Can You See Me Now?

“I want to know something,” Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at Inuyasha. They were currently scouting the area on one side, while the others scouted on another side. They all knew it was somewhere around here, but they didn’t know where. When Kagome suggested they split up to cover more grounds, Inuyasha flatly refused. He still believed that it was best if they stayed together. It wasn’t until Sesshomaru dragged him by the back of his shirt did they get to leave.

He was quiet for a while, so Sesshomaru was some what surprised that he would open his mouth now. “This kid, how was it that he was able to escape so easily? I mean from what Sango and Miroku have told us, this Vishnou guy sounds pretty strong…as much as I hate to admit it,” Inuyasha sniffed the air and shook his head. He turned to face Sesshomaru and frowned. “What I mean is, how is a guy who can literally raise the dead not known that one of his own is missing?”

Sesshomaru frowned as well. He was amazed that Inuyasha came up with this all of his own, but what he said was true. There was something else going on here and as he eyed the area his suspicion rose. The place where they were at was the correct area, but there was nothing. It was just a field of grass with a few scattered flowers.

He was positive that they were in the correct place. It was as if it was being hidden.

Of course…hidden. Vishnou must be doing the same thing that Naraku does. He must be using a barrier to hide his lair.

“I can't find shit. It’s like he’s hiding his scent,” Inuyasha grumbled.

“I suggest that Vishnou is using a barrier to hide himself. I’m surprised that you didn’t figure it out yet.”

“Hey, if I’m so slow how come it took you so long to tell me, huh?” Inuyasha yelled, only to freeze when Sesshomaru raised his hand to silence him. He gave him an irritated look. “What now?”

“Do you smell that?” Sesshomaru said after a few minutes of silence.

Inuyasha sniffed the air. He recoiled when it got too much for him. It was so much. Too much. His eyes widen and he cursed under his breath. “Yeah, it smells like…”

“Blood.”

They both looked at each other for a second. Inuyasha furrowed his brows in concentration, and then raised them in horror. “It’s coming from where the others are at.”

They both dashed off without another word. Questions were buzzing off inside their heads. Sesshomaru silently cursed at the fact that maybe Inuyasha was right about staying together. Too late for that now.

Sesshomaru paused when they got to the scene. The place looked like a battle field. Miroku and Sango were unconscious a few feet away from each other. Kirara was there, growling at some distance, facing towards the woods; trying to protect them.

Kagome was unconscious as well. Her bow broken in half as well as her arrows; they were scattered all around her.

“Kagome!” Inuyasha ran towards her. Sesshomaru followed after him. He noticed the scent was coming from her.

Inuyasha crouched down in front of her and sighed in relief when he saw her chest rise and fall. He then gritted his teeth in anger at the sight of her wound on her side. It was gushing blood, a lot.

“Kagome, what happened?” He lightly slapped her face a few times, trying to wake her up. Nothing happened at first, and then he saw her eyes start to flutter open. She looked a bit dazed and pale. The lack of blood was really getting to her.

“…attack…tricked…” Kagome croaked out before she fell unconscious once again.

While Inuyasha tried to frantically wake her up again, Sesshomaru noticed something was off. He didn’t know what, but it was there…or the lack of. His eyes scanned the field carefully. They then widened in realization…damn it. How did he miss something like that? He was seriously losing his touch.

“Inuyasha, Takeo is missing.” Inuyasha paused; he stood up from his position and searched as well. Miroku and Sango woke up and struggled to get to their feet. He then clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white.

“Damn it! How the hell did this happen?”

“Wait, Inuyasha. I don’t think we have the whole story,” Miroku said. He was wheezing a bit, while leaning onto Sango for support. He winced a little when he tried to take a breath and grabbed his ribs.

“I agree. Takeo seemed a bit odd before he started attacking us,” Sango said. She shifted her weight a little, trying to make Miroku feel a bit more comfortable.

“What do you mean?” Sesshomaru stared at Sango. “A child did all this?” He pointed to all the broken trees and craters in the ground.

Sango nodded. “I know. It seems strange that this child did all this. I don’t even know if he’s human. Strange things have been happening from left to right since this guy came into the picture.” She looked into Sesshomaru’s eyes. “What really catches my interest is how he was before he attacked us. His eyes became glassy all of sudden and his face became, I don’t know, just blank. It’s like he wasn’t all there, you know?”

Everyone became silent. They were thinking over at what Sango said. A moan was heard from behind Inuyasha. He quickly turned around and once again crouched in front of Kagome. She sat up and hissed in pain.

“Kagome, you shouldn’t move,” Inuyasha fretted over her, pushing her back down. Sesshomaru dodged an energy ball. He turned around, getting ready to strike back, only to freeze at the sight in front of him. Rin was in front of him and by the way of her palm facing him, he could only guess that the attack came from her. Next to her was Takeo.

What really made it worse though, was when he saw the same blank look on her face that Sango was talking about. His gaze flickered to Takeo for a second and he saw that he was the same. He saw Rin lower her hand before taking a step back, as well as the boy. That was when he noticed of the man that was next to them.

"Yes, Kagome, you should really listen to your half-breed. Don't want to risk your injuries getting worse, do we?"