InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Delayed Dawn ❯ On the Other Side ( Chapter 15 )

A Delayed Dawn

 

Disclaimer: Guess what goes here. Go ahead, guess. Maybe you don't need to.

 

Warning: This story is posted in the mature section for good reasons. If ideas such as vulgar language, descriptive violence, and sexual situations such as rape disturb you, then you are warned now.

 

Chapter Fifteen On the Other Side

 

He was by no means an ugly person, at least on the outside. Black hair that shined like silk and the wavy shoulder length outlined his small almost feminine face. His narrow eyes glared at everything and everyone. He was tall, slender and walked like royalty. You couldn't tell by looking at him, that he was Naraku, leader of the Gokusotsu, a gang declared by many to be the most horrendous of all gangs.

 

The north was where his compound was located. It wasn't for the cold weather; it was just a place he found that harbored emotions that he was comfortable with. Demons who felt that the demon was wrongly convicted of the crimes and felt that it was just an act of revenge and hate by the humans had gathered here in the north. Naraku easily manipulated those feelings and he was easily able to include them into his gang, and to make him do his biddings.

 

For a long time, Naraku had been searching for ways to make himself more powerful, to fix the inadequacies he knew he had. Naraku wasn't any ordinary demon; he wasn't even a full demon. He knew he was a hanyou, but wasn't sure what kind he was. Naraku had learned early on about the darkness in people, the truth of their hearts. Evil raised him, nurtured him and readied him for the real world.

 

This is what the real world was like. War. War brought out the truth in people. He was a young adult when the riots started. At first, he was confused, but easily fell into the fervor of the scene. Demons and humans, running around, angry, full of hatred and revenge, seeking something called justice, which he knew didn't exist. It was here that he started banding demons together and he quickly learned he had intelligence for organization and trickery.

 

During this time before the official declaration of war, Naraku was building up the gang that would serve him without question. Naraku proved himself to be a valued and strong leader, a leader that shared the same ideas about the verdict, and about humans. He was surprised that they couldn't detect the fact that he was a hanyou. But if they couldn't smell it, he wouldn't tell them.

 

Also, during this, Naraku was reveling in the power. He never felt so alive, and being in control made his emotions run wild. It was addicting. And instantly he had to find a way to increase it. This lead him to the first rule of war, war was power. Power would guarantee him as the victor. He had to find the source of ultimate power, which directed him toward books. Hidden within history and shrouded in myths and legends, he knew that he would find a source that would give him the power he craved.

 

And he did. Nestled comfortably in a small crack in time, he found his source. He knew that its existence was far from reality, but he had to try. For some reason, he could feel it, drawn to its power, the power he wanted for himself. This was the beginning of his life's quest. The search for and obtainment of the jewel known through history as The Shikon no Tama. It was at that moment that he would do anything, anything, to own it.

 

He was still able to manage the demons in his gang, and it was through his gang that he could carry out the search for the jewel. These demons seemed to trust him, though Naraku knew that there wasn't an ounce of honesty in his entire body. And he twisted that trust into a tool, they would do his search for him, they would sacrifice themselves for his selfish desires, dying with the only thought that they were doing something noble, demon brotherhood or some crap like that. Pathetic beings, Naraku snickered to himself on many occasions.

 

Even after almost two decades of no leads, no hints, not a single shred of evidence, some evil god or devil decided to smile in his favor. Naraku had never given up his search and felt that he was being reward by the jewel itself when a demon, so obsessed with proving himself to Naraku, murdered several non-combatants to give him this report. Those non-combatants were some elite historical scholars that were some of the scattered few that remained neutral in the war. No one was neutral in this war, and Naraku rewarded the demon by given him the status and rank he desired. A few days later, Naraku had the demon killed.

 

The report was written by some young female archaeologist. In her report, she only mentioned the Shikon no Tama when referring to the time period and the mythology surrounding the artifacts she had researched. He was not interested in the artifacts, but the report was just the lift he needed. If those artifacts could survive the five hundred years difference in time, so could the jewel, even if this stupid doctor said otherwise.

 

The way things worked was that everything was aligned with some gang, either directly or indirectly. And Naraku discovered that the museum that the archaeologist worked at was indirectly aligned with The War Dogs. The War Dogs were the strongest and most powerful of his enemies, which was why Naraku never directly confronted them. The War Dogs could easily wipe out him and his entire gang. Naraku had kept up the appearance that they were a large, but weak gang whose members where just revenge bent morons. But when it came to the jewel, Naraku would not stay restrained.

 

Since Naraku had laid claim to the jewel, everything that was associated with the jewel was now also his. He had to have this archaeologist, to possess her mind. She could make the connections his mind wouldn't let him. The key to his power was her. Obtaining her would be one step closer to his destiny. No one, not even she, was going to be able to stop him.

 

Attacking the museum made him a noticeable threat, even if they couldn't understand his intentions behind it. The attack surprised everybody, even if it was a failed attack. It wasn't a complete failure for he learned a few things. One thing for sure was that someone was protecting this girl, or at least her connection to the artifacts since his demons couldn't find her, even after the second attack. And then she disappeared.

 

Her disappearance surprised even him, not sure if his enemies had sacrificed her so that they could protect whatever is was they were hiding. He almost wanted to believe that they too knew about the jewel, its power, and a possible location. However, if they had the jewel, he would not be here, contemplating his current situation.

 

Before his current situation, Naraku had spent some time searching for the girl, but when he was starting to exhaust resources for some girl and not the jewel itself, he gave up. Until he was bombarded by a great amount of spiritual power. It was now time for him to be serious once more.

 

No more hiding behind the war, he was going to make himself and his intentions known. The others out there wouldn't understand, and it would only confuse them. Good, he had thought with a cleverly wicked grin. Let them be confused, it would be a tactical advantage for him. He didn't have much time to act. Rounding up every demon he could find, Naraku lied through a clever speech about demon justice. Telling his so-called comrades that the enemy had created a weapon by absorbing spiritual power into bullets and the humans were getting ready to hunt down every demon and exterminate them.

 

Sending demons into a battle for their existence was the perfect set-up. No one would be prepared for such an attack. With 100 demons armed and ready, he sent them to the source of the power, telling the demons that they would too feel the power the closer they approached it. Little did he know that he was truly sending them to the seventh hell.

 

He assumed that some would be killed and some would return. And yet, they were all destroyed, no, they vanished. Not a trace of them was left. He didn't see much from the position he took to watch. All he knew was that the power came from a shrine. This had made sense. The jewel was once guarded and purified by mikos, and was possible that it was handed down from one generation to the next for safe keeping and for purification.

 

Afterwards, he decided to make this war a bit interesting by declaring his intentions. So, here he sat, working out the next part of his plan. He was sure that someone had survived his attack. And he was fairly sure that Higurashi doctor was behind it. She had a good year, during her years of hiding, to research the artifacts a bit more, and maybe stumble upon more information regarding the jewel. She had access to information he was not privy to.

 

Taking a sip of tea, he sighed. He needed some kind of leverage, something to hang over her head to bring her to him, willingly. If someone was protecting her, they would fight for her, which may have been what happened at the shrine. That would complicate matters. Then he would also need to know who her protector was. No one was safe from their past.

 

Leaning forward, he picked up the phone and pressed several buttons, waiting for someone answer. Hearing the soft click of the receiver being picked up, he started to speak without the other answering. “Send Kanna and Kagura to my office.” He ordered quickly and without question before setting the receiver down on.

 

Kagura and Kanna. His two closest subordinates. His first subordinates. He had found them and the two girls were immediately bound to him. They were a part of him, yet, their individuality remained. Kanna was a bit more compliant than Kagura; yet, each did what they were asked and each were always quite successful. He was glad to have women around in his gang. While their looks may have attracted attention, especially the demoness Kagura, their actual presence did not, and that gave him an advantage men did not.

 

They must have been nearby because it wasn't long after he phoned for them that they both entered his office. Kagura was the elder of the two girls. He didn't take them to be sisters, but figured that they shared some kind of blood relation. Kagura was a wind demon, with ebony hair bound on the back of her head with clips and feathers. In her hand was the always ready fan, her source of attacks. Naraku liked Kagura because she was strong, fierce and opinionated, which was also one of her downfalls.

 

Kanna was younger, possessing the body of a young child, yet, containing the mind of someone well aware of her surroundings. He was sure that if she wasn't cursed, she too would be useful as a woman who could use her body for his needs in obtaining the jewel. Yet, she was trapped, in a pale, albino-like body that made her eerie. Even the other demons in his gang avoided her presence. Only Kagura and himself could withstand her presence. Kanna, however, was able to obtain hard to get information when he required it, but he never put her in a situation where her life was threatened.

 

The two girls sat down in the chairs in front of his desk. Kagura was rather annoyed, she was then annoyed by everything, something about her personality that he had grown accustomed to. Kanna sat silently, eyes forward and almost empty, like a doll. She never said much and only said what needed to be said. He was grateful for that. The two girls were the opposites, yet completed each other.

 

“Why have you called us here?” Kagura spat out, eyes rolling to any direction but at him.

 

Naraku sighed. It was the same act every time. She would come into his office, pissed off that he had interrupted her life, and yet, she did everything he told her. It was something he didn't understand, but he would let it pass. Why argue about it when things got done?

 

“His army was defeate,” Kanna spoke, her voice floating on the air, soft and gentle, yet monotone and lifeless.

 

Naraku cocked an eyebrow. It was her gift, her power, to know these things.

 

Kagura started to laugh. “Your little 100 demon plan?” She asked in disbelief. The plan sounded farfetched when she had first heard about it. There was nothing out there that could withstand a 100 demon army, and yet, someone or something did. She knew how much he hated it when things didn't go his way.

 

He didn't want to hear about his little failure, especially not from these two. “Knock it off,” he voiced with force and anger, but he calmed himself. Kagura was playing with him, trying to rile him up. The two girls shifted in their seats uncomfortably.

 

“So, what do you want us to do about it?” Kagura asked, voicing her seriousness about the situation. Finally, she understood.

 

“The archaeologist, Higurashi, may still be alive. I need her to be brought back here, unharmed,” he stressed knowing Kagura's tendency to be somewhat more physical than she ought to be. “However, I don't want you to just bring her. She has a protector, the one that destroyed my army. You must make it so that her protector abandons her, or she abandons her protector, either way, you must avoid any kind of real confrontation. I don't want them to chase after her and find me.”

 

Kagura crossed her arms across her chest and huffed. “That's not going to be easy.”

 

Naraku nodded. “I know.”

 

Kagura noticed the look on his face; it was calm, and confident. “You have a plan. You know something.”

 

He looked up at her, smirking. “Perhaps.”

 

 

*Higurashi Shrine*

 

Kagome couldn't believe what had happened next. In one swift, unseen movement, Inuyasha scooped her up and tossed her over his shoulder. Turning, he headed back into house and up the stairs. He practically threw her into her bedroom, aiming as best as he could for her bed, and left, somehow barricading the door behind him, trapping her inside.

 

“Hey,” she screamed, pounding her fists against the wooden door, hoping that his restraints against it would buckle. “You can't do this to me. Hello?”

 

“I can and I will,” he had yelled back, watching as the door jerked with each of her hits. It seemed that the restraint was going to hold up. He then turned his head to see Miroku, Sango and Kouga at the bottom of the staircase, all with looks of surprise and shock.

 

“Inuyasha!” Sango screamed, walking to meet him at the very bottom stair. “What the hell do you think you're doing?”

 

Inuyasha headed down the stairs silently. “Sango, you and Kouga will stay here and guard the thing upstairs. Miroku and I need to go talk to Sesshoumaru.”

 

Sango couldn't believe what she had just heard. “Wait, what?” She sputtered out. “I don't understand. She's not. . . “

 

Miroku raised a hand cutting her off. “My dear Sango. We must do this, for the sake of Kagome. Now that Naraku has declared this new within a war for this jewel, this matter had become a bit more complicated,” Miroku sighed, the next sentence was painful, even for him. “Kagome is now drafted.”

 

Sango's eyes went wide and then she started pounding her fists into Miroku's chest. “You bastards. You can't do this. Not to her. Not to Kagome. She's my friend,” Sango started to sob, allowing the tears to fall freely.

 

Miroku grabbed her wrists gently and pulled her into a hug, his strong arms encasing her into warmth. He had to console her before he and Inuyasha left. Calling Kagome `drafted' was a cruel fate to bestow upon anyone. Several people in the history of the war had been deemed as such. Kagome was being labeled as one indirectly because of her association with the jewel, no matter how much she denied its existence. Others were labeled such directly. Miroku could recall the most recent one, a hanyou named Jeniji. He was blessed with the gift of healing and unparallel medicinal knowledge.

 

The drafted were people that one deemed to be too valuable, too extraordinary to be left alone. Jeniji was declared an object of war and became a target. Whoever obtained him would be lucky to have such a talented healer on their side. Drafted became advantages. Miroku was glad that Jeniji had come to The War Dogs for help, giving his services to them for his protection. Other drafted were not so fortunate. Many had destroyed whatever it was that made them valued above all others, including their very lives.

 

In this war, thirty-one humans, hanyou or demons had been declared drafted. Once one was labeled as an object of war, that is what they became, an object. A tool to be used, no matter what the cost was. Of the thirty-one humans, Miroku knew of only three that didn't end up dead by their own hands. Naraku had labeled Kagome as drafted, indirectly. Every gang and organization would be after her.

 

“Don't tell her,” Miroku instructed Sango. Sango stepped back away from him her head shaking lightly.

 

“What?” She hissed. Sango's body quaked. This was, she wasn't hearing Miroku tell her this.

 

“Don't tell her,” he repeated, reaching out for her. “Not yet. Not until we get back. You need to protect her though. If she is really, truly, your friend, I know you will do that.” He painted a slight smile on his face for her reassurance and some for his own.

 

Inuyasha sighed a bit annoyed by the whole situation. He didn't care about this shit. “Let's go,” he sneered at the two. They had wasted too much time already. “Wolf, your balls if anything happens,” Inuyasha explained to Kouga.

 

Kouga smirked. “I'm sure you'll find them rather tasty dog-shit,” he retorted back in his usual banter with the hanyou.

 

Inuyasha and Miroku left. They would arrive at the compound in about an hour, talk to Sesshoumaru and then be back. Inuyasha figured they would be back before nightfall. Then he was sure he could get that wench off of his back. He hated babysitting jobs. They were a fucking waste of time. As he ran and jumped toward his destination, he could feel the sword bouncing gently against his leg. At least he got something from all of that trouble. Boy, would it piss Sesshoumaru off too.

 

 

Kagome sat up. Unknown to her guests, the house was built a long time ago, using old style architecture and housing structure of a time long passed. The heat was ventilated throughout the house with large heating ducts. Kagome had hated them when she was younger. At night, when she would lie in her bed, trying to sleep, her parents would sit in the living room downstairs and listen to the radio, listen about the war, and she could hear every word.

 

She couldn't believe it. Drafted? Kagome knew exactly what that meant. As a historian, she was fascinated with history, as well as the present because it would soon become history. The first one to be declared drafted war was a male demon, who was extremely power, intelligent and rational. Even before the war was officially declared, sides were already being formed, and the male demon was being approached by those who readily recognized his strength.

 

The male demon did not want to go to war, or be involved in it at all. Once war was officially declared, more pressure was put on him to choose a side, but he stood steadfast. He was not going to waver. Then, the government drafted him, using an out-dated form of forcing people into war. Once he was drafted, he was attacked by those who felt that he had turned against them. The male demon put up a long fight and ended up dying. Kagome knew that he would have rather died than to join the war.

 

Kagome also knew someone who had been drafted. A teacher of hers had specialized in weapons and magic. She took a class from him for an elective. Because of his knowledge and training, he was targeted when rumor spread about a gang kidnapping a group of scientists and forcing them to develop a weapon. The teacher was a pacifist and again, did not want to be involved in the war. Afraid of what his knowledge would do to innocents, he burned his house, his office and himself.

 

Wiping a tear away from her eyes, Kagome picked up the picture of that particular teacher. He was an old demon that used to forge swords and then guns when he was younger. It was a family tradition. Kagome found his stories fascinating and was glad that she had taken his class, for many of the objects she ended up studying were weapons. Turning the frame over, she pulled the back off and behind the cardboard was a disk.

 

She didn't know why, but the teacher had trusted her like she was his daughter. He would show her weapons that no one had ever seen. When the Sengoku artifacts arrived on her desk that day, he was the first one she thought of. He would have been so excited to see such amazing items. And now, all she had left was a disk and a picture. Kagome had been afraid to look at the disk, afraid that they would come after her. And now they were, for completely different reasons.

 

Grabbing the disk, she placed it on top of her notebook, making a pile of things that were dangerous. Kagome put the picture back together and set it back down on the dresser. Kagome rummaged through her room, finding all the little notes and scribbles that she had gathered over the years. Now that she was drafted, anything she had touched, read, or wrote had value. She would have to gather it before anyone else came here looking for her. She now understood her teacher's haste those last few days of his life.

 

Just like he had been, she was suddenly paranoid, afraid, and lost. She really had a shrine, not just spiritually, but for other items she held dear to her. This shrine was her cover. No one ever suspected a shrine, for fear of wrath from the gods. Also, the shrine had its own protection, a security system that could protect her and her items. But no longer. After the demon attack and now that she was drafted, she was on high alert.

 

Kagome gathered the most important pieces she wrote or information that had been given to her. She never realized it until now, but many of her mentors and teachers had given her access to their most private and secret work, now that she saw the pile. It was the height of a couple of really thick books. All of it related to the past. She was now convinced that the past and the present were connected, and she started to realize that maybe she was the connection. Their connection.

 

She figured that the jerk Inuyasha and the pervert Miroku would try to be back tonight. The wolf and Sango were around, guarding her like a prisoner. She felt bad for Sango. They were friends and this mess had come between them, wedging them apart. Sango was doing what she could to protect Kagome, and Kagome knew it. But she couldn't let Sango know. No one could know. Especially now that she was drafted. Telling Sango anything put Sango in the same danger she was in.

 

Kagome had a plan. A trick she learned from one of her teachers, a very paranoid teacher. Initially, she had just figured him plain crazy for his paranoid tendencies. He lived his life in fear of someone reading his thoughts or stealing his stuff, always being watched and listened to. This made him very powerful when it came to specialized magic. He told Kagome that she was special and that her mind contained things that people would want. And in wanting to protect her, he taught her some of his most powerful magic.

 

She hadn't practiced this magic in a long while. Most of her information was stored away in undrawn levels at the museum. But now that place was no longer her sanctuary. This information had to be protected at all cost, yet, she always needed it to be near, just in case. There was only one spell that could do the trick.

 

The spell didn't require much. A candle, some incense and the correct incantation. She was baffled by trying to say the incantation, and yet, protect it in the spell itself. If someone had the incantation, they could find a counter-incantation to reverse the spell. She sat on the floor, with the pile of information in front of her, the incense burning behind her and the candle on top of the books. She would spend the next hour memorizing the incantation so she could say it and still protect the incantation.

 

An hour later, Kagome was ready. Setting the incantation underneath the candle, she closed her eyes and tried to think of anything else she would need to protect. She made it a point to store things here; since everyone believed that her real home was the apartment in the city. When she couldn't think of anything else, Kagome put her palms together and started.

 

Hiding here, hiding there

Information that is everywhere

Keep away from harm

Keep it within my arms

Bind it to me

So that only it I can see

Disappear now from sight

Within my heart, ignite

 

Kagome closed her eyes, pressing them hard in anticipation of the pain that she knew was going to occur. She had never done this before, but had heard that most magic was painful to the one who recited the spell. Immediately, she felt a sharp pain in her heart. Her eyes shot open and she watched as the candle and everything underneath it was engulfed in bright yellow and orange dancing flames. One hand rested on the floor, holding her up as the other one grabbed her shirt, right over her heart.

 

Closing her eyes again, she focused on her breathing. She had to get her body under control, just like when she used her miko powers. She figured using magic and using the spiritual powers she was born with were similar. Sometimes, she was exhausted and physically sore from using her miko powers. Yet this spell was attacking her own beating heart. In what seemed to be hours of excruciating pain, it was gone. Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked, gasping at the sight.

 

The candle had burnt completely down to the end of the wick, and everything underneath it was gone. Kagome glanced around the room, unsure of where it actually went. This spell wasn't clearly explained to her as she realized. This frightened her. Where did it go? Kagome then felt a slight throb near her heart. Looking down, she ripped her shirt off. Another gasped escaped her lips. The spell had truly bound the information to her.

 

Kagome nervously chuckled. It was true that the information was locked away, but it was possible for someone to unlock it. Only if they knew where to look. Kagome slipped her shirt back on. Inuyasha and Miroku would be back soon and she had her own plans to complete before they arrived.

 

& & & & & & & &

roshully's note: Eh, I'm taking the lazy route again. Kind of. I can't remember when was the last time I replied to reviews, so I don't know where I left off. So, I'm going to cheat and do this instead. You can private message me nasty messages or whatever because of my cheat, but, my feet hurt. I don't know what my feet have to do with this.

 

Thanks to my reviewers -

rainydays, Autumn_the_Reviewer (personally, I like my other story better. Really, I just type this out when my fingers need exercising. Perhaps one day I'll come back to this.), Inusbabe (I prefer Inu/Kag and it is what I read, but I'm flexible like a bendy straw.), Tarzan14 (I made Kagome a bit tougher in this story), Kandygrl (you'll just have to keep on reading, that's my answer), asterick, Maloy, elemental66 (yeah, a lot of stories have boring parts that are somewhat necessary for the story, it happens), Cactusflower (different can be good. Thanks for giving this a shot) and if I forgot something, yell at me.

 

Thanks for reviewing and reading.

roshully