InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Jewel of my Heart ❯ Separation ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter 7: Separation

Fall was advancing into winter, prompting Inuyasha to commit some fairly serious acts of theft. They did not have winter travel clothes or supplies, nor did they have enough money to buy these things. So he snuck into the first good size town they passed and stole everything they needed. He promised himself he would return later with payment, but for the moment, seeing Kagome snuggled warmly inside thick woolen trousers and jacket, with a warm wool cloak wrapped around her body submerged his guilt. Kagome and the baby came first. The victims of his theft could make do until he was able to reimburse them.

Kaede looked much more comfortable too in garments similar to Kagome's. Inuyasha took nothing for himself. The cold weather did not bother him particularly.

What bothered him was the shortness of the days. They simply couldn't travel as far, because once the sun set, it quickly became too cold to travel. They needed to stop in time to find firewood, and lots of it, to get them through the night. It might have made more sense to stop in towns or villages, but Inuyasha didn't want to risk it, and Kaede and Kagome agreed. If they were attacked by demons again while staying in a village, innocent people could die. So they stuck to the open country and ventured near settlements only when Inuyasha needed to steal fresh supplies.

“I'm starting to forget what it felt like to sleep on a mat indoors,” Kagome said with a shiver. She shifted a little closer to the fire.

“It has been a long time,” Kaede agreed.

“Damn Naraku!” Kagome exclaimed. “This is his fault. He had no right to take the Shikon Jewel from me. I hope Inuyasha cuts his head off!”

“That's my plan,” Inuyasha said casually. He was sitting cross-legged next to Kagome with the Tetsusaiga across his knees. He had started sitting close to her in the evening after Naraku had put up his barrier, so he could be the first to embrace her if something else upsetting happened. Nothing had, but Kagome did not appear to object to his proximity.

Kagome stirred the fire with a stick and then tossed on another branch. “I just wish I knew where we were going.”

“We are on the same course we were when Naraku blocked you,” Inuyasha replied. “We'll find him.”

Kagome nodded, but it was clear she still had doubts. “Are you sure he can't awaken it, Kaede?” she asked.

“If he could, he would have done so by now and you would have been aware of it.”

“I suppose so.”

The stench of demons suddenly permeated the air and Inuyasha leaped to his feet. Kaede and Kagome both dove for their bows as demons attacked them from all sides. Inuyasha did not have time to appreciate the improvement in Kagome's accuracy. There were more demons than he could count and he was too close to the others to use the wind scar.

“Get behind me!” he shouted.

“Inuyasha, above you!” Kaede cried, but her warning was too late.

A demon descending from above smacked Inuyasha from behind and sent him flying through the air. He cracked into a tree and the Tetsusaiga was knocked from his hand.

“Inuyasha!” Kagome screamed.

Inuyasha staggered to his feet, his vision momentarily blurred. He shook his head to clear it and saw Kagome backing up, shooting arrows as fast she could. A towering demon stalked her, its big leathery wings arching over the clearing as it slapped her arrows aside with large, clawed hands. Kaede was across the clearing from her, also shooting arrows at the creature, but they had no more effect than Kagome's.

“Kagome!” Inuyasha shouted. He charged toward her, but a wall of demons rose up in his path.

“Help me!” Kagome cried. She was out of arrows. She swung her bow at the demon, trying to beat it back, but the creature knocked the bow aside and grabbed her in one clawed hand, lifting her up into the air.

“Kagome!” Inuyasha cried again. He tried to fight his way through to her, but there were too many demons in the way. Without the Tetsusaiga, he had only his claws to fight them, and that was too slow.

The winged demon leaped into the air with Kagome clutched in its claws and flapped away, gaining altitude rapidly.

“NO!” Inuyasha screamed. He slashed at the demons, slaughtering them in a blood fury as intense as any demon rage. He tore his way through them, slashing and clawing until he was drenched in demon gore. But it was too late. Even as he split the last demon in two, the winged demon disappeared from sight.

“KAGOME!”

Inuyasha collapsed to his knees. He could still smell Kagome's scent. He knew he could track her, but he knew it would be too late. The fury of killing still raged in him, but it was quickly being subsumed by grief.

“Inuyasha…” Kaede spoke quietly, from a distance. She knew better than to approach him before she knew if the killing rage had left him.

He staggered to his feet and stumbled across the clearing to retrieve the Tetsusaiga.

“Inuyasha!” Kaede repeated. She approached him slowly.

“I lost her, Kaede!” Despair wracked him.

“It's not too late!” Kaede said. “These demons were sent by Naraku. He meant to take Kagome alive.”

Inuyasha stared at her. “Why?”

“He must have realized that, in order to possess the Jewel's power, he must also possess Kagome.”

“Possess her?”

“Yes,” Kaede said grimly. “But he can't do that while she carries your child in her womb.”

Inuyasha went pale. “He'll kill the baby!” he whispered.

“No he won't,” Kaede replied. “Kagome won't allow it. She would sooner end her own life than lose that baby.”

“But…”

Kaede put her hands on his shoulders and stared directly into his golden eyes. “She loves that baby because it's yours, Inuyasha. Have faith in her, as she has faith in you to rescue her.”

Inuyasha stared back into Kaede's dark eyes. Then he drew in a deep breath and nodded sharply. “I won't fail her,” he said harshly. “I'll get her back.”

“Good.” Kaede nodded in agreement. “Because Naraku has made a mistake.”

“A mistake?”

“Yes. We have not been able to find his secret castle because he shielded the Jewel from Kagome, but now he has taken Kagome.” Kaede paused and regarded Inuyasha with lifted eyebrows.

Inuyasha's eyes widened in sudden understanding. “I can track Kagome,” he said softly. “We can find his castle.”

“Precisely.”

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Kagome awoke lying on a soft mat. A silk coverlet was draped over her and she could smell scented smoke from a coal brazier. For a moment, she was completely disoriented, but then her memory returned. She had been taken by a demon!

“So you are awake at last,” a deep voice spoke from behind her.

Kagome sat up and turned around. A handsome man reclined on cushions only a few paces away, his long dark hair artfully draped over the cushions and fanning out on the floor. His face had a smug, superior expression as he regarded her.

“Naraku…” Kagome whispered.

He nodded slightly in acknowledgement. “It is a pleasure to meet you at last, Kagome.” He sipped tea from a delicate porcelain cup. The rest of the service rested on the floor beside him on a silver tray. “Would you like some tea?”

Kagome shook her head. “Where am I?”

“In my castle.” He smiled urbanely. “One of my castles, I should say.”

Kagome glanced around, partly to avoid looking at him. Her awareness of the Shikon Jewel told her it was close by, probably on his person. Inuyasha had been right when he said Naraku would keep it with him. The room was nothing remarkable: a typical, well-appointed room in a fine castle. She returned her gaze to Naraku.

“You are in possession of my property,” she said calmly. “I would like it returned.”

Naraku lifted an eyebrow. “You amuse me, Kagome. The Shikon Jewel does not belong to your family. You are merely its caretakers. Only someone like me can be its master.”

“Why then have you not awakened it?” Kagome asked. “Or is it that you can't?”

A scowl crossed his face but was quickly replaced by a superior, arrogant expression. “Do not take credit for being the key to the Jewel's power, Kagome. You are just a tool.” He looked her up and down and smirked. “Your mother made a mistake when she did not accept my proposal. I can see that mongrel husband of yours wasted no time in ravaging you. I would have treated you with more dignity.”

Kagome bristled. “I do not regret my marriage, Prince Naraku.”

“No?” His tone made Kagome clench her fists in the coverlet. “But it doesn't matter now. You will awaken the Shikon Jewel for me so that I can absorb its power.” He leaned forward slightly and fixed his eyes on hers.

Kagome felt strangely lightheaded, as if she were being detached from her body. She could hear Naraku speaking, but she couldn't recognize the words. She began to feel a strong compulsion to reach out to the Jewel and then the baby stirred in her stomach. Its little foot thumped firmly into her side, hitting a nerve pretty squarely, and Kagome yelped. In an instant, the lightheadedness was gone and she found herself staring into Naraku's dark eyes. She drew away from him.

“I will never awaken the Shikon Jewel for you, Naraku!”

His face flushed with anger and he stared at her swollen belly. “The demon blood of that mongrel brat is interfering with my spell,” he snarled. All the urbane sophistication was gone from his voice. “I cannot bend you to my will while it's in your body.”

Kagome paled and she wrapped her arms around her stomach. “You will not touch this child, Prince Naraku,” she said flatly. “I will end my own life first.”

He laughed harshly. “And how do you plan to do that?”

“I can give my life to the Jewel,” Kagome replied. She lifted her chin defiantly. “I can do that without awakening it, and then you can just wait until the next heir to the Shikon Jewel is born, as a child, or perhaps even a grandchild, of my twelve year old brother.”

Naraku glared at her, but Kagome met his stare evenly.

After a moment, he smoothed his features and regarded her with his superior smile. “Very well. I can wait a little longer. You cannot keep the child in your womb past its time and then you will have nothing to protect you.” He smirked at her. “I do not believe you would leave your child motherless simply to thwart my desire.”

Kagome did not answer that.

Naraku rose gracefully to his feet. “This room will be your prison while we wait for your child to be born. My servants will tend you, but I urge you not to attempt to leave this chamber. I also urge you to consider that, as my consort, you might find your life far more comfortable than as the mate of that mongrel half-demon.” He regarded her smugly for a moment before departing.

Kagome watched him slide the panel closed. She was angry, but she was also afraid. If she gave birth here, there would be no one but her to protect the baby.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

“That has to be it,” Inuyasha said softly. The castle was built on top of a ridge, causing Inuyasha to wonder why the servants had called it the secret castle. It was visible for miles around.

Kaede nodded. “You can still smell Kagome?”

“Yes.”

Inuyasha had tracked Kagome's scent for three straight days without stopping. He had left trail markers for Kaede to follow, but he'd bounded ahead without her to keep from losing the scent. When he'd found the castle, he had returned for her. Now they stood close together looking up at the castle from the shelter of the forest that blanketed the valley below the ridge.

“I know she's up there,” Inuyasha said. “But I can't just go charging in. I might put her in more danger.”

“You've gotten wiser since I've known you, Inuyasha,” Kaede said with a slight smile. “We need a plan, because we need to do more than get her out, we need to get her away. I don't think we can rescue her and recover the Shikon Jewel at the same time.”

“I don't care about the damn Jewel,” Inuyasha snarled. “I just want Kagome back.”

Kaede's smile widened, but she said nothing.

“We need to get Naraku to leave the castle,” Inuyasha said after a moment's thought. “But I have no idea how to do that.”

“I do,” Kaede said. “You remember that he likes to absorb objects of power?”

Inuyasha nodded.

“We passed a small shrine on our way here. I sensed an object of power in it as we went by.”

Inuyasha turned to her with a frown. “Kaede, how is it that you know so much, and can sense objects of power?”

“Oh, I wasn't always a maid, Master Inuyasha,” she said with a shrug. “But the point is, the shrine is shielding the object from Naraku's senses. If I take it out of the shrine, this close to the castle, he is bound to come retrieve it himself. While he's out, you can rescue Kagome.”

Inuyasha nodded. “That sounds good.”

“It will take me until tomorrow afternoon to get back to the shrine,” Kaede said. “I'll take the object out after nightfall and leave it somewhere near the shrine for Naraku to find. Then I'll travel to the west as fast as I can. Once you have Kagome, you can look for me.”

“All right.”

They split up and Inuyasha climbed a tree to wait until the following night.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Despite being a prisoner, Kagome found the service in Naraku's castle to be impeccable. The servants were well-mannered and polite, and they provided her with every possible amenity. She was given a satin brocade kimono to wear which was warm while being exquisitely beautiful. They offered her only the finest delicacies to eat. But it was still a prison and Kagome ached for Inuyasha's company. Each day that passed brought greater worry as her pregnancy advanced.

Naraku did not visit her again, much to Kagome's relief, but she was always aware of where he was because of the Shikon Jewel. She could feel it moving through the castle, and since she knew he carried it, she knew it was his movements she observed.

However, on her fourth night in his castle, Kagome felt the Jewel suddenly receding and she realized that Naraku had left the castle. After a moment, she lost her sense of it, and she fought through the momentary panic by making herself realize that he must have gone through the barrier around the castle that shielded the Jewel from her. He must never have taken it down.

Kagome wondered what would have led Naraku to leave the castle. But then, it was not as if he needed to guard her himself. His servants and demons would keep her from leaving.

The door to her room slid open. “Do you require anything, Mistress?” The serving woman kneeling outside bowed as she spoke.

“No, thank you,” Kagome replied.

The young woman bowed again and slid the panel closed.

A moment later the panel slid open again.

“I said I don't need anything,” Kagome repeated, a little exasperated.

“Not even your husband?” Inuyasha answered quietly.

Kagome had to clap a hand over her own mouth to keep from shouting his name. Tears sprang into her eyes and she scrambled across the floor to embrace him. “Inuyasha!” she whispered when she had her arms around him. “How did you find me?”

“I'll tell you later, but right now, we have to go.” He peeked back out into the hallway. “We don't have much time before Naraku comes back. Follow me and stay close. Try to be quiet.” He took her hand, helped her to her feet and led her out into the hall.

He hurried through the dim hallways as if he knew exactly where he was going. He paused at one corner and put his lips close to her ear. “The servants are all in the kitchen. As soon as Naraku left, they rolled a keg of beer in there and tapped it. The cocky bastard is so sure this place is a secret, he has fewer guards here than he did at the other castle.”

Inuyasha led the way outside. It was dark, but Kagome could see the silhouettes of guards pacing along the wall around the courtyard.

“I need you to climb onto my back,” Inuyasha whispered in her ear. “Put your arms around my neck. I'll hold your legs. I'm going to jump over the wall and run for it.”

“My stomach will get in the way!” Kagome whispered.

“Just keep your hands clasped tight around my neck,” he whispered back. “I won't drop you.” He fixed his golden eyes on hers for a moment and Kagome nodded.

He crouched down in front of her and Kagome climbed onto his back. It was awkward, but they managed it.

“Hold on,” Inuyasha whispered and he broke into a run. He took three quick strides and leaped into the air. Kagome gasped as they sailed over the wall. It was a cliff on the other side, but that didn't faze Inuyasha in the least. He landed on the slope and bounded along as easily as if he were running on level ground.

A guard shouted as they went over the wall, but the cries of alarm quickly faded as they raced away. Inuyasha might as well have been flying.

“We'll meet up with Kaede later,” Inuyasha called out. “We need to put as much distance between us and that castle as we can.”

“Yes!” Kagome cried. “I never want to see that man again!”