InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Sesshoumaru's Secret Life ❯ Conflict Within ( Chapter 28 )

Chapter 28: Conflict Within

 

Miroku was livid and the others had to stop him from strangling the messenger that had come to tell them Naraku's terms. “Where is that bastard,” the monk ground out, angrier than he had ever been in his life. “What have you done with my wife?!”

 

“I have done nothing Hoshi-sama,” the small rat demon stated as he bowed before the enraged monk. “My master has requested you come to this village.”

 

Inuyasha grabbed the piece of paper that the rat held out. It contained instructions on how to get to the village and what house they were to proceed to.

 

“He says to make sure you bring the jewel and the boy,” the rat continued looking at Kohaku. “My master will release your mate at that time; it is nothing more than a simple trade.”

 

“A simple trade?!” Miroku yelled, clenching his fist around his staff.

 

“Tell him no deal,” Inuyasha stated, interrupting Miroku before he could yell anymore. He was met with stunned silence, even from the rat who had not anticipated this turn of events.

 

“Wh…what are you saying?” Miroku asked, almost in a state of shock.

 

“Inuyasha, you don't mean that!” Kagome cried out. “We have to help Sesshoumaru.”

 

“My sister can take care of herself,” the half demon intoned. “We will not make a deal with Naraku.”

 

Sango started to protest as well but was interrupted by the white haired boy, “…unless you want Kohaku to die. Naraku will kill him and you know he won't stick to his end of the bargain. It's useless to deal with him so I won't.”

 

“You're not the only one who has a say in this, Inuyasha,” Miroku stated angrily. “Don't you even care about your own sister?”

 

A hurt look quickly crossed Inuyasha's features but he soon contained it. He reached his hand out and snapped the necklace with the almost complete jewel on it off of Kagome's neck and then leapt into the forest with the shocked yells of his friends ringing in his ears. He knew he was taking a big risk, Kagome could stop him at any moment with a certain word and he was surprised when he actually made it out of hearing distance.

 

I'm sorry guys but we can't let Naraku get the jewel, under any circumstances. He ran until he found an old hidden shrine. It had been here for many years and had become all but forgotten. The shrine still had some magic left in it so Inuyasha hid the jewel under the floor, certain that the aura around the shrine would keep its whereabouts safe. He then left to head back. Hopefully his friends would understand and they could come up with a plan to rescue his sister, but with or without them, he was going to get her back.

 

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“Seems like your family has no need of you,” Naraku intoned cruelly. “They refused my offer.” Naraku was no fool and he anticipated that the group would make some kind of rescue attempt. He had already had his little rat servants set up many traps. I will have my jewel, Inuyasha, even if I have to capture and torture everyone in your group.

 

“As they should,” Sesshoumaru returned emotionlessly. She was glad that they had not come running to her rescue as she had been worried about that. She knew that Naraku and her cousin would have never stuck to their bargain and their whole group would have been in danger if Naraku had managed to get the jewel. In this regard, she needed her family to be heartless towards her. Seems like my brother has managed to learn something from me after all, she thought.

 

The inu taiyoukai was now kneeling before a low table while a small female rat demon served Anoki/Naraku tea. There was no cup for Sesshoumaru, not that she was expecting one. She had been allowed no nourishment at all since being made a guest of her cousin and his spirit resident. This, in fact, had been the first time she had been dressed and allowed off the futon since being brought here three days ago other than to be escorted to take care of personal business. Her one arm and hand had been shackled behind her back to prevent her from trying to remove the necklace, which she had almost succeeded in doing last night.

 

Anoki had finished with her once again and had fallen asleep beside her. She had used every ounce of mental will to grasp that necklace and begin to lift it over her head. Unfortunately she must not have been quiet enough or gentle enough in her movements and the demon beside her had woken. He had been upset to say the least and since that time her arm had been cuffed to a chain around her waist. Her lip, which had been quite swollen last night from one of the many punches she had received, was now mostly healed. A small cut was all that remained of the large gash when her fang had ripped through her lip from the force of the blows.

 

Sesshoumaru was non-plussed about the beating and the lack of food. She had endured worse in her lifetime and could go long periods without eating and still remain strong. She hated that this damn red jewel was suppressing her more violent instincts and so now she sat, biding her time until she could manage to get the charmed necklace off. Then her cousin and Naraku would soon be joining the land of the dead. She thanked the gods above that the small gold chain around her neck did not seem to have the same curse on it that her brother's did. At least she'd be able to get this one off whereas her brother's could only be taken off by Kagome.

 

“Sesshoumaru…Sesshoumaru!”

 

The demoness lifted her head and looked at the face of her cousin who had been calling to her for some time. The small rat demon was gone also.

 

“You didn't hear a word I said,” he complained. Sesshoumaru realized that it was Anoki speaking to her now and not Naraku. “Why don't you be a good mate and serve my tea,” he demanded pushing the now empty cup towards her.

 

Sesshoumaru quirked an eyebrow at him and then glanced down at her chained arm. “And how do you suppose I do that?” she asked.

 

Anoki grinned at her. “I suppose I could take it off,” he said leaning forward and pulling a key out of his kimono. He stopped for a moment, frowning. “You're not going to try anything funny, right?”

 

“What could I do?” Sesshoumaru asked showing no emotion. She knew she would not be able to move fast enough to just pull the necklace off. The charm was strong and it took a massive amount of will to move her limbs if she had any thoughts of hurting her cousin or taking the charmed jewel off. Her mind as well stayed far too calm and placid. Most of the time she felt as if she could care less what happened and there was that little voice that was getting harder and harder to ignore; the one that was continually pushing at her to submit, to do as she was told, to be docile, meek and obedient. She realized that this was the power of the spell combined with the power of the mating mark that her cousin had given her. She was finding it more difficult to fight against it and knew she had to get this thing off soon because if it stayed on much longer she soon wouldn't want to take it off.

 

“That's true, there's really nothing you can do,” Anoki grinned and proceeded to unlock Sesshoumaru's arm from her cuff. “Now, how about that tea?” he asked cockily.

 

Anoki/Naraku sat back and enjoyed watching Sesshoumaru set about setting up the cup and filling it for him like a proper wife. He too had noticed that Sesshoumaru seemed much more willing to behave today. He reached forward and stroked his hand up and down her cheek, smiling when he noticed that it took her a few minutes before it dawned on her to move away from his touch. He watched as she gritted her teeth hard as she tried to work against the charm and avoid his fingers.

 

She soon will be mine completely, Anoki thought with glee, taking the cup his mate offered him.

 

You mean ours, don't you? Naraku interjected.

 

Mine, Anoki ground out possessively to his parasitic guest. And you shouldn't have hit her so hard. I don't want her damaged, he complained.

 

Naraku chortled inside his hosts mind. He had begun an experiment, lately he had been trying to suppress some of the things he had been doing, and it seemed to be working.

 

He had started with little things, moving items when he was in control of the body and then seeing if he could make the dog demon forget where they were. He had been most gratified when his co-habitant had spent at least twenty minutes looking for his sandals that Naraku had hidden in the closet. Sesshoumaru had been the one to tell him where the geta were, giving him a most curious look.

 

The former spider demon was sure that he would be able to speak to Kanna about finding him another host without Anoki's knowledge, someone stronger and stupider; someone that would be easier to manipulate.

 

He had made a miscalculation in picking this one as he had not anticipated his will to be so strong or his affections for the female inu taiyoukai to be so great. Naraku was of a mind to kill his former enemy, not sleep with her but whenever he had tried to do anything that might cause her death his host would push him down and take over.

 

He was also finding it harder to gain control since his host had marked Sesshoumaru, the dog demon not wanting him to come forward and share in his mate. It had only been the intense shared anger of him and Anoki combined that had allowed him to strike the female inu last night. As soon as the dog demon male realized that his mate was going to be beaten to a pulp he had stopped Naraku cold.

 

For now, he would allow his host to get overly confident in his strength and then, when he had a new body, he would rip the shards from Anoki's neck gleefully. Perhaps he would even destroy Sesshoumaru before his eyes before allowing the grey haired demon his own death, just to prove to him who was the master in this situation.

 

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“Kagome!” Inuyasha yelled as the young miko was pulled into the air by her ankle. She had stepped into a loop of rope that had been hidden on the ground and the hanyou leapt into the air after her landing in the tree. Below Sango, Kouga and Miroku had been engaged by ten demons that had come piling out of the bushes to encircle the group.

 

Inuyasha cut the rope around her leg with the Tetsusaiga, catching her as she began to fall. “Are you alright?” he asked worriedly.

 

“My ankle hurts, I think it's sprained,” she told him as he came down out of the tree and placed her on the ground safely out of range of the demons. He took a quick look to the others in his group and saw that Kouga was making quick work of most of the demons. The wolf may have lost his shards but he was naturally quick, strong and a good fighter. His other two friends had no trouble dispatching the few that were left.

 

The half demon had been surprised that Kouga had offered to come along. The ookami only stated that he had personal business with his possessed cousin and would explain it no further. Kagome had actually sat him when he had bugged the wolf about it.

 

Inuyasha had had his feelings hurt over that incident and it had not gone unnoticed to him how much time Kagome and Kouga were spending with each other. For the first time since meeting the wolf, he had seriously begun to worry that Kagome really liked him and wasn't just trying to be nice. Even though the hanyou had found that he actually liked that mangy wolf his own insecurities over Kagome kept him on edge with Kouga when she was around.

 

“That's the third trap we've encountered,” Sango stated.

 

“Good thing they're not very good,” Kouga huffed, cracking the bones in his knuckles. “Is this the best Naraku can throw at us? If that's the case we'll defeat him easily.”

 

“Don't get too over confident,” Miroku voiced. “Never underestimate Naraku.”

 

“Yeah,” Inuyasha intoned, helping Kagome hobble over to the group. “That stupid trap injured Kagome; she's got a sprained ankle.”

 

“Oh, Kagome,” Sango cried out. “Does it hurt much?”

 

“I'm fine,” the teen girl blushed waving her hands in the air. “It's not so bad.” She tried to take a step and almost fell over; her ankle began to throb painfully.

 

“Here,” Kouga said as he took his wrappings off his legs. “Sit down. I'll wrap it up for you.”

 

The teen girl went to sit on the ground and Inuyasha growled at the wolf. Kagome gave the white haired boy a sharp look but before she could sit him, Kouga threw the bandages over to the hanyou. “Here, you do it then,” he stated and then turned and walked over to where Miroku was.

 

“That wasn't very nice, Inuyasha,” Kagome scolded as the hanyou set to wrapping her quickly swelling ankle.

 

“Why are you taking his side all the time?” Inuyasha asked a bit hurt.

 

“He…he had a hard time with Naraku,” Kagome answered vaguely. Try to be nice to him, okay?”

 

“He looks fine to me. What did Naraku do to him anyways?”

 

“I can't tell you that, he might tell you if you'd make an effort to be more of a friend to him. He really needs one even if it doesn't look like he does.”

 

Inuyasha sat back, finished with the bandaging. He thought about what Kagome said as he found a branch for her to use as a cane to help her stand. He knew Kouga had been upset about his pack but he realized that there may be another reason for the ookami's weird, quiet moods. One he didn't know about. He decided that he would try to get along better with the wolf, if only for Kagome's sake.

 

“We should continue on,” Miroku told the group. He was worried as to what had happened to Sesshoumaru and these traps kept slowing them down. He couldn't figure Naraku's game but was sure that the former spider demon must have something in mind.

 

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“We are not playing games here,” Naraku ground out angrily.

 

“Sorry, my lord. We put out our best traps and they manage to get free of them,” the small rat demon replied as he kneeled on the ground with his head down.

 

“Here, take this girl with you,” the spirit demon commanded, motioning to Kanna. “She can do a better job of capturing them than you have.”

 

The rat bowed low, his forehead touching the ground, “as you wish, my lord.” The small demon stood and the young white haired child followed quietly behind him. She stopped when Naraku called to her. “I'm depending on you, Kanna, to do something about them. Do not disappoint me.”

 

“No, my lord,” she responded in her quiet, whispery voice.

 

“And what of the other matter we discussed?”

 

“I have found nothing suitable. I will continue to look.”

 

Naraku frowned. He had been hoping that the girl would have found him someone else by now. He was getting tired of playing games with Anoki and just wanted to get his jewel and get on with things. He nodded to Kanna and she slipped out the door to follow the rat that had been waiting just outside for her. The former spider demon sighed and then released his grip on the body. For now he would rest.

 

Anoki blinked his eyes. This was the fourth time he found himself somewhere other than where he thought he should be. Naraku…Narakuwhat are you up to? He received no reply from his guest and he frowned in confusion. He couldn't figure out what the devil his spirit roommate was doing but he began to get nervous. He soon forgot about it when he smelled the scent of his mate. He grinned and headed down the hallway to his room, putting aside thoughts of Naraku for more pleasant ones.

 

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Sesshoumaru slipped quietly out of the bed. Anoki had again chained her arm down as he slept but the female demon had a plan. She walked over to the large, heavy chest that was sitting on the floor by the back wall. The chest had ornate carvings on it of stag and boar but what interested Sesshoumaru were the horns that were sticking out of the top. She was planning on hooking the necklace over the pieces of carved wood and then pulling back, hopefully breaking the chain that held the charm in place on her neck. She figured that as long as she didn't try to touch the chain or the stone directly that her plan should work.

 

She had to get the thing off tonight. When Anoki had come into the room earlier she had almost enjoyed his touches, in fact she was beginning to crave them and had not fought back as hard as she usually did. She had almost forgotten Miroku and her pups and that she was not going to allow.

 

“What are you doing?” Anoki asked a bit groggily watching as his mate walked over towards the back wall.

 

“Just stretching my legs,” she replied casually. She turned back towards the futon keeping her aggravation and frustration from showing.

 

Anoki quirked an eyebrow at her curiously, looking to where she had been walking. He could see nothing of any importance at that end of the room so shrugged his shoulders and sat up as Sesshoumaru sat down beside him. “Is being with me so horrible to you?” he asked as he watched her emotionless face.

 

“You know I am mated to another yet you still persist in keeping me here against my will,” the demoness answered. “Yours is a selfish love, you want what you want with no regard to others.”

 

“And I suppose your human is different? He would let you go if you asked,” the inu demon asked sarcastically.

 

“Yes, he would,” she answered simply. She looked at her cousin who had cast his eyes down to the futon. “Let me go, Anoki,” she whispered.

 

The grey haired demon frowned and then quickly stood. He began to head to the door and then stopped with his back to Sesshoumaru. “I can't,” he stated and then left, sliding the door shut behind him.

 

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You were going to do it, you almost let her go, Naraku sneered in Anoki's mind. You're pathetic. She would have killed you in an instant.

 

Shut up, you bastard! She has feelings for me, I know she does. That human has her confused. She'll soon realize who the better mate is. I'll never let her go.

 

You may have to destroy her. She is never going to accept you, Naraku quipped. He was getting more than bored with this obsession his host had for the taiyoukai. Do not let your emotions ruin the opportunity I am giving you.

 

God damn it, I said shut up!! Without me you're nothing. Just a damn ghost stuck in a mirror. You need me and you know it. I'm the one in control and don't you forget it. Anoki pushed down hard, ramming the evil spirit into the back of his mind.

 

Naraku had had enough, with a roar of anger he fought back, grabbing the soul of the inu and grappling with it. The two spirits entwined in an internal battle for supremacy. To an observer the demon looked like he was just standing there silently, albeit a bit spaced out. A few facial twitches were the only indication that anything was going on behind the blank eyes at all.

 

The eyes of the demon cleared and an evil grin slunk across the face. Who is in control? Naraku smirked at his host, who was now cringing and whimpering in the far recesses of his mind. Time to sleep, the former spider ordered and Anoki's mind disconnected with his guest's and now master. The evil demon turned to go back into the room and finally destroy his hated enemy, certain now that the inu could no longer interfere when a fat rat ran up to him.

 

“My lord, we have captured them.”