Beauty Meets Beast chapter 13

Chapter 13: When things go wrong…

"So, Kagome, are you sure that prick didn't do anything do you?"

Kagome smiled from her perch on Inuyasha's back. "Yes Inuyasha, I'm sure." She reached up and rubbed his ear affectionately, giggling when he slapped her hand away. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself. I've been deprived of cuteness for the past month and your ears definitely fit in the cute category." He grumbled something along the lines of 'hanyou's are not cute' but the effect was totally ruined by the pout on his face. Deciding to spare him further embarrassment for the moment, Kagome turned to Drake, who was running slightly behind them. "How can it be that those wolves aren't friends of Kouga's?"

"When Kouga's father came to power, there was a falling out in the tribe's. I don't really know any details, but I think it had something to do with Kouga's mother."

"Figures," Kagome sighed, resting her head on Inuyasha's shoulder to ease the creak in her neck. "Why do all major feuds seem to revolve around a woman?"

"It does seem to be a common problem," Miroku chuckled as he sped up so he was beside Inuyasha.

"Well, I mean think about it. InuTaisho died protecting Inuyasha's mother from the villagers who thought to rid her of her 'curse.' Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru hate each other because of the results of InuTaisho's death. That whole mess with Takemaru was caused by Sounga warping his memories of Izayoi. And let's not forget the biggest of all, the one that is the cause of almost all the trouble we've encountered on our travels…the idiot Onigumo and his obsession for Kikyo, which led to the creation of that vile thing of which I will not speak and the eventual destruction of any chance Kikyo and Inuyasha had at a normal relationship!"

The captain of the guard could only laugh his agreement, "You have a point."

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Aerin sighed as she walked down to the gardens. This morning she'd once again found her lord hovering around Kagome's room. The question was, why? The only thing she could think of was that something happened while they were gone. And since Kagome wasn't here, the only person she could confront about it was Sesshoumaru. But it wasn't like she could just walk up to him and ask him, which meant she was going to have to figure it out on her own. 'But how do you spy on someone who can smell you a mile away?' She sighed once again as she turned towards the pond she and Kagome has always sat by whenever they wanted a bit of fresh air. It was situated like a sort of alcove in the garden (I could not figure out for the life of me how to word this without it sounding ridiculous, any suggestions?), directly under the window in Sesshoumaru's study. She loved it because it was small, quiet, and not very many people in the castle knew about it. As she walked around the little wall that separated the pond from the rest of the garden, she couldn't stop herself from gasping in surprise. Sitting beneath one of the many Sakura trees that shaded the little glen, was Sesshoumaru. She immediately dropped into a low bow. "I'm sorry my lord, I was not paying attention. I did not mean to disturb you." She slowly rose and turned to leave, mentally cursing herself for not paying more attention to her surroundings. She hadn't even noticed his youki.

"It is fine," he said, causing her to stop and once again bow as he stood and walked back inside.

'That was odd.'

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"Inuyasha," Kagome said as she traced her fingers over the seams in his haori. "I've been wondering, where is Kirara? Shouldn't she have tried to find us if Sango was in trouble?"

"About that…" the hanyou sighed, dreading what he was about to tell her. He'd been determined not to let her find out…even going so far as to tell Drake not to mention it when they'd found Sango's scent an hour or so earlier. "I didn't want to tell you, but there was another scent with Sango's."

"Yeah, I assume it was Kirara's. What's the big deal?"

"Yes it was. But it wasn't what we were expecting."

"What are you talking about?"

"We smelt her blood."

"WHAT!"

Inuyasha slowed to a stop and pulled her around to face him. Her eyes were wide with fear and he could sense she was close to tears. "It wasn't a lot," he said, drawing her into his arms to try and calm her. "And her scent went off in a different direction along with a few different wolf scents.  So, we sent a few of Drake's men to find her."

"Why would it go in a different direction?"

"If I may Kagome," Drake said, waiting until she turned towards him before he continued. "It is most likely that they knew if the fire neko was with her, she would be able to escape easily. So, they took the neko somewhere else so she couldn't get to Sango."

"What if they killed her?!"

"Now Kagome," Miroku said softly, placing his hand on her shoulder. "You know as well as I do that Kirara can take care of herself. I seriously doubt they would be able to cause her any real harm. They most likely will not even be able to keep her away long. Now, we must get going. Sango is waiting."

She sniffled and nodded. He was right of course. Inuyasha released her and she moved to get on his back, looking at him in confusion when he stopped her and picked her up bridal style.

"Why don't you try to get some rest? I'll carry you like this for a while so you can sleep. I'll wake you if we find something."

As he once more took off after their enemy's scent, Kagome sighed and buried into his warmth, thoughts of Sango filling her head. She couldn't help but feel that the young exterminator was all alone and probably in terrible danger and it was all her fault. If she hadn't run out of Sesshoumaru's palace and gotten herself attacked, none of this would have happened. But then again, if it hadn't…would she have gotten so close to her stoic captor?

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"Kagome? Kagome wake up,"

"Huh?"

"I need to leave you with Miroku for a while."

"Why, what happened?"

"Sango's scent is gone and the wolves' scents have gone off in several different directions. So, and Drake's men are going to split up and try to locate Sango's scent again. But we need to do it quickly and I'll be able to run faster if you stay here. We should be back soon. Why don't you and Miroku set up camp?"

"Alright,"

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"I just don't understand this," Kagome said, placing more wood on their small fire. Inuyasha had been gone for a little over an hour and she still hadn't figured out what had happened. "How could they have just disappeared? Wolves can't fly."

"I have no idea," Miroku replied as he searched the nearby foliage for more firewood. "But you are right, not even Kouga can fly and he has two jewel shards."

Kagome was, to say the very least, confused. It made no sense. "You can't just make someone's scent disappear," she sighed, standing to help him in his pursuit for wood. "Plus, if they could, wouldn't they have done it earlier? When they took Sangooooooo…"

"Kagome!"

Kagome groaned and looked up at the hole she'd apparently just fallen through. "I'm alright Miroku. It's some sort of underground tunnel. I'm going to check it out."

"No, please Kagome, come back up here! We must wait for Inuyasha!"

"But this might lead to Sango!"

"And the wolves!"

"Oh…right…that…"

"Kagome, do you really think you can take on a pack of wolf youkai by youself?"

She sighed, put a hand to her chest, remembering all too well her last encounter with wolves. As she allowed him to pull her back up, she wondered what the young monk would think if he knew the reason the wolves had taken Sango. Would he view her any differently if he knew that Sango's capture was her fault?

"Come on," Miroku said, turning to head back to camp. "We need to get away from this area. They probably have sentries patrolling the tunnels."

"Hmmm, you might be right."
Miroku frowned at the sound of the deep voice. 'That's not Kagome…' He turned around slowly, his confusion written all over his face, but the sight that met his eyes turned that confusion to fear and dread. Standing just behind his now terrified friend, his claws pressed to the side of her neck, stood a rather buff looking wolf youkai. He took a tentative step towards them, but the demon's voice stopped him.

"Ah-Ah-Ah! I'd stay put if I were you, human flesh is so fragile."

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'This is ridiculous!' Inuyasha thought as he ran back to camp. 'Scents don't just disappear.' He'd followed the scent for almost an hour, but then it just vanished as Sango's had. He just hopped the others had had more luck than he had. Spotting Drake and the others a little ways ahead of him, he slowed to a stop. "Hey, did you guy have any luck?" Drake turned to him, his expression grim, and Inuyasha's smirk fell. "What is it?" He quickly scanned the area, searching out the cause of his temporary comrade's displeasure, but then he noticed something. "Where are Kagome and Miroku?"

"We were hoping they were with you."

"What?"

"They are gone and their scents are absent as well."

"WHAT!" Inuyasha ran past them, frantically following his friends scents, hoping beyond hope it wasn't true. "No," he mumbled, dropping to his knees. "Not them too…"

Taking in the now trembling form of his lord's brother, Drake slowly approached him and placed a consoling hand on his shoulder. "We will find them." Turning to his men, his face grew stern as he spoke once again. "There has to be a link between this site and the wolves. We must figure out what it is. But first things first, you, Kunai! Go and inform lord Sesshoumaru that Kagome has disappeared."

Inuyasha could not stop the growl that escaped him. "What are you telling that bastard for?"

"I am sorry. I was ordered to send word to my lord should anything happen to the miko."

"Why would he tell you to do that?" Inuyasha growled, rising to his feet as he glared at the man who dared involve his brother anymore than he already had. "Why would he even care?"

"I do not know. You will have to ask him yourself."

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'This is just perfect!' Kagome thought as she and Miroku were dragged who knows where by the youkai who'd found them. 'Why had my luck taken such a liking to badness? First, I get attacked by that disgusting wolf in the woods, then that stoic buffoon confuses the hell out of me repeatedly, then Sango disappears, and now…this idiot thinks my butt is his personal toy…" She cringed as her captor's hand once again made its way across her rump, caressing and squeezing to his heart's content.

When they'd been dragged underground a little over half an hour ago, they'd been promptly tied up. He'd then flung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and grabbed the back of Miroku's robes, dragging them off towards some unknown location. And while she cringed with Miroku every time his back made contact with one of the innumerable rocks that littered the floor, she couldn't help but wish she could trade places with him, and not just because it would give him a taste of his own medicine. She'd had just about all she could take of stinking wolves. The only thing she found positive about their current situation was that their chances of finding Sango were slightly higher…now if only they weren't prisoners too.

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Aerin was now fully convinced that something had happened between Kagome and Sesshoumaru. Since her departure the day before, the taiyoukai's mood had gotten steadily darker. He had been spending extended time in the garden under his window and growled at any who dared disturb him. In fact, most of the staff had stayed as far away from him as they could, fearing his anger and afraid they might be punished for it. But Aerin knew she needed to say something to him, what she didn't know. But for some reason, she just knew she had to. So, when he once again went out into the garden she followed him, taking care to ensure he wouldn't think she was trying to sneak up on him.

"Lord Sesshoumaru," she said softly, bowing deeply before taking a seat next to the pond. "Do you mind if I ask you a question?" She waited, unsure how to proceed, finally taking his silence as permission to continue she sighed and mustered up all her courage in order to get the words out. "Did something happen between you and Kagome while you were away?" She watched him closely, not surprised when he remained silent and stood to leave. "I'm sorry my lord. I guess I let my friendship with Kagome cloud my judgment."

"Know your place," he said, pausing briefly before leaving.

Once he was gone, Aerin couldn't help but smile. 'Now we're getting somewhere.' She quickly ran inside. It was time she gained a partner in this…and she knew just the one.

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"Could you please watch where you're going," Miroku groaned as his back hit a rather large, jagged rock in the doorway of the room they recently entered.

"Shut up!" The wolf shouted as he promptly dropped his cargo and walked back out, glad to finally be rid of them.

Kagome rolled her eyes at the apparently delusional monk. He'd insulted the wolf for a good ten minutes before they'd finally been thrown in here. She was seriously starting to doubt his sanity. "Miroku," she mumbled, glancing to where she thought he was. "Do you really think that taunting the people who are most likely going to kill us was a good idea?"

"No, but you didn't have to feel those rocks clawing into your spine!" He groaned, rolling to his side in an attempt to take in their surroundings. Looking around, he tried to discern where they were, all the while damning his rather lacking ability to see in the dark. They appeared to be in some sort of cell…and by the looks of the lump lying against the far wall…they weren't alone. He squinted and tried to discern who their new companion was, his eyes widening when she turned towards him in her apparent sleep. "Hey, we found Sango!"