InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ To Find A Heart ❯ Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I make no profit from this & it is merely an act of fandom. I do not own any rights to Inuyasha or its characters. I do not own any rights to Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its characters.

 

Warnings: Language, violence, alcohol, sexual content, abuse, torture, etc., etc., and so forth.

 

Answered Questions: Feel free to ask questions, as I may answer them so long as it isn't giving away what is to happen next.

 

To Find A Heart

 

Chapter 4

 

Kagome looked at herself in a mirror. Her hair had grown too long to be worn down as it dragged the ground. She picked at the collar of the multi-layered kimono of black and greens, it was beautiful and she hated that she was about to destroy it. She undressed, with slight difficulties, and laid each layer out.

 

She paid no heed to the noises of the sickly forest around the cave. Her keeper was currently keeping Naraku company, and would be till dawn at the least. She knew better than to expect him early for he trusted her not to stray. Or at least that's what Kagome had led him to believe. Last autumn Kagome had completed her plan to escape. Through fall and winter Kagome had acted the faithful lover, his devoted servant, His Lovely Rose is what he called her. Despite falling for Kagome's plan, he was still insane. The physical abuse did not stop, but was now more controlled. There were no public outbursts and no blows to her face. The kimonos hid her from neck to toe.

 

The last layer came away to reveal Kagome's damaged body. Bloodless scratches, spider web cracks, and dents marred Kagome's otherwise smooth clay skin. Kagome knelt on the dirt floor and reached behind the mirror. She picked at the ground until it started to come loose. Reaching in the small hole, she retrieved the sharpened rock she'd buried. It had taken her weeks to finish sharpening the stone, but the edge was perfect for its part in her plan.

 

She moved to sit by the kimono. Beneath her skilled hand, Kagome made herself a messenger bag style pack, a kimono wrapped fur pillow, and many strips of cloth. She left the outer kimono unharmed, but cut off the sleeves on the other kimono and shortened it to just above the knee. Putting the stone knife to the base of her skull, she cut off all but a few inches of her long locks. Kagome tied an end and began braiding the long strands. Once finished she tied that end as well. She placed it in her sack along with the pillow and enough strips of meat to last her a week. After making sure what she would need was packed, she wrapped a piece of cloth around in to keep it closed.

 

When she had finished packing, she began to dress, donning the now sleeveless kimono. She tied it closed with the green obi. She slipped the knife inside the obi. Kagome sat and began wrapping her feet, ankles, and calves in the left over strips. She repeated this, wrapping from her hands to her elbows.

 

Throwing the sack over her shoulder and the intact outer kimono tucked under her arm, Kagome left the cave in a burst of speed. She ran and the world blurred by her. Her muscles ached a bit from disuse, but the wind blowing her face felt amazing. It was the first taste of freedom that she'd had since being given her new keeper.

 

Kagome had planned it all out. She would secure the hair to the branches of a tree, then back track. He would rush to track her down following her scent to the hair. Kagome found the perfect tree. It was old and sturdy with many branches. Following the same path as before she went back toward the cave.

 

“Now step two…” she said to herself. She let out a loud shriek, hoping to attract a youkai. After a few moments, she wasn't disappointed.

 

A large bear youkai emerged from the foliage, growling viciously. It swung at her with one huge paw, but Kagome jumped and dodged it. She leapt to its back and clung to the youkai's matted brown coat. Before it had the chance to roll onto its back, Kagome ripped the knife from her obi and rammed it through its throat out the other side. Kagome jumped into the boughs of a tall tree, safe from the beast's wild death throws. Once it had ceased moving, She returned to its side. Taking the outer kimono, she drenched it in the bear's blood. Sure that the fabric had absorbed all the blood it could, she put it on, the blood was wet and hot against her skin, but it would cover her scent when she went in the opposite direction from the trail toward the hair.

 

She purified the body into dust and ran the distance back to the cave. She passed it without stopping and continued to run. She didn't know where she would go, just that she had to get away.

 

---

After having run nonstop for what felt like hours Kagome began searching for shelter. She stayed away from the towns and went out of her way to avoid any of Naraku's bases. Kagome felt drained, having been cooped up in that cave for so long she was out of shape. Searching, Kagome found an abandoned den. It was just a hole in the ground with a fallen tree over it, but it would keep the weather off of her. Tossing her pack in she crawled in after it. She took a few meat strips out and began munching on the jerky like things.

 

Kagome laid her head on the pillow and tried to rest. Her mind however kept wandering to Hakudoshi, everyone she's lost in her life, both of them, and to the family she'll never see again. She wondered what was to become of the future that she had come from. How could Japan ever turn it's self around after this. The only thing she had to live for here was Hakudoshi, and she didn't know if she would ever see him again. There was no reason for her to live, she was suppose to be dead, her soul at peace, but nothing ever lasted for her. Even if she killed herself Naraku would just bring her back to life.

---

 

At some point, Kagome must have drifted off to sleep because she was ripped from her sleep by someone flinging the tree away from her den, leaving her open and cornered. Standing in a halo of morning light was none other than her keeper. It was either late in the morning or his dark skin made the light seem brighter. Kagome didn't know how he caught up with her so fast, but she didn't ponder over it and instead attacked him. His eyes glowed for a brief second and Kagome was paralyzed. Having been in mid air, she dropped to the ground

 

He stared down at her, an expression of sadness and disappointment etched across his face. “My Lovely Rose… it is such a shame that you would try to put an end to what we have. I knew you were a handful from the day I first met you. I was told that just like a rose, you would hide your thorns beneath your beauty. I thought I may be able to clip those thorns, wear them away, but I see now it was futile.”

 

Kagome seethed, her strings finally all snapped. She hated that name. She hated that demon. She hated this world. “I HATE you! Why don't you get that?! My name is Kagome! I'm not a tool! I'm not an accessory! And I sure as HELL AINT YOUR ROSE!!!”

 

With that she broke free from his paralysis and lunged for his throat. Her eyes were wide and insane and the shocked look from her keeper made her grin like a feral cat. Something black flew from her right and stabbed through her chest. As she hit the ground, more tentacles shot through her. She looked into Naraku's red eyes as the world faded to black around them.

 

---

 

Hakudoshi wasn't sure what this was about but all of Naraku's troops and servants had been called to his palace. Hakudoshi had long since lost Naraku's favor, but the feeling was mutual as he had taken Kagome from his and given her to another. Hakudoshi was forbidden to see her, but that wouldn't stop him once he discovered where she was.

 

Naraku's presence filled the area as he materialized at the top of the stairs. In his hands was a silken bundle. Once his audience was silent he spoke, his voice booming through the crowd. “I have been finding mutinous soldiers in my armies. These people would see me fall. They believe themselves to be stronger than me. But they are all weak when compared to me. I have heard rumors that my miko exterminator is more powerful than I, that I fear her, and that fear is why she has been absent from duty. You may now cease this meaningless gossip.”

 

Hakudoshi's heart was stuck in his throat. At the mention of Kagome, he had tensed, his eyes now glued to the bundle in Naraku's hand.

 

Naraku smiled when he noticed where Hakudoshi's eyes were. Opening the silk, he pulled out Kagome's head. Her eyes were still open, but they were lifeless and glazed over. Her jaw stayed respectfully closed, a gift from rigor mortis. Bits of spine hung past where the tattered skin ended. Gasps and cheers were heard.

 

Hakudoshi blocked everything out as he made up his mind to see Naraku dead.

 

 

End of Chapter

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