Part 4: To The North!

"Wake up Kagome, it's morning."

"Mom, I don't want to go to school today. I want to sleep. Let me rest!" Kagome grumbled, turning around in bed.

"Kagome. Kagome. Kagome!"

"I'm up!" Kagome screamed, jolting upwards only to see a very annoyed Inuyasha looking at her.

"Finally! Get up, we've got to get going, the sooner the better." He said as he readjusted tessaiga and walked away. 'I get to see my father. Shouldn't I be happy? Why do I feel sad? Why do I feel as if I'm forcing myself to see him?' Kagome thought as she started to pack her stuff into her bag. Kagome noticed that everyone else seemed excited. 'They probably are excited to see my father. It's great that they're so energetic after all, we'll need it for the trip.' The sun shone brightly on their backs and their heads as they headed north towards the rumored castle.

"It's so hot!" Kagome groaned, holding her water bottle in one hand and trying her hardest to resist the temptation of drinking from it.

"Shall we rest? It has been an hour since we first started walking. I'm afraid Lady Kagome will collapse any second." Miroku said, slowing down and looking for shade.

"I agree to that. It's just there hasn't been any demons or humans since we started walking. Don't you think that is weird?" Sango's face was slightly worried but she glanced only at Inuyasha who had lead the group since they woke up.

"Why are you looking at me like that? I only took the shortest road. Is there anything wrong with wanting to arrive there earlier?"

"Inuyasha, please don't tell us we're lost! It will get dark later and then what will we do then?"

"Shippo, I'm not lost! I know where I'm going! This is a shortcut and I know what I'm doing." Inuyasha growled, letting Shippo know to calm down. As they kept walking, they reached a pitchfork in the road. Kagome frowned, Inuyasha definitely did not know where he was going.

"We go this way. No wait, was it this way?" Inuyasha got down and starting sniffing the ground.

"Inuyasha, we're lost aren't we? I wonder where we are." Kagome glanced around at their surroundings, trying to see if there was anyone at all who could help them but she saw nothing but trees.

"We're not lost! I know my way to the north alright?"

"If the ground could talk, I'd bet it'd say what an idiot you are." Shippo stuck his tongue out but kept his distance. Inuyasha merely glared at Shippo before returning to sniff the ground.

"Look for the moss on the trees! It signifies that that way points north."

"Are you sure Kagome?"

"I'm sure Shippo, well at least more than Inuyasha seems to be."

"I know where to go! I just need to be sure so I'm checking."

Kagome glanced around, quickly searching for any moss to the trees, not wanting to be lost when nightfall came around.

"I see it! Kagome, north is this way!" Sango's voice was distant but they could hear her and saw her arm pointed to the right path of the pitchfork in the road, opposite to the direction Inuyasha was sniffing. Kagome ran over to Sango and checked out the tree. There was green moss running along the side of it and could be easily missed because of the leaves that covered it.

"Sango, good job! I guess we're going this way Inuyasha." The group started moving towards the north and with every step Kagome took, she grew more nervous.

"Kanna, come here. Let me see your mirror."

Noiselessly Kanna walked over, holding her mirror for him to see. "I see. So Inuyasha is going north." A smirk appeared on his face, as he dismissed Kanna. Outside his door, a girl holding a fan was frowning as she quietly listened to his thoughts aloud. Kanna glanced at her, turning away immediately as the picture in her mirror slowly faded away.

"The woods just got much deeper, be careful everyone!" Kagome shouted, trying to not fall over herself despite the many trees in front of her. They had been walking for over two hours by now, continuously checking the trees to make sure the moss was in the same direction. They had been flying occasionally, but they decided to continue walking, as the moss was harder to see in the air. 'I wonder how far the castle is?' Kagome thought, glancing up to see her surroundings. The ground suddenly shook, sending everyone falling, not expecting the sudden movement. "What was that? Is everyone alright?" Kagome asked. Sango started to answer but immediately grabbed her hiraikotsu and stood in a defensive position when they heard a growl. Inuyasha frowned, cupping his tessaiga in one hand but not drawing it out. A demon, the size of an ogre began walking towards them. With every step taken, the ground shook even more and the group was having a hard time staying upright. Kirara flew to Sango, who immediately climbed onto her back.

"Who are you? You're trespassing onto my lands."

"Your lands? We got a little lost." Kagome glared at Inuyasha. "We didn't mean to trespass. We'll be on our way if you don't mind." Kagome turned and wished she hadn't, seeing the thousands of skeletons on the floor almost made her want to vomit. Instead, she fell backwards on the floor and looked away, anywhere was better than looking at that.

"Kagome? What happened?" Inuyasha asked when he saw her fall. Her hand covering her mouth was his response. Suddenly, the demon ran towards the group, sending everyone crashing and falling to the ground. Inuyasha jumped at the demon, using tessaiga to cut him. Over and over he swung, hitting his target accurately despite the surroundings shaking.

"Inuyasha! He can regenerate! It's no use!" Kagome immediately grabbed her bow and arrows, aiming for the beast. However, she was sent flying along with everyone else when the beast jumped up and down. As fast as the blink of an eye, he hit Inuyasha in the chest, sending him flying into a nearby tree. He smirked as he turned, looking at Kagome, a lecherous look in his eyes. It made Kagome cringe and shudder as she aimed for him once again. When she let the arrow go, she watched as he dodged with such speed she thought he went invisible. He reappeared in front of her and raised his beefy hand. Kagome's eyes went wide with shock as she used both hands to shield herself and waited for the impact. "Inuyasha!" The cry died inside her throat, never having the chance to be released.

AN: Please do review this story! Thanks for reading!