InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Kurayami no Naka de Hikari ❯ Sealed ( Chapter 20 )

Kurayami no Naka de Hikari

Notes: 6,850 words – So yes, it's been a while since I've updated, SO sorry about that! As most of you know, my left is crazy messed up right now! But it's finally starting to right itself! That's right! My daughter was returned on Friday! I missed her SOOOO much! I'd also forgotten how much work a two-year old could be o.O She's kept me on my toes as she readjusts to being home! Anyway, this chapter has a twist at the end that you've probably seen coming from a mile away and it's kinda cliche, but I think it works in this story. Sorry if you're disappointed in the lack of originality.

I don't know if any of you have checked out my new story 'Solstice' since I haven't gotten much of a response but please check it out, it has the originality this chapter lacks. Please let me know what you think of it? I'm really proud of it but haven't gotten much feedback on it yet besides a small handful of reviews and one flame.

As always, for detailed information on story update statuses, check out my Twitter [at] Pokahydee_chan. Thanks for sticking with me!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of the characters thereof. Even though that is the case, please don't steal my plot, concept, or story out of respect for my creative endeavor as I would not do this to anyone out there.

-l -l -l -Change of scene, time, etc.
'Thoughts/dreams' will be in single quotes (IE: ' ')

Chapter 19 – Sealed

Inuyasha growled in the back of his throat at the absurdly long amount of time it taking for them to let him out of his 'cell'. Kagome could be hurt or dying and he was just sitting locked up as some old hag prayed in front of the doors with a string of purple beads with white fangs spacing them apart wrapped around her hands. The woman was someone that Miroku knew, she was an aged Shinto Priestess who looked older than Inuyasha's flea youkai guardian, Myouga even though she was clearly human and Myouga was centuries old. He could feel his blood thrumming in his veins, demanding that he get his ass in gear and find his 'mate'.

Standing outside of his cage was a large assortment of people, though all her family friends or family members. Rin stood with her mate and Inuyasha's annoying older half-brother, Sesshoumaru, who was apparently going to be going along on this little rescue mission. Rin was biting her bottom lip nervously and giving her mate all sorts of rules to make sure he didn't get himself hurt and came home to her with Izayoi-mama. Inuyasha's father, Inu no Taisho, stood with the old hag, what was her name again..? Who was chanting too low even for his sensitive hearing to pick up. Jumping up and down on his shoulder was the flea himself, giving the dai words of caution.

Miroku stood off to the side with his fiancée, Sango, looking seriously crest-fallen and worried. He wasn't able to go along on this rescue because of the house arrest anklet he worn that only allowed him to go to his apartment, Mushin's shrine where he worked, or Takahashi manor where he would meet with his lawyer, Sesshoumaru. Sango, in the other hand, had insisted on being a part of this mission regardless of how much Miroku argued against her going. She was dressed in a strange, though apparently traditional outfit within her family that hugged her curves tightly, not that Inuyasha noticed her curves in the slightest.

"It's too dangerous, I lost you once, don't ask me to do it again." Miroku was saying with an uncharacteristic serious expression as he clung to her hands as if to hold her in place. Sango smiled reassuringly back at him, genuinely touched by his concern but not wavering in her decision to go along and save the people she cared about.

"I'm sorry, Miroku." Sango said softly as she squeezed his hand gently. "Kagome came for me when I was taken and Izayoi-mama is a mother to me. I have to do this."

"Please Sango, I'll worry too much for you." Miroku pleaded as he clutched her other hand with his. Sango continued to smile back, touched by his concern as she gently took her hands from his to adjust the oversized boomerang that was strapped to her back.

She normally just used the Hiraikotsu as a decoration in her apartment, but she was no stranger to it's use. Her family, after all, were the descendants of the long revered Taijiyas that would protect humans and youkai alike of rampaging demons that had given in to their most primal of instincts. There were very few true Taijiya left, but Sango's father had trained both her and her little brother. It wasn't just Hiraikotsu she was skilled with, though that had long since been deemed the most difficult of all the Taijiya weapons to truly master. Because it was made from the bones of several youkai, it was quite heavy and took real strength and power to be able to take into battle.

It was rare for a woman to even 'attempt'to learn the bonemerang let alone be able to master it, mostly because women generally lacked the upper body strength required to wield such an intense weapon. She had felt a strange pull toward it when her father had take her to one of the family's secret armories as a young child even against her father's suggestion that she choose something different. She had insisted on Hiraikotsu because she felt a strange connection with the weapon.

The training had been unbelievably difficult and she was forced to start out with a wooden 'training' boomerang until she grew big enough to wield Hiraikotsu. By the time she was twelve, she'd mastered the wooden training weapon and was finally big and strong enough to move on to the real thing. It took her an additional three years to completely master her Hiraikotsu and by that point, the weapon had become a companion as much as her friend Kirara, who had decided to accompany her on the rescue mission. Someone needed to watch Sango's back and who better than her oldest and closest companion who had been with her since she was only a few months old. Kirara had apparently sensed the strength in Sango even as a baby and stuck by her side since, whether her father wanted a 'pet'or not. Though Sango had NEVER considered Kirara a pet, she was a kindred spirit and a best friend.

Inuyasha's gaze jerked away from the monk and the slayer as the beads wrapped around Kaede's hands began to glow bright white. He could feel a substantial amount of spiritual energy radiating off of the elderly miko that made his skin prickle uncomfortably. He glared at the familiar feeling of the energy that was washing over him. 'That feels so familiar...'His human side broke a portion of the demon's control away. Inuyasha felt his inner demon snarl in outrage as it clobbered the human reasoning into submission, though reluctantly had to agree with it's pronouncement.

The power was definitely familiar to him, it wasn't fierce and wild like the power that had emitted from Kagome in the basement that had been strong enough to purify his youkai and leave him in his weak, human form. This energy was strong but controlled, instead of burning with the fiery color of Kagome's energy, which had been a bright pink streaked with red and orange, this energy appeared blue and silver... it reminded him of a woman he had loved, but that was impossible. Kikyo had died a long time ago, there was no way any traces of her extraordinary spiritual powers still lingered. He shook his head, ridding myself of that thought.

His blood-red eyes opened impossibly wide as the beads one-by-one began to shoot out of her hands and fly straight for him. He growled in warning, not really sure what was going on or how he could defend himself if they decided to shoot through his body or something crazy like that. He didn't have to worry about that, though as the beads just reformed into a necklace around his throat and gently settled against his chest. The spiritual powers that had concerned him dissipated as the last one settled into place and stopped glowing.

"Is one of you gonna fucking let me out already?" Inuyasha barked, completely ignoring the apparently, now harmless prayer beads that hung around his neck. "My mate is in danger!" He snarled out, looking the older dai straight in the eye. Inu no Taisho walked forward confidently, his suspicion suddenly confirmed as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a key.

"As your alpha, I expect you to follow my commands, Inuyasha." Inu no Taisho said as he approached the door with the key raised. Inuyasha let out a feral snarl but went down into a submissive crouch, fists placed firmly on the ground and head tilted partially to the side to expose his throat. Inu no Taisho nodded in assent at the obvious display of differing to him, knowing full well that Inuyasha was running primarily on instincts at the moment and was acknowledging him as a superior without the slightest sign of presenting a challenge. A collective breath was drawn in as Inu no Taisho unlocked several heavy-duty locks before lifting the thick steel beam that served as a last ditch containment effort if the locks and security systems failed. Before the last locking mechanism would release, someone with the proper blood signature would have to have their finger pricked to release the bank-volt grade lock that was still in place. As it was only family with the proper DNA signature to open the last lock, Inu no Taisho wasted no time in supplying it as well as a scan of his palm and with a hiss of compressed air, the last lock slide back and he pulled the door open.

"Let's go kill those bastards." Inu no Taisho said in a deadly cold voice as his eyes flashed red and his hands clenched into fists at his side. After a moment, Inuyasha's lips twitched upward into a sinister smirk, looking more demented and vicious because of the blood red bleeding in his eyes with the narrowed blue irises and jagged purple marks stretching across his tan cheeks.

- l - l - l -

Tears were streaming endlessly down Kagome's cheeks as she felt the strange man running his hands along her body. She was aware that he was speaking to her and she spoke in return, but her mind had gone fuzzy when she realized what was about to happen. Somehow, she had learned to recoil into her own head so she could block out the unpleasant situation going on around her. A part of her mind was angry that she had given him the satisfaction of seeing her tears and hearing her cry out in pain at his rough treatment, but it was easier to just sink into the foggy oblivion of her own mind.

Certain things managed to penetrate her muddled thoughts that she filed away in case she ever needed to use them later. He had a distinct tattoo on his forehead of a four-point purple star that was a pretty distinctive mark. She could smell cigarettes on his hands and a strong cologne as he pressed his partially clothed body up against her scantily-clad form. She fought the urge to be sick as she turned her face to the side, hoping that she could ignore that smell, but it had already imprinted itself on her brain. That was all she needed anyway, getting sick like that and having the man hurt her badly and then returning to Izayoi-mama as he'd originally planned. As terrified as Kagome was, she couldn't allow Izayoi's kind nature to be tainted by such and act of violence and hate. She could hear Izayoi screaming out to her, begging her to fight back, shouting profanities at the braided human to try and anger him to the point he would leave Kagome alone.

She felt his hands running across her bare stomach, his arousal pressed harshly against her thigh as he ground his hips against her. The sound of a zipper going down made her foggy state-of-mind pop like a soap bubble and her eyes flew open in terror. She felt him slide the panties down her thighs and knew this was it... she felt him position himself at her entrance and her body tensed involuntarily at the same moment she turned her face away, squeezed her eyes shut, and bit her bottom lip to prevent any further cries of pain from escaping her lips.

Instead of feeling the pain she was expecting, she heard a loud cry of pain and felt something warm and moist splash across her face. The pressure she felt on her body disappeared completely and she slowly opened one eye to look in the direction of her attacker. What she saw made her blood run cold... The figure of her nightmares stood in the doorway, leaning lazily against the wall with a wine glass filled with a blood-red substance in his hand that he swirled around lazily.

"What the fuck, Onigumi?" Bankotsu snapped as he pulled an intricate silver dagger out of the center of his hand and flung it down at the ground, ignoring it's landing as it stuck into the floor vertically. Blood dripped from the wound in his hand steadily and he awkwardly slid his pants back up and buttoned them, all they while glaring daggers at the tall man in the doorway.

Kagome shuddered as she looked over his calm appearance and shifted uncomfortably where she hung prone by her wrists, completely aware of her state of undress, one breast hanging out of the bra and the panties down around her thighs. She knew Naraku had seen her naked hundreds of time during their relationship, but she felt extremely exposed and felt the urge to shield her body from his view. She hadn't missed the name that man Bankotsu had used either... Onigumi... She glance at Izayoi-mama out of the corner of her eye and noticed the cold,knowing look the woman had leveled on Naraku as if she had recognized the name as well.

"My instructions were that the woman were not to be touched." Naraku said simple as he stood up from his relaxed position in the doorway and made his way into the room, taking a sip from his glass on the way. He walked right up to Kagome, hazel eyes now completely red as if they had always been such an unnatural color. His fingers grazed her cheek and she felt true fear grip her very soul as she froze up completely like a deer in the headlights. "How I have missed you, koibito." He said quietly as he leaned forward and grazed his lips over the shell of her ear, getting a shiver in response from the prone woman.

"L... let Izayoi-mama go, Naraku..." Kagome whispered quietly as defeated tears trickled down her cheeks and she felt her body go limp in acceptance of her fate. She had been a fool to believe she had escaped from him in the first place, and now, because of her, Inuyasha's mother was in danger. It was all her fault... "I won't fight you, then..."

"Kagome! No!" Izayoi's voice registered in her mind, but Kagome just bit her lip and held back a sob as she turned her ashamed face away from the woman. "Whatever the ransom, my husband will pay it! For BOTH of us!" She heard Izayoi cry out, her normally calm voice cracking with emotion.

"Sorry, koibito, that just won't be possible." Naraku said as she opened her eyes enough to see a demented smirk spread across his face as he took her chin into his hand, forcing her to meet his gaze fully.

"Oi, Onigumo!" Bankotsu's voice broke into their conversation and Naraku turned and ran his gaze lazily over the gray-eyed man behind him. He's bandaged his bleeding hand by ripping the sleeve off his shirt and tying it tightly around the wound. "When the hell are we to expect payment?"

"You'll get paid just as soon as you remember your place and what you're getting paid for." Naraku said coldly as he released Kagome's face and walked toward the tall human. Kagome had to respect the perverted human's nerves to stand so confidently before Naraku with that heavy dark aura that was emitting from the hanyou in all directions. The aura made Kagome's skin prickly uncomfortably and pressed down on her oppressively, making it hard for her to keep her eyes open. They wanted to drift closed of their own accord at the immense pressure his very presence had on her senses. She could feel his youki swirl angrily even though his face was a mask of indifference and felt the blood lust that his youki emitted, calling out to cause as much pain and suffering as possible.

Kagome was suddenly struck with a question... what the hell had she seen in this man? Had it all been an act? Was this the true Naraku and she'd just been deceived for all these years? She couldn't help the feeling of anger and stupidity with herself for letting herself be fooled so completely. She had been listening solely to her heart and had ignored all of the warning signs she'd seen for such a long time and now she felt a sense of being the biggest idiot in the world for bringing her problems to such a wonderful family. She had thought that maybe, someday, she could have been a part of that family, they had certainly accepted her quickly enough. Now, she felt nothing but heart-wrenching guilt for having brought something like this onto these absolutely wonderful people.

"Look, we did what you asked, I can tell you that breaking into Takahashi manor was not an easy feat!" Bankotsu grumbled angrily as he glared at the hanyou before him. "Their fucking security systems were ridiculous! You're lucky Renkotsu is as good as he is with computers or it would have been pointless to try! Then there's the actual breaking in part when they have HUNDREDSof youkai guards that we had to take out completely silently so we didn't alert the woman and have the barricade themselves in one of the panic rooms! And I can tell you, those damn panic rooms are impenetrable even to the Shichinintai!"

"Be glad I haven't removed your head for putting your hands on what's mine." Naraku said coldly as he smashed the wine glass in his hand, letting the red liquid drip from his hand mixed with his own blood. "My orders were quite clear, they were to be brought to me live and unharmed. I should kill you for leaving those marks on the pair of them."

"Whatever, man." Bankotsu said dismissively, though his gaze was alert and penetrating. His nonchalance was merely a farce, a mask of having lowered his guard, Kagome could see that he was by no means at ease in Naraku's presence "By the way, what the hell was the point of changing the damn security code anyway?" Bankotsu asked as a annoyed expression settled on his face. He was good at masking his emotions with indifference or nonchalance, but to someone that could read expression or auras could tell that he was beyond pissed at the moment. His gray eyes were dark with anger and there was a slight tick in his jaw that gave way to his clenched teeth.

"Are you going to set your ransom already, you bastard?" Izayoi's angered, silvery voice broke in to their conversation. Kagome was surprised at the venomous look she shot at the pair or the raw hatred that rang into her voice. "This isn't my first time being kidnapped, though you broke our security systems, you're still the most incompetent of all of them."

Blood red eyes shifted lazily over to the just as provocatively dressed middle-aged woman strapped to the table. From his relaxed stance and bored expression, the average person would assume that Izayoi's comment just rolled off of him like a bead of water down a candle. Kagome knew better, though. There was a sharpness to his gaze that she knee well and gave away the anger he felt at being spoken to by those he deemed beneath him. A light smirk touched his lips as his eyes traveled over Izayoi's partially exposed body as she lay atop the table, completely prone. Kagome urged Izayoi with her eyes to stop provoking Naraku since she knew from experience how cruel the guy could be.

"I'm glad we finally get to meet eye to eye." Izayoi said coldly now that she had Naraku's full attention. "So what does it feel like to have an innocent girl's blood on your hands, Onigumo?" He merely lifted one eyebrow and cut his haze over to Kagome's tear-streaked face as if considering something for a moment.

"I take it you are not referring to precious Kagome, am I right?" He asked knowingly as his smirk grew in size, obviously pleased with his handiwork. "Of course not, you couldn't know all the things I've done to her, do you? All the things such an 'innocent'girl has LET me do to her... Yes, Kagome is hardly innocent..."

Kagome's eyes bulged in horror as Naraku spoke, terrified that he was going to reveal all of the things they had done. She turned her face away from Izayoi's inquiring quirk of an eyebrow and the silent question that filled her eyes. Izayoi had no clue that anything had gone on between this monster and her future daughter-in-law, as Izayoi had thought of her since she'd first met the girl. Izayoi was no idiot, she could tell the poor girl had gone through some horrible ordeal and her son, being they type of person he is, had likely done something to rescue her from it. Izayoi, of course, noticed the guilt-filled look on Kagome's face before she averted her gaze away.

"Of course, you must be referring to the lovely Kikyo, am I right?" Naraku asked knowingly as his twisted smile grew in size at the sweet memory. Surprise filled Kagome's eyes and she turned just her eyes toward Naraku and Izayoi and observed them out of the corner of her vision. Kikyo was the name of the dead girl that Inuyasha had been in love with from High School, she knew that from her brush with death at Naraku's hands.

"Yes, she screamed so beautifully as I stole her innocence..." Naraku almost purred in ecstasy as he recalled the memory ingrained so vividly on his brain. Izayoi's eyes widened in horror as he spoke, there had never been an autopsy done beyond a drug and alcohol test because it had been pretty obvious what had happened.

Kagome's eyes bulged out of her head as she turned toward Naraku's, his back facing her the spider contrasting vividly with his unearthly pale skin. She was in a state of shock, she'd had no idea that he'd known the dead woman who had given her a choice to return to the world of the living or move on. Kagome was a bit confused as to why Naraku was answering to the name 'Onigumo', though.

"She was the first taste I had of tainting a pure soul. I moved too quickly with Kikyo, though. The drugs cleared from her mind as soon as I broke her barrier and she fought back. Even managed to leave a nasty scar, I had that covered with the tattoo. Spiritual powers hurt like a bitch!" Naraku said as he motioned vaguely to his bare back where Kagome could clearly see the large spider tattoo. She had noticed a patch of rough skin in the center of the tattoo but had never really thought anything of it.

"You're sick!" Izayoi spat at Naraku with a look of revulsion on her face. To be able to speak of raping a virgin and ENJOYING it was beyond demented and a deep sense of dread and nausea settled in the pit of her stomach. If Inu no Taisho didn't come soon, Izayoi wasn't sure what was going to happen to them. She had been under the impression that Onigumo was 'just' a drug dealer, it he was revealing himself to be a very sick, twisted, and unstable individual. She looked at Kagome out of the corner of her eye and saw the same look of horror reflected in the girl's eyes that Izayoi knew was in her own. 'Please Inu... you have to hurry!'Izayoi silently begged as she forced as much fear from her face as she could.

"Call me what you will." Naraku said simply as he drew a chair from near the wall and placed it at the bottom of the table backward. He straddled the chair facing Izayoi with his arms crossed over the back. "Bankotsu." He said to get the attention of the other human in the room.

"Yeah?" Bankotsu asked with his arms crossed over his chest. He wasn't going to defer to Onigumo for any reason. Sure the hanyou was paying the bill, but he and Shichinintai were contract killers. They had their own hierarchy and there was no way he was going to act like he was in any way beneath Onigumo in power or credibility, no matter how potent the damn guy's aura and youki was.

"Go prepare for phase two. Do NOT let those dogs in here until I give the signal." Naraku ordered coolly, meeting Bankotsu's gaze momentarily. Bankotsu had to make a visible effort to meet his gaze, all of his instincts were demanding he look away, but he stubbornly refused to do so.

"Yeah yeah." Bankotsu said as he waved Naraku off nonchalantly before turning and heading for the door.

"Oh, and send in Kaze no Megami while you're at it." Naraku added almost as an afterthought. Bankotsu didn't answer, just raised his hand up to show he'd heard and disappeared out the door, closing it with a quiet click.

- l - l -l -

Inuyasha growled from the backseat of the Suburban, his arms crossed over his chest in anger. It was taking too damn long to find his mate, but he knew that he was no match for his alpha so he had to submit himself to the command. He was seriously pissed off by his alpha's seemingly leisurely pace that he was taking to go after the kidnapped women. Why the hell weren't they using their youkai senses to track scents or follow their auras? He knew his father and elder brother were exceptionally skilled at tracking, they were much stronger at detecting auras as Inuyasha never really cared enough to hone that particular skill.

"What the fuck is the hold up?" Inuyasha growled as his vision swam with red. His arms were crossed over his chest angrily and one oversized canine poked downward into his bottom lip just hard enough to not break the skin.

"Calm yourself, son." Inu no Taisho said in a calm tone, his knuckles were white from his grip on the steering wheel, giving way to his obvious anger and worry. "A thought occurred to me as the police were doing their investigation. I didn't bring it to their attention because I intend to make the ones responsible pay for this."

"So you gonna tell us what the fuck you're talking about?" Inuyasha snarled in anger at the vague response.

"Know your place and yield to your alpha." Sesshoumaru growled in a low voice, red bleeding into his eyes as a show of dominance. "Do now question your superiors, 'little'brother."

"What did you just saw?" Inuyasha snarled from the back seat as his hackles raised. He could feel that Sesshoumaru was stronger than him, but had no problem challenging his half-brother for a higher position. He could, after all, challenge the one who was a step above him in the pack hierarchy and have it be accepted. The only one who could challenge a pack's alpha was his immediate subordinate or someone outside of the pack who won a challenge. If someone outside of the pack won the challenge, he would kill his predecessor and all of his offspring and take the females for himself.

"There was only one person aside from myself that knew both my mate and Kagome were at the manor without their mates." Inu no Taisho answered as he shot a warning glare at Sesshoumaru from the corner of his eye. The last thing he needed to be dealing with at the moment was an unstable Inuyasha that was 'completely'lost to the blood that pounded in his veins and Sesshoumaru's provocation was likely to do just that.

"So who would that be?" Sesshoumaru asked calmly, showing no outward sign that he had seen his father's glare except for a slight tightness at the corner of his eyes.

"I was assuming it would be quite obvious at this point." Inu no Taisho said dryly as he turned at a stop sign into a small, yet expensive, housing development. Understanding filled Sesshoumaru's eyes as a cold, hard look filled his gaze. Yes, he knew where they were, though in Inuyasha's blood-lust-filled haze, he wasn't as aware of their surroundings. While his human side managed to break the surface from time to time, he was still very much controlled by his instincts at the moment and his inner demon didn't care as much for houses and familiarities as he did for the things that he could filter with his heightened senses in his feral state of mind.

The car stopped on a small side street and the three dog youkai climbed out. Inu no Taisho tossed his youngest son a pair of sunglasses with a soft growl in the back of his throat to let Inuyasha know there would be no argument about putting them on. After fumbling because of his elongated claws, Inuyasha slid the glasses on to shield his blood red eyes. His dominant inner youkai growled in annoyance as his human half laughed heartily at his fumbling attempt to get them on his face. Really, was now the time to mess around with fucking sunglasses?

"Sesshoumaru, take the back. Inuyasha you're on the front door with me." Inu no Taisho instructed in a low voice as he drew on his youkai and let the red bleed into his eyes. Both younger youkai nodded in assent, though a frustrated noise came from the back of Inuyasha's throat that was only audible to the three inu youkai. "We're here for information, do not kill them... yet."

In the blink of an eye, Sesshoumaru was gone. Inu no Taisho's hand closed over Inuyasha's upper arm and with a quick yank, the pair disappeared as well.

- l - l - l -

"Kagura." A raspy voice said in a near whisper off to the older youkai's right. Blood red eyes were raised to meet eyes darker than pitch framed by brilliantly shiny, white locks of hair and matching white flowers to either side.

"What is it, Kanna?" Kagura asked with a hint of annoyance in her tone as she turned her attention back to the stack of papers littering her desk. 'Damn Inu no Taisho for making me handle HIS workload with everything I already have to do for Onigumi.'She thought as her annoyance grew stronger.

"Onigumo-sama has requested you presence immediately. He says to bring the assignment he gave you." Kanna stated simply with no emotion on her doll-like face. Kagura's body tensed and her eyes narrowed as she recalled what her 'assignment'set by Onigumo was. Her fists clenched so tightly her nails cut into her palms and drew blood, her shoulders shaking in suppressed rage.

"Damn him!" She snarled as she swiped her hand across the desk, sending the stacks of papers flying in all directions. How she HATED him! That bastard had been using and controlling her since she was a child and she was powerless to break from his grasp. She had once had an interest in the eldest Takahashi son, thinking that the man would be strong enough to break her free from Onigumo. The man showed absolutely no interest in her and then fell for a pathetic human woman! She bit her lip and fell to her knees as frustration gripped her soul.

"Kagura." Kanna raspy voice broke into her train of thought. Red eyes met emotionless coal black eyes and hardened. There was nothing to do but come when he called, the punishment would be much worse if she didn't go or if she were late.

"Fine, take this and go, I'll be there within ten minutes once I have all of the materials." Kagura said with a disconnected voice, not willing to allow her anger to show any longer. She glanced down at the mirror the little girl always carried with her, not sure whether she would show her little break-down to Onigumo. Kagura shoved a large manilla envelope into the girl's hands before rising gracefully to her feet.

She had watched as Kanna exited the room and headed for the bedroom down the hallway. She bypassed the the and kept on down the hallway until she came to a hatch in the ceiling. She promptly pulled the hatch open and climbed that ladder that had slid down silently. Kagura pulled the ladder up behind her, not that it would stop anyone from finding her if Naraku sent one of his little spies after her.

She seriously hated those damn Saimyoushu bugs he sent out to keep an eye on all of his operations. That's one reason he'd never gotten ripped off by his dealers and other associates. At the first sign of betrayal, the bugs were authorized to dish out punishment. The poison wasn't strong to kill many of the larger youkai like it would a human or a smaller demon, but it was sufficient to slow down the larger more powerful demons long enough for them to be brought before Onigumo for judgment.

That's one reason she had to hide away the sparse file she had gathered in the attic so it was out of her babysitter Kanna's sight. The aura-less youkai made Kagura's skin crawl, but she was stuck with the girl as her sister just so Onigumo could always have an eye on her. Not that he NEEDED the girl to make sure Kagura followed his orders, he had his own way to control Kagura's actions. Something that grated on the wind demoness since she was a bird with her wings clipped. She wanted to taste that freedom of the wind so bad it hurt, but he held her tightly within his fist, almost enough to crush her to a powder.

Kagura shifted around some boxes that would be extremely heavy to a normal human, but were easily moved with her superior youkai strength. She could have used the fan she had tucked within her suit jacket, but she didn't was to use her youkai and attract Onigumo's spies to what she was doing so she was forced to move everything around manually to get to her secret stash.

When the boxes and heavy metal shelf were out of the way, she tossed back a heavy scrap of carpet that had been beneath the heavy trunk, presumably to preserve the nice hardwood floors that had been laid down in the attic. Beneath the carpet was another small door with a strange-looking design etched into the lock and a small teardrop shaped indent. She drew a small dagger from inside of her suit jacket and swiped it across her palm quickly, hardly wincing at the pain in caused as blood seeped from the wound. She closed her fist and let her blood drip onto the teardrop indent until it pooled in the middle. After a moment and a few words murmured in a quiet voice, the metal began to glow purple and the sound of metal sliding back met her ears as the trap door unlocked. She quickly wrenched the heavy door open and pulled out a manilla envelope she had stashed inside.

"If the Takahashi's are halfway as quick as I think, they'll be here at any time." Kagura whispered as she slid the file into the briefcase she had brought into the attic with her.

"We're already here, Kagura." A cold voice sounded behind her before three immense youkis' flared to life. Her eyes widened in shock as she slowly turned to face the new occupants of the low-ceilinged attic.

"How...?" Kagura whispered as fear filled her chest, making her insides ache uncomfortably. "I didn't sense you!"

"Do you really think I became Lord of the Western Lands without knowing how to suppress my youki, Kagura?" Inu no Taisho asked calmly as he glared down at his personal assistant. Flanking Inu no Taisho were Sesshoumaru and a very feral looking Inuyasha in a state that Kagura had heard of but never seen. The three of them emitted such a strong aura of death and blood lust, Kagura skin prickled uncomfortably and she felt the fight of flight instinct kick in, though her body was screaming for her to just escape before these powerful youkai ripped her to pieces.

- l - l - l -

"So koibito, did you miss me?" Naraku asked seductively as he stood up and walked toward the shell-shocked girl chained up behind him. Kagome shuddered as she felt his warm breath on her throat and turned her face away, biting her bottom lip in distress.

"Leave her alone!" Izayoi growled darkly, as she narrowed a sharp gaze on the tall hanyou. Kagome could feel her aura brushing against her senses because of the ferocity of it and noticed it had a tinge of youki mixed into it. Kagome assumed that was due to the fact that the woman was mated to a daiyoukai. She was very human, but it seemed Izayoi had received a bit of Inu no Taisho's youki to protect her if he was away.

"Who are you?" Kagome whispered as she felt Naraku's tongue trailing down the shell of her ear. Her question brought a low, amused chuckle from Naraku. He grasped her chin forcefully and turned her face to meet his red-eyed gaze head on. Fear gripped her soul at the amount of hatred and lust that filled his gaze. She could feel his arousal pressed into her stomach and shuddered in disgust at the sensation. It was her nightmares all over again... only this time Inuyasha wasn't there to hold her and reassure her that it was only a dream.

"I'm the one your mother always told you to avoid, my little miko." He whispered dangerously before his lips closed over hers harshly. Kagome struggled against him as she felt his tongue forcefully part her lips and dive into her mouth. Kagome tried to bite down on his lip but instead moan in pain as he seemed to sense her intentions and sunk his teeth into the soft flesh of her tongue. "What have I told you about fighting back, koibito?" Naraku asked dully as he pulled away and gave a satisfied smirk at her swollen lips and tears silently streaming down her cheeks.

"I'll kill you..." Kagome whispered as she glared darkly at the man before her still gripping her chin tightly. Naraku's smirk only grew and his eyes seemed to shine with hidden mirth and excitement.

"Still have so much fight. I'll never tire of tainting you, koibito." Naraku said confidently as he ran his other hand down her throat, over her bared breast, and across her flat stomach where his hand paused. His smirk died on his face to be replaced by a dark look, which Kagome was forced to meet head-on since he still held her chin firmly in his other hand.

"Fuck you, Naraku..." Kagome whispered again, unable to raise her voice as his youki crashed down strongly over her, stifling her and making it hard even to draw breath. His youki became more oppressive as his anger grew and Kagome began to feel faint as her head swam with dizziness. She barely felt the strong slap across the face, it only registered as a stinging sensation when her head whipped forcibly to the side.

"You let that damn mutt put his filthy seed in you!" Naraku snarled as the air began to get thick with toxic shouki. The poison filled Kagome's lungs, making her feel more woozy than before as her body began to grow limp and completely numb. One thing managed to penetrate her muddled brain as sound began to wink out... she could feel a tiny aura beating strongly from her abdomen before darkness engulfed her.

::FIN::

January 23, 2012

Notes: So I hope I didn't just lose all of you with the cliche way I ended this chapter -.- I've wanted to do something like this from about halfway through the story and I've been warring with myself on whether or not to go this route. I'm not sure how much longer this story will be either. I'm honestly not sure how I'm going to end it XD Also, does anyone want a mini-story on how Sesshoumaru and Rin met in this story? If you do, let me know via review, if there's enough interest I'll do it once Kurayami has been completed~.^