InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Dark Side of the Moon ❯ Devotion ( Chapter 10 )

Title: Dark Side of the Moon

Rating: R

Obsession: Inuyasha

Genre: Dark, angsty stuff. Lots of it. And a bit of romance.

Main characters: Kagome (duh!), Naraku, Miroku and Inuyasha (sort of). May be others later.

Summary: Check the first Chapter!

Feedback: Duh!!

Author's Note: Eh heh…I'm so sorry for taking 2 ½ months to do this. Jeez, I feel horrible for making you guys wait so long. And I can't make the excuse that I didn't have time cause ya know…summer vacation and Ribbons. And I can't even thank all of you individually (like a I want to) because FF.net is being a bitch as usual. So, I'm gonna have to thank all of you at once! I know there is a very large, very pretty number of you that reviewed and I cannot begin to thank you enough! So, because of your kind words and…Ahem…gentle encouragement, (as well as the episode "Farewell, Days of My Youth" on adultswim) I now present Chapter 10.

~*~

Dark Side of the Moon

By: Meg

Chapter 10 - Devotion

She laughed.

Laughed harder than she had in months, despite the blood on her hands and clothes.

She had laughed then, too, of course, once she realized the irony in her captor's existence. Kagome glanced down at her soiled hands. Perhaps the only reason he hadn't killed her then and there was because he was completely unable to.

Of course, that didn't stop him from hurting her. He tore into the flesh of her shoulder only seconds after she had last spoken to him. Her blood was probably still stained on the plaster wall and under his claws.

Another wave of hysteria met her and Kagome lost her breath all over again.

Because he wanted her and the thought was terribly hilarious to her.

Not only because of previously said irony, but because she was sure that her life was no longer threatened with death.

The Jewel had taken away the bothersome human heart of Onigumo and replaced it with its own presence. The Jewel was known to change the will of both human and demon. She suspected that Naraku was no different. She realized then, that he was probably even more susceptible than others. He had been a vile human being and was now a vile demon.

And now she couldn't stop laughing. Tears were welling in her eyes!

" Kagome-sama," Reijin said, " If you don't stop laughing as you are, I cannot heal your wounds."

Kagome fought to take control of herself, gasping for breath. " I'm sorry…it's just that," she tried to say between dying giggles.

" I know," Reijin simply said, pulling the torn and stained kimono from Kagome's wounded shoulder.

The older girl took little regard of the Reijin's words, basking in the glow of her newly found certainty: Kagome wasn't going to die a horrible, gruesome death courtesy of Naraku's wrath. It was nice to know what to expect again.

Kagome was vaguely aware that Reijin was still talking, but she paid it no mind. The pain in her shoulder? What pain?

" Ow!" Kagome suddenly spat out.

Ah yes, that pain.

" It is not too deep. I will not need to stitch it," Reijin's voice returned. " You may have scars."

Kagome looked down at the edge of her left shoulder. Three angry, bleeding slashes were cut into her skin. No, it didn't seem to hurt anymore.

" I don't think they will," Kagome replied and smiled bitterly. " Not these ones."

Kagome turned her eyes away from the injury and felt Reijin beginning to bandage it. Her smile and wondrous laughter now left and another thought came to mind.

" Do you know where Miroku is?" she asked the younger one. " Naraku spoke little of him."

"Yes."

" I guess you aren't allowed to tell me where, right?"

" No."

Kagome was quiet then, moving her thoughts to ponder why she had forgotten her only remaining companion. " Is…he alright? Did Naraku hurt him…badly?"

Reijin paused her bandaging. " Yes, I suppose so. He bears a wound from a sword," she explained, her voice dried of any human feeling. " He is recovering well."

" That's good," Kagome said, and watched as the child bandaged her shoulder. " Do you think I could see him?"

" That is for Master Naraku to decide."

Kagome was quiet and waited for Reijin for finish her work. Silence took up the air and Kagome fell into thought.

What had happened to Miroku? And why was he suddenly isolated from her? She found the empty presence very, well empty. And even if they had rarely conversed with him while they shared quarters, she had found him a comfort: a reason to stay awake and away from the nightmares…

No! She wasn't going to fall into that pit of despair. Not now, when it was only she and the child. Even if that creature was made from Kagome, it was still a part of Naraku as well. Reijin would not be a confidant. The child had her dark side, which had yet to rear its head.

A small, short tug brought Kagome to the living world again. Reijin stood and bowed to her Mistress. " I suggest that you retire for the night, Kagome-sama. Your lessons begin tomorrow morning."

Kagome then watched her leave. Once the doors were shut, an overwhelming feeling suddenly weighed down on her chest, squeezing the air out of her body. The room was suddenly much more empty than it ever was before. As though she herself were not even there. Kagome suddenly felt very alone. More than she could ever remember feeling so.

She stood up and went to the futon she had been sleeping in only hours ago. Carefully, she laid herself down, where she felt the hollow dark despite the burning lamp beside her bed.

And as she lay there, ready to sleep away the darkness, she felt inexplicably lonely.

* * *

She was trying. Really she was. Especially since she didn't have a strong desire to anger any certain heads of the household. But the proper seating arrangements of vassals and guests, which, in fact entailed a very long monologue from her tutor, was simply put, incredibly boring.

" Are you even listening?"

Kagome snapped her attention to the elderly man standing in front of her. He was nearly red in the face at her wandering attention span. He reminded her of a certain toad. What was his name again? He worked for Sesshoumaru, didn't he?

She wondered if the elder brother knew of what had come to pass between Inuyasha and Naraku. He must have…

Kagome was half aware of the older man that was speaking, and snapped to attention again. " I'm sorry, what was that?" She asked, not too sheepishly.

The man seemed to deflate, and heaved a weary sigh. He rubbed at his temples with spindly, wrinkled fingers, no doubt because of her short attention span. " Perhaps you've had enough for today, my Lady," he said wearily, " You may go."

Kagome smiled faintly and then bowed respectfully; just as he had taught her not an hour ago. Of course, Kagome was not exactly sure where she stood in the household, but she suspected that it was as Naraku had suggested: a princess.

It seemed too elaborate and out of character to address herself as such, considering the warm welcome she had been given. She had no idea when she had ceased to be captive, and began as nobility. Perhaps there was no difference.

As she turned to leave the stone garden, a warm, rushing feeling swept through her stomach. She felt almost content, which was, of course, very odd. Besides that her life was guaranteed to her for at least a little while, she had nothing to be very happy about; Miroku was hidden away somewhere she didn't know and injured, while her shoulder seemed to ache even more since she had slept the wrong way.

The moment spent with her teacher, who taught her the ways of etiquette and current politics, had felt remarkably similar to the time spent with her grandfather. It filled her with a warm ache, like sunlight on cold skin. And the afterward sense of loss, which was expected, wasn't as great and empty as she thought. Besides, she would find her way home again, no matter what.

Of course, before that could be done, there were things to do here. One of which was meeting her next tutor for her second lesson of the day. Coincidentally, she was the wife of the old tutor, Takada. The elderly woman was to teach her the ways of "womanly duties" as Reijin had told her. Kagome sincerely hoped this was restricted to tea ceremonies and directing servants. One of them she was sure she already knew how to do.

Kagome's thoughts suddenly paused and the warm feeling from before disappeared. Something tugged at the back of her mind, trying to fight for her attention. Something was suddenly missing, she concluded. There was an absence of someone's aura. As quickly as the feeling had come, it left. It was hard to pin point where it had left or whom it had been. The feeling was fleeting and she could only find the answers in its wake. It was like searching through a blurred tapestry for a missing thread. She tried to hold onto the sensation it had given her, but slipped out of her mind the harder she tried to grasp it. Giving up and trying to brush it off as something to be expected, she continued walking towards the dining hall.

Turning a corner, Kagome found Reijin stand there, waiting for Kagome to meet her. " Oh," Kagome said, a little startled to find the child so abruptly, " What is it?"

Reijin bowed forward to her Mistress. When she spoke, the child's words, rather than her bewitched voice, made Kagome stand to attention. " Master Naraku has taken leave, My Lady, as can be expected from the circumstances lately."

Kagome imagined that her jaw might have been hanging open in shock but she was pleasantly surprised to know that she hadn't made a complete fool of herself. So far.

"Oh," was the dignified response that Kagome gave the girl.

That explained the strange absence. " He has ordered that I accompany you at all times. The only exception is when you are in your rooms or gardens. The order stands until I am told otherwise."

Kagome didn't completely agree with her new "lady in waiting," but the thought was soon outweighed by the fact that Naraku was gone, albeit temporarily. " Did he say when he would be returning?" Kagome asked her.

" I cannot say."

Kagome hoped that his absence involved a cold shower. His advances were most certainly unwelcome. Even if they did not feel exactly horrible.

" Mako-sama has asked that the lesson be moved to the entrance hall this afternoon."

Kagome nodded and then followed Reijin's footsteps in the correct direction. Her thoughts fled elsewhere. Naraku was or had planned something. She hoped that it didn't involve Miroku, but that was probably why it did. She was nearly certain of it.

* * *

The silver moon had waxed, waned and then waxed again. Things had gone by with a semblance of routine, even if it was foreign. Kagome received lessons with her temporary guardian always near by.

When Reijin wasn't with her, Kagome found out that she tended to Miroku. When she was given the opportunity to, which was often, Kagome would ask about him. It was only until recently that Reijin revealed he was doing rather well. It was also during this time that Kagome found parcels beside her door in the morning. On most occasions, it was a kimono or some other article of clothing. Other times she would unwrap a comb for her hair or slippers for her feet.

There was no question as to who gave them to her. It was reinforced one morning only a week ago. The red silk was stained with blood, the fine garment nearly shredded. Her trembling hands had dropped it and she had left it in the hall. She confined herself to her room that day, unwilling to leave and able to only think of the garments former wearer. She imagined it was his twisted way of reminding her that he should stay in her memory; that he was the one who provided for her and that he would come back.

But later, there was something on the grounds that stirred her. It was not Naraku, though it bespoke his doing. A terrible shriek had disturbed her sleep in the middle of the night and later, an agonizing yowl that made her skin crawl.

She began to worry again for Miroku's well being. He should have recuperated by now. Reijin simply replied all of her questions with, " He is doing fine, Lady Kagome."

It did little to reassure her. In fact, it made her more suspicious of Reijin than before. She was too calm. If she was compliant to Kagome in the way of orders (and otherwise in questioning), to what extent did she serve Naraku? What extent would she go to in order to fulfill his orders?

Kagome tried not to think about what the girl could do, or even what she had already done, for her Master, but as she looked in to the eyes of the child that was not, Kagome realized that there was nothing. There was no emotion, no passion, no will. The child was empty. Her words rang true indeed: "I was born to serve a Master, my will has ever been stained." Perhaps the child was simply a captive as well.

Kagome thought of Kanna again and her similarities to Reijin. They were made to serve the purpose of their Master and nothing else. It was as though they never existed.

That realization had come to her three days ago in her room. Since then, things became the routine they had been: her lessons were progressing as they were supposed to and Reijin seldom spoke, which Kagome took as good news.

It was not until the next week, when Kagome felt the first chilling fingers of autumn, that she felt something approaching the castle. Kagome, still clothed for bed, left the comfort and warmth of her room to run into the chilly garden. The cold morning dew stung her bare feet and clung to the hem of her sleeping gown. Something was approaching the wall at the end of her garden and it was moving quickly. But she noted he wasn't as fast as he had been once before. She smiled with a grin that made her cheeks ache. Tears were welling in her eyes, ready to fall down the flushed apples of her cheeks. A sound erupted from her that was somewhere between a sigh of relief and a laugh of happiness.

Then she stopped running. Her heart pounded from exertion and the sudden realization. If he came here, the castle guard was sure to know before he even got near enough. The soldiers probably already knew he was coming.

Kagome had seen them before. The guards of the castle were grisly demonic creatures in leather and metal armor. Most of them looked nothing like the other. Their armor, appearances, and sometimes even languages were such a darkly colorful array that they could be nothing but mercenaries. They were men, as well as demons, but they were both the same. They belonged to Naraku.

And the one on his way towards her, most likely to save her, was foolishly putting himself in the direst of situations. But what could she do? She could not possibly warn him until it was too late. She very much hoped he knew what he was doing.

The presence of her friend became nearer and she recalled what she could remember of him. Had he changed? Would he still speak the same way? Act the same way, even after all that had happened?

He had to have known. Everyone should know. Inuyasha deserved to be remembered; it would be wrong if he simply passed out of all memory. She would search for traces of him when she returned. The doubt of finding anything made her hear clench painfully.

" Kagome!"

Brought out of her thoughts, she lifted her gaze to the crest of the stone edifice. Kouga stood there in the pale fog of the morning. His eyes searched for her and she took the moment to see the differences. He was taller and looked stronger than before, but otherwise, he was the same. Once he found the damp, thinly clothed girl, he jumped down in the four or five meter drop and landed n the soft grass of her garden before instantly reaching her side. Before she could even open her mouth to speak, he crushed her against him in an embrace.

" Kagome," he said to her, " I saw him…and the others…I'm sorry. I thought he had killed you too! I'm so sorry I didn't get there in enough time…"

Kagome remembered. Her knuckles turned white as she clung to his armor and fur. She wanted to cry and sob until there was nothing again. The images she thought she had sealed away burned back into her eyelids. It scorched her throat without mercy, as though showing retribution for forgetting her grief for so long.

He pulled away from the tight grip he held her in just enough to look at her face. " I thought I sensed you before, mingled with that Devil-Bastard. I was right. He didn't kill you. I'm so glad you're alive."

That was funny, because at the moment she wasn't. She missed him…missed him too much.

" I came to get you. I'll save you."

She suddenly remembered the dire situation at hand. Why had no one noticed him yet?

" Let's go," he said, and then she saw him ready to jump back up the wall.

" Go? But-"

He paused and eased out of his stance. " Now," he said, "before we're found."

She was stagnant for a moment and he waited, frozen by the doubts on her face. Then she pushed at his chest and pulled herself back. Why hadn't anyone burst through her rooms and gardens and found them yet? She looked back at the room she had left upon sensing him.

Then she looked back up at Kouga. " I can't go." Not yet…

" Kagome-"

" You have to go," she interrupted.

" You are coming with me!" His eyes were bright and desperate.

She pushed him off of her, which took much effort until he conceded. " No, you being here will make things worse." She saw his face fall. " You have to get out of here before you get caught."

" I am NOT leaving you here!"

Perhaps…if he knew what would happen…to all of us.

Kagome pushed the shoulder of her sleeping gown away to reveal the bandages from her wound. She didn't want to do this. It was a horrible way to push him away, but it had to be done. " Don't cross him," she told him calmly.

She saw the look on his face. She hated herself for pushing this sordid decision on him. Maybe he would choose correctly.

But the reaction she hoped for did not come. Instead, as his eyes fell over the wound, she felt a foreboding feeling brush up against her. His fingers were suddenly on her arms, and he pulled her to him again. " What did the lowlife do to you?" he seethed.

She felt something dark touch her skin and realized that Kouga, the Noble Wolf Prince, was no longer the same as he had been. He had changed, very much since the last battle. He was older, more knowledgeable than ever before.

" Go, or I'll call them myself," she told him; trying to ignore the pain he was pushing into her bones.

" Not without you," his voice was solid and yet hollowed, like glass.

" I won't leave him. Not to face Naraku's mercy alone." Her voice was sure and desperate also.

" We'll come back for him."

" No," she said, " You won't return here."

There were still things to be done that could only be done here. One was to save Miroku from whatever Hell they were both in and the second was to find the end to this nightmare, whatever that ending might be.

The grip on her arms loosened and the blooded pounded back into her cold limbs. They each said nothing, hoping the other would break their resolve first.

" I love you Kagome."

" I know." And she did. He had loved her for a long time.

He looked as though he might speak again, but he swallowed his words. " Don't worry, I have Miroku to look after me."

His rough fingers slid over her cheeks and then he kissed them as well as her eyes. He then began to pull away from her.

It was then; as her fingertips lost contact with him that she felt the return of a very familiar presence close by. Kagome was not even given a moment to take a breath to speak before she felt herself being pulled backwards against a strong sturdy body. She tensed in a jittery excitement that made her toes curl. A soft, warm shuddering breath blew past her lips into the harsh, cold air. They had come. He had returned.

She wanted to close her eyes. To make at least some of the nightmare disappear, but she couldn't make herself move. There was a hand on each of her shoulders. She felt his hand twitch over her wound.

Kagome felt her head fall back onto the chest of the demonic creature and her eyes fell shut.

A growl stirred the dewy white air of the pure morning.

He had been watching her the entire time.

Let him go!

But Death was never kind, and he was always paid in blood.

~*~

Responses:

Eh….Blame FF.net. *grumbles obscenities *

~*~

Next Chapter…Chapter 11 - Vindicated: We pay Miroku a little visit!