InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Corrupted the Blind ❯ Ancient Feelings 11 ( Chapter 11 )

Ancient Feelings

 

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Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

 

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“Naraku!” Miroku hissed venomously, a few selective memories hitting him full force. “You bastard,” he groaned out, the discomfort from his new condition barely registering.

 

He fell to his knees in pain as the black hole in his hand adjusted to its owner. The changes were downright agonising and Miroku couldn't help but wonder when the hole would be really settled.

 

“The son of a - !” he hissed in obvious pain as more flashbacks developed in his foggy mind. It was as if a veil had been removed from his mind. He could clearly remember Naraku's malice. How could he have been so blind? He knew this had to be one of Naraku's tricks. And what about Inuyasha? Panicking, he rushed to find Kagome. He had to warn her!

 

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Kagome sat on the bed, hopelessly staring out the window. Inuyasha's behaviour had puzzled her greatly and she didn't know whether she should continue to fight for him or not. What right did she have anyway? She was still married, even if she didn't have her husband with her.

 

Random noises on the hallway vaguely registered in Kagome's mind as she watched the trees twist and churn with the restless wind. She did, however, hear Miroku's frantic calls as he seemed to be struggling to get to her.

 

“Kagome!” he shouted, barging in her room, startling her half to death.

 

“Miroku, what is - ?”

 

“Listen! Avoid Naraku at all costs! He is not your friend! He is enemy!” Miroku said desperately, almost stammering on his words.

 

“Miroku, clam down. What foolishness are you saying? He is my best friend,” Kagome argued, a smile tugging at her lips. Did Miroku dream something bad about Naraku and decided to warn her about him?

 

“NO! He is evil! He is a wizard! I swear; Kagome stay away from him! And from Inuyasha, too!”

 

“Listen, Miroku,” she spoke harshly, all traces of amusement dead on her face, “What gives you the right to say these horrible things about people? There is no such thing as wizards. Now, I would appreciate it if - ”

 

“You are blind, can't you see? It is because of him! His fault! He is guilty!”

 

“Now this is ridiculous! What makes you say this?”

 

“I know him! I know the type of man he is! Avoid all types of contact with him, Kagome. I know what I am saying!”

 

Kagome's patience, however, was wearing thin and she felt the urge to fire him. She knew he'd been her butler for a long time, but this was a serious thing. He couldn't say these things about people without having evidence.

 

“I want evidence, Miroku,” she stated grimly.

 

Miroku looked at his right hand helplessly, desperately wishing he could show her without killing her. Come to think of it… he didn't have evidence, but he knew exactly what he was talking about. A few minutes before, he hadn't even thought that Kagome wouldn't believe him. She really did trust Naraku, it seemed. It was possible that she saw him as a reliable person and since everyone told her he was her best friend… that had to mean a lot to her.

 

“I cannot show you without killing you,” he said with a low voice full of remorse.

 

Kagome's eyes widened. “That's it!” she exclaimed, “Enough with the lies. This has gone entirely too far. You cannot say such things about people you barely know. Remember your place, Miroku. This does not concern you! You are discharged. From now on, you are no longer a butler at this mansion. Now, if you have corrupted your wife as well, I suggest you take her with you. If not, Sango can still work here if she wants to. I expect you to be gone by this evening,” she said harshly studying his disbelieving expression. Various emotions crossed the now ex-butler's face, but he walked out of the room without saying anything. It was hard for Miroku to see that Kagome trusted him so little. But she was right. He was only a butler, after all. Why would his words matter more than the others'? Clenching his fists, he went to see his wife and give her the dreadful news. If she decided to stay, he didn't know what he'd do.

 

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Tsubaki dressed up quickly and descended the stairs in a hurry, limping a little. Her heart was racing and she wondered what he could possibly need her for.

 

Suddenly, she bumped into someone. Steadying herself on her feet, she looked up to see a moustache hide a secret smile. Her eyes intent on her servant's face, she released a deep breath.

 

“Y-you startled me,” she spoke with a small voice.

 

“Is the Lady going out?”

 

She tried to push past him, but he countered her movements. Raising an eyebrow, she wondered what could have possible triggered this sort of behaviour in him. She knew he was an enigmatic and puzzling man, but why did he deter her?

 

“Watch out for dangers, Lady Tsubaki,” the servant warned mysteriously.

 

“Dangers?”

 

“The world out there is very hazardous. Maybe you shouldn't go out today, my Lady,” he suggested with a bow. Even though she was confused, she managed to get to the door without him stopping her.

 

However, he grabbed her elbow just as she was pushing on the handle and turned her to look at him. She somehow recognised something in his eyes, but wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

 

Her eyes suddenly widened as she remembered what she had to take with her. Shaking of his grip on her elbow, she went towards the bookshelves and pulled out two old books, taking a little bottle from behind them. She could feel the servant's eyes scrutinising her every movement, burning holes in the back of her neck, but she shrugged it off. When she turned around, his eyes hadn't left her and he was looking intently at the object in her hands, so she looked at it, too.

 

“It is cologne,” she answered to his obvious curiosity and his eyes lit up immediately.

 

He bowed deeply and she hurried to get out of the house. Tsubaki still didn't know why she'd hired him as her servant, but she felt she somehow needed him there.

 

Still, the servant seemed relentless as he placed himself in front of the door.

 

Annoyed beyond measure, Tsubaki flicked her wrist and the servant suddenly froze. Eyes wide, he saw her point towards the dining room and felt his body leading him to it. Tsubaki took the chance to leave the house.

 

She reached the all-too-familiar tunnel and held her breath as she went in. A thick smoke appeared out of nowhere and she couldn't wait to get out of it. It was always like this. Suddenly, she came to a stop as she saw the staircase leading down to the captive girls.

 

“Not much long to live, eh?” she snickered mirthfully, before walking her way to her lover's office.

 

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“Don't worry,” the man told his lover impatiently. “We shall get out of this one, you shall see. It is to our advantage that Kagome did not believe him.”

 

The woman, however, wasn't so optimistic. Walking out of the shadows, the desk lamp light settled on her beautiful face, framing the angry expression she wore. It was the first time Tsubaki glowered in such a way.

 

“We are discovered, do you understand? Lover?” her words reeked of venom and Naraku stepped back as she moved towards him, her steps obviously slowed because of her latest injury. She'd gone to bring him some more difficult-to-find herbs. All around the room, he could feel her magic aura sizzling around her.

 

“Now, don't do anything reckless, my dear,” he advised.

 

“Reckless?” she asked in disbelief. “Reckless?! Who do you think you are,” she said, throwing the herbs on the table furiously and punching him in the chest, “to say such a thing to me, you careless bastard?!”

 

“Calm down, dear,” he urged, trying to grab her wrists, but her constant punches were keeping his focus out of line.

 

“You listen to me, you little whore,” he told her harshly, growing sick of this stupid play. In a flash, he grabbed her forearms, gripping them tightly until they became ghostly-white and she started squirming in obvious pain, biting her lower lip to keep from showing her defeat. “I know what I am doing. Miroku doesn't have anyone to speak to. At least, no one who would ever believe him. And do not forget I have a secret weapon,” Naraku's voice echoed in the room.

 

Tsubaki almost cowered in fear and remembered she hadn't looked for the said weapon in a while. She knew it had to be something like a heart, but her previous searches had driven her nowhere. Every time she had been left alone in his office, she had frantically looked for it, but to no avail.

 

She saw her lover smirk deviously and shivered slightly. It was a look of triumph; like nothing could dethrone him. These were the times when she was infinitely curious about what weapon he had.

 

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“What do you mean, fired?!” Sango shouted. “What were you thinking, annoying Kagome like that?!” She threw her hands in the air in frustration and huffed indignantly. “And to the point of discharging you?! What are we going to do?”

 

“She said you could stay,” he told her with a small voice. He really didn't want her to stay, but it was her choice, after all. Sango was a pretty independent woman, even though they were married.

 

“Of course I won't stay, idiot,” she told him angrily. “But where should we go?”

 

“Mushin's,” Miroku suggested and the dumbstruck look on Kagome's face told him that wasn't a good idea.

 

“You mean,” she said threateningly, stepping closer and closer, “that drunken fool that allowed you to chase girls' skirts every time you saw them?” Her eye was twitching nervously and he felt the palms of his hands sweating in distress. What could he answer to that?

 

“And need I remind you, dear husband, that Mushin lives in JAPAN?!”

 

Oh…

 

“I had forgotten that. But there is no problem. We shall go to Japan,” he declared proudly, ignoring Sango's reluctance.

 

“And how exactly are we going to Japan?” she asked cautiously.

 

“By boat, of course.”

 

“What boat, Miroku?”

 

“Erm… We shall find one, my dear. I swear.”

 

Her sigh was the clear signal of her defeat. “Okay. Let me go tell Kagome about my choice.”

 

“Fine,” he said, kissing her lips softly.

 

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“Jane?” a tentative voice called.

 

“Yes?” a small, almost childish voice answered, the rattling of chains echoing in the dungeon.

 

“Are you done yet?”

 

“Lady Caroline, this is the eight time you asked the same question in about an hour.”

“Half an hour, I suspect,” Kaede corrected wisely.

 

“I am just really nervous that they will come and discover you doing this. The punishment cannot be tender,” she reminded them and they all flinched.

 

“Do not worry about me, Lady Caroline,” Jane said, more metal-against-metal sounds flying across the chilly room.

 

A silence ensued as they all concentrated on the noise, as if not wanting to intensify it with their chattering.

 

“I feel a change in the wind,” Audrey said awkwardly, causing Lady Caroline to roll her eyes.

 

“I thought we have settled this. For the thousandth time, there is no wind now, Audrey. What you are saying is complete and utter foolishness. What; are you a wind sorceress or something?”

 

“I swear I can feel it. It is… quite a strong breeze,” Audrey argued, not liking the fact that everyone took her for crazy when she mentioned the wind. She'd always had a special relationship with it.

 

“I cannot feel anything,” Jane said.

 

“Neither can I,” Kaede chimed in.

 

“Impossible,” Audrey whispered, shaking her head in disbelief.

 

Ignoring her, Lady Caroline diverted her full attention to Jane, who she couldn't see, but she could hear instead.

 

“Jane?” she asked and swore to herself she could feel the girl roll her eyes impatiently.

 

“Yes?” came Jane's voice.

 

“Are you done yet?”

 

…it was going to be a long, uneventful day.

 

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Sango knocked on the door carefully, almost afraid of what Kagome had to say. When Kagome answered, she slowly entered the room. First, she noticed the room's state of disarray. Second, Kagome wasn't on her bed as usual, but on the chair next to the wardrobe, unconsciously staring into space.

 

“Are you leaving?” she asked Sango, who stood stiff beside the door.

 

“Yes, I am… He is my husband, after all.”

 

“I didn't expect any less of you. Now leave,” Kagome spoke harshly, causing Sango to flinch.

 

“Kagome, you cannot be so upset just because of this,” Sango tried to reason.

 

“I said, leave!”

 

Sango took the hint and looked at Kagome once more, before leaving the room.

 

Kagome was still staring unfocusedly, her mind set on one thing. And she was frustrated, because she realised that somewhere deep within her heart she trusted Miroku and believed every word he'd said. Every single word about her best friend, Naraku, and Inuyasha, the man she'd come to love. She decided she had to pay them a visit…

 

“Where does Inuyasha live again?” Kagome asked herself softly, her voice floating across the room, drifting to nowhere.

 

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“Did you speak to her?” Miroku asked Sango, hoping she'd convinced her to let them stay.

 

Sango looked at him for a moment then sighed deeply before shrugging helplessly.

 

Miroku understood and went back to packing his clothes.

 

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Kagome summoned every living creature in her house to ask them some questions. Whenever she would ask if she had been Naraku's best friend, they always replied in an affirmative way.

 

It wasn't that she doubted him, but what Miroku had said… his obvious hatred… It was something that had been nagging at Kagome ever since he voiced it.

 

She couldn't wait to talk to Naraku.

 

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Turning around to leave, Tsubaki heard her lover let out warning noises.

 

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Do not give him the potion you have made, too,” he advised and she froze.

Cautiously, she turned around again to face a deeply amused man smirking at her. “What potion?” she asked meekly, afraid of his answer.

 

“The one you keep on the bookshelves in the hallway, behind a few old books.”

 

She gulped in fear, wondering how the hell he knew that. Raising an all-knowing eyebrow, he grinned dangerously.

 

“What was the potion for, lover?” he asked slyly and her knees began to visibly tremble.

 

“I… I don't know what you are talking about,” she said, stepping backwards as he was moving towards her. Her slight limp wasn't helping at all, and the pain she felt every time she stepped took her mind off the problem at hand.

 

“Of course you don't…”

 

In a swift movement she was barely aware of he reached inside her dress folds and pulled out a little bottle that resembled a perfume bottle.

 

“This potion,” he said as he let the bottle collide with the hard floor, shattering into millions of fragments, the foul-smelling liquid flowing freely. Her eyes wide, Tsubaki bit her lip and creased her eyebrows as Naraku went to his desk to retrieve another potion, which he gave to her.

 

“I want you to give this to Inuyasha. And instruct him what to do with it,” he told her and she nodded in fear. How the Hell had he known about her potion?

 

“Do not forget what to tell him,” he reminded and this broke her patience.

 

“I am injured,” Tsubaki testily replied, “not stupid.”

 

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A/N: Okay. Now lots of things are clear, I suppose. Now there are a lot of things that remain vague, but you will have to read the next chapters to find out.

 

I hope you enjoyed the chapter; tell me what you think about it :)