InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Seeking the Hime's Heart ❯ Disturbed Sanctuary ( Chapter 8 )

Seeking the Hime's Heart

By: EvilNekoEatsYourSoul

Part 1: Quest for the Beginning

Author's note: Sorry it took a while to get this update out, I actually should post a chapter for my other story since I rotate the updates, but I currently have a block for that story so I figured I might as well write for this one since I was inspired. On another note, I'll be moving soon and will therefore be unable to write which means no update probably for another week or two. Anyways, read enjoy and review.

Last time: "Leave me," when she spoke those words her voice was firm. It was unlike anything she'd ever heard from herself. When Yumi had left, she methodically went through the actions of cleaning her face before lying awake in her futon for the remainder of the day.

Chapter 8: Disturbed Sanctuary

~*~

Nothing was ever quite as soothing as the soft sounds of running water. In the castle's garden, Kagome sat idly watching the shimmering bodies of koi swimming through the small stream-fed pond. The fish were mostly large. Some of them lingered lazily in a single spot, watching for anything that might resemble food.

Despite the fact that the palace was full of people and youkai, Kagome was lonely. She had been introduced to various people, all of which who had been critically polite to her. But in their eyes, their stares, she could sense disdain. It was easier to avoid any social situations by spending her days alone in the quiet garden rather then risk embarrassing herself and being subjected to whispered insults. In any case, no one sought her company during the day. In fact, the only person she ever spoke to besides the servants was Kouga who had sought her company in bed every night since they had arrived in the castle. But the wolf youkai offered little comfort and didn't even seem to notice her unhappiness. Though in truth, if he had asked she would have lied.

Two days had passed since the incident with the hanyou but nothing was said about it. The only time they saw each other was during the meals. Sometimes as she was eating, Kagome would look up to find his eyes upon her and both would quickly turn away. Only once had she seen him outside of the dining room, it had been as she was hiding behind a corner, listening to a group of women talk about how she had supposedly seduced Kouga in order to capture him as her husband. From around the corner Kagome heard a sudden silence fall over the gossiping group and then snickering, then a moment later Inuyasha had rounded the corner, nearly walking into her. Taking a surprised step back, her feet had gotten caught in the hem of her kimono but before she could fall Inuyasha had caught her. Just as soon as he had steadied her, he had pushed her away from him before stalking down the hall without a word.

Every time she saw Inuyasha Kagome was filled with guilt over having unknowingly delved into his sad past. She knew from experience that it hurt to have to recall such tragic events. Whenever someone asked about her mother or her childhood she would quickly change the topic, tears would form in her eyes and it would be all that she could do to blink them away. Sometimes it even hurt to look at Rin, she resembled her father greatly and while her life with Kouga was not the most unpleasant of situations, she had enjoyed her life with Hojou and at times she missed his caring, tender ways.

Kagome's eyes drifted closed for a second, nothing existed to her senses except the sound of gently flowing water and the darkness of her closed eyelids. After a moment she could hear someone breathing behind her, could feel his or her breath on the back of her neck since she had put her hair up in a bun.

"Konnichiwa," Kagome involuntarily shivered at the greeting, her back stiffening as her heart began to race. The person behind her, a man if the deep baritone of the voice was any indication, was standing much too close for propriety. If anyone were to walk in on this scene they would think that he pressed intimately against her back.

Kagome stood, quickly turning around to face the person who had intruded upon her solitude. Trying to remain calm, she breathed steadily in and out, taking in the appearance of the man who had, a moment ago, been standing behind her.

His hair was darker then her own obsidian locks, it made his skin look almost deathly pale by contrast. The length of it reached just below his shoulder in small waves. His features were noble, the lines of his face masculine and attractive. Crimson eyes that reminded her of dried blood stared straight into her own blue orbs and held her gaze. The full lips were set in a sneer.

"You must be Kouga's bitch, ne?"

Not knowing how to answer such a rudely phrased question, Kagome remained silent and took a step back, mindful of the pond behind her. The dark haired man took a step forward until his knees were resting against the bench the young woman had been sitting on. Kagome sighed in relief, thankful for the bench stopping his approach for the time being.

"I've heard about you," he said, ignoring the fear clearly written on her face, "they said you were a ningen. Not a particularly pretty one, but the rumor is that you must be truly bewitching in bed to have snared the `noble lord Kouga.'"

The last words were said in a sneer, obviously indicating that the man before her did not hold her husband in such high regards. Ignoring the insult to her honor, Kagome responded as politely as she could.

"I- I am Kouga's wife, Kagome. Gomen nasai, but I don't know your name."

He snorted irritably before answering.

"Of course you don't, you've never been to court. You are… common born, after all. You may call me Naraku."

Biting her lip nervously, Kagome nodded in response.

"Hai, Naraku-sama… I- I should probably start heading back now, Kouga could be looking for me-,"

"He isn't," Naraku interjected smoothly, "he and a few others have gone to the market. They probably won't be back until sunset."

The bench no longer offered any comfort as he stepped over it with his long legs. Kagome could not back up anymore and would not run because if she did and he meant her no harm she would be seen as a fool and if he did mean her harm and she ran he would most likely catch her quickly anyways. Nothing he said had been exactly threatening, it was just that she got a nervous feeling around him. The way he had been so close to her upon his arrival sent shivers up her spine.

"Anou, Naraku-sama… What are-,"

Before she could finish speaking his hand came up to rest against her cheek, the words she had been about to say were forgotten. His fingers were smooth and cool against her flushed face, unlike her husband's hands, which were calloused and roughed from practicing the sword.

A sudden realization struck her, his name, `Naraku,' she had heard it before. On the day after her arrival, when she had been introduced to the ou-sama and had served him and Kouga tea, hey had spoken of two men. One had been Sesshoumaru-sama's brother who Kagome now knew to be Inuyasha, the other had been this man before her, Naraku.

A frown formed on her face as she recalled the words that had been spoken between Kouga and Sesshoumaru that day. `While I do not approve of his recklessness, I would much prefer him to Naraku,' that was what Sesshoumaru had said about his brother and then Kouga had responded, `Is it wise to speak of your. . . dislike for the Shogun so freely?'

That meant that the man before her was possibly one of the most powerful men in Japan, the Shogun, the leader of the nation's army. Evidently he was a man that was not well-liked by the ou-sama or Kagome's husband.

She could see now that he was a dangerous man, even more so then she had originally thought. If Kagome were to be caught in an even remotely intimate situation with him and anyone were to find out, Kouga would be bound by honor to challenge him and that alone could start a war. One did not have to know much about the intrigue of nobility to determine the outcome of such a situation. With the backing of the nation's army no one stood a chance against Naraku, and he seemed to know that fact better then anyone.

Kagome flinched when those thoughts occurred to her. Tears began to form in her eyes as Naraku lowered his head so that his lips were near her ear, pinned between his body and the edge of the pond she could not move away.

But before any word could leave his lips the air was shattered by a harsh, grating voice.

"Oi, bakayaro. Leave the girl alone, Sesshoumaru is looking for you."

Naraku stepped back away from Kagome, standing his full height. Breathing a sigh of relief, she peeped around Naraku to catch a glimpse of her savior. Much to her surprise, it was Inuyasha glaring at both of them. She was stuck between being happy and being afraid.

"If I recall correctly, Inuyasha, you were the one of questionable heritage, not I."

Without another word, Naraku left them, walking towards the castle.

There was a single tense moment of silence before Kagome bowed deeply to the hanyou.

"Arigato gozaimasu," she said.

When she looked back up, he was half turned away from her.

"Feh! I don't need your thanks. Just remember to stay away from that bastard or I might not be here to save you next time."

Inuyasha turned to walk away but before he had taken his first step, Kagome called out to him.

"Anou… Will you, umm, tell Kouga about this?"

Her hands were clasped firmly together in front of her, her body was taut, her eyes filled with anxiety.

"It isn't worth telling that yaze ookami, he would probably do something stupid like go after Naraku and then Sesshoumaru would have to kill him."

"But. . . why would Sesshoumaru-sama do that?"

Flashing her a condescending glare, Inuyasha turned around to face her fully.

"Baka, don't you know anything about-,"

Kagome shook her head in a negative answer, bowing so that he couldn't see her face.

"I don't know anything about being youkai or nobility, surely you've heard the rumors," she said bitterly, feeling tears well up in her eyes. There was no real reason for the tears, she just felt so drained after her disturbing encounter with Naraku and she was so lonely, it all built up inside of her until the tears fell unbidden.

Looking around uncomfortably, Inuyasha decided the conversation was over and left her there, alone in the garden. It was the same solitude she had found comfort in for the last few days, but now her heart seemed heavier.

~*~

During the evening meal, Kagome was happy to see Naraku was seated at the high table along with Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha. When she had first entered the dining chamber her eyes had met briefly with Inuyasha's golden gaze before both turned away. As usual, Kouga didn't notice and led her to a seat in the center of the room.

Throughout the evening she kept her eyes focused firmly on a spot on the table in front of her. When she was through eating, instead of leaving immediately like she usually did, she lingered by Kouga's side not wanting to have any more chance encounters with any of the people of the castle. More then anything she wanted to go home. As always, there were her worries about Rin to keep her mind occupied as she waited for her husband to finish his conversation.

When he was finished socializing, Kouga smiled kindly down at Kagome before taking her hand to help her come to a stand beside him. They walked silently to her room and he followed her in rather then heading down the hall to his own chamber. After closing the shouji screen behind him, he placed his hands on her shoulders and his lips brushed against her neck. Making no move to either encourage or discourage her husband, Kagome stood absolutely still. His hands went to the obi of her kimono and after it was untied he lay her down upon the futon.

An hour or so later, after Kouga had retired to his own guest chamber, Kagome briefly wondered in he would have desired her if Ayame were within the castle's walls. It took hardly a minute for her to decide that it was irrelevant and to drift off into an uneasy sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Author's note: I know it was a short chapter, I'm really sorry for it but like I said I'm pretty busy as of late and I had written more but this seemed like a better place to end it so I cut it. -_-

Thank you to all my reviewers!

Miss_Marilyn69: -_- It's kind of hard for me making Kagome all weak and weepy because it kind of irritates me or makes me depressed, heh. Anyways, sorry if I made you cry in the last chapter.

BabayBunny: I'm glad you approve of my story even if it has multiple pairings. Sorry to make you wait for the update and well, Inuyasha isn't going to be playing hero just yet (even though he did sort of save her in this chapter…) anyways, I've got more in store for our classic Inuyasha couple.

LottaLuvGurl: Thanks for your continued reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. ^_^

Soudesuka-Shurikens: I know it's terrible how women were looked down upon back in those times and in some ways that is still going on which makes it even more sad. Bleh, anyways thanks for reading!

Kawool: I'm always glad to see people doing a `happy dance' when I update ^_^ Hope you enjoyed this update.

Kari: So sorry to keep you waiting for the update, the trouble isn't even with writing for this story it's my other story that won't cooperate and I refuse to just give it up. But thanks for sticking with the story despite my infrequent updates.

Youkai tsuki: ^_^ Thanks for your patient waiting! I always love to hear people say my story idea is original I think it's one of the best compliments an author can get so thanks!

Rasberries: I'm glad to see that people are satisfied with the way I portrayed Sesshoumaru, I thought I might get some flames because I think I made him talk too much. But I also thought that being able to talk was an important trait for a ruler to have so I felt it necessary, nice to see that people accepted that without a problem. The funny thing about the scene where Inuyasha confronts Kagome is that it was not at all planned I was just writing and at that point I suddenly thought that it would be a good way for them to `meet' and it would help me with keeping Inuyasha in character. ^_^

KagoKitty: Glad you don't have a problem with the Sesshoumaru/Rin age difference because obviously he has to be pretty old, right? That's why he's so wise and calm. . . at least that's my take on it.

New Fan: I'm just going to say that Inuyasha heard Kagome asking about him just because he was coincidentally walking down the hall and the shouji screens aren't exactly sound proof and he does have excellent hearing. ^_^

Firefrost (not the one from chapter 7): Wow, that was a great compliment, I'm glad you like the story so much. Hojou's a nice guy, I don't know why some people hate him lol he's just dense not mean or anything. . . Sorry to keep you waiting for the update.

Sara-sama: It is pretty important to remember the time the story is set in, sometimes even I forget and I want to make Kagome do something like be sarcastic, which a woman would absolutely not do in that time. As for your questions, all will be answered in due time ^_^.

Anon: I'm writing as much as time and inspiration allows. Promise! Scouts honor. . .

? : Here's the next chapter, hope you enjoyed it and sorry to keep you hangin'

yg: … xbp

Janice: thanks for reading and I'm glad you like it. Hope you liked the update.