Chapter 9 - To defeart the enemy!

~~The Past - Mid Morning - Sengoku Jidai - Kagome's Nightmare Relived~~

She was trapped. Trapped till the end of time forever to repeat that same horrible, vile, pain racked nightmare. Try as she might, she could not get away from it. She crawled, walked, ran, fell only to get up and run again, until she could not draw a breath that was not filled with overwhelming pain.

It left her with only her pain and the horrible images to cling to, and she wanted neither one. Depression readily took over. How was she to hold her head up? She was dirty, tainted, and used. No one would want her now, not even Inuyasha. She could almost hear the laughter of her friends as they pointed their fingers at her...

"There is the whore. Look at her. She wanted what happened to her, else she would have gone home sooner. Look at the dirty slut," they all seemed to say. Loathing and disgust filled their eyes, and she could feel those looks like daggers piercing her skin.

"Why did you not listen to me Kagome?" her mother said. "Why could you not be more like the other young onna, who listen to their parents advice? You will regret your life if this little incident has left you pregnant. Now get your sorry @$$ up and get ready for school, you lazy good for nothing slut."

Even her mother was ashamed of her, hated her, wanted nothing to do with her. No one wanted to be near someone who had been raped. Everyone knew that victims of rape always were to blame for what happened to them. Everyone knew that it was because those same victims wanted to be taken that way.

When she fell again, she didn't have the strength to rise. She could not fight the pain any more. She had no one. Ojii-san would never love her again, Souta had mama, Sango had Miroku, Shippou would never be able to look at her again, Inuyasha had Kikyou, her school friends - well, they all had boyfriends and didn't need to be around the low life called Kagome, even Hojo would no longer be interested in her, and the same could be said for Kouga. She was dirty, and tainted. No longer welcome anywhere. There was nothing left to care for, and she just wanted for all of the pain and heartache to stop.

She felt a sudden presence and a moment later a hand came to rest on her shoulder. At first, it drove her fear beyond the ability to reason. Rational thought did not exist, only fear. Wave after wave, of mind numbing, blood freezing fear. Even Naraku was easier to face than this.

A calm, unemotional, yet soothing voice, came out of the darkness, "Miko! We are here to help!"

Almost immediately, she felt the soothing comfort of a pair of loving arms, as they snaked around her waist and pulled her back into a warm chest and loving embrace. A hot whisper of a breath, caressed her ear and neck, "We are here for you, Kagome. I am here for you. You are not alone!"

She looked over at the clawed hand that still rested upon her shoulder. The razor sharp and deadly appendages, rather than feed her fear, surprisingly brought what she needed the most. Comfort, and the feeling of safety. She knew that hand, even without seeing the twin maroon stripes that graced the wrist.

**Ses...sho...maru?** was her hesitantly whispered plea.

**Hai! We are here to share your pain, and the help you face your fear,** came the stoic voice from the darkness beyond.

**Inu...yasha?** she said with a bit more confidence, as the fear continued to ebb away.

**Hai, koi! I am here,** came the second voice, just behind her. The gentle tightening of the arms holding her making it clear that she was not alone and not unloved.

**We are here to help you. We need to see what you saw, feel what you felt, witness what they did to you,** Inuyasha's voice said gently.

**Iie! I don't want to go through that again,** she cried. **Can't we just make it go away?**

Sesshomaru's voice came out of the darkness once again, as the clawed had on her shoulder squeezed in gentle reassurance, **The only way to make it go away, Miko, is to face it. Do not be afraid of fear. You are strong.**

**Hai, Kagome. There is no shame in being afraid, only in letting it control you,** said Inuyasha. **Show us. We NEED to see. Onegai, koi. We will be right here with you.**

**Hai Miko. Let us take your pain. You will not be alone. Show us your fear,** the stoic voice commanded more than requested.

**O..o..okay,** came the hesitant and fearfilled reply. Both the arms holding her, and the clawed hand resting on her shoulder squeeze again gently and given her as much reassurance as they could. It was enough. Enough for her to take heart, and a deep steadying breath as she let the vile and nightmarish images wash over her once more.

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She had almost made it home. Just a little farther and she would be at the steps leading up to the Shrine Gates proper. The steps to safety and freedom. But the Fate's were not to be so kind that night.

No only had they seen fit to not provide at least the light of the full moon, but the very lights that should have lighted her path all the way home were left broken and unrepaired for kami knew how long. Had the moon be aware of the destiny that awaited her? Known what was to come, and hidden its face in shame behind the clouds that hung like a smothering blanket that night?

Whatever the case was, the facts where that she had only managed to make it about midway down that last block home, when those filthy, rough, caloused, strong hands had reached out, grabbing her from the sight of her haven. Grabbed her and dragged her down a nearby alley into the darkness.

~~She wanted so badly to turn away. She didn't want to face this again. It hurt so bad. She hurt so badly.

**Face it, koi. We are here with you. We understand. You are not alone in this,** came that beloved voice out of the darkness of her nightmare.

That clawed hand, tightened just a bit, and those arms held on more securely, and it gave her the strength to continue.~~

She screamed as best she could, although one hand was over her mouth. She bit, clawed, scratched, kicked and thrashed, all to no avail. The hands were just to strong, and her fear just to great.

Not just one set of hands either, but several. It was like there was hundreds of hands grabbing her, touching her, ripping her clothes, digging into her flesh, grabbing her breasts painfully, shoving themselves into places that had no right to be touched in such a violent and invasive way. They slapped her, punched her, felt her up in the most violent way. They pushed her, shoving until she fell, only for their owners to kick her in an effort to make her stand once more.

But she didn't give up. She kept fighting. She shoved back, pushed as best she could, she tried to stand up and run, but was grabbed. She tried to roll away, so she could gain her feet once more, only to be punched in the face and knocked back again. The impact with a nearby street pole stunned her momentarily, but not enough to miss the sickening sound of breaking bones in her arm.

~~The pain of that injury was so fresh in her mind that she had been feeling it at ever repetion of the images before her. She closed her eyes, expecting the, by now familiar, pain to hammer at her senses again.

**You have a right to feel fear, Miko. Accept it, just do not let it control you. You were...are strong. Few could have lasted this long and lived,** a stoic voice soothingly said.

The hand on her shoulder shook with unseen rage, but continued to offer comfort as the thumb started to make calming circular motions on the back of the shivering shoulder.

Those calming words, and equally calming actions pulled her back to herself, and she realized with the awareness that she didn't feel the pain as before. It surprised her, and she welcomed it. Once more she opened her eyes, and let the images continue to flow.~~

When she fell once more, crying out in pain, she was kicked. Kick in the side, kicked in the stomach, no mercy shown and none given. She felt her ribs crack, and prayed that they were not broken. Despite the injuries and her blurred vision due to a swollen and blackening eye, she still fought and still tried her best to get away.

It had taken almost all she had to keep her wits about her as long as she could. She had finally been able to determine that there were six of them. They all were dressed in black, and except for their hands, faces, and eventually their exposed body parts, all that could be seen was darkness.

They had called out to each other, but no names were spoken. The only reference that she could discern was 'Nightwalkers'. That reference alone, sent chills of fear down her spine that she could never have felt had she been facing off with even the most fearsome of youkai. Not even Naraku himself.

~~At the feeling of shame and anger that washed over her, Kagome once again shuddered and closed her eyes. It was so overwhelming and so intense, she could feel the bile in her stomach rising to her throat. Her breath came short and her very body shook with suppressed rage, something that she had not felt even towards Naraku. It sickened her and she fought it, fought with all she was.

**These are beasts more vile than any hanyou or youkai, Kagome. You were brave to have fought them as you did. You have every right to feel anger towards their heinous acts. Do not be afraid to feel whatever is your need.** Inuyasha's voice offered. A loving kiss, and warm tongue caressed her neck, where she knew he nuzzled by her ear. It brought some measure of control to the raging onna, although she was not sure why.

**The best way to fight an unwanted feeling, Miko, is to give into it. Let it come. Accept the right to the feeling and let it wash over you. Only then can you control it and let it go.** that ever stoic voice said.

The rage diminished greatly at that. She could not say exactly why that was so. All she knew was that it no longer seemed to encompass her entire being, and the soothing calm of the two presences next to her seemed to lend her their strength as she faced her nightmares. It helped make her ordeal both more real, and less painful as the images continued.~~

They had dragged her down the alley, uncaring of whether she walked or not. Whatever was in the way, she was dragged over or through, even if there was path around. When her legs gave out, they just grabbed whatever their hands were closest to, and used that as a means to continue to drag her further into the dark.

One of them had grabbed her now broken arm, and as she tried to fight back, he had slammed her into the nearest wall as hard as he could. The impact had left her momentarily unconscious and when awareness came back to her, she found herself lying on the filthy pavement as the six of them began the true torture.

By now, her clothes were gone, and they were reveling in the pain they gave her as they continued to drag her down the dark and smelly alley. When she was in the deepest, darkest, depths of the alley, where no one dared to venture into, they dropped her, started jeering and laughing as they detailed what they intended.

One of them had taken a knife and found pleasure in running the blade randomly over her flesh. Her sides, her breasts, her shoulder, her neck, her stomach, her thighs, any place that took his whim, as he delighted in watching her blood flow and running his fingers through the red liquid as it ran from the cuts.

Surprisingly, he left her face alone. His reasoning was that he wanted the scars to be easy to hide. It would be fun to watch as those who were attracked to a pretty face, shunned her in disgust when they saw the 'artwork' left on her body. Well, at least they were not looking to kill her, was her only thought at that moment.

~~It was bad enough to know that they were intending to violate her. It was enough that they caused her more pain and anquish than any youkai, hanyou, or evil lord she had ever faced. But to leave her such scars, for no other reason than to give her a lifetime of loneliness, and anquish was more than she wanted to live with. It was just so unfair. What had she ever done to deserve such treatment?

**Cry koi. Let it go. We will find a way to deal with these scars together. To me, you will always be beautiful and nothing will ever change how I feel about you in my heart. Do not be afraid. I will never leave you alone.** Inuyasha's voice once again offered solace. The warm breath on her ear more soothing than she thought possible.

Those words held more healing in them, than even the hanyou truly realized. It was more than she could have hoped for, and all she had ever prayed to have.

As much as she didn't want to continue, she knew that she had to. It was the only way to survive, and she owed it to those she cared most for. She had to brave this out and see it through, see it through so she could move on, and let it all go.~~

Another, had decided that he would take pleasure in abusing her breasts. He had already run his own fingers through the trails of blood running from the cuts, but that was not enough for this one. No, he had to continue the pain and torture by digging his fingers into the tender flesh and biting them until he left his own mark upon them. Another seeing the 'fun' in this, decided to join his associate and between the two, they tortured and abused both of her breasts, even slapping and punching them just to watch the flesh bounce and the skin discolour.

When the one with the knife lost interest in his game, he had chosen to kneel by her head with the intent of plundering her mouth with more than just his own. He was only just getting ready to take his pleasure, when a fourth member of the group, began rammed his aroused flesh, hard and deep into her. Reveling in the pain that he inflicted, he was unrelenting in his efforts to drive himself, seemingly up into her ribcage.

Seeing his efforts to do so, the final two members of the pack present, grabbed her legs and pulled them up and apart until Kagome thought that they were going to pull them from the hip joints. As they held her legs out of the way, the two picked up where the one with the knife previously had left off, carving random patterns into the backs of her thighs. One was using his own dirty blade, while the other seemed to delight in using his filthy nails.

She had read the articles in the newspapers, seen the reports in the news. The 'Nightwalkers' were the stuff of nightmares that everyone, even her friends had spoken of at school, but never above a whisper. The horrible images of the bodies that had been found by innocent passersby, or the police, flashed across her mind. She knew what they were capable of and knew what they intended for her, and all she could think of as they began taken their pleasure of her, was one simple and yet so meaningful word.

Despite all of this, and her rapidly waning strength, Kagome still fought as best she could. Unconsciously, she was even growling at her attackers in a most animalistic way. At first this had confused them, and for just a moment the confusion and the strange sounds brought a little fear to their hearts. It was enough to give her strength, to let her reach deep into a well of energy that she had forgotten she even had. It was the pain of feeling like she was being ripped in two, when her innocence was taken that finally gave her breath to scream the only thing that she knew was her salvation.

"IIIIIIINNNNNNUUUUUUYYYYYYAAAAASSSSSHHHHHHAAAAAA!!!!!!!!"

~~Even in this nightmarish world, the power and strength behind that cry was inhuman. It was a physical presence that left nothing in its way. Nothing, no one, not space and not time.

**It is ok, koi. I felt your need. I heard you. Even beyond the well, I knew you needed me.** Inuyasha explained soothingly. Although she was dreaming, and knew that the images before her were just memories, the nearness of him was more real that life itself. It brought a warmth and comfort that she so badly needed then, and she was grateful for ever second that he was near.

**Miko! Let yourself feel as you do. It is not in the denying that you will find freedom from all of this. It is in the acceptance of what it made and makes you feel. Anger, hatred, remorse, shame, sadness, terror, a thirst for vengeance, a desire for blood, and even the fear. You have the right to feel these things. Accept them, they are a part of what makes you who you are. The only true shame would be if you let them control you. You have no need to feel shame.**

Sesshomaru's words struck a chord within her soul. One that she had not realized she had or even needed. She was Miko, and for years and been facing fears that to most would have been impossible, and more terrifying than these images before her. She had faced youkai singlely and in vast armies, alone and with her companions. She had faced death himself, and still stood tall and survived.

More than anything, however, was the fact that she had faced herself. It was her greatest strength. Through all of the dark times, and the light, she never denied who she was, or that her humanity was less than she knew it to be. All beings, whether hanyou, youkai or ningen, were entitled to feel. Love, sadness, shame, pleasure, compassion, anger, hatred, peace, and all of the other feelings great and small.

That understanding had save her life and her sanity on more than one occassion. The attempted violation of her mind by Tsubaki, the attempted tainting by Naraku's child, Kikyou's constant abuse and attempted killings, even her own worse fears of never being able to have Inuyasha for her own. All had been things she had accepted as a part of who she was and all she was meant to be.

This crisis was truly no different in that sense. Only the circumstances and the faces of the enemy had changed. She could do this, and this time, she was not alone as she faced down her enemy.~~

The vile animal that had been by her head, immediately punched her in the face once more, and when she continued to cry out and whimper in her pain, he proceeded to slap her repeatedly for making too much noise. Each movement, every touch, all their actions, only brought more and more pain. She could no longer hold back the sounds that escaped her, and despite their efforts to make her stop, she continued unrelentingly.

In the almost mind numbing fear of the moment, Kagome did the one thing that she could do, she fought again. More like a blind, and mindless animal, she did her best to kick, scream, claw, bite and yell. It was this that had torn more of their clothing and left some of their blood and skin clinging to her hands and nails. In the end, all it did was get her punched, kicked, and slapped more, but still she persisted, some part of her not willing to give up the fight.

She thought she heard a familiar growl. But she dared not give herself hope that she had. She knew that Inuyasha had been waiting for her back on the otherside of the well. There was no way that he could have heard her scream, and her only hope was the some good samaritan had heard her and called the police. If only they could get to her in time, but there was not much hope of that. Not with the dreaded 'Nightwalkers'.

Again she heard that familiar growl, louder, closer, echoing out of the darkness, and she dared to hope that the sound was not just her ears ringing from the pain and loss of blood. It was louder this time, and filled with such rage that she felt each of her attackers as they shivered in fear at the sound.

"What the frack was that?" asked one. They all paused in their actions to listen. When the sound came again, louder, closer, and more enraged than ever, they all clearly shivered in abject terror, and Kagome could smell that at least one of them had relieve himself in his pants.

To her relief, they all jumped as one, and fled into the night. The growl materialized in front of her blurred vision and revealed a familiar figure dressed in red and sporting long silver tresses and golden eyes filled with rage strong enough to tint them red.

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As the last image faded away, she felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her. The darkness that followed was not the heavy presence that it had once been, but the comforting feeling of peace. It was a soothing darkness that promised that there would be no more nightmares, and that the toughest part of the journey ahead was over.

**Rest Miko. You are entitled to a little peace. You will no longer be plagued by these images,** came Sesshomaru's sage advise.

**Hai, rest koi. We have felt your pain, and we will take away your nightmares. Leave them with us now. You will remember them, but there will no longer be pain with the remembering. Now it is time to heal.** Inuyasha said as he hugged her more tightly to his chest.

**Promise?** she asked half in fear and half in relief.

**You have our word, Miko. No one could have gone through what you did and not been unscathed. You were both brave and strong. You should be proud of that. You are a credit to your race, and in fact, are even a credit to hanyou and youkai as well. Stand proud of who and what you are, regardless of whatever that might be.** said Sesshomaru with more feeling that anyone thought the stoic and icy hearted youkai to possess.

**Arigato, Sesshomaru-sama,** was all she could manage to say to him. Words seemed insignificant to otherwise reply to those sage words.

**Know, Kagome, that those vile....things....will never again hurt anyone. They will never again, be able to hurt even the most lowly of creatures. They will pay for their vile and cowardly actions. This Sesshomaru swears to this.** The barely contained rage behind that promise was almost frightening in its strength. There was more force behind them, than anything she had ever known.

**I swear the same, Kagome. My oath that they will pay for their crimes. We will put and end to the pain and anquish these 'things' cause to others. Rest now. Heal. You more than deserve it. There will be no more nightmares, just peace.** Inuyasha said, as he nuzzled her neck once more, just beneath her ear. His soothing and gentle kisses giving her most emotional release and comfort that he could ever imagine.

**Arigato, Inuyasha,** she said as consciousness finally failed her, and she drifted into a warm, peaceful, and healing sleep.

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