InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Slave to No One ❯ Chapter 23 ( Chapter 23 )

Chapter 23

 

Outside in the forest 10 lonely figures were making their way into the castle. Their informant had told them where to locate the girl and the hanyou. They were located somewhere down in the lower level of the castle. There were no guards so it should be easy to get to them.

 

They had to get them while they were asleep. The hanyou was going to be the hardest one to subdue. But if they could get to the girl then they will have something he wants and will obey their every command unless he wanted his mate to get hurt.

 

They entered the castle under the cover of darkness as they made their way down the stairway. They paused at each intersection to make sure that they weren't detected. They would wait for a brief second, sniffing the air before continuing to the next level.

 

At least the castle was less populated down here so they didn't have to stop as often to see if they were being followed. They followed their map until they came upon the room, which held their prize. They got ready to attack in case the hanyou was awake and waiting for them.

 

Slowly they opened the door to the room as they peaked in. They saw the hanyou and the girl lying on the pallet on the other side of the room as they made their way towards them. They couldn't believe their luck the hanyou was unaware of their presence. They surrounded the pair, as they got ready to grab the girl.

 

Three of them came forward as they leaped to grab her. They were about there when they met with a strong barrier. It pushed them back against the wall as the male hanyou got up to face them.

 

“Who in the fuck are you? And what do you want with us?” Inuyasha growled as he bared his fangs at the youkai standing in front of him. There were ten of them, of all different types, as they surrounded Kagome and Inuyasha.

 

The niko youkai stepped forward and said, “You are to come with us. We have someone that request your presence and they don't like to be kept waiting.”

 

Inuyasha smirked as he said, “No one commands me, not even my father, if they want to meet me then they can come here to the castle and I might grant him an audience. As for us going with you, I don't think so. We like it fine right here.” As he finished speaking he brought out his sword and transformed it as he heard his mate take out her sword as well and took a fighting stance next to her mate.

 

The Niko youkai smirked as he yelled, “Take them!”

 

The demons attacked all at once as Kagome and Inuyasha let them have it. They came at them with weapons drawn as Inuyasha sidestepped and slashed with his sword. He had to keep his eyes on his mate and on the enemy that was attacking.

 

Kagome was holding her own against the intruders as she was blocking all of their attacks with her sword. She had gotten better with her sword; Inuyasha was going to have a hard time beating her the next time they trained together.

 

Four demons came at Inuyasha all at once from different directions. He leaped to get out of the way as they all crashed into each other. Inuyasha turned quickly and caught the sword that was coming down on him with his Tetsusaiga and pushed the intruder back.

 

His ears picked up on his mate's cry as he turned around and saw that they had surrounded her and she was in trouble. He dispatched the demon in front of him as he ran towards his mate. He leaped in front of her with his sword slashing toward the intruders to push them away, but they didn't back down.

 

He had enough of the demons in the room as he unleashed his attack, “WIND SCAR!!!” Three bright flashes of light came out of the sword as they went toward the intruders. Inuyasha grabbed his mate and pushed her into a corner of the room as he protected her from the blast.

 

The light made contact with the intruders as it either killed or wounded them, as the room shook from the impact of the attack.

 

~-oOo-~

 

Inutaisho had finished up in his office and was making his way down to the lower levels of his castle. He wanted to check on his son and his mate to make sure that they were all right. They've had plenty of time to reconcile their differences and make amends.

 

As he was walking down the stairs he caught the scent of intruders. The scent wasn't from his guards. He stopped as he sniffed the air. They were heading down towards the lower levels where his son and mate were located. A cold chill ran down his spine as he howled for his guards.

 

Immediately his guards arrived and they raced down to the lower levels. They heard an explosion that shook the entire castle as the alarms started to ring out. A knot settled in the pit of his stomach as they raced down to the room.

 

When they got there they saw the intruders that his son had fought against. The guards quickly check them and the ones that had survived the attack they took them away to a holding cell were they could be interrogated once they were awake.

 

Everyone quickly spread out looking for Inuyasha and Kagome. Inutaisho yelled, “INUYASHA!” but he heard no reply. As the smoke started to settle he spotted two figures huddled together in a corner in each other embrace. He ran towards them hoping that they were all right from the attack.

 

When he reached them he gave a big sigh of relief. They looked unharmed but they were both knocked unconscious from the impact of the explosion. Inuyasha had shielded his mate from the blast, protecting her. He touched his son's shoulder to see if he would stir and when he didn't he moved him off his mate so he could look at Kagome.

 

Kagome looked fine but he wanted her to be checked by the healers to make sure the pup was all right. He looked at his son and aside from a few cuts he seemed to be all right as well.

 

He turned his attention towards his men and called for the sergeant of the guards. The sergeant approached with fear in his eyes. He knew what was coming as he stopped in front of his lord and bowed deeply.

 

“I want to know how this filth got into my castle undetected. I want the survivors to be kept under lock and key so I can talk to them in the morning. If this ever happens again it will be your head. Is that understood?” Inutaisho growled each and every command to the sergeant of the guards. The guard nodded his understanding of his orders and quickly left to do his bidding. He was glad to be alive for now.

 

Inutaisho turned to his son and mate again and picked them up in his arms. He took them back to Inuyasha's room as he laid them down on the bed. The healers came and checked Kagome and pronounced that she was unharmed and the pup was fine as well. They checked Inuyasha and tended to his cuts, he too had escaped serious injury.

 

Inutaisho stayed behind sitting by his son's side. He had failed in keeping his family safe for the second time. That's twice that the intruder has gotten into the castle but there was something that was nagging at the back of his mind.

 

There were only a few people who knew that Kagome and Inuyasha were down there in that room and that there would be no guards down there to protect them. He had a traitor in his mist and he had to find out who it was.

 

He got up and left his son's room to let them rest. There were guards posted at the door to prevent them from getting attack again. The security on the castle had been stepped up as he stormed down the hallway going towards his office. He had to think, he had to get this traitor and see who was behind all of this before something seriously happened to his son and mate.

 

~-oOo-~

 

Naraku had been roughly taken away from the area where the enraged hanyou as at. That half-breed wanted to kill him all because he had been with Kusco.

 

Well at least he was still alive and being pushed into a waiting vehicle until they settled the matter on what was going on outside. He moved over to the window so he could see what was happening outside.

 

He saw Kusco getting the crap whipped out of her by that demon princess. He wondered how in the hell she had turned into a full demon. When they captured her she was clearly a human.

 

`Well those guards did say that the hanyou was the princesses husband, maybe that's what happens to human females if they take a demon as a mate.' Naraku continued this line of thought as he watched the female demon continue to whip Kusco to within an inch of her life.

 

He saw Kusco turn quickly around and throw a knife at the girl and she went down hard. `Well now, if Kusco kills the girl then our problems will be over. The merging of the two kingdoms won't happen and we can still keep our slave business.'

 

Naraku was very happy at this thought as he continued to watch with excitement. He watched, as Kusco was about to kill the girl when the male hanyou came out of nowhere and killed Kusco. He saw that the soldiers did nothing to stop the demon.

 

`This is an outrage! A demon kills a human and they don't do anything about it. How can they let a savage like that walk away free when a human has been killed right in front of their eyes.' Naraku was fuming at what happened. Then he saw an interesting thing.

 

The female demon wasn't recognizing her mate and she was fighting him. `This might be some good information for the future. It just might come in handy when we go after them again, because I will avenge Kusco. They won't get away with killing her, I would see to that.'

 

He saw some other demons come out and attack the princess and her husband. He saw the male hanyou go down at the hands of a demon that had demanded answers from him earlier; he looked a lot like the hanyou. He saw him place the hanyou on the ground while he looked at his wounds.

 

Naraku then turned his attention towards the girl. She was fighting off three demons by herself. He turned away for just a second to look at the hanyou and then brought his attention back to the girl. When he looked again the girl had a bow in her hands, `I wonder where she got the bow from?'

 

He watched as the girl aimed her arrow at the demons in front of her then she turned completely around and aimed it at his precious building. He saw the arrow impact on facility, he heard a rumble, and then the next thing he saw was his precious facility lying in ruins. There was nothing left but a big pile of rubble. `I'm ruined, that fucking bitch just brought my facility down like it was nothing.'

 

He saw the girl get attacked by the other demons as they ensnared her for the moment. He saw the other demon with sliver hair come quickly toward the girl then she slumped in his arms not moving.

 

Once he saw them leave he moved away from the window and sat down. `Their going to pay for this, one way or the other, I will make them pay dearly for killing Kusco and destroying my facility. They just cost me a whole lot of money and I'm not about to let them get away with it.'

 

He heard a commotion going on outside. Then the sound of keys scraping against the lock as the door opened. They threw one of his men into the vehicle none to gently and closed the doors quickly behind him.

 

Naraku eyed him cautiously he was wearing the uniform of one of the facility guards but he didn't recognized him. “Where do you work? I don't remember seeing you before and I make it a point to know all of my employees.”

 

The man was struggling to get up from the ground. He wanted to be seated before they left the area. Those guards tying his hands behind his back made it difficult to move but not impossible. He managed to sit up then he stood and seated himself on the bench seat before the vehicle drove away.

 

Once the vehicle started moving he said, “My name is Shawn and I worked on the 6th floor guarding the little runts. I have only been here at the facility for about a week.”

 

Naraku eyed him and said, “Well nice to meet you Shawn, My name is Naraku, the person who owned that facility, now it just a big pile of rubble.”

 

Shawn nodded that he understood as he turned to look out the window. He eyed Naraku out of the corner of his eye. He sat there looking calm, cool, and collective like he was planning something. He had to make sure that he went with him.

 

It was, after all, part of Inutaisho plan. He didn't trust this human and he knew that he might escape to cause his son some more harm. So Shawn, with a concealment ring on, allowed himself to be captured, so that he could be put together with Naraku to follow him.

 

The vehicle they were traveling in pulled off the road and headed into the woods. He didn't know what was going on but he was about to find out. It stopped, once there was no more road left to travel on.

 

The guard got out of the truck and then unlocked the back doors. He stepped into the back and proceeded to unlock Naraku's handcuffs.

 

Naraku rubbed his wrist as he said his thanks to the guard and stepped outside of the vehicle. The guard gave Naraku back his bag. Naraku reached into the bag and pulled out a pack of bills and gave it to the man in appreciation for letting him go.

 

Naraku was about to walk away when Shawn yelled out, “Hey! What about me? Aren't you going to let me go?”

 

Shawn had to do some fast thinking. “Well even if you don't know me I know enough to keep my mouth shut. You can release me and I can get on with my life. But if you asked me nicely enough then I might be willing to go with you and help.” Shawn hoped that he had convinced the old goat that he was trust worthy.

 

Naraku turned up an eyebrow and then smiled at the young man in front of him. `I like this kid, he reminds me of me when I was his age. He turned to the guard and said, “Release him.”

 

The guard nodded and then released Shawn. Shawn walked out of the vehicle rubbing his wrist. “Thanks old man, I'll see you around.”

 

Shawn started to walk away when Naraku called out to him. “Hey Shawn, how would you like to come work for me? I could use a smart kid like you.” Shawn smiled, “Sure, I have nothing better to do. Plus I could use the money.” Shawn turned and followed Naraku into the forest.

 

They were walking deeper into the forest. They continued to walk until they got to a big cave. Naraku walked in with Shawn trailing right behind him. He thought that Naraku had lost his mind walking into an empty cave.

 

Naraku walked right up to the cave wall at the end of the tunnel. He found the little nub in the wall and pressed it. The wall began to shake as it moved aside. Revealing an inner chamber. He stepped into a large room, with Shawn being right behind him, which held a lot of computer equipment.

 

Naraku had surveillance camera's everywhere. He saw the activity going on at the processing facility. He had cameras at King Higurashi house. There were cameras at Kagome's house checking to see when she returned so they would know about it.

 

Shawn was very impressed at the elaborate setup. Naraku didn't skimp on equipment when it came to this room. He had a clear view at everything that was going on around him. He had surveillance on the other processing facilities as well trying to stay up with what the competition was doing.

 

Shawn continued to look around. He looked at all the cameras that the king had in his home. `Hmm, they must be tapping into the security cameras and getting images from there because it looks like he can see just about every room except the more privates rooms in his home.' Shawn continued to look at the different angles of the cameras filing the images away in his memory in case he had to go there. He wanted to make sure that he wasn't detected.

 

Naraku walked up behind Shawn and said, “Well what do you think of my setup?”

 

Shawn looked over his shoulder at Naraku then back to the screen in front of him, “This is the most amazing set up I have ever seen. Are you connected to the entire city?”

 

Naraku smiled and said, “Almost, there are a few places were we still need to establish a connection but we have the majority under surveillance.”

 

“But why do you need to have everything under surveillance? I mean your rich and powerful so why do you have to spy on people?” Shawn's curiosity was genuinely peeked.

 

“Because my dear boy if you want power, then knowledge is what you need. If you watch to see what your enemy is doing then you can be one step ahead of them. In this way you can always squash the competition.” Naraku had a big smile on his face as he continued.

 

“As you will see, once I find the princess and her disgusting husband. They will pay for destroying what was mine and they will pay with their lives for killing Kusco.”

 

Shawn nodded his head in understanding. Naraku was a ruthless person who didn't care who he hurt as long as he got money for his efforts. He wanted more than anything to get back at Kagome and Inuyasha for destroying his facility and more so for killing Kusco. He seemed to have loved her but he's keeping that part of him a secret for now.

 

Shawn spent the next couple of days getting to know the lay of the layer. He knew were everything of any importance was located. Naraku was keeping him close by as if he was molding him into someone like himself.

 

Shawn took the bait because he needed the information on what was going on. He wanted to get as much details as possible so he could relay the information back to his lord. He also knew that this assignment was going to be a long one so he had to act the part of a very interested young man that wanted to learn the tricks of the trade.

 

Naraku showed him everything that he was planning but he would never mention any of his contacts. Shawn tried to get some of that information but Naraku was very illusive of the person or persons he was getting his information from. The best Shawn could do for right now was to be as detailed as possible so his lord could figure out who was behind all of this.

 

~oOo~

 

Shawn had come out of his sleeping quarters and went towards Naraku office like he had done on the previous days. As he entered Naraku office he saw him sitting behind his desk and he was in deep thought. He went towards the TV screens and acted like he was interested in what was going on in them. He saw Naraku getting up as he walked around his desk and headed towards the door.

 

“Shawn, follow me.” Shawn turned away from the TV screens he was looking at as he followed Naraku down a hallway into another room. When they walked in Shawn was amazed at what he saw, there were maps of the Western Lands.

 

He had very detailed information on where the castle was located, training fields, armories, soldiers quarters, their strength, locations of guards on duty, and everything he needed to know about the castle strong points and weaknesses. He would have to report this to lord Inutaisho as soon as possible.

 

Shawn turned toward Naraku and smelled the rage that was coming from him, `Something must've happened for him to be this angry.' Shawn waited for a bit to see if Naraku would volunteer some information, but when he didn't say anything he broke into the silence.

 

“Is something wrong? You seemed pissed about something.” Asked Shawn as he watched Naraku out of the corner of his eyes.

 

Naraku sighed and said, “There was an attack last night at the demon lords castle. We received word that he had locked the girl and the hanyou in a room down in the lower portions of the castle. I sent in an attack team to capture them and bring them back here. But the hanyou is a lot stronger than I thought. He blasted away half of the lower level killing almost all of my men. The ones still alive were taken prisoners. Hopefully they will keep their mouths shut.”

 

Shawn eyed Naraku as he was speaking he was clearly pissed at losing the fight with Inuyasha. For him to have knowledge about what was going on inside the castle meant that someone was a traitor to them. They were constantly feeding information to Naraku on what was going on. He had to find out who that someone was.

 

“Well, I'm sure that there will be other opportunities for you to take, you just have to find the best one and then move with it.” Said Shawn as he watched Naraku expression.

 

Naraku looked up from what he was doing, `I like this kid. He is a wealth of knowledge and maybe he can help me get these two. I want them to pay dearly for what they did.' “Yes, your right there will be other opportunities for me to get them. I have another plan that is in the works. This time they will not get away from me.

 

We are going to gather our forces and we will go to the Western Lands and take them by force. Once I have them both they will pay with their lives for what they did.”

 

“What are you planning? You can't be serious about going to the Western Lands. How are you going to get through the barrier? From what I have been told it's very strong.” Shawn was trying to get some information from Naraku but he didn't know how much information Naraku would disclose.

 

“Don't worry about that I have a plan to get us through the barrier once on the other side they should be easy to capture. For now all I can do is plan. It will take time to put this plan into motion and time is on my side. I will have them and they will pay for what they did to me and Kusco.” Naraku continued to show Shawn different aspects of his plan.

 

Shawn listened intently to what he was saying he had to gather enough information to warn Inutaisho. Naraku only told him what was common knowledge. He did tell him that he had two demons that were working for him and they were the one's feeding him the information about Kagome and Inuyasha whereabouts and movements. He had to get this information back to his lord as soon as possible. He had to protect Inuyasha and Kagome.

 

The tour of the facility continued. Shawn had now finally seen the complete lay out of the place and committed it to memory. He asked some of his comrades if it was permissible to go outside at anytime. They told him that they weren't allowed outside but that some of them would sneak off to get some fresh air. They just couldn't stand living underground.

 

Shawn waited until one of them was ready to sneak outside and he went with him. They enjoyed their freedom for just a few minutes and then slipped back inside undetected. But before Shawn left, he placed something under a rock that he found as he walked back inside with the other guard.

 

Once the humans had gone back inside the underground layer a small raccoon came out of the forest and found what Shawn had left behind. He lifted the rock with ease as it grabbed the letter in its mouth and took off with it deep into the forest.

 

The raccoon was still running in the woods making sure no one was following him, when he was satisfied that he wasn't followed he turned into a hawk and continued his head long flight back to the Western Lands.

 

~oOo~

 

After Inutaisho had found his son and mate unconscious in the lower part of the castle he stepped up security. Guards were now station every few feet in the castle hallways. They knew that if they failed to secure the castle this time it would be their necks.

 

Inutaisho was pacing in his office again, as he growled his frustration. `There has to be a leak somewhere in the castle for those intruders to know where to find my son. It's the only explanation for them being down there.'

 

Those demons that they had captured last night after the attack were not talking. They refused to tell him who their boss was and why they wanted his son so bad. He had guards placed around them to make sure they wouldn't escape to inform their leader of their failed attempt. He had to keep his son and mate safe.

 

He continued with his nervous habit when something flew in his window. He turned to see a hawk on his desk with something in its beak. He walked over to it and got the letter that was addressed to him.

 

Inutaisho walked around to his desk as he opened his desk draw and pulled out a metal box. He opened it and the hawk went wild with excitement. Inutaisho pulled a small piece of meat out of it and gave it to the bird as he happily ate it and he put away his box.

 

Inutaisho turned to the bird and said, “I want you to keep a eye on him, make sure that he isn't hurt. If you see him in danger get him out of there and then return directly to me.”

 

The hawk understood his commands as it left his office and flew off into the darkening skies. Inutaisho watched as the bird left. He knew he could trust him he was a very old friend of his and he had agreed to help him in this little venture.

 

He was glad that he had come up with this plan at the spur of the moment, they had to scramble to make it work but it did. With Shawn firmly seated deep in this humans layer he will be able to keep track of him.

 

Inutaisho opened the letter as he began to read it. This letter confirmed his suspicion that he had a traitor in his mist. But he was surprised to learn that it was two not one. He had to be on this toes to protect his family from now on and protect them he will.

 

He continued to read the information provided to him by Shawn and noticed that this human had a lot of information about the Western Lands. He even knew of the castle strength and weaknesses. This was new information, he would have to take care of those weaknesses and make sure that no one saw him do it. He took note of everything Shawn had said in his letter.

 

He went back to his desk as he started to make a list of everyone that he had told of Inuyasha location. He then started to put them into groups so he could start rumors and see which ones got back to that human. Shawn would relay what that human knew and that's how he would find the traitors.

 

He finally left his office sometime in the middle of the night. He went to check on his son and saw two guards standing outside his son's door guarding him. He eyed both of the guards as he entered the room.

 

He saw Inuyasha lying in the bed in the same position he was in before. He walked over to him and noticed that he was sleeping peacefully and so was his mate. He walked over to the window and placed a seal there to make sure that no one would enter through the window to harm them. He wanted to make sure that they were well protected.

 

With the seals on the windows and the guards at the door they should be safe for the night. He walked back out and closed the door behind him as he placed a barrier on the door without anyone noticing that it was there. He turned toward his guards and said, “Their asleep. No one is to go into the room is that understood?” Both guards nodded their head in understanding as they saw Inutaisho leave the area to go back to his room.

 

They both breathed a sigh of relief once their lord was safely away from them.

 

~oOo~

 

Inuyasha slowly started to open his eyes, he noticed that he was lying on a bed as his eyes tried to focus on the area around him. His memory of the previous day was starting to come back. He remembered getting attacked and unleashing the power of his sword.

 

He sat up with a start as he remembered protecting Kagome from that blast. His head started to spin the moment he sat up in such a rush.

 

He was breathing hard as he tried to get his breathing under control and looked for his mate. When his eyes finally came into focus he saw that he was in his room and that Kagome was lying next to him on the bed.

 

He crawled over to her and checked her. She was breathing and he picked up the sound of his pup's heartbeat. He sighed with relief as he nuzzled Kagome taking in her scent. He had thought that he had lost her in the fight with those demons last night.

 

He sat up as he held his head, “Note to self, never unleash the power of the Tetsusaiga in a small room.” He continued to rub the temples on his head as he closed his eyes trying to get rid of the headache that he had.

 

“You better not do that again.” Groaned his mate from his side as he stopped rubbing his temples to look at her.

 

Kagome was lying in bed rubbing her temples as well as she slowly sat up to look at her surrounding. She sighed as she said, “Why don't they leave us alone? All I want is to live in peace and be happy. All my life someone or something has been always trying to kill me. I'm getting pretty tired of it.”

 

Inuyasha reached for her as he brought her closer to him, he wanted to comfort her as he said, “I don't know why they won't leave us alone, but I will protect you with my life.”

 

Kagome looked up into his eyes and saw his determination to keep her save. She looked out the window and saw that dawn was approaching and said, “We better get down to the training field, your father will be waiting for us.”

 

Inuyasha nodded his agreement as he released her and Kagome got off the bed and headed into the bathroom with a change of clothes.

 

When Kagome emerged from the bathroom she noticed that her mate had his back to her and didn't even notice that she was there. She had a wet towel in her hand and got an evil smirk on her face. She was in a playful mood this morning and wanted to get her mate there as well.

 

She quietly made her way towards him as he was leaning down getting his sword, exposing his butt to her. Kagome took the towel and grabbed it on each end then she quickly spun the towel around in a circle until it was coiled tight in her hands. When she was within reach she snapped the towel on his butt as Inuyasha let out a howl of anger.

 

Inuyasha quickly turned around, after he felt someone hit him on his butt, to find that his mate was laughing her ass off at him. He got irritated as he bared his fang and pounced on her.

 

Kagome was ready, she wanted to get his blood going this morning and she was doing a pretty good job at it. She quickly dodged his attack as she turned and raced out of the room with Inuyasha chasing right after her.

 

The guards standing on either side of the door looked on with curiosity as they saw the pair running down the hallway. Laughing and yelling at each other as the hanyou chased his mate. The guards went to the window and signaled the other guards that were outside that Inuyasha and his mate were leaving the castle and that it was their turn to watch them.

 

Inuyasha was yelling for Kagome to stop and come back but Kagome just continued to run while she was laughing. She was getting faster as Inuyasha had a hard time keeping up with her.

 

She ran through the castle as she was teasing Inuyasha. She would stop and let him catch up to her and then she would escape and continued to run through the castle. They chased each other up and down the stair and down the hallways running around like two small children playing.

 

Inuyasha had to admit he was having a great time chasing his mate throughout the entire castle as he watched his mate run out into the forest.

 

The sun was slowly rising over the horizon as Inuyasha continued to chase Kagome all over the forest. The guards were having a hard time keeping up with them as they tried to follow them to protect them. They were going so fast that they couldn't keep up. Never before had they ever had a hard time keeping up with Inuyasha. But then again he wasn't chasing after a female and that made all the difference in the world.

 

Kagome was still giggling as she ran. `Well I think I got Inuyasha blood going this morning, this run has definitely gotten me loosened up for the training ahead. I think I'll head back in that direction. We need to be there before his father gets to the training field.' Thought Kagome as she changed direction and headed back toward the training field.

 

Whenever the two of them got together they powers grew. It was the strangest thing it was like they were feeding off each other and that was making their powers grow.

 

As Kagome was approaching the training field she started to slow down just a bit, she thought that Inuyasha would to the same. He came right up behind her and grabbed her as they went flying through the air and landed on ground with Kagome cradled in Inuyasha's arms to prevent her from getting hurt.

 

Inuyasha looked down to see if Kagome was all right, he smiled as he kissed her and brought her closer to him. When they pulled apart he said, “You know that you are going to pay for what you did to me in the room right?”

 

Kagome giggled as she said, “Only if you beat me today mate.”

 

It was another challenge and he smiled a wicked smile at her as they both got up off the ground. They made their way toward the weapons rack as they were about to get started with their training.

 

The guards that had been chasing them through the forest finally arrived at the training field, they were all out of breath and happy that they were safe. They all thought the same thing; they had to get into better shape if they were going to be chasing Inuyasha and Kagome through the forest because they were just too damn fast.

 

They called for some more guards to come and take their place so they could rest. The guards formed an outer circle around the pair, as they were getting ready to train, making sure that no intruders got near them.

 

~oOo~

 

Inutaisho was in his room asleep when he heard the growls and the laughing of a girl running through the castle. He sat up with a start thinking that his son was under attack again. But when he heard the laughter of the girl he relaxed and fell back against his bed. He looked outside and noticed that dawn was slowly approaching.

 

“What are those two doing up so early in the morning. Couldn't they wait at least another hour before they woke up the entire castle?” He grumbled as he sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes in frustration. He had only gotten a few hours sleep and he was not in the best of moods.

 

He got up and got dressed as he noticed that the girl had taken the chase into the forest. He saw his men scrambling to follow them into the forest to protect them. `Hmm, I will have to tell them to stay out of the forest. They could easily be attacked and it would take time for my men to get there.'

 

He left his room and started to make his way toward the training field. He spotted his son and mate already in the field as he heard the sound of swords clashing in the near distance.

 

Kagome was definitely getting stronger and more accurate with her swing. She had more control and was moving a lot faster than the last time he had seen her wield a sword.

 

Inuyasha was getting better as well. He had a lot more control of the sword and was more precise with his swings. He still saw him holding back but not as much as he had done in the past. He wondered if they had another bet going like they did the last time they had sparred.

 

He walked onto the field and sensed that his guards were everywhere keeping an eye on the two in front of him. He continued to watch until he decided to join the fight to see how the pair will do together in combat. He would go after Kagome to see how Inuyasha would react to his assaults on her.

 

He pulled his sword as he charged in going towards Kagome.

 

Kagome and Inuyasha were enjoying the fight they were having. Kagome was so intent on what she was doing that she didn't sense Inutaisho approaching her. Inuyasha reacted with lighting speed as he blocked his father assault on his mate.

 

Kagome realizing her mistake quickly turned around and met the next swing head on as Inutaisho pushed Inuyasha away from him and went after the girl.

 

Kagome was blocking all of his hit but she was unable to launch an attack of her own. She kept him at bay until Inuyasha came back into the fight. His anger was peeked as he charged his father with the full weight of the Tetsusaiga. He attacked without mercy and Kagome joined in the fight.

 

Inutaisho had yet to use all of his strength against his son and the girl. They were still weaker than him as he kept pressing them to do better. He was use to this kind of fighting so for him it was just good exercise.

 

He caught Kagome as she was swinging down with her sword and knocked it out of her hand. Inuyasha was immediately there as he caught the next swing and pushed his father back with such force that it took Inutaisho by surprise.

 

He looked at his son and smirked. “Finally, you get to tap into that hidden strength that you've been hiding, now lets see what you've got.”

 

He attacked again as he increased his power towards his son. Inuyasha meet every thrust, jab, and parry that his father gave and continued to push him back to make sure he didn't get anywhere near Kagome.

 

Kagome was on the ground panting as she saw her mate and his father going at it. She looked for her sword and started to make her way towards it.

 

Inutaisho seeing this rushed his son and knocked him on his butt as he went after Kagome.

 

Kagome saw what was happening and it struck fear in her heart. She stretched her arm out to the side and summoned the sword into her hand as his sword was coming down towards her.

 

She blocked the swing and became enraged that he had come after her with such force. She used her other hand as she sent a blast of her miko power into his stomach as she pushed him back throwing him half way across the field where he landed on his back, unconscious.

 

Inuyasha seeing what was happening ran towards his mate. He grabbed her by her neck and pinned her to the ground as he saw her eyes turn red. He kissed her as her temper slowly started to go down and when he pulled away from the kiss he looked to see that she was back to normal.

 

Inuyasha quickly got off her as he looked at his father; he wasn't moving from the blast that Kagome had given him.

 

Kagome looked on in horror as she saw what she had done. They rushed over to him as Kagome kneeled in front of him and checked his wound. He had a burn mark on his chest and Kagome started to cry. She placed her hands on his chest and slowly healed his wounds. When she was done Inutaisho slowly opened his eyes and saw the hurt look in Kagome's eyes.

 

He sat up with a groan as he rubbed the back of his head. He looked over to see that Kagome was sitting in Inuyasha's lap and she was crying. He looked at her wondering what was wrong. “Kagome? Why are you crying?”

 

Kagome looked up from Inuyasha shoulder and said, “I hurt you! I didn't mean to hurt you. I lost control and I almost killed you.” Kagome buried her head in Inuyasha's shoulder again as she continued to cry.

 

Inutaisho sighed as he said, “Kagome, in order for me to bring out your full potential we have to train vigorously. If you constantly worry about hurting anyone then you will never be able to defend yourself.

 

When I was training Inuyasha's mother I had to do the same thing to her. She gave me the same blast you did and then had to heal the wounds she caused. She almost gave up on her training but I convinced her not to, she was powerful, but you my dear have a lot more power than she did so I have to be a little bit more careful around you.

 

Your power is great, more so when you channel your anger into the attack. You have to learn to control that temper of yours just like Inuyasha has to control his. There is a time when you must unleash that anger and use it to defend each other.” He sat there looking at Kagome as he was speaking to see if he had quieted her fears.

 

Kagome had stopped her crying and was listening to Inutaisho as he spoke. He had a point he had to get out her full potential if she had to defend herself. She pulled away from Inuyasha's shoulder and looked at him. She was still shaking as she asked, “How are you feeling?”

 

Inutaisho laughed as he said, “I feel just fine. But its you that I'm worried about.”

 

“I'm fine just tired.” Stated Kagome as she rested her head back on Inuyasha's shoulder.

 

“Well I think we will call it a day for the training. I will see the both of you again tomorrow morning.” He looked at his son and then at Kagome as she nodded her agreement.

 

He got up and left the two of them alone as he looked down at his armor. `Hmm, I going to need some repairs done to this thing. Kagome is strong. She blasted a hole right through this armor with just one blast of her miko powers.' He smiled as he continued to walk back into the castle.

 

Inuyasha continued to hold Kagome as he rocked her. He looked down at her and asked with a worried voice, “Kagome? Are you sure you're all right?”

 

Kagome looked up and saw the worried look on his face as she smiled and said, “Yes, I'm all right. I'm… I'm sorry Inuyasha that I hurt your father. I didn't mean to hurt him.”

 

Inuyasha just brought her closer to him and said, “I know you didn't mean to hurt him.” Then he chuckled, “I didn't know that your temper was worse than mine, you actually look pretty when you're mad.”

 

Kagome's eye flashed with anger at his comment and was about to give him a piece of her mind when he captured her lips in a heated kiss. Her anger faded away as she relaxed into his arms and enjoyed it. When he pulled away he said, “Come on, let's get something to eat and then you can rest.”

 

Kagome nodded her agreement as she slowly stood up along with Inuyasha. They both walked slowly back to the castle to get some food and some much needed rest. They had a very busy morning and they were both tired.

 

~oOo~

 

Inutaisho was in his office when he heard a knock on his door, he put away what he was working on and then said, “Come in.”

 

Inuyasha opened the door and stepped into his father's office. He wanted to ask him for a favor as he approached.

 

Inutaisho eyed his son carefully, was something was bothering him and he was there to see him?

 

Inuyasha swallowed hard and then said, “Dad, I want to know why you attacked the both of us at the same time.” He wanted to know his training methods for his mate. He wasn't about to let his father hurt her in anyway, shape, or form.

 

Inutaisho raised an eyebrow at his son and then answered, “I wanted to see how you two would do when a stronger opponent came towards you. Anyone stronger than you would be able to overpower Kagome and subdue her to get to you.

 

I wanted to see if you're able to protect her if that was to happen. When you tapped into your energy to protect your mate you unleashed a greater power from within you. You have to know how to tap into that power whenever you need it.”

 

Inuyasha took everything his father said to heart. He had tapped into some greater power that he didn't know he had. When his mate was in danger he was able to bring it out.

 

Inutaisho saw his son deep in thought and then he added, “Your training isn't over yet. We will continue to train and develop your powers along with Kagome's. You will have to fight multiple fighters to see if you can still protect her and her you.

 

I'm sorry but this must be done before the real threat comes here and gets a hold of you two. I want to protect you and I will do everything within my power to do so but if they get by my defenses then I have to know that you can take care of each other.”

 

Inuyasha now knew what his father had planned he will try to prepare Kagome as best he could so that she won't be taken by surprise. He looked at his father and said, “I understand your concerns about our safety but I have a request. Kagome wants to go home and get some things from her house. It won't take long and we can travel there and back within a day. I want your permission to go.”

 

Inutaisho was taken by surprise by his son's request. He didn't think that the girl would want to leave the safety of the castle. She must've said something to Inuyasha for him to come here and request that they be allowed to go. `Hmm, this might be the perfect opportunity to see where that leak is coming from. I can start several different rumors and see which one makes it back to that human. That way I will be able to trace it back to its source.'

 

“I will have to think about your request. Once I'm satisfied that the way is clear down to her house then you will be allowed to go. But until that time I'm requesting that you stay here.” He saw his son's face light up when he didn't turn him down. He agreed to his terms as he said his goodbyes and turned to leave.

 

Before he walked out of the door, Inutaisho looked up from his work and asked, “By the way Inuyasha how is Kagome doing?”

 

Inuyasha stopped by the door and turned to his father as he said, “She's resting for now. She was still upset that she hurt you but she has agreed to continue with her training.”

 

Inutaisho nodded his head in acknowledgement to his son and he left his office heading back towards his mate. He turned his attention back to what he was working on before his son paid him a visit as he pulled out the paperwork from his desk draw.

 

He was working on all the weaknesses of the castle as he was slowly making them stronger without anyone noticing what he was doing. He had finished with that task as he was beginning the task of spreading the rumors around that Inuyasha and Kagome were going back to her kingdom.

 

Inutaisho set about laying his trap. He had to place three rumors to three different groups of demons:

 

1. That he was going to leave the castle and take his son with him. That Kagome was to stay behind in the castle to be protect by his army.

 

2. That Kagome and Inuyasha were heading back to the girls kingdom for a short visit.

 

3. That Kagome and Inuyasha were to leave the castle to a predetermined place where they will be kept safe until the people that wanted to do them harm were caught.

 

These were the three rumors he spread to see which one would get back to the human that was after his son.

 

~oOo~

 

A few weeks had passed and he received no word from Shawn that they knew anything about the three rumors he had spread.

 

Inuyasha was by a miracle, waiting for him to reply when they could go back to the girl's home. Their training had been excellent they were both growing in power, strength, and control.

 

Kagome had gotten better with her temper not getting in the way of their training, although she would lose control of it from time to time. Some of their guards had to be healed by her after she lost control when five of them attacked her at the same time pinning her to the ground.

 

Inuyasha seeing what was about to happen yelled for them to move away but they were still caught in the blast that she released. After Inuyasha had calmed her down she healed all of their wounds.

 

Inutaisho sighed he would have to give his son permission to go soon. Kagome was starting to show, you could barely see the little bulge on her stomach, and soon she will not be able to travel. He would not allow her to leave the safety of the castle once she was showing. Everyone will then know that she was carrying Inuyasha's pup and so far that secret has held and not traveled back to that human, at least not the he was aware of.

 

Inutaisho made up his mind he would let them travel back to the girl's home with no guards. They could travel faster than his guards ever could it was embarrassing at times. He would have to place guards along the way to keep the road opened for them and to help if they were to get into any trouble, but he was going too. He would be watching from a safe distance to make sure nothing happened to them.

 

Inutaisho made his way out of his office and went towards the gardens. That's where Kagome and Inuyasha had been spending their time together.

 

He found them sitting under a tree just enjoying the sun. Kagome had fallen asleep against Inuyasha's chest as the cool breeze whipped around the couple.

 

Inuyasha had one hand on the small bulge of her stomach while his other arm was around her upper body keeping her close to him.

 

Inuyasha saw his father coming and raised his head to great him. When his father stopped in front of him he had a concerned look on his face.

 

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at his father and his father said, “I have decided to let you go to the girls house. We will clear the way for you and your mate to travel. I'm allowing you to travel on your own because the guards can't keep up with you two but they will be placed in the forest in case you need help.

 

You have two day's, I don't want Kagome to push herself too much. Enjoy your time alone.” Inutaisho smiled when he saw how red his son cheeks had gotten from his remark as he turned and walked away.

 

But before he walked too far he turned and said, “Oh and Inuyasha, if you don't return by night fall on the second day, I will send the army after you.”

 

Inuyasha swallowed hard as he heard his father threat. He would have to make sure that they were back before nightfall on the second day.

 

Inuyasha was surprised to hear his father say that they could go back to Kagome's house. He was more surprised when he told him that they could travel on their own. He knew that his father will have the guards placed in the forest in case of threats but that meant that he could finally be alone with his mate, something that he has been wanting for along time.

 

He gave his thanks to his father and waited until his mate woke up to tell her the good news. His purrs usually knocked her out for about two hours. If she were really tired it would be more. But he knew they couldn't leave until morning. He had to give his father time to set up his guards.

 

When Kagome finally woke up from her nap he told her what his father had said. Kagome was very happy that they were being allowed to go home, `Finally I can have some alone time with Inuyasha without being surrounded by a hundred guards and in my own kitchen.' She missed having a kitchen all to herself and cooking.

 

They went back to the castle to get ready to leave the next day. Kagome still had to tell her mother that she was going to be a grandmother. She was sure that she would be happy for her and she had some questions she needed to ask her.

 

They went to bed that night, happy that at least they would be alone to enjoy each other.

 

Kagome was too excited to sleep that night she was already planning the day for them. She had a plan in case they were being followed. That way they wouldn't interrupt her day.

 

She laid still in Inuyasha's embrace. She learned a long time ago that if she didn't rest he would put her to sleep.

 

Dawn was approaching and Kagome started to stir. When she moved her mate gave her a growl of annoyance for being awakened. He started to purr to put her back to sleep but she had other plans. She reached for his lips and gently massages them with her own. She wanted his attention.

 

Inuyasha felt the warm lips against his and a gentle tongue running across his lips asking for attention. He growled as he captured the lips of his mate and stopped purring. This was much more enjoyable than sleeping at the moment.

 

They finish about an hour later and then started to get ready to leave. Inutaisho met his son outside to say his goodbyes. He also told his son that he would be gone for a few days but if he thought that they could stay away longer to think again, he would be back before nightfall tomorrow.

 

Kagome and Inuyasha visibly sighed as they turned and walked into the forest. Inutaisho watched until they were out of site and then went back into the castle.

 

He walked up to one of his commanders and said, “Are all of soldiers in place in the forest to guard them as they travel?”

 

The commander smiled and said, “Yes my Lord. Our soldiers are all posted along the way.” Inutaisho gave his nod of approval as he walked away.

 

The commander was smirking as he saw Inutaisho walking away, `Yes, we have guards posted along the way but they're not your guards they are only loyal to me and our common goal of not letting the two kingdoms combine.'

 

The commander continued to smirk, as he saw Inutaisho walk away. Yes, they will not let the two kingdoms be united, even though his son was mated to the girl the kingdoms will not become one until they both took over to rule over the lands. They had to get to them before that happens.

 

~oOo~

 

Well that's the end to another chapter. As you can see Naraku is not going to give up on his prey. He is watching the city very closely to see when they would return to the Southern Kingdom.

 

But what will happen once they travel back to the Southern Lands? Will they be captured? Or will Inuyasha and Kagome find a way to outsmart Naraku? Well you have to wait to find out.

 

I have a question I want to know if you readers know what kind of book Kagome was talking about. Leave me a review and then I'll tell you what the book is with all of its pictures, and no its not a magazine. So lets see how many of you guess correctly. I will put the answer in the next chapter.

 

Until the next chapter!

 

Ja ne!