InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Six Feet ❯ Chapter 6 ( Chapter 6 )

Naraku was not happy. There really was no other way to say it. He was not happy.

A day had passed since he'd taken Inuyasha captive. A day had passed since he'd taken the silver-haired hanyou to his bedchambers and had tried to mess with the boy's mind . . . a day had passed since his nemesis had blatantly given him permission to do as he pleased with him.

To say that Inuyasha's behaviour had shocked him would have been an understatement. Naraku had been expecting something more volatile, more . . . panicked. Not absolute submission. The moment he had heard those words escape Inuyasha's lips, he withdrew from the boy immediately.

'What is his game?' he thought, his expression marred into a scowl. 'Is he trying to mess with me, the same way I was trying to mess with him? Did he really want me to touch him like that? Is he trying to get me to kill him?'

Recent events were not lost on Naraku. He knew by the tinge in the air that Inuyasha had been overwhelmed by despair and his feelings of hurt and betrayal. He knew it just as sure as he held the nearly complete Shikon no Tama in his possession . . .

Naraku's eyes widened.

The Shikon no Tama.

He pulled it out of the folds of his kimono to gaze at it, noting how much darker it had become since he had brought Inuyasha to his castle. Crimson eyes took in every detail.

'Perhaps he is playing with me. Perhaps this is his true goal . . . maybe what I saw was staged . . . no . . . couldn't have been. He's too miserable for that . . . but he isn't stupid. Never has been. Never will be. He just acts like he is.'

Naraku was all too aware of just how intelligent Inuyasha truly was. The fact that he had remained clueless about the miko's indiscretions with the wolf proved nothing. He knew what Inuyasha was truly capable of. He had watched when the boy had become contemplative and quiet. He had watched when Inuyasha had written out the most beautiful calligraphy he had ever seen. He knew that, other than Sesshomaru, Inuyasha was his most dangerous opponent because, under that brash, arrogant, and ignorant guise, lay a very intelligent young man who could, quite possibly, scheme with the best of them. He knew this because he had been watching the inu hanyou when the boy had thought no one else was around. Naraku had also seen how the hanyou's friends had slowly been changing him, turning him into something that he wasn't. They wanted things about him to change but on their terms and into what they wanted. Not on Inuyasha's terms or what he wanted. It was something else he had been hoping to use against them but now . . .

Now he had a very-depressed and quite possibly suicidal Inuyasha within his grasp. If the boy got his hands onto the Shikon no Tama by getting Naraku to lower his guard . . .

'He could be biding his time . . . waiting for the right moment to grab the Shikon no Tama and run with it . . . but what would he do with it? What would he wish for now?'

The dark hanyou quickly shoved the darkened jewel back into his kimono, his scowl deepening. He didn't like the thought that Inuyasha had somehow managed to outsmart him.

'There's only one way to find out,' he told himself darkly as he stormed out of the room and to where Inuyasha currently lay. He had an idea and he intended to act upon it.

'Then we'll see who will outsmart who.'

An evil smile graced his features as he walked on.

* * *

Inuyasha drew a deep breath then exhaled shakily, his entire form trembling. His chest ached, not because he'd been taken captive by Naraku but from the horrid truth. Kagome didn't love him. She loved Kouga. The fact that she had, quite literally, screamed it in anger at him had only made the shock, and the pain, worse.

Tears had formed in his eyes but he couldn't cry. Not even with the pain as unbearable as it was could he cry. His anguish had taken on a true physical form, becoming round and large, like the red ball he had played with as a child. His anguish then had lodged itself deep into his chest, making it difficult for him to breathe, to even try to move. Everything he had ever wanted, everything he had ever hoped for, vanished when Kagome had made her declaration. His happiness had evaporated, self-loathing taking its place.

'She said she didn't care . . . that I was hanyou . . . she said that she didn't care . . . she said that she liked me just the way I was . . . she said she'd be there for me . . . always . . . she lied . . . she lied . . . Where did I go wrong? What did I do to deserve this? Why did she choose him over me? Why?'

 

`Fool, you know why,' a little voice whispered. `You're hanyou. No one wants a hanyou. How many times do you need to be told that for you to get it through your head?'

 

`She said she didn't care . . . that she liked me just the way I was . . .'

 

`Then why is she with Kouga now? Why is she with a full youkai and not you?'

 

`I don't know . . .'

 

`Oh, yes you do, Inuyasha,' that little voice mocked. `Because you're worthless. You always have been, always will be. There isn't anything you can offer her. The monk knew it. The taijiya knew it. Hell, even Shippou and Kouga knew it. Kagome finally realized what everyone else knew all along. You're worthless, a half-breed, and no one has a use for a half-breed.'

 

`But she . . .'

 

He wanted to deny what that little voice was telling him but the truth remained. Kagome had chosen Kouga over him. Had chosen full youkai Kouga over half-demon him. His half-breed status had mattered after all.

 

`She lied . . . she lied . . . Kami, she lied . . .'

Each word stabbed at his heart, sending him further into the depths of despair and depression. His mind played the events over and over again his mind, recalling the numerous times that she'd held him . . . how she had given him one of those smiles, those smiles that told him how she truly felt about him . . . how she had vowed to stay by his side, even after he'd turned youkai and killed those ningens . . . of her kissing Kouga warmly, the anger in her eyes as she told him she was no longer his girl . . . With every memory, every word said, Inuyasha died all over again.

* * *

Kagome shifted uncomfortably under the cold and harsh glares of Kikyou and Ayame. Both females were decidedly very unhappy with her and she really couldn't blame them. Not after what had happened with Inuyasha, though how Ayame and her new mate, an inu hanyou named Hiroshi, had found out about her relationship with Kouga had eluded her. Yet, she didn't dare ask, either. Things needed to be explained first, clarified, as to why she had made the decision that she had.

'How did things turn out like this?' she silently bemoaned to herself.

After Inuyasha's initial disappearance, no one was entirely sure as to what to do. It was obvious that he needed help, especially if he'd been captured by Naraku like they had believed and continued to believe. Then Sesshomaru had shown up just as she had said he'd need their help and had pointed out that maybe Inuyasha wouldn't want their help. Not after what had happened.

At first, Kagome refused to believe that. Inuyasha was her friend, after all, and she didn't want to believe that she'd hurt him that bad. Then Sango and Miroku had told her of what had happened after she and Kouga had left, of how lost Inuyasha had seemed and of his confession about Kikyou. The “I-told-you-so” look Miroku had given her and the stiffness in his tone during that conversation had not been lost on Kagome, either. Both had also made it very clear that they weren't happy with her, especially for the lies that she insisted they tell Inuyasha. They had seen his expression after she'd taken off with Kouga and had tried to deal with him before he'd taken off. It hadn't worked. Inuyasha had been truly hurt and devastated by her confession. Their words had created a small amount of tension between them as they went back and forth on the whole situation.

As the talking had continued, Kikyou showed up along with Rin and Jaken. The miko had then confirmed what Inuyasha had said to Sango and Miroku, and she had learned of what had just happened with the hanyou. She hadn't been too happy to hear about Kagome's decision to be with Kouga rather than Inuyasha, and she had echoed Sesshomaru's sentiment, that Inuyasha probably wouldn't want to be helped by them, that he'd rather deal with the dark hanyou on his own and make his own escape. Finally, after they had talked about what had possibly had happened to the hanyou and what they could do, Ayame had shown up with Hiroshi.

To say that Hiroshi's appearance had been a shock to her would have been an understatement. She knew that hanyous existed, having been around Inuyasha since her arrival to the feudal era. Then they'd met Jinenji, a hanyou of indeterminate origin, and Shiori, a bat hanyou, in their journeys. The fact that Hiroshi was hanyou hadn't been what had stunned the miko reincarnate. It had been Hiroshi's appearance and his strong resemblance to Inuyasha. They had been surprised to see another inu hanyou, even Sesshomaru. Of course, everyone but Sesshomaru had believed him to be Inuyasha at first, not paying attention to the fact that he had blue eyes, not gold, and stood nearly as tall as Sesshomaru. The first thing Kagome had done when the two had come into sight had been to yell at him for running off and worrying everyone as much as he had. When he hadn't yelled back, when he'd only raised a bemused eyebrow in response at her, that was when they had realized he wasn't Inuyasha.

That brought her to now, where Kikyou and Ayame were glaring at her for what she had done. She knew that, if she had to, she'd make the same decision all over again. Kouga, by far, was much sweeter to her than Inuyasha had ever been and very affectionate. He didn't see the ghost of a former lover in her face. He didn't see her as just a mere shard detector. Kouga had confessed to her that he loved her from the very beginning and she had finally decided to give him a chance. In the process, she felt as if she'd discovered someone truly wonderful. She loved Kouga with all of her heart and there wasn't anything anyone could do to change it.

“You two can quit glaring at her anytime,” Sango finally stated, irritation lacing her tone. “What's done is done. There isn't anything we can do to change it.”

'Thank you, Sango,' she thought as she smiled gratefully at her friend. However, her relief was short-lived. Ayame scowled at the taijiya's words and turned her icy green eyes towards the older girl.

“I take it we're supposed to forgive her for what she's done?” the wolf demoness spat. “After what she did to Inuyasha? I don't think so.”

“Ayame,” Kouga intervened. “It was Kagome's decision to make as to who she wanted to be with. Not Inuyasha's.”

“That isn't the point,” Kikyou stated, her own tone cool and neutral. “We are well aware of that fact. However, she shouldn't have kept it a secret from him, especially for as long as she did. She shouldn't have let him continue believing that he had a chance with her.”

“I didn't . . .” Kagome began but then Hiroshi, who had remained silent for most of the past day, cut in.

“You did, child,” he said gently. “You led him to believe that he still had a chance. You never once told him that you were no longer interested in him. Not once. You made your friends promise not to tell him and you even went out of your way to ensure that the kit never spoke of it to Inuyasha, either. You never once gave him any indication that things had changed. You didn't even listen to your friends as they kept telling you that you needed to tell him, before it became too late. Each time, you found another excuse to cover up your absence. Each time they lied for you and covered for your little excursions . . .” He paused for a moment. “You knew it would hurt him yet you did nothing, said nothing. And the entire time, he believed in you, trusted you not to hurt him.”

“And how would you know?” Kouga snarled, rising to his feet. “You weren't even there!”

Hiroshi raised an eyebrow at the wolf, his expression remaining calm and stoic. Again, Kagome was painfully reminded of his resemblance to Inuyasha and of everything that he could have been if he'd just been given a chance. She didn't even pay attention to the fact that the hanyou before her was nearly as cold as Sesshomaru.

“Actually, I was there, just not in a physical sense,” came the quiet declaration. “I've been watching over my nephew since the day he was born.”

“Your nephew?” All eyes, again except for Sesshomaru and this time Ayame, stared at him in shock. Kagome felt her jaw dropping. Hiroshi was Inuyasha's uncle? Anger started to course through her as the older male continued to speak.

“Hai,” the hanyou nodded. “Inuyasha and Sesshomaru are my nephews. Their father, the Inu no Taisho, was my older brother.”

“If you were watching over him, why didn't you do anything to help him when he was younger?” Kagome demanded, now rising to her feet. She simply couldn't take it any more. “Have you any idea . . .”

“Do not take that tone with me, little miko,” Hiroshi murmured, his blue eyes flashing. “I am not Inuyasha. I am not someone whom you can yell at and get your way with nor am I someone whom you can `sit.' I will not hesitate to put you in your proper place for such disrespect. As far as I'm concerned, you no longer have that right to be angry on his behalf anymore. Not after what you've pulled. Not after what you have done to him.”

“But you . . .”

Anger seethed throughout her form as she now glared at the inu hanyou in front of her as he continued to gaze coolly at her. She knew that Inuyasha had not had an easy time as a child. She knew that. He'd been born different. That alone had made him a target for humans and youkai alike. She'd caught glimpses of that whenever they'd entered a village and during their encounters with Jinenji and Shiori. To hear that Hiroshi, a hanyou and a relative no less, had left Inuyasha to his own devices . . .

“He had no choice, little miko. Father had made him promise to watch over Inuyasha only. Never to intervene, never to care for the boy,” Sesshomaru half-sighed, half-growled. “Also, I would not have allowed him to take Inuyasha from these lands. Not when Father wanted him to stay here. Inuyasha was my responsibility and mine alone once his mother passed on. Not my uncle's nor anyone else's in our bloodline. And my uncle is correct. You do not have the right to be angry on Inuyasha's behalf.”

“But . . .”

“It's a losing argument for you, girl,” Hiroshi snapped. “Give it up. It's as the taijiya said a few moments ago, what's done is done. There isn't anything we can do to change it.”

“But he's my friend!” she fumed, her fists clenched at her side.

 

All around her fell silent. Hiroshi met her gaze head on as he rose to his feet, his eyes becoming ice cold.

 

“Your friend?” he hissed. “Inuyasha is . . . your friend? You call sneaking around his back with his rival being his friend? You call months of lying and covering your deeds being his friend? Have you any idea as to what you've done?”

 

“I had to!” she yelled. “He'd have killed Kouga otherwise and I couldn't allow that!”

 

“Kagome, Hiroshi's right,” Miroku murmured. “You weren't exactly honest with Inuyasha these last few months.”

 

“I didn't want to hurt him . . .”

 

“It's a little late to be saying that,” Ayame grumbled. Kagome shot her a nasty glare which the wolf demoness promptly returned. However, Miroku's intervention quickly changed that.

 

“You still ended up hurting him, though, Kagome,” the monk stated, a hint of sadness lacing his tone. “In his mind, you've betrayed him by taking up with Kouga . . . you've destroyed the trust that you had built with him.”

 

“His . . . trust?” Kagome felt the blood rushing from her face the moment the words passed her lips.

 

“Yes, Kagome,” Sango chimed in. “His trust. You were the last person Inuyasha ever expected to hurt him like that.”

 

Kagome felt herself going weak in the knees as the realization washed over her. She had done everything she could to gain Inuyasha's trust but had always felt that she hadn't gained it completely. There were still so many things about him that she didn't know, because he wouldn't talk to her about what troubled him. It had driven her crazy to feel that he didn't trust her but to hear that he did . . .

 

`Of course, he trusted me. He trusted me more than he did anyone else . . . and like an idiot, I destroyed that.'

 

Around her, the conversation continued and she did her best to focus.

“So you knew the entire time,” Miroku stated, quickly bringing the discussion back to where it needed to be. “You knew exactly what was going on yet you did nothing.”

“I did do something,” the hanyou responded. “I told Ayame what was going on. I knew she'd be just as hurt by this as Inuyasha.”

 

“You still could have told him,” the monk pointed out, to which Hiroshi quickly shook his head.

 

“No. My promise to my brother prevents me from even approaching Inuyasha at this point. He is not ready to see me. All I could do . . . all I can still do . . . is watch over him.”

“How were you able to watch over Inuyasha?” Sango inquired. “Especially, if I'm interpreting Sesshomaru's words correctly, if you weren't anywhere near him?”

“Easy, slayer. Like this.”

Hiroshi snapped his fingers. Something bluish-green whizzed right in front of them, startling nearly everyone there. A moment later, a strange-looking, peacock-coloured miniature dragon had landed on the older hanyou's wrist, its gossamer wings still fluttering and golden eyes glittering. Hiroshi then glanced at them rather smugly.

“Shinna is one of many creatures under my command and has watched over Inuyasha numerous times throughout the past. This is how I know. What she sees, my brother Akira and I see in our pool at our home on the continent. We know what he has gone through. We know about your secret trysts with the wolf. And if we know about them, you can be assured that your nemesis, Naraku, knows as well.”