InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Caged in Her Heart ❯ Invincible ( Chapter 4 )

Caged in her heart

 

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Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and I do not make money out of writing this story. And I don't own Lady Misil either, but she's so amazing.

 

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Summary: Higurashi Kagome, the one who aspires to become Empress, the one all love and fear. She is capable of hurting everyone who stands between her and her goal, but will things stay the same as the Emperor tries to resist her?

 

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Flickering flames twirled as their shadows crawled on the pale walls of the dark room. There were no windows, no fancy furniture; just shelves with documents - thousands of them. She watched. The High Priestess was aware that Tachibana-shi had retracted their allegiance to her, quite against Takemaru's will, she was sure - her ex lover was very convincing; but they weren't at the Emperor's service either - Inuyasha would never do such a thing. She hoped.

 

It smelled like burnt paper and she felt shivers past right through her as she thought about her plans. She'd come such a long way and there was no way she could go back now. The pressure was fierce and it sometimes suffocated her, but she'd do whatever to see her wish come true. Her dreams, her expectations, they all paled in sheer irrelevance before the ultimate goal. If she became Empress, she'd keep her word and help people. If she became Empress, she would extend the Empire.

 

If Kagome became Empress, she would have everything she wanted.

 

`Oshiete kudasai, Naraku-sama.'

 

Emperor Onigumo, the cruel, vile man, had given her important lessons. As his consort, Higurashi Kagome had been privileged. She was wise, people looked up to her, and most importantly - she could see right through them. Kagome prided in this ability, but it was sometimes her doom. It stripped her of her defenses as much as it offered her weapons. It made her as weak as it made her fearless. A look into someone's eyes would suffice - she'd look past their soul, creeping inside their very mind.

 

“Gatenmaru,” she called with an air of indifference, continuing to write what she had started.

 

The man bowed and looked at her expectantly. “Hai, Higurashi-sama.”

 

Symbols flowed cursively on the paper, appearing almost delicate, because Higurashi Kagome's calligraphy was exquisite.

 

“There is something I need you to deliver,” she said sweetly, her wrist bending effortlessly as words flowed smoothly. Without receiving an acknowledgement, Kagome hovered over the fire and inhaled the unique, pungent aroma of burnt paper, smirking deliberately. These were important documents found at Taira-shi's house - they had been spying on them. But no matter; all the notes were now forever lost. While the Emperor's allies had sly spies, Kagome's were even slyer. She could not wait to start working with Fujiwara-shi; they were relentless - monsters in the true meaning of the word.

 

“Tsubaki-san has not come back, has she?” Kagome asked before giving him anything. When he confirmed that the Priestess was truly away, Kagome considered everything was in order. If Tsubaki had not come with news, everything was safe.

 

“Then take these and give them to the Emperor.” She held out the wrapped object she had received from Tsubaki and had shown Inuyasha, and the letter she had just finished. “Tell him my intentions are pure and that I seek only to help the people. Tell him…” she paused, her perfect teeth glinting in the fire light. “Tell Kimura-sama that his secret has been discovered.”

 

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Minamoto Bankotsu looked at his wife with adoration in his eyes. The way she handled a sword… it was crazy. His blood heated as his sight misted over, breath coming quicker than normal. Their fights were always interesting and she always gave her all, only afterwards worrying about injuries or wounded pride. Kaguya was wonderful, not at all like proper Kikyou.

 

Suddenly, darkness pooled in his orbs. Today he would increase the number of spies to follow the young priestess everywhere. Everywhere meant he could know her every breath. Everywhere meant he could devour her and humiliate her and destroy her.

 

Obviously, that was assuming she had any secrets.

 

He'd dedicate his free time to finding out as much as he could about her, as Kagome had ordered. After all, he was just beginning to understand the fun he could have while doing so. Kikyou was as good as defeated. In his mind, the princess was already begging for help.

 

He'd tear her apart.

 

“Focus, anata!” was Bankotsu's only warning when the hilt of a sword caught him in his chest unexpectedly, sending him tumbling to the ground. Catching his breath, he looked at his displeased wife who was noticeably angry at his lack of concentration. Though her tousled hair and narrowed eyes made her look all the more tempting.

 

Bankotsu bit back a groan.

 

“Pay attention,” she chided, sheathing her sword and offering her hand to her husband.

 

“Women shouldn't fight like that,” he said with pride, elated that his wife was more different than others, that she was almost like... Higurashi.

 

“Well, I must be able to defend myself,” she said cautiously, as if it weren't the only reason. His brows furrowed for a second, but he waved it off.

 

“Higurashi-sama had me watch Kikyou-Hime's moves,” he commented as they were walking back to their room.

 

“I know.”

 

“Yes, she suspects Kikyou is planning something. Her father, the Emperor, is sly, but Kikyou is intelligent. That is what Higurashi-sama says.”

 

“So she wants you to discover her weak point,” Kaguya assessed.

 

“Indeed.”

 

There was an awkward silence that stretched for a few minutes as neither was willing to shatter it. When they reached their room, Kaguya's armor smashed to the ground and Bankotsu found himself in a surprisingly passionate embrace. He had no idea what had triggered his wife's desire, but who was he to complain?

 

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It was The Perfect Plan. It was smooth, destined to succeed. The more Kagome thought about it, the less faults she could find in it. No, it was to work and she would get back what was rightfully hers. Naturally, she had no qualms doing something like this as long as it brought her success and whatever else she wanted.

 

Fujiwara Byakuya - Ginjiro and Masami's second son, Sesshomaru's younger brother.

 

The little, sly whelp was still faithful to Onigumo's memory and refused to marry, since his idol, Naraku, had wanted an impossible marriage for him. Even now Byakuya waited for one of Naraku's daughters to reappear and marry her.

 

Kagome would not tell him that Inuyasha's Second in command, Kagura, was the eldest daughter of Naraku. She would never divulge that Naraku was still alive, but still hiding, because there was nothing she could gain from it. If she didn't owe him so much, she would kill him.

 

Rumors circulated that Fujiwara Byakuya would never marry; such a feat seemed impossible by now. The Emperor had even discussed about offering him his daughter in order to become allies, but he had refused. It was a pity that Byakuya did not want to participate in political issues, because he was one of the brightest and most capable men Kagome had ever known. His strength didn't came from his arms, as Sesshomaru's did - his strength was his wit. And his shrewdness almost matched hers, both having been sharpened by Naraku.

 

Kagome could honestly say that Byakuya was cut from the same wood as she was. Naraku had polished both of them, and Kagome had been clever enough to learn something from every mistake, from every misguided word.

 

The wind was disturbingly fierce this evening and she shivered at the thought of what the night could bring. Many had tried to kill her in her sleep, but Inuyasha had always been there to get rid of them. Now she was alone, with only her faithful guards outside her chambers. But guards could be tricked, while Inuyasha could not.

 

A large window was wide-open so she could watch the tree blossoms and enjoy the work of art that was the nature.

 

Kagome's heart started beating frantically inside her ribcage when she heard subtle noises, and it almost pounded out of her chest when a dark figure entered her room, hoisting himself over, his feet clattering when touching the ground. His eyes were downcast so she could not see him properly because of the shadows, but a strange feeling encased her - as if she was supposed to know who he was.

 

“Who disturbs Higurashi Kagome at this late hour?” she asked defiantly, her chin lifted. The intruder did not answer; he didn't even move. “Do you want to kill me?” Kagome stood up and clutched her robes, letting all the calmness she possessed flow through her veins. Was this the end?

 

At her right was her sword - maybe if she could reach it…

 

She had to buy more time.

 

“Then kill me,” she challenged, walking towards her right as if she was preparing to circle him.

 

Just as she almost touched the hilt, the man's head rose to meet her eyes and she gasped. “Kill you?” he asked mockingly. His silver hair was pulled up in a ponytail and his features were harsher than usual, full of hostility and awareness. “Kill you, you say?” his lips were pursed and Kagome's heart throbbed in her chest. “I think I might like that.” She'd expected it, really, but the raging fire in his eyes, the smell of damp earth on his skin as he approached her…

 

Inuyasha was cruel.

 

“Now I have to learn to hate you,” he declared, even though his stride and behavior showed that he already had.

 

Kagome forced a meaningless smile to intimidate him, forgetting that he knew everything about her.

 

“You thought I would still be at your feet? If you ever want me back, well fuck you!” he hissed venomously, snickering at Kagome's visible flinch. “You think I'm disposable? Obviously, you do, but I'll prove you wrong. You'll see.”

 

Appearing almost afraid for the first time in her life, Kagome ignored her shrinking heart and steeled her voice. “Will you side with the Emperor?”

 

His eyes twinkled mischievously as he scoffed. “You think I will?”

 

She shook her head, finding her inner courage once again. All was not lost.

 

“Hn,” he grunted. “But I will rise against you,” he swore, wrapping slender fingers around her dainty neck. Her eyes widened with something akin to fear when he began to squeeze roughly, preventing air from entering her lungs. Slowly, color drained from her face until she started clawing at his hands to let her breathe. He seemed to be enjoying this game, because he was nearly laughing in delight, biting his lower lip in a twisted, lopsided smirk.

 

He was mad.

 

Just as she thought she would die he let go of her and she clutched her neck as if too soothe it, coughing clumsily. Her breath was stolen again when his lips slammed upon hers forcefully, his tongue slipping past her teeth, leaving her in a daze. Her eyes closed shut when the former General's rough palm cupped her breast hungrily, but in a second he discarded her as if she were diseased.

 

“You won't know what hit you,” Inuyasha promised in conclusion and jumped outside in the dark night, leaving her breathless and with strangely gleaming eyes.

 

But Higurashi Kagome was invincible. She would not cry. Inuyasha had just taken her by surprise; it would not happen again.

 

Still, she broke the mirror in front of her out of sheer age, pursing her lips and closing her eyes, every muscle in her body quivering frantically. The sound of shattered glass was like a song to her years and she ignored the mess she'd made deliberately. She'd get things her way. Even if she died soon afterwards, everything would happen the way she needed it to happen.

 

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Kimura Renkotsu smiled at his daughter, who'd come to tell him she had an idea who to send as spies on Higurashi's grounds. They had to play a sly game if they wanted to be undiscovered, so Renkotsu sought as many opinions as possible. Usually, Kikyou's were the best.

 

“She is weak and defenseless now,” The Emperor told his daughter. “We should strike.”

 

“No,” Kikyou warned, “let's not. She is still too powerful. Imagine going at war against Fujiwara-shi. Because, in essence, that is what would happen.”

 

She was, of course, right.

 

“We should wait and see how she copes. After all, she has banished her General.”

 

And that was where she was wrong, and Kimura knew it. He'd been there the last time, as well. Higurashi Kagome was not entirely soulless like many presumed and she was surely a wreck now that politics had once again stood in the way of her happiness. It took a blind man not to see Kagome's fierce protectiveness of her General, and Renkotsu had once intended to make use of the knowledge, though the opportunity had not been presented.

 

“Ah, my dear child, you are still naïve,” he said with a gentle smile. “You should spend more time in analyzing her moves. Higurashi Kagome did not deliberately shun her most devoted General - she was forced to do it.”

Kikyou's stunned face said it all. “Who forced her?”

 

The Emperor was obviously cleverer than people thought. He was Emperor, after all. “You know how people comment about Tachibana Inuyasha being the son of Fujiwara Ginjiro?”

 

“Ah,” Kikyou said, immediately understanding. “So in order not to let people think their union was because of Inuyasha, he made Higurashi cast away her General.”

 

“Exactly.”

 

“Then… why don't we take Inuyasha? I'm sure he is pretty angry right now.”

 

Immediately, Renkotsu's face sobered. “We still don't know if this is a ruse to trick us into believing our Imperial Army does not have a General or not. It might be made to appear this way so we would take Inuyasha in and he could be a firsthand spy. Things are not so easy.”

 

Kikyou sighed, hating Higurashi more and more. “You're right. Still, I should tell you about those spies.”

 

Before she could say anything, she whimpered loudly and clutched her stomach in pain, her lids almost hurting from the pressure of being closed tightly.

 

“What is it?” the Emperor stood up tensely.

 

Just as quickly as it came, Kikyou's pain subsided.

 

“It was nothing… I didn't really eat much these days,” she lied calmly, though her heart was held in a tight leash by panic.

 

“You should be more careful,” the Emperor scolded, though visibly relieved.

 

Unexpectedly however, a servant announced the arrival of one of Kagome's most loyal soldiers, Gatenmaru. Renkotsu had heard that he was brutal in battle.

 

“What is the purpose of his visit?” Renkotsu asked sternly.

 

The servant answered almost fearfully, “He has come to bring you something.”

 

“Then give it to me,” the Emperor commanded, refusing to look at anyone but the cowering servant. When he wanted, Renkotsu could become intimidating.

 

“He… has a message as well.”

 

There was a slight pause during which Renkotsu debated what to do.

 

“Let him in.”

 

Within moments, a tall, broad-shouldered man clad in armor entered, holding a wrapped object and what appeared to be a letter. He bowed and placed them on the table, smirking victoriously.

 

“Higurashi-sama told me to clarify that her intentions are pure and she only seeks to help the people. She also says she knows your secret.”

 

Renkotsu gritted his teeth and clenched his fist in rage; he was almost trembling. Worried about his own reaction and not wanting Higurashi to know it, he ordered Gatenmaru to leave. Right after the soldier was out, a loud sound resounded in the room, but the Emperor didn't care about pain he was in or about the abused piece of furniture.

 

“Curse this situation!”

 

He opened the letter first, anxious to read the contents. Kikyou was nervous as well, he could tell. Without thinking about it, he read the words out loud.

 

“Although all my respect and admiration goes to you, Kimura-sama, I cannot help but notice with no little stupor how you gather men from every part of the country. One may assume that the Emperor is not certain of the strength and allies he already possesses. It was a superfluous move to try and turn the remaining people of Minamoto-shi in the North against me, even with your knowledge about my history with Minamoto Koga. You use foul tricks, but cannot win. Here is a copy of something you might want to see - a talented artist crafted it to look identical to the real object. May health and strength always be with you and your blessed family - Higurashi Kagome”

 

Apprehensively, the Emperor unwrapped the object without care and froze when he saw the content. The wooden object slammed against the floor and Kikyou hurried to pick it up. Confusion was etched across her face when she read the inscription: Minamoto-shi under Minamoto Bankotsu. The name made her lips twitch, but she didn't understand the fuss.

 

“Father?”

 

Renkotsu was still stiff; only his tight fist trembling on the table.

 

“What does this mean? What does Higurashi mean, she knows your secret? What are you hiding?”

 

“Have you heard of Minamoto Koga?”

 

“Higurashi's lover that betrayed her and disappeared before she could kill him? I think everyone knows the story. Why?”

 

“Minamoto Koga did not run away by himself. He took almost the entire clan with him that day, and Bankotsu was left behind to reconstruct it. The rest of the clan that escaped with Koga hid in the North, where Kagome would not go because of the slight hostility Northerns have towards her - she would not risk a war. Over the last years I have strived to make that scattered part of the Minamoto-shi my allies, but it seems she succeeded first. They are all a whole clan under Bankotsu now.”

 

Kikyou gasped, the gravity of the situation hitting her fully. “But what of Koga?”

 

“I assume they killed him,” the Emperor said rigidly.

 

It seemed that everything Kagome wanted, she got.

 

“What more does she intend to do now that she has yet another small victory?” Kikyou asked warily, knowing that the answer would not be pleasant.

 

“Whatever it is, we will be the ones to suffer.”

 

And it just wasn't fair.

 

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“But will it work?” Fujiwara Ginjiro was slightly skeptical about the plan's success, but if Kagome was right, then there was nothing they could worry about. And he would settle his other concern, as well. “I should warn you though,” he said, “my son, Byakuya, does not respond well to arranged marriages. He considers himself already betrothed.”

 

Ah, yes… to Kagura.

 

Naturally, Kagome did not say it out loud. “Yes, I know, but I will convince him.”

 

The head of the clan seemed to consider this for a moment. “He has not met you yet,” he realized casually, so there was a great chance that Kagome could win his son's admiration.

 

“And I was Onigumo Naraku's most precious consort. He spent most of the time with me, teaching me the ways of life,” Kagome added. “I was to be his wife. Trust me, Byakuya-san will not say no.” And just like that, Ginjiro had faith in her.

 

“Masami will be thrilled,” he commented, wondering how it would be to have such a powerful figure in their family. Now that Kagome would marry into their clan, if she was to become Empress, then Byakuya…

 

Ginjiro grinned knowingly. “I shall send after my son, informing him of his beautiful, future wife.”

 

Kagome smiled in return, excited that everything was working according to plan. “Do so.”

 

She turned around preparing to leave, when she was stopped by an unexpectedly gentle question.

 

“What about Tachibana Inuyasha?”

 

Kagome's head turned to the side for a second and she refused to acknowledge the strange prickling at the corners of her eyes. “He is my business, and mine alone,” her low tone warned, but she didn't see the man's nod of understanding. Instead she continued walking without looking back. Fujiwara-shi was part of her salvation, part of her glory. She'd share it with them for a while then toss them to the wolves, because she certainly wouldn't need a competent man as husband when she'd become Empress.

 

Then came the issue of Inuyasha's intentions.

 

He had made it clear that he didn't intend to come back to her even if she wanted him to. As hotheaded as he was, he would never understand. With his stubborn streak he would never hear past her words. Had he already forgotten her advice, her warnings?

 

`Sometimes the enemy can be your biggest friend. Embrace change, Inuyasha.'

 

Inuyasha was smart and cunning and she loved that about him, but sometimes he was clueless. Entirely clueless.

 

No matter. I'll do what I need to and he'll do what he needs to.

 

Her left eye twitched mercilessly.

 

Though eventually, he'll come around.

 

She knew he would.

 

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A/N: Do you realize that this is the first chapter without an InuKag lemon? Hehe. Anyway, please review :)

 

Oshiete kudasai = (here) Please teach me