InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Hidden Powers ❯ All is well... ( Chapter 4 )

AN: Okay!!! I'm not dead, okay? I'm so sorry that it took such a long time…I had loads of schoolwork to take care of…Anyway, here's the new chapter!

Chapter 4

All is well…

Kagome bit her lips as she kept running. She would never forgive herself if something happened to Inuyasha. Experienced and strong as he is, he may not be able to hold out against a wizard.

'Why had I been so rash!? If I had stayed and think about it, then…'

"Professor! Professor! Wait a minute!"

Kagome slowed down a bit and turned as she heard someone call her.

Harry rushed towards her, Ron and Hermione right behind him.

"Professor!" He panted as he gasped for breath.

"Professor Dumbledore wanted us to tell you that there is an extremely large concentration of negative energy coming from the Forbidden Forest!" Hermione finished for him.

"He can't come himself since a lot of students are hurt. He wanted you to check it out!" Ron added, face just as red as the others from the long run.

Kagome frowned and nodded.

'It's not just any negative energy. I sensed this sort of power before. At that time…'

"Oh no…then Inuyasha is in big trouble." She whispered before dashing off again.

The trio watched as she disappeared into the darkness. Harry glanced at his companions, knowing from the looks on their faces that they were thinking the same thing as him. Without another word, they went after her, wands ready by their side.

Kagome almost wanted to turn and yell when she felt the three students follow her. Yell for them to stop. They did not know what they were up against. This is not just a death eater. Not just Voldemort. There was much more to it.

She resisted the urge to stop and tell them to go back, that it was too dangerous. She had no time to lose. Even a second's delay may lead to something terrible. She'll just have to try her best to protect those students if she has to.

She stopped short when she reached the part of the forest where she left Inuyasha. She stared, too shocked to move.

She heard the pattering of footsteps behind her as Harry, Ron and Hermione came to stand beside her. By the way they suddenly gasped, she inferred that they were shocked too, though probably for a different reason.

In front of them was a perfect portrayal of the forest surrounding the castle where the Sleeping Beauty laid. Vines were growing out everywhere, making it seem almost impossible for someone to make their way to the other side. The fact that every single one of them was covered with large, ugly thorns didn't help.

This would not have been so shocking, considering that this is the Forbidden Forest, if the surrounding atmosphere had not been filled with such an overwhelming sense of evil. It seemed to be everywhere, like a layer of smoke, so thick that it can almost be seen.

Harry almost choked when he stepped into the area. He could have sworn that he saw dark ripples of energy swarming around, enclosing the space in a dark dome. Hermione was rubbing her forehead, while Ron just looked as if he wanted to throw up. Obviously, whatever it was, the evil of it was getting to them. As he turned towards the new teacher, he could see that she was shocked too, though her sight was not focused on the vines, or the ripples of dark energy. There was a far away look in it, the look of somebody recalling something from the depth of their memories, something from long ago, forgotten over the time. Though unlike that, there seem to be some sort of glimmer in it that shows that she was thinking of the present too.

Hermione noticed where he was gazing and commented softly, "I think that she's worried about her companion. You know, the one who came barging into the Great Hall?"

Her guess was confirmed when Kagome went forward and took out her wand to clear a path for them.

"Inuyasha! Are you there!? Answer me!" She shouted as she blasted away yet another group of vines, the worry apparent in her eyes.

"She likes that guy, doesn't she? Even though she nearly blasted his head off when he went into the Great Hall." Hermione whispered as they followed Kagome quietly. Ron gave her a how-in-the-world-do-you-know look, still covering his mouth, though Hermione just ignored that.

"I wonder who's causing this. It doesn't seem to be the work of Voldemort or any of his followers…" Harry muttered before realizing his mistake. Ron now looks even paler and suddenly turned to stick his head in a gap between some vines. By the awful noises he was making, he seem to be unable to hold back any longer.

"Oops…sorry."

If that name alone had scared the hell out of wizards and witches for the past years, it can now scare them to death (literally) by the fact that Voldemort had returned, stronger than before. The influence of the Ministry of Magic was great, but the influences of rumors were greater. Despite all the excuses Cornelius Fudge made up, gossips were spreading fast.

Kagome surveyed her surroundings as she waited for Ron to finish. Just as she had expected, the evil was too much for them to withstand. A single youkai like the one she met earlier could never have caused this. Even in the Kodoku, there had been loads of youkai, and this is much more intense. And she still hasn't found Inuyasha.

"Professor, do you know what's causing this?" Hermione asked suddenly.

"I have a faint idea, though I'm not sure. Whatever it is, it is not Vol…" She stopped as she looked at Harry patting Ron, whose head is still among the vines. "…You-know-who." She finished.

"Then who could it be? You-know-who is the most powerful dark wizard in the world!" Harry shouted in disbelieve, turning away from Ron.

"There are many other types of 'magic' other than yours. And many others with greater power than You-know-who."

That was the simple reply, though it left them with great big question marks on their head.

"Wasting your time here, aren't you? I was wondering what's taking you so long."

That caused the effect the youkai wanted, and everyone looked towards the direction the voice came from. Even Ron snapped his head out.

"Oh yah! Are you, by any chance, looking for your little hanyou friend?" The youkai asked lazily, twirling her hair around a finger. "I would have gladly given him back to you. However, I haven't quite finished with him yet. It is quite rare to have hanyou blood nowadays."

Harry, Ron and Hermione stared at her; disgusted by the way she was talking. The youkai just laughed, casually licking her bloodstained fingers.

"Inuyasha! Where is he!?"

Harry looked in surprise at his new teacher. She had more or less been calm and collected a moment before, yet now, anger, frustration, worry, all these expressions are written clearly on her face. For a moment, he thought that the wand in her hand would break by the sheer force of her clenched fist.

Hermione was right. She liked that person called Inuyasha.

"Angry, are you? How fun. Lets see how well you can fight. If you're lucky, then I may decide to let you see that hanyou again before you get to hell."

Kagome gritted her teeth. This youkai had some nerve to speak like this. Though she was relieved that, judging by the youkai's tone, Inuyasha was still alive.

Vines sped their way as the youkai transformed her hand into the plant-like structure once again.

Kagome raised up her hand, spreading her fingers, and pointed at the oncoming vines. A beam of light flared out, blinding the youkai momentarily, and all the vines were blasted apart, purified.

Harry, Hermione and Ron stared in shock as the youkai covered her eyes, the stump of her arm dripping in blood.

The youkai, as she recovered from the blast, snarled viciously, partly from anger, and partly from pain.

"Where is Inuyasha?" asked Kagome again, hand still held in the same position, as if threatening the youkai.

The youkai smirked as the purified arm started to grow back.

"Well, you won't be able to find out if you really kill me, will you?"

Ron muttered something about the 'same old threat', looking quite sulky.

Kagome frowned. The youkai had a point. Looking for a single person in such a maze of vines is almost impossible. Plus, if she tried to clear them all, she may hurt Inuyasha in the process.

The youkai smiled as she saw Kagome's indecision. A vine lifted up from behind the group, the sharp end point straight at Kagome's back.

Inuyasha groaned as he woke, feeling as if a hundred thorns were stuck into him. Then he realized that they were. The last thing he remembered was the youkai binding him with her vines, then he had fallen unconscious.

Straining against the vines holding him, he surveyed the surroundings. He seemed to be right in the middle of a gigantic cluster of vines, with them growing all around; the space between each was so small that he doubts even Shippou could have crawled through. For him in his current state, it seems almost impossible to break through.

In fact, he was lucky that he was even alive. If the youkai had not been distracted by something and went away, he would have just been a dried up corpse by now. Silently reprimanding himself for underestimating his opponent, he tried to find a way to get freed from his bonds.

But he didn't need to worry much.

A blast of energy suddenly shot past him, nearly frying him in the process but missing by a few inches. Though, by some lucky chance, it managed to go through the vines around him. Unfortunately, he suddenly found himself standing in air with the ground about two meters under him, with only a few bits and pieces of vines holding him. Swear words can be heard as he pulled himself up from the ground.

Meanwhile, Ron was gaping at Harry, eyes bulging out of their sockets. Hermione just stared, not knowing what to say.

Harry was standing right behind Kagome, wand raised, pointing straight forward, a large hole in the vines in front of him.

"Umm…Sorry, Professor. I think I overdid it a little…" Harry muttered as he lowered his wand and turned to Kagome.

"Oh my goodness, Harry! What spell was that!? It was so cool!" Ron gasped out as he recovered from the previous shock.

Kagome just smiled.

"I see that you learned your lessons well. Also, thank you."

Before Harry could reply, the youkai swooped down, baring her fangs.

"Stupid boy! I'll teach you what you'll get for interfering!"

Yet, before she could do anything, something flew out from among the vines and hit her hard, causing her to crash down to the ground.

"Shut your fucking mouth, you bitch!"

Kagome turned to look at Inuyasha warily. He looked so battered up, blood gushing out of all those wounds on his body. His face was pale and he was leaning against some vines for support. Yet, despite all that…he still couldn't improve his language.

The youkai grimaced. She shouldn't have underestimated that boy's abilities. Another hanyou would have been long dead by now. Yet, there he was, standing right in front of her, as alive as ever. That completely ruined her plans, and there was nothing left to keep Kagome from purifying the whole place.

"You may win this time, but you will be doomed when the others come! The lord does not let his targets get away that easily!" The youkai shouted as she stood up.

What happened next was not clear. A huge gale blew up and all they saw was the youkai disappearing into a dark portal. When the wind stopped, all was quite in the forest. The vines were gone, so was the dark energy that had lingered there, leaving no evidence that they had been there in the first place.

Harry, Ron and Hermione breathed a sigh of relieve. Everything seems to be okay for the time being. At least, before Inuyasha suddenly collapsed onto the ground.

Worry and concern crossed Kagome's features as she rushed towards him. Only when she touched him did she find that he was sweating heavily. She sighed.

"You strained yourself again, didn't you? How many times must I tell you not to go around acting like you're okay when you're not?"

She just received a small 'Keh!' as he looked away.

"You should learn how to take care of yourself." She commented, receiving a glare.

Kagome raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything more as she stood up.

"Let's go back to the castle, then."

Harry opened his mouth to speak.

"Don't worry. I'll explain everything later." Kagome cut in before he could start. "All of you have the right to know. After all, this concerns everybody's lives."

Harry nodded hesitantly, pondering over what Kagome had just said before this. It was not Voldemort. It was someone more powerful and dangerous. He bit his lips. By her tone, this seems to be very serious.

He was about to turn and walk out of the forest when he suddenly noticed that he had somehow ended up in Dumbledore's office. For a moment, he thought that he had amnesia before he saw that Hermione and Ron were as bewildered as he was.

'Teleportation' was Kagome's simple answer when they looked at her enquiringly.

"So I see that the matter in the Forbidden Forest was dealt with." Dumbledore said calmly as he watched the, um, interesting assortment of people in front of him. (A witch with bows and arrows and a hanyou isn't exactly a very common sight…)

"Yes, but the youkai escaped." Kagome answered as she put down her bow. (She was using it in the Great Hall.) "And I think I have some idea who the mastermind is."

Dumbledore just gave a little nod.

"I'm afraid that you will have to explain to us everything, then. But first, why don't you all have a rest first? Lessons shall be cancelled tomorrow for all the students to recover from the incidents today so we have time to discuss it then. And I believe that your friend needs to get healed?"

At this point, Dumbledore glanced towards Inuyasha, who was sitting on the floor, cross-legged, an annoyed look on his face.

"If you don't mind, I'll prefer not to trouble Madam Pomfrey with this. Anyway, he would try and escape before she can do anything." Kagome replied as she forced a smile and started to shove Inuyasha out before he could yell insults at her.

The three clueless students just stared dotted eyed as their teacher dragged the angry-looking hanyou out. Shouts can be clearly heard outside.

"Now you three should go to bed too. Come to my office after breakfast tomorrow. You deserve an explanation and I don't think that we will have time to let Kagome explain it to the whole school anytime soon. The password is Chocolate Frog."

Kagome sighed as she watched the sleeping Hanyou. Despite all his protests, he had fell right asleep the moment he laid down on the bed. The battle with the youkai had worn him out badly.

That caused her to think about the more important matters at hand. By now, after she had some time to piece all the evidence together, she was pretty sure who the mastermind was. And if she was right, then this wasn't going to be an easy battle. In fact, this may decide the fate of the whole world.

She frowned. She hated fighting. She hated this sort of things. Exactly the reason why she hid herself from the entire world for that long a time. But now that things have developed to such an extent, she will have no choice.

More youkai are going to come. And not to forget, other sorcerers and sorceresses.

She looked into the distance sadly. This is going to be the hardest time the world is ever going to face.

"Umm…Kagome-sama?"

Kagome's eyes widened as she turned slowly towards the source of the familiar voice.

"Sorry, Kagome-chan, but it was all houshi-sama's idea."

Kagome sweat-dropped as she saw the group in front of her.

"Sango-chan, Miroku-sama…"

That's it. Don't worry, the next chapter will come in a week.

And for those who were like 'huh? The youkai was that easy? She just ran away?' Well, things will be explained in the next chapter…