even another minute when they might know where Kagome was, Miroku swallowed his curse as he looked at his worried friends and family around him. No matter how much it hurt, he wasn't the only one involved, and if they could wait, so could he.

He gave a nod and saw the relief in their expressions,"But we had better leave damn early!"

"Well before sunrise, you have my word on that one," coming over to shake his hand, Hiten gave him a reassuring nudge. "We'll get there as soon as reasonably possible."

Miroku nodded again and turned to walk away from the crowd in the room. Going up to the window, he looked out over the city and prayed he hadn't made the wrong choice.

(- Please… just let her be alive! -)

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"Excuse me sir, would you happen to have time to treat one more patient?"

Muso helped Kagome up to the back door of the small house out of which the local doctor practiced. He'd learned the habits of the people of the town pretty easily when he'd been scoping out the asylum for their stay. The doctor was a bachelor, and he always locked the back door last before driving home.

Muso had left the car down the road with the emergency lights on, forcing Kagome to walk behind him, her hat and muffs covering her head. Walking in the snow was not helping her much and she'd stumbled a few times, but they'd finally made it.

The doctor was about to refuse when Kagome gave a moan and sank to her knees on the ground. Muso kneeled beside her and explained that their car had broken down on the side of the road and that they'd had to walk into town. "We were just going to passing by town but my wife has been sick and her fever worsened on the drive. Then the stupid car broke down and we had to make our way into town, couldn't you please help her? I'm worried about the baby."

"Of course," turning quickly, the doctor opened the door and hurried Muso, carrying his trembling 'wife', into the house and ordering him to put her down in a small room to his right.

"We have to warm her up first," the older man hurriedly pulled out some blankets, had Muso remove her chilled outer garments and wrapped her up in the dry covers.

He quick to check her temperature and then pull out a few bottles of pills, but first he had to ask Muso about her medical history. "Most importantly, how far along is she?"

"About three months," Muso regarded the man while he set the meds aside.

He explained as he went along, "These would bring down her fever, but could harm the child. We'll have to use good old fashioned home-style recipes if we want to keep them both safe."

As he turned, he invited Muso to come with him into the kitchen so he could show him the ingredients in the herbal tea that would help her. "It will be amongst the most vile things she's had to drink, but it'll get her healthy."

Following the man out of the office, Muso stopped for a moment to pick up the pills he'd had earlier and scan them. They were quite simple, Aspirin and Acetominophen, so taking two of each, he had Kagome, who was too woozy by this point to argue, drink them with the glass of water the doctor had left behind.

Laying her down on the examination table, he gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead before heading out to the kitchen, content to know she was passing out already.

"Sleep tight sweetheart, you'll feel better soon," stepping out of the room, he left the door open so he could hear if she needed him.

(- Just go! -)

Opening her eyes slowly, Kagome raised her head after she could hear the men's voices mingling and slowly sat up.

(- Oh damn -)

She was definitely woozy and this was not going to be easy, but she tossed the blanket off as quietly as she could and slipped onto the floor, thankful that the doctor had insisted her shoes be removed and her socks changed.

(- At least I can move quietly -)

Looking around the room, she saw exactly what she was looking for just across the hall in what appeared to be the doctor's business office.

(- Shit, it had to be way over there! - )

Tiptoeing out, Kagome had to lean heavily on the doorframe and grabbed the one across the hall to steady herself. She was extra careful as she turned the doorknob to the doctor's office and was relieved to find it unlocked, quickly slipping into the office, not daring to take a seat at the desk, but rather quietly grabbing the phone and dialing as quietly as possible.

(- Pick up Miroku! Please! -)

After what felt like forever, Kagome was sent to his voicemail and she felt tears slip from her eyes as she listened to his message. She was just starting to whisper her own, eager to contact her family, when the light coming on startled her into dropping the phone.

"Well, well, look who's feeling better?"

Muso gave a laugh and grabbed the phone cord, using it to lift it up to both their lips as he grabbed the back of her head and forced her to lean towards him.

"Say goodbye Kagome!"

"NOO! ROKU!"

Slamming the phone down with a laugh, he turned to the horrified doctor behind him and gave a shrugged apology. "This wouldn't be necessary if she had just behaved."

"What are you talking about? Who are you? What are you really doing here?" the poor doctor stepped back, reaching into his pocket for his cell phone.

Muso laughed and turned to the girl behind him, a menacing look in his eye as he warned her, "Scream, and I'll just have to hurt whoever comes to investigate."

"Investigate wha-ack!"

Kagome had to bite her hand to muffle her scream when Muso grabbed a letter opener off the desk and turned to stab the man in the neck.

(- OH MY GOD! -)

Feeling her stomach lurch, she dropped to her knees and grabbed a nearby trash can, emptying her stomach as she listened to the man's gurgled choking and Muso's calm humming while he shoved the dying man into a nearby closet.

(- He just killed him… just like that… like nothing… -)

"Can't say I didn't warn you to behave when we came into town," Muso sighed and patted her head, waiting for her gagging to stop before lifting her to her feet.

Kagome was shaking, hardly able to hold herself up.

Wrapping her in blankets once more, Muso grabbed the doctor's keys, the medications, and then carried her out to the doctor's car, settling her into the front seat and taking his place behind the wheel. When he nudged her head down onto the arm rest between them, she gladly went, her emotions finally getting the best of her as she broke down sobbing.

"Go ahead and cry, I would, if I were you. You did, after all, just kill a man," Muso sighed and petted her hair. "He could have lived but you had to be brave and contact your family. Now he's dead and you're going to have to be punished."

Kagome gulped and managed to ask, "A-Are you going t… to k-kill me too?"

"Oh no, that'd be too simple," he leaned down and kissed her cheek at a red light, eager to get back to their car so he could leave the doctor's on the road.

Nuzzling her ear, he whispered into it before sitting up with a contented smile, certain that his words would be ringing in her head during the entire ride home.

"I'm going to kill your baby first."

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Yay an update!

Don't hate me, I will fix this, I promise.

Just a little ways to go for this story, thanks for all your patience guys, I really hope this was worth the wait!

-KawaiiChica