InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Ultimatum ❯ Chapter 14 ( Chapter 14 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: BoxingKing 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 03.23.2008 | Pages: 5 | Words: 4.9K | Visits: 1.6K | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 03.23.2008 | Pages: 5 | Words: 4.9K | Visits: 1.6K | Status: Work In Progress
Ultimatum
Chapter 14
Boxing King
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The fire had dwindled down to nothing, soft glowing embers amongst the ash. It barely lit the small hollow in the trees that the group had holed up in.
Kagome was asleep in Inuyasha’s arms when she felt it – a sharp twist in her gut. Her eyes flicked open, looking around the camp. There was no noise except for the odd rustle of the trees by a slight breeze. She looked over at Miroku and Sango, tucked together in the same bedroll. The two slumbered peacefully. Shippo nestled deeper in her arms, burying his cold nose under her arm. She could feel the slow, even breathing of the hanyou behind her.
Kagome let a slight frown overtake her lips. Why was she awake? She was suddenly pumped full of adrenaline, just like in a fight. No one else seemed to be aware of anything. Had it been a dream?
She tried to relax in Inuyasha’s arms, settling in a bit more firmly. She had a niggling feeling of doubt that it couldn’t have been a dream. Yet, surely, if something was wrong, then the fighters around her would know. Not to mention the demon sleeping in her arms and the one sequestered in between Miroku and Sango. Even Inuyasha in his human form noticed more than she did.
Then why was she the only one awake?
Kagome let her eyes scan the clearing again, trying to take in more details. After a few moments, she gave up. It wasn’t like she knew what to look for. As far she could tell, there was nothing hiding in the surrounding foliage. Slowly, she craned her neck upwards, checking out the treetops. In the Feudal Era, she was used to things jumping down upon them. Her own Inuyasha slept up there – it wasn’t a new concept for her. Yet, nothing was up there either.
Should she wake everyone else? Did a nasty feeling in her gut count as warning? It wasn’t like a jewel shard, either. That came more as a warm, fuzzy feeling in her head.
Kagome hesitated. Inuyasha rarely slept in human form, doing his best to stay alert with dampened senses. It was even rarer for him to cuddle up to her. She was loath to give that up. It meant a lot that he could hold her. She still held hope for their relationship. Kikyou was becoming less and less of a hang up for him. With the end of the battle in sight, Kagome was looking forward to some time together, in peace, without interruption.
She let out a soft sigh. It was probably nothing. She had never felt anything before anyone else before now, and there was no reason that that would have changed. Kagome firmly leaned back against Inuyasha, closing her eyes, and doing her best to ignore the tightening of her gut.
She jerked at a soft click that seemed to echo in the small clearing. She cast wide eyes wildly about, trying to find whatever had made the noise.
“Inu… Inuyasha…” she whispered. There was no doubt in her mind: someone was out there. “Inuyasha,” she said a bit more forcefully. She sat up, shaking Shippo as she did so. She twisted to shake his arm. “Wake up, Inuyasha.”
She anxiously watched as his eyes slowly opened. She stood, spilling Shippo to the ground. He awoke with a soft grunt.
“Inuyasha, wake up, now!” Her voice was beginning to rise in panic. She didn’t watch to see him wake, instead turning to rouse Sango and Miroku.
An arrow pierced her shoulder as she took her first step.
She cried out. It was this sound that jerked everyone awake much better than her quiet calls had.
Kagome staggered and reached a hand out towards the arrow. Blood was slow to fall with the shaft stuck fast in the muscle. She bit back a whimper and tried to move towards her bag and bow.
She didn’t get very far. There was a man crouched in front of her yellow backpack, a wicked blade held in front of him.
She whirled to see the rest of the clearing. Sango and Miroku were being held down by more men, blades resting at against their necks. Kirara’s limp form was being tossed into a sack. She turned to look behind her. Shippo was in much the same situation as Kirara. And Inuyasha. Silence had surrounded her as she took in the situation, adrenaline and fear blocking everything but the wild thump of her heart. It left her as she looked at him.
He was struggling wildly, cursing all the men pulling him down. There was one on each limb, doing their best to collapse him to the ground. Kagome tried to call out as a fifth man appeared behind him, swinging a club viciously at his head, but her voice caught in her throat in horror as a loud crack resounded throughout the clearing.
Silence this time as the prisoners were gagged. Kagome fell to her knees, tears falling from pain and fear. One man walked up to her, a triumphant smirk on his face.
“Give up easily, Miko, and we’ll bind your wound.”
Kagome simply stared at him.
They were human. They had been overtaken by humans.
It was why the demons had not noticed their scents – they were already surrounded by the smell of humans, and with both of their noses buried, they had not noticed the small change in the clearing.
The man squatted before her. “Naraku has paid us handsomely to fetch you and your group, Miko. He even provided us with the nice little information of your pal’s human date. We know we have a time limit, so stalling to try and allow him to change back won’t work.”
Kagome simply gaped at him. Naraku was behind this all. They were going to die.
Kagome lurched to her feet and tried to move away from the man in front of her.
She didn’t get far, as one of the men grabbed her hands and twisted roughly up. He swiftly knotted rope around her wrists, neglectful of the arrow sticking out of her shoulder.
The leader moved to stand in front of her. “You shouldn’t have tried to run,” he hissed. He grabbed the arrow and yanked it out cruelly. She cried out as the point sliced more of her arm coming out.
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“What the fuck are you talking about, Kagome?” snarled Yusuke. He turned to glare at his cousin, letting the full force of his brown eyes trap her.
Kagome swallowed, then continued on forcefully. “I – I am a traitor, Yusuke.”
Everyone simply stared at her. Silence filled the room, perpetuated only by the harsh panting of the two men in front of her. Kagome resolutely avoided the crimson pair of eyes. She didn’t feel up to the accusation and contempt that she knew would be present there.
Finally, Kurama spoke up. Yusuke seemed unable to reconcile what Kagome was saying with what he wanted to be hearing.
“What do you mean, Kagome?”
“I… I stopped Hiei from stopping Naraku. He had a killing blow, and… I – I stopped him.”
She looked Kurama in eye as she responded to his question. She could feel the antagonism of everyone around her.
“Why, Kagome? Why?” croaked out Yusuke. His voice was hoarse as he restrained himself from shouting.
“I couldn’t let him kill him, Yusuke.”
“So we gathered,” Kurama drily uttered. “But why?”
Kagome looked as Yusuke, beseeching him. “I couldn’t let Hiei kill him, Yusuke.” Her eyes began to fill with tears. She fought to keep them from running over.
“Why the fuck would you want to do that, Kagome?” exploded Yusuke. “Naraku is a BASTARD! He has Keiko, Kagome. KEIKO!” He began waving his hands around in rage. “He sent her finger in a box! Why the hell couldn’t you let Hiei kill him, Kagome?”
She lost the fight, and the tears began cascading down her face, fogging her vision. “Not Naraku, Yusuke. Inuyasha.”
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He threw her down violently, letting her knees take the beating with her hands tied behind her back.
“Look at them, Kagome. Are you prepared to give them up?”
Kagome raised horror-filled eyes to the sight laid out before her. She was in a dungeon, surrounded by stricken prisoners that cowered at the light, and screamed at Naraku. Before her were her two best friends. They were chained next to each other, close together, but far enough that their desperate hands couldn’t touch in shared fear.
Kagome swallowed back a cry. It would only feed Naraku’s sick tendencies.
“Where is the Jewel, Kagome?”
She stayed quiet, kneeling. She alternated between the wide eyes of her comrades. They were resolute in the face of danger, knowing that they might not get out of this one.
She could never tell him where the Jewel was. She had the entire thing now. Not long before they had been captured, they had snuck into Naraku’s fortress and taken his shards right from under the proverbial nose. The only thing that had allowed them to sneak in and take the shards had been his own hubris. They still hadn’t been strong enough at the time to take on Naraku and win. He had been taking over different leaders, absorbing their bodies and adding them to his power. They had been hoping with the Jewel shards all in their control that most of the lesser followers that he had had would leave, and most of his own power would be depleted. Apparently, it hadn’t worked.
Naraku snared his hand in her hair and jerked her up. “Tell me where it is now, Kagome, or suffer my wrath.”
Kagome could do nothing more than look at him.
Naraku’s beady eyes bored into her own, trying to will out her secrets. “You reek of fear, Miko.” He threw her to the ground again.
“Who do you choose, Kagome? Who would like me to kill first?”
Kagome rose to her knees, frantically shaking her head. “No, Naraku, please don’t! Don’t kill them.”
He bared his teeth at her in a semblance of a smile. “The Jewel or their lives?”
“Don’t do it, Kagome!” shouted Sango. “Don’t give in to him! Don’t listen to his threats!” Naraku casually backhanded her.
“Now, now, Kagome. You wouldn’t be so foolish as to listen to her, would you?”
Kagome slumped to the ground, eyes brimming with tears. “I can’t give you the Jewel, Naraku,” she whispered.
“What was that Kagome? I couldn’t hear you.”
“I can’t give you the Jewel,” she muttered a bit more loudly. Her voice held conviction, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak any louder against the silence in the dungeon.
“What was that, Kagome? I couldn’t hear you! The demon slayer or the monk?”
Kagome began to cry, tears falling in two straight lines down her face, not giving her the boon of fogging her vision.
“No…” she whispered.
“FINE! I will decide!” He slammed his hand against Sango’s forehead, keeping her head against the wall, straining her neck.
“NO!” screamed Miroku. “Sango! No, please! Give him the Jewel, Kagome!” he turned frantic eyes towards Kagome. “Please, Kagome! Please – not Sango! SANGO!” He ended on that anguished cry as Naraku slit her throat, letting the blood slide onto his extended hand. The exterminator stayed silent throughout her death. Miroku hung limp in his chains, staring blindly ahead.
Kagome began rocking on the floor. “No, no, no, no, no.”
Naraku’s foot lashed out, hitting her squarely in the face. She fell back, blood pouring from her nose.
“It was all your fault, Kagome. If you had simply given me the Jewel, none of this would have had to happen.”
Kagome focused on Naraku.
“The monk blames you, Kagome. You let his love die simply because you wouldn’t give up the Jewel. How can you live with yourself? Letting others die like that.”
Kagome looked at Miroku. She looked at her friend, chained next to his dead lover. “I’m sorry, Miroku,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.” Miroku closed his eyes, hiding the sight before him.
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“Who the hell is Inuyasha?” snarled Yusuke. “I highly doubt that Hiei would confuse Naraku with someone else. Or not notice you sucking face with someone else.”
Kagome flinched. “Please don’t say it like that, Yusuke,” she whispered.
“How many people have you fucked, Kagome? You fucking the bad guys now?”
Kagome’s jaw dropped.
“Yusuke!” spoke a shocked Kurama.
“Chill out, Yusuke,” demanded Kuwabara. “There is no need to be so vulgar.”
“No! Was Hiei right, Kagome? Have you changed so much in the last couple of years that I don’t know you? Is this the guy your family was talking about?”
Kagome’s lower lip trembled as she fought the verbal assault. “I have not slept with anybody, Yusuke.”
“Then – who – the fuck – is he – Kagome?”
Kagome thought of how to sum up Inuyasha in just one phrase without sounding like an idiot. First love sounded too… girlish, and immature.
“He was my Keiko, Yusuke. And I would do for him what you are doing for Keiko now.”
This gave Yusuke pause, while he considered what she said.
“How do you come to love the enemy, Kagome?” This quiet question came from Kuwabara. The confusion on his face revealed how much he didn’t understand the situation. Kagome seemed innocent to him, not the type to fall in love with the asshole bad guy.
“Oh, Kuwabara, he wasn’t the enemy.” Kuwabara took in her earnest expression and relaxed somewhat. He believed her.
“Fine,” gritted out Yusuke. “If he’s not the enemy, explain to me how you ended up kissing who Hiei saw as Naraku?”
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“Let me demonstrate, Kagome, just what it will be like. As you watch, think about how this will happen to him next if you don’t give me what I want.”
Kagome was strapped to a chair, once again in the dungeon. Her head was strapped to the backboard. Naraku was making sure she couldn’t look away, knowing she wouldn’t be able to simply close her eyes and will away the images before her.
Naraku held up a struggling Shippo. He was crying, gagged and tied up. His little eyes frantically met Kagome’s, begging her to save him.
Naraku gripped the back of his neck and slowly began unwinding the rope. “Wouldn’t want any contaminants getting in, now would we, Kagome?” He looked at her, letting his words sink in. “Do you wonder what becomes of the souls, Kagome? Just like that clay bitch Kikyou eats souls, so do I. Yet, it is more than that, as well. I absorb everything about them. I take in their body, and replenish my own. I take in their power, and increase my own. I take in their souls, and it’s just like a shard.”
Kagome simply looked at him. She knew begging would do nothing. Her words only served to add to his pleasure, intensifying her pain. There was nothing she could do but to give him the Jewel. And she couldn’t do that, even if it killed her.
She watched, trying and failing to look away from Shippo’s eyes.
The rope fell the ground, and Shippo frantically flailed his arms around, trying to escape the inevitable.
Naraku wrapped both hands around his tiny neck and jerked him against his chest.
At first, nothing happened. Kagome watched as Shippo struggled. And then, his eyes widened as his back sunk the tiniest bit into Naraku’s stomach. Naraku removed a hand momentarily and removed the gag stuffed in his mouth.
Shippo’s screams filled the small chamber. As fast as he could suck in air he screamed. His small hands scrabbled at Naraku’s stomach as he was sucked backwards into him.
Kagome lurched in the chair, trying to get to the small kit. Naraku simply looked at her and smiled.
Shippo’s stomach descended into Naraku. His arms and legs stuck out like some perverse puppet from Naraku’s gut. Naraku continued to shove him down. Slowly, his legs sunk down, merging seamlessly into Naraku. Then his arms, struggling until just the fingertips showed. Finally, just his head was left, and Naraku had one palm on the top of his hair.
He squeezed out one word amidst all the pain. “Kagome…” It sounded like more of a gurgle as his mouth went down. Kagome looked into his eyes, her own dry, as Naraku succeeded in absorbing the rest of Shippo.
She looked up into Naraku’s eyes, watching them change from green back to their normal red.
Even if it killed some part of her.
“Well, Kagome, what’s the verdict?”
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“Well, Kagome?” Yusuke stood, waiting for an explanation.
Hiei continued looking on in contempt, arms crossed across his chest. He was getting the confrontation he wanted, but for some reason there was a seed of unease in him. Had it really been more than what he had seen? Why the hell would Naraku tell him that?
Kagome looked around the room. What should she say? Should she tell them everything? Would they believe her now, with damning evidence seemingly before their eyes?
Kagome decided that it was time to share her story.
“It… it all began three years ago.”
“NO!” Yusuke slammed a fist into the wall, breaking the wallboard. “Don’t give me some bullshit story now, Kagome. Tell me how the fuck a demon got on the premises without us knowing, and how you were practically fucking him on the kitchen table!”
Kagome turned wide eyes towards the increasingly violent Yusuke.
“I have no idea how he got inside this house without any of you noticing until it was too late.”
Yusuke’s eye twitched as he debated whether to believe her or not.
“There is no way that demon got inside this house without help, Kagome. We were outside, keeping watch, expecting him to pull something.” This came from the level-headed Kurama. Kagome simply looked at him.
“How did you not sense the demon from before, from the alley? Kuwabara told me all about that. How come the same situation cannot apply here?” This gave everyone pause as they considered what she was saying.
“I woke up for some reason, and I decided to take a quick look around the house. I had no idea where any of you were. I came upon Naraku in the kitch–”
“HA!” interrupted Yusuke. “So you admit it was Naraku!”
“Let her speak, Yusuke.” This surprisingly came from Hiei. He was watching the miko with serious eyes.
She defiantly raised her chin, gaining courage from the truth finally coming out.
“I found Naraku in the kitchen. I tried to fight him, but I wasn’t… strong enough. He tackled me, and showed me just what could happen if I don’t do what he wants.”
“He wanted a kiss?” asked Kuwabara.
Kagome looked at him askance. “No, Kuwabara.”
Hiei was looking at her closely, watching her reaction. “What did he show you?”
Kagome looked away from everyone, trying to gather her emotions. “He showed me Inuyasha.”
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Naraku let her lay there on the dungeon floor. He knew without a doubt that there was nothing she could do to stop him. She had tried fighting, and her attempt had been worthless.
Slowly, Naraku dragged Inuyasha into the room. He struggled, flinging chains at his captor. But he was too weak. It had been a month since they had been captured, and Inuyasha was once again human.
Inuyasha was cursing Naraku as he struggled, threatening everything he could think if he could only get out of the damning chains. Kagome was numb as she looked on.
“Kagome,” snarled Inuyasha. “Don’t do it. Don’t give him what he wants!”
Her lower lip trembled as she fought the tears threatening to fall. His name came out as a whisper. “Inuyasha…”
“This is what we planned for, Kagome. This-” Naraku casually backhanded Inuyasha, quieting his vehement speech.
“Now, now, Kagome. I already told you not to listen to that demon slayer. Dare I need to say it again?”
Kagome turned wide eyes towards Naraku.
Inuyasha spoke again.
“I love you, Kagome.” She jerked her eyes back to his. “You came back to me after fifty years, fifty years after Kikyou died, Kagome. Whatever happens here, we will find each other again. I swear it.”
Naraku sneered down at Kagome. “How touching this little gathering is. Do you imagine that he will be reincarnated, that you will still find someone to love?”
Kagome fought to keep the hope of such a truth off of her face.
“But Kagome, remember, I eat their souls.”
“Oh, God,” she whispered, horrified.
“No, Kagome, not God. Not God.”
“Kagome,” spoke Inuyasha, demanding her attention. “You will get through this. I promise.”
“Like he promised you his soul? Do not trust this pathetic excuse of a demon’s word, Miko.”
Kagome turned towards Naraku, let him see the desolation seep into her eyes, and finally went numb. She fell back to the floor, and let the inevitable occur, knowing she could not stop it, but that the Jewel was safe. She let him kill a very vital part of her.
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Yusuke’s lip was curled back in disgust. “He absorbed him, just like that. And you let him?”
Kagome’s eyes widened in shock before they crumpled with hurt. “It wasn’t like I could stop him, Yusuke. I had tried before.”
“So he was after the Jewel of the Shikon Jewel…” spoke Kurama. His eyes weren’t focused on anyone in the room as he continued to talk aloud. “I had guessed it was legend after searching for years and not finding a trace of it…”
Kagome recognized the predatory look in the demon’s eyes. “You can’t have it, Kurama.” She lifted her chin, trying to look strong enough to protect the Jewel.
“I don’t believe you could stop me if I wanted it, Kagome.”
“I stopped Naraku. You are a great deal less evil than Naraku.”
A grim smile edged its way up Kurama’s face. “For the good of the three realms, Kagome, I think I am going to have to insist that you give us this Jewel. You don’t seem strong enough to protect it anymore, what with your nonexistent miko powers.”
“It would go straight to Koenma, Kagome. Kurama wouldn’t retain the Jewel. Koenma will probably put it in a safe, or something.” Kuwabara was glaring at the fox for freaking Kagome out.
Hiei snorted. “As if the prince wouldn’t use it for his own good.”
Kagome looked between the detectives. “I am not giving any of you the Jewel. I am its protector, and as such I maintain control over the Jewel.”
Hiei let contempt fill his voice once more. “As if you could stop all four of us. You are self-admittedly weak, and Naraku knows this. It’s why he came here tonight.”
“Irregardless, I’m not letting go of the Jewel. So you can take your highhanded ideals and shove them-”
“How did you escape?” Yusuke asked, interrupting Kagome. “If he had you completely under his control, how did you escape?”
Kagome’s eyes began flickering around the kitchen, avoiding looking anyone in the eye.
“Well… He didn’t absorb Inuyasha ‘just like that’, Yusuke.”
“Well then, what happened?”
Kagome slumped, letting exhaustion work its way out. “I’m not entirely sure. At first, after –” she swallowed. “After, he absorbed Inuyasha it was like he basked in the power.” Kagome cocked her head, considering the memory. “Then he faltered. He kept grabbing his chest, pushing down. I think he was trying to keep Inuyasha inside himself. He collapsed and sort of convulsed.” She grew silent, reliving the moment. “I took my chance to run. Inuyasha’s … death… might as well have been worth something. I don’t know how I got back home, to the well.”
“But Kagome,” Kuwabara quietly spoke up. “If Inuyasha is dead, why would you think the image Naraku showed you was anything but that? Why would you kiss him?”
“What if, what if he isn’t dead? I don’t know what happened after I ran. It could be more than just Naraku winning. Inuyasha was strong – is strong. He could still be fighting him.”
Hiei quietly spoke up. “It is doubtful he survived, Kagome. Inuyasha is most likely dead.”
Kagome turned hard eyes to the hybrid. “Don’t give me that pitying tone, Hiei. You know nothing of Inuyasha, and you know nothing of what happened.”
“No one else has ever survived, Kagome. Don’t forget, I know of Naraku, too. You should have simply let me kill him.”
“I could not have taken the chance that he was alive. If he is alive, I can’t let you kill him, Hiei. If there is a way to save Inuyasha, I am going to find it. And you won’t kill Naraku before hand.”
Dead silence perforated the room after that proclamation.
Yusuke’s voice came out slightly strangled as he struggled not to shout at Kagome. “But, Kagome, what of Keiko?”
Kagome looked Yusuke in the eyes. “Inuyasha is more important to me than Keiko is, Yusuke.”
Yusuke clenched his hands, trying to reign in his emotions.
Surprisingly, it was Kuwabara who spoke up next. “You’re right, Kagome.” Yusuke’s head jerked up. “You are a traitor.” Kagome sucked in a gasp. “You are putting the dead above the living. That is not acceptable. Your priorities are screwed up, Kagome. What we are doing here, now, that’s more important than some lost love that you’ll never get back.”
Kagome stared at Kuwabara in dumbfounded shock. Of all of Yusuke’s friends, he was the nicest. He would always give her the benefit of the doubt, and she had thought that maybe, maybe, she would get a friend of her own out of him. She couldn’t understand how he could say such a thing.
“Kuwabara…”
“No, Kagome, Kuwabara is right. Until this issue is resolved, we cannot trust you with Naraku.” Kagome turned to stare at Kurama. “We cannot trust you with our plans, with the rescue, with anything.”
Kagome nodded slowly. She had expected as much – it would be foolish to admit herself a liability and not expect some setbacks.
Kurama hardened his voice as he saw the miko acquiesce to his will. “We cannot trust you with the Jewel, Kagome. It is time that you hand it over to us. We will protect it where you have failed.”
Kagome gave him a look as if her were stupid. “I’ve already told you that I’m not handing over the Jewel. So stop asking, Kurama.”
“But, Kagome, we are not asking,” spoke Hiei.
She stiffened against the wall she was leaning on.
“We are taking.”
Chapter 14
Boxing King
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The fire had dwindled down to nothing, soft glowing embers amongst the ash. It barely lit the small hollow in the trees that the group had holed up in.
Kagome was asleep in Inuyasha’s arms when she felt it – a sharp twist in her gut. Her eyes flicked open, looking around the camp. There was no noise except for the odd rustle of the trees by a slight breeze. She looked over at Miroku and Sango, tucked together in the same bedroll. The two slumbered peacefully. Shippo nestled deeper in her arms, burying his cold nose under her arm. She could feel the slow, even breathing of the hanyou behind her.
Kagome let a slight frown overtake her lips. Why was she awake? She was suddenly pumped full of adrenaline, just like in a fight. No one else seemed to be aware of anything. Had it been a dream?
She tried to relax in Inuyasha’s arms, settling in a bit more firmly. She had a niggling feeling of doubt that it couldn’t have been a dream. Yet, surely, if something was wrong, then the fighters around her would know. Not to mention the demon sleeping in her arms and the one sequestered in between Miroku and Sango. Even Inuyasha in his human form noticed more than she did.
Then why was she the only one awake?
Kagome let her eyes scan the clearing again, trying to take in more details. After a few moments, she gave up. It wasn’t like she knew what to look for. As far she could tell, there was nothing hiding in the surrounding foliage. Slowly, she craned her neck upwards, checking out the treetops. In the Feudal Era, she was used to things jumping down upon them. Her own Inuyasha slept up there – it wasn’t a new concept for her. Yet, nothing was up there either.
Should she wake everyone else? Did a nasty feeling in her gut count as warning? It wasn’t like a jewel shard, either. That came more as a warm, fuzzy feeling in her head.
Kagome hesitated. Inuyasha rarely slept in human form, doing his best to stay alert with dampened senses. It was even rarer for him to cuddle up to her. She was loath to give that up. It meant a lot that he could hold her. She still held hope for their relationship. Kikyou was becoming less and less of a hang up for him. With the end of the battle in sight, Kagome was looking forward to some time together, in peace, without interruption.
She let out a soft sigh. It was probably nothing. She had never felt anything before anyone else before now, and there was no reason that that would have changed. Kagome firmly leaned back against Inuyasha, closing her eyes, and doing her best to ignore the tightening of her gut.
She jerked at a soft click that seemed to echo in the small clearing. She cast wide eyes wildly about, trying to find whatever had made the noise.
“Inu… Inuyasha…” she whispered. There was no doubt in her mind: someone was out there. “Inuyasha,” she said a bit more forcefully. She sat up, shaking Shippo as she did so. She twisted to shake his arm. “Wake up, Inuyasha.”
She anxiously watched as his eyes slowly opened. She stood, spilling Shippo to the ground. He awoke with a soft grunt.
“Inuyasha, wake up, now!” Her voice was beginning to rise in panic. She didn’t watch to see him wake, instead turning to rouse Sango and Miroku.
An arrow pierced her shoulder as she took her first step.
She cried out. It was this sound that jerked everyone awake much better than her quiet calls had.
Kagome staggered and reached a hand out towards the arrow. Blood was slow to fall with the shaft stuck fast in the muscle. She bit back a whimper and tried to move towards her bag and bow.
She didn’t get very far. There was a man crouched in front of her yellow backpack, a wicked blade held in front of him.
She whirled to see the rest of the clearing. Sango and Miroku were being held down by more men, blades resting at against their necks. Kirara’s limp form was being tossed into a sack. She turned to look behind her. Shippo was in much the same situation as Kirara. And Inuyasha. Silence had surrounded her as she took in the situation, adrenaline and fear blocking everything but the wild thump of her heart. It left her as she looked at him.
He was struggling wildly, cursing all the men pulling him down. There was one on each limb, doing their best to collapse him to the ground. Kagome tried to call out as a fifth man appeared behind him, swinging a club viciously at his head, but her voice caught in her throat in horror as a loud crack resounded throughout the clearing.
Silence this time as the prisoners were gagged. Kagome fell to her knees, tears falling from pain and fear. One man walked up to her, a triumphant smirk on his face.
“Give up easily, Miko, and we’ll bind your wound.”
Kagome simply stared at him.
They were human. They had been overtaken by humans.
It was why the demons had not noticed their scents – they were already surrounded by the smell of humans, and with both of their noses buried, they had not noticed the small change in the clearing.
The man squatted before her. “Naraku has paid us handsomely to fetch you and your group, Miko. He even provided us with the nice little information of your pal’s human date. We know we have a time limit, so stalling to try and allow him to change back won’t work.”
Kagome simply gaped at him. Naraku was behind this all. They were going to die.
Kagome lurched to her feet and tried to move away from the man in front of her.
She didn’t get far, as one of the men grabbed her hands and twisted roughly up. He swiftly knotted rope around her wrists, neglectful of the arrow sticking out of her shoulder.
The leader moved to stand in front of her. “You shouldn’t have tried to run,” he hissed. He grabbed the arrow and yanked it out cruelly. She cried out as the point sliced more of her arm coming out.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
“What the fuck are you talking about, Kagome?” snarled Yusuke. He turned to glare at his cousin, letting the full force of his brown eyes trap her.
Kagome swallowed, then continued on forcefully. “I – I am a traitor, Yusuke.”
Everyone simply stared at her. Silence filled the room, perpetuated only by the harsh panting of the two men in front of her. Kagome resolutely avoided the crimson pair of eyes. She didn’t feel up to the accusation and contempt that she knew would be present there.
Finally, Kurama spoke up. Yusuke seemed unable to reconcile what Kagome was saying with what he wanted to be hearing.
“What do you mean, Kagome?”
“I… I stopped Hiei from stopping Naraku. He had a killing blow, and… I – I stopped him.”
She looked Kurama in eye as she responded to his question. She could feel the antagonism of everyone around her.
“Why, Kagome? Why?” croaked out Yusuke. His voice was hoarse as he restrained himself from shouting.
“I couldn’t let him kill him, Yusuke.”
“So we gathered,” Kurama drily uttered. “But why?”
Kagome looked as Yusuke, beseeching him. “I couldn’t let Hiei kill him, Yusuke.” Her eyes began to fill with tears. She fought to keep them from running over.
“Why the fuck would you want to do that, Kagome?” exploded Yusuke. “Naraku is a BASTARD! He has Keiko, Kagome. KEIKO!” He began waving his hands around in rage. “He sent her finger in a box! Why the hell couldn’t you let Hiei kill him, Kagome?”
She lost the fight, and the tears began cascading down her face, fogging her vision. “Not Naraku, Yusuke. Inuyasha.”
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
He threw her down violently, letting her knees take the beating with her hands tied behind her back.
“Look at them, Kagome. Are you prepared to give them up?”
Kagome raised horror-filled eyes to the sight laid out before her. She was in a dungeon, surrounded by stricken prisoners that cowered at the light, and screamed at Naraku. Before her were her two best friends. They were chained next to each other, close together, but far enough that their desperate hands couldn’t touch in shared fear.
Kagome swallowed back a cry. It would only feed Naraku’s sick tendencies.
“Where is the Jewel, Kagome?”
She stayed quiet, kneeling. She alternated between the wide eyes of her comrades. They were resolute in the face of danger, knowing that they might not get out of this one.
She could never tell him where the Jewel was. She had the entire thing now. Not long before they had been captured, they had snuck into Naraku’s fortress and taken his shards right from under the proverbial nose. The only thing that had allowed them to sneak in and take the shards had been his own hubris. They still hadn’t been strong enough at the time to take on Naraku and win. He had been taking over different leaders, absorbing their bodies and adding them to his power. They had been hoping with the Jewel shards all in their control that most of the lesser followers that he had had would leave, and most of his own power would be depleted. Apparently, it hadn’t worked.
Naraku snared his hand in her hair and jerked her up. “Tell me where it is now, Kagome, or suffer my wrath.”
Kagome could do nothing more than look at him.
Naraku’s beady eyes bored into her own, trying to will out her secrets. “You reek of fear, Miko.” He threw her to the ground again.
“Who do you choose, Kagome? Who would like me to kill first?”
Kagome rose to her knees, frantically shaking her head. “No, Naraku, please don’t! Don’t kill them.”
He bared his teeth at her in a semblance of a smile. “The Jewel or their lives?”
“Don’t do it, Kagome!” shouted Sango. “Don’t give in to him! Don’t listen to his threats!” Naraku casually backhanded her.
“Now, now, Kagome. You wouldn’t be so foolish as to listen to her, would you?”
Kagome slumped to the ground, eyes brimming with tears. “I can’t give you the Jewel, Naraku,” she whispered.
“What was that Kagome? I couldn’t hear you.”
“I can’t give you the Jewel,” she muttered a bit more loudly. Her voice held conviction, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak any louder against the silence in the dungeon.
“What was that, Kagome? I couldn’t hear you! The demon slayer or the monk?”
Kagome began to cry, tears falling in two straight lines down her face, not giving her the boon of fogging her vision.
“No…” she whispered.
“FINE! I will decide!” He slammed his hand against Sango’s forehead, keeping her head against the wall, straining her neck.
“NO!” screamed Miroku. “Sango! No, please! Give him the Jewel, Kagome!” he turned frantic eyes towards Kagome. “Please, Kagome! Please – not Sango! SANGO!” He ended on that anguished cry as Naraku slit her throat, letting the blood slide onto his extended hand. The exterminator stayed silent throughout her death. Miroku hung limp in his chains, staring blindly ahead.
Kagome began rocking on the floor. “No, no, no, no, no.”
Naraku’s foot lashed out, hitting her squarely in the face. She fell back, blood pouring from her nose.
“It was all your fault, Kagome. If you had simply given me the Jewel, none of this would have had to happen.”
Kagome focused on Naraku.
“The monk blames you, Kagome. You let his love die simply because you wouldn’t give up the Jewel. How can you live with yourself? Letting others die like that.”
Kagome looked at Miroku. She looked at her friend, chained next to his dead lover. “I’m sorry, Miroku,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.” Miroku closed his eyes, hiding the sight before him.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
“Who the hell is Inuyasha?” snarled Yusuke. “I highly doubt that Hiei would confuse Naraku with someone else. Or not notice you sucking face with someone else.”
Kagome flinched. “Please don’t say it like that, Yusuke,” she whispered.
“How many people have you fucked, Kagome? You fucking the bad guys now?”
Kagome’s jaw dropped.
“Yusuke!” spoke a shocked Kurama.
“Chill out, Yusuke,” demanded Kuwabara. “There is no need to be so vulgar.”
“No! Was Hiei right, Kagome? Have you changed so much in the last couple of years that I don’t know you? Is this the guy your family was talking about?”
Kagome’s lower lip trembled as she fought the verbal assault. “I have not slept with anybody, Yusuke.”
“Then – who – the fuck – is he – Kagome?”
Kagome thought of how to sum up Inuyasha in just one phrase without sounding like an idiot. First love sounded too… girlish, and immature.
“He was my Keiko, Yusuke. And I would do for him what you are doing for Keiko now.”
This gave Yusuke pause, while he considered what she said.
“How do you come to love the enemy, Kagome?” This quiet question came from Kuwabara. The confusion on his face revealed how much he didn’t understand the situation. Kagome seemed innocent to him, not the type to fall in love with the asshole bad guy.
“Oh, Kuwabara, he wasn’t the enemy.” Kuwabara took in her earnest expression and relaxed somewhat. He believed her.
“Fine,” gritted out Yusuke. “If he’s not the enemy, explain to me how you ended up kissing who Hiei saw as Naraku?”
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
“Let me demonstrate, Kagome, just what it will be like. As you watch, think about how this will happen to him next if you don’t give me what I want.”
Kagome was strapped to a chair, once again in the dungeon. Her head was strapped to the backboard. Naraku was making sure she couldn’t look away, knowing she wouldn’t be able to simply close her eyes and will away the images before her.
Naraku held up a struggling Shippo. He was crying, gagged and tied up. His little eyes frantically met Kagome’s, begging her to save him.
Naraku gripped the back of his neck and slowly began unwinding the rope. “Wouldn’t want any contaminants getting in, now would we, Kagome?” He looked at her, letting his words sink in. “Do you wonder what becomes of the souls, Kagome? Just like that clay bitch Kikyou eats souls, so do I. Yet, it is more than that, as well. I absorb everything about them. I take in their body, and replenish my own. I take in their power, and increase my own. I take in their souls, and it’s just like a shard.”
Kagome simply looked at him. She knew begging would do nothing. Her words only served to add to his pleasure, intensifying her pain. There was nothing she could do but to give him the Jewel. And she couldn’t do that, even if it killed her.
She watched, trying and failing to look away from Shippo’s eyes.
The rope fell the ground, and Shippo frantically flailed his arms around, trying to escape the inevitable.
Naraku wrapped both hands around his tiny neck and jerked him against his chest.
At first, nothing happened. Kagome watched as Shippo struggled. And then, his eyes widened as his back sunk the tiniest bit into Naraku’s stomach. Naraku removed a hand momentarily and removed the gag stuffed in his mouth.
Shippo’s screams filled the small chamber. As fast as he could suck in air he screamed. His small hands scrabbled at Naraku’s stomach as he was sucked backwards into him.
Kagome lurched in the chair, trying to get to the small kit. Naraku simply looked at her and smiled.
Shippo’s stomach descended into Naraku. His arms and legs stuck out like some perverse puppet from Naraku’s gut. Naraku continued to shove him down. Slowly, his legs sunk down, merging seamlessly into Naraku. Then his arms, struggling until just the fingertips showed. Finally, just his head was left, and Naraku had one palm on the top of his hair.
He squeezed out one word amidst all the pain. “Kagome…” It sounded like more of a gurgle as his mouth went down. Kagome looked into his eyes, her own dry, as Naraku succeeded in absorbing the rest of Shippo.
She looked up into Naraku’s eyes, watching them change from green back to their normal red.
Even if it killed some part of her.
“Well, Kagome, what’s the verdict?”
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
“Well, Kagome?” Yusuke stood, waiting for an explanation.
Hiei continued looking on in contempt, arms crossed across his chest. He was getting the confrontation he wanted, but for some reason there was a seed of unease in him. Had it really been more than what he had seen? Why the hell would Naraku tell him that?
Kagome looked around the room. What should she say? Should she tell them everything? Would they believe her now, with damning evidence seemingly before their eyes?
Kagome decided that it was time to share her story.
“It… it all began three years ago.”
“NO!” Yusuke slammed a fist into the wall, breaking the wallboard. “Don’t give me some bullshit story now, Kagome. Tell me how the fuck a demon got on the premises without us knowing, and how you were practically fucking him on the kitchen table!”
Kagome turned wide eyes towards the increasingly violent Yusuke.
“I have no idea how he got inside this house without any of you noticing until it was too late.”
Yusuke’s eye twitched as he debated whether to believe her or not.
“There is no way that demon got inside this house without help, Kagome. We were outside, keeping watch, expecting him to pull something.” This came from the level-headed Kurama. Kagome simply looked at him.
“How did you not sense the demon from before, from the alley? Kuwabara told me all about that. How come the same situation cannot apply here?” This gave everyone pause as they considered what she was saying.
“I woke up for some reason, and I decided to take a quick look around the house. I had no idea where any of you were. I came upon Naraku in the kitch–”
“HA!” interrupted Yusuke. “So you admit it was Naraku!”
“Let her speak, Yusuke.” This surprisingly came from Hiei. He was watching the miko with serious eyes.
She defiantly raised her chin, gaining courage from the truth finally coming out.
“I found Naraku in the kitchen. I tried to fight him, but I wasn’t… strong enough. He tackled me, and showed me just what could happen if I don’t do what he wants.”
“He wanted a kiss?” asked Kuwabara.
Kagome looked at him askance. “No, Kuwabara.”
Hiei was looking at her closely, watching her reaction. “What did he show you?”
Kagome looked away from everyone, trying to gather her emotions. “He showed me Inuyasha.”
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Naraku let her lay there on the dungeon floor. He knew without a doubt that there was nothing she could do to stop him. She had tried fighting, and her attempt had been worthless.
Slowly, Naraku dragged Inuyasha into the room. He struggled, flinging chains at his captor. But he was too weak. It had been a month since they had been captured, and Inuyasha was once again human.
Inuyasha was cursing Naraku as he struggled, threatening everything he could think if he could only get out of the damning chains. Kagome was numb as she looked on.
“Kagome,” snarled Inuyasha. “Don’t do it. Don’t give him what he wants!”
Her lower lip trembled as she fought the tears threatening to fall. His name came out as a whisper. “Inuyasha…”
“This is what we planned for, Kagome. This-” Naraku casually backhanded Inuyasha, quieting his vehement speech.
“Now, now, Kagome. I already told you not to listen to that demon slayer. Dare I need to say it again?”
Kagome turned wide eyes towards Naraku.
Inuyasha spoke again.
“I love you, Kagome.” She jerked her eyes back to his. “You came back to me after fifty years, fifty years after Kikyou died, Kagome. Whatever happens here, we will find each other again. I swear it.”
Naraku sneered down at Kagome. “How touching this little gathering is. Do you imagine that he will be reincarnated, that you will still find someone to love?”
Kagome fought to keep the hope of such a truth off of her face.
“But Kagome, remember, I eat their souls.”
“Oh, God,” she whispered, horrified.
“No, Kagome, not God. Not God.”
“Kagome,” spoke Inuyasha, demanding her attention. “You will get through this. I promise.”
“Like he promised you his soul? Do not trust this pathetic excuse of a demon’s word, Miko.”
Kagome turned towards Naraku, let him see the desolation seep into her eyes, and finally went numb. She fell back to the floor, and let the inevitable occur, knowing she could not stop it, but that the Jewel was safe. She let him kill a very vital part of her.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Yusuke’s lip was curled back in disgust. “He absorbed him, just like that. And you let him?”
Kagome’s eyes widened in shock before they crumpled with hurt. “It wasn’t like I could stop him, Yusuke. I had tried before.”
“So he was after the Jewel of the Shikon Jewel…” spoke Kurama. His eyes weren’t focused on anyone in the room as he continued to talk aloud. “I had guessed it was legend after searching for years and not finding a trace of it…”
Kagome recognized the predatory look in the demon’s eyes. “You can’t have it, Kurama.” She lifted her chin, trying to look strong enough to protect the Jewel.
“I don’t believe you could stop me if I wanted it, Kagome.”
“I stopped Naraku. You are a great deal less evil than Naraku.”
A grim smile edged its way up Kurama’s face. “For the good of the three realms, Kagome, I think I am going to have to insist that you give us this Jewel. You don’t seem strong enough to protect it anymore, what with your nonexistent miko powers.”
“It would go straight to Koenma, Kagome. Kurama wouldn’t retain the Jewel. Koenma will probably put it in a safe, or something.” Kuwabara was glaring at the fox for freaking Kagome out.
Hiei snorted. “As if the prince wouldn’t use it for his own good.”
Kagome looked between the detectives. “I am not giving any of you the Jewel. I am its protector, and as such I maintain control over the Jewel.”
Hiei let contempt fill his voice once more. “As if you could stop all four of us. You are self-admittedly weak, and Naraku knows this. It’s why he came here tonight.”
“Irregardless, I’m not letting go of the Jewel. So you can take your highhanded ideals and shove them-”
“How did you escape?” Yusuke asked, interrupting Kagome. “If he had you completely under his control, how did you escape?”
Kagome’s eyes began flickering around the kitchen, avoiding looking anyone in the eye.
“Well… He didn’t absorb Inuyasha ‘just like that’, Yusuke.”
“Well then, what happened?”
Kagome slumped, letting exhaustion work its way out. “I’m not entirely sure. At first, after –” she swallowed. “After, he absorbed Inuyasha it was like he basked in the power.” Kagome cocked her head, considering the memory. “Then he faltered. He kept grabbing his chest, pushing down. I think he was trying to keep Inuyasha inside himself. He collapsed and sort of convulsed.” She grew silent, reliving the moment. “I took my chance to run. Inuyasha’s … death… might as well have been worth something. I don’t know how I got back home, to the well.”
“But Kagome,” Kuwabara quietly spoke up. “If Inuyasha is dead, why would you think the image Naraku showed you was anything but that? Why would you kiss him?”
“What if, what if he isn’t dead? I don’t know what happened after I ran. It could be more than just Naraku winning. Inuyasha was strong – is strong. He could still be fighting him.”
Hiei quietly spoke up. “It is doubtful he survived, Kagome. Inuyasha is most likely dead.”
Kagome turned hard eyes to the hybrid. “Don’t give me that pitying tone, Hiei. You know nothing of Inuyasha, and you know nothing of what happened.”
“No one else has ever survived, Kagome. Don’t forget, I know of Naraku, too. You should have simply let me kill him.”
“I could not have taken the chance that he was alive. If he is alive, I can’t let you kill him, Hiei. If there is a way to save Inuyasha, I am going to find it. And you won’t kill Naraku before hand.”
Dead silence perforated the room after that proclamation.
Yusuke’s voice came out slightly strangled as he struggled not to shout at Kagome. “But, Kagome, what of Keiko?”
Kagome looked Yusuke in the eyes. “Inuyasha is more important to me than Keiko is, Yusuke.”
Yusuke clenched his hands, trying to reign in his emotions.
Surprisingly, it was Kuwabara who spoke up next. “You’re right, Kagome.” Yusuke’s head jerked up. “You are a traitor.” Kagome sucked in a gasp. “You are putting the dead above the living. That is not acceptable. Your priorities are screwed up, Kagome. What we are doing here, now, that’s more important than some lost love that you’ll never get back.”
Kagome stared at Kuwabara in dumbfounded shock. Of all of Yusuke’s friends, he was the nicest. He would always give her the benefit of the doubt, and she had thought that maybe, maybe, she would get a friend of her own out of him. She couldn’t understand how he could say such a thing.
“Kuwabara…”
“No, Kagome, Kuwabara is right. Until this issue is resolved, we cannot trust you with Naraku.” Kagome turned to stare at Kurama. “We cannot trust you with our plans, with the rescue, with anything.”
Kagome nodded slowly. She had expected as much – it would be foolish to admit herself a liability and not expect some setbacks.
Kurama hardened his voice as he saw the miko acquiesce to his will. “We cannot trust you with the Jewel, Kagome. It is time that you hand it over to us. We will protect it where you have failed.”
Kagome gave him a look as if her were stupid. “I’ve already told you that I’m not handing over the Jewel. So stop asking, Kurama.”
“But, Kagome, we are not asking,” spoke Hiei.
She stiffened against the wall she was leaning on.
“We are taking.”