InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Special delivery ❯ Elucidation ( Chapter 75 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
Chapter 75: Elucidation
Hello dear reader, yes this IS an update, you are not dreaming. I am so very sorry for having you guys wait so long for a new chapter, especially after such a mean cliffy. I can’t believe this story is already two years old (or that you guys are still reading it lol! :P)
I wouldn’t have been able to keep writing if I didn’t have your amazing support. I really appreciate all the reviews, story favorite/alert notices and PM’s I received for this story over the last two years. Thank you so much for being with me every step of the way!
Unfortunately this chapter isn’t that long, and won’t make the story advance a lot, but it will all be worth it in the end. I will never let the story unfinished, but I do not know when I will update next.
Thank you dear readers for your amazing support. A special mention for my great reviewers:
Syzhale
Sesshkagufan13
Little25Victor
Roguereader (All your questions about how Naraku managed to pull the kidnapping off will be answered. I do aim to please lol.)
Lemonz V
Sesshlover (Thank you for the support and the kind words!)
BookBlossom (I am glad to get new readers. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to update for the
anniversary of the story :( I’ll do my best to keep on writing for sure!)
Anana553
BlackBurningHeart
Halloween265
Disclaimer: If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…
“Talking”
‘ThoughtsR 17;
Naraku Onigumo had always been a man who believed in his great intelligence. It had taken careful planning, and a lot of thinking, but his plan had been successful. He was very proud to have worked hard, but managed to finish his plan. Even though had he been honest, he would have admitted that he, himself, was still surprised at how easily he had been able to sneak away the young child.
‘Not that it has not cost me much time and careful preparation…’ He thought to himself reflecting on his plan, a sour look on his face. He had had to push back his intervention several times, but was glad that it had all worked out in the end.
Naraku had always had some of his employees watching Kagura and Sesshoumaru while he waited for the couple to slip, and allow him to take advantage of one of their weaknesses. Therefore the second the hanyou had been informed that Kagura had enrolled her daughter in a small daycare, he had wasted no time taking his chance. He had arranged for the handyman of the small establishment to disappear then took the place of the old man as soon as a ‘help wanted’ sign had been placed on the front window of the daycare, and ads run in the newspapers.
It had been easy for Naraku to infiltrate himself, and using his charm and skills make himself indispensable to the old owner of the day care. The too often neglected older human woman had simply been too flattered to have a younger handsome man as Naraku paying her compliments to notice that he had taken a much too deep interest in one of the children in her day care, or that he had altered the file of said child.
‘At least now that my plan has come to fruition, I will not have to suck up to that horrid old hag. I could have killed her, but it would have been so messy… From now on I have to be careful lest all my efforts go to waste.’ He thought his crimson eyes resting on his young employee Mayumi, who unsuccessfully tried to feed Kanna. After all it was only the previous week that the police had come to the daycare to ask about the mysterious disappearance of their former handyman.
Naraku’s ‘boss’ had been beside herself in worry after hearing from the police officers about her old employee, and the dark hanyou had expected her to point him out to the police as a suspect any second, but a large dazzling smile from him had managed to change her mind. It had been so easy for him to plant into her head that the fact that he had known the name and information of the older man was a mere coincidence. How was the old day care owner to know that her newest employee, Naraku, had been behind the disappearance of her former faithful employee?
‘The old hag was willing to swallow up anything I would have told her. I don’t think she will rat me out to the police even if I won’t be showing my face around there anymore.’ Naraku paused in his musings on the plan he had implemented to glare at the younger woman with pale blond hair present in the room with him. The young woman’s offense had been to drop a bottle of water on the carpet of their room, causing a wet puddle to spread on the plush carpet. She was rewarded with a sharp glare, a clear promise of what was to come if she distracted him again.
‘Maybe involving the stupid bitch was a bad idea… although she was useful to pass on as Sakura.’ He grinned at the idea of how easily it had been to trick his ‘employer’ into thinking that due to her pale hair and small mirror Mayumi was actually related to Kanna. He knew that using the young woman had been a good idea; the perfect final piece to his elaborate plan.
Despite his hard efforts, he also knew he had only been careless once. The day he had had Sousuke Yamashita attack Sesshoumaru, the dog demon had almost caught him while he was watching the inu youkai drop off Kanna from inside the day care building. Naraku had quickly dodged away from the window and hid behind a thick curtain, and only thanked his lucky star that Sesshoumaru had not noticed him before leaving.
“Hum… Naraku… sorry I mean Master I don’t know why, but she won’t eat.” Mayumi said, cutting through Naraku’s thoughts.
“Why would I care? Let her starve if she wants to.” The hanyou said, a warning flashing in his crimson gaze.
“Yes of course, forgive me.” Mayumi wasted no time coming to her knees in front of her employer/master. She was now able to read his moods, and knew that he was happy, and intended to do everything to keep him this way.
He chose to ignore Mayumi’s relieved sigh, or the way she struggled to come to her feet, probably due to the bruises still covering her back courtesy of his blows, and instead focused his cold hard gaze on the scowling infant seated on the bed of the hotel room they were hiding into.
“Now now Kanna, why don’t you smile for your loving grandpa?” He chuckled, asking the infant. “I did bring you back your favorite blanket, did I not?” He pointed with a long pale finger to the white woolen fabric resting on the young child’s lap. It was the very same blanket Kagura had hand knitted for her daughter before she had even been born. The blanket that in her haste to leave Naraku’s house Kagura had forgotten behind.
Even if she ran her fingers along the comforting soft white fabric, Kanna did not bother to answer Naraku’s words. She did not even act as if she had heard him. She kept her face blank as she still remembered her mother telling her that there was nothing Naraku liked more than to take advantage of your fear. Her lack of response annoyed the spider half demon, and he therefore decided to kick things up a notch.
“Well then your ungrateful brat, how would you like to talk to your mommy?” He grinned at seeing the sudden light that came on in Kanna’s dark eyes, and wasted no time reaching over for the phone on the side table.
Kanna snuggled her beloved Kuma-chan closer to her chest. At that moment she really regretted not telling her parents that Naraku had been the cause of her recurring nightmares before Sakura had started helping her control her powers. She had through her mirror accidently overheard a conversation Naraku had had with one of his employees discussing Kanna’s enrollment in a small daycare facility. She knew from witnessing her mother’s abuse that Naraku was up to no good, and she had therefore immediately worried about what he intended to do. The young void demoness could not help but wonder if Naraku would have been able to snatch her away if she had warned Sesshoumaru of the dark hanyou’s possible plan.
‘Mommy. Sesshoumaru. Please come get me’ She thought to herself, forcing back tears.
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“What’s wrong?” Kagura asked her fiancé.
“It seems that the day care owner was telling the truth. I sent Jaken to check on things, and Kanna is not at the daycare as of now. Someone has picked her up.”
“Why in the hell would someone do that? How did that even happen?!” Kagura asked. Up to that instant she had been holding on to the mad hope that all that had happened had been some kind of joke, or a part of one of Sesshoumaru’s elaborate surprises, but seeing the look of worry displayed in the dog demon’s eyes, she knew firsthand that something had indeed happened to their daughter.
“It is something this Sesshoumaru intends to find out.” He let out the wheels in his head already turning actively. After so many trials and tribulation Sesshoumaru had finally managed to get his precious family back together, and he was not willing to let anyone destroy that.
Just as the words left Sesshoumaru’s mouth, Kagura’s phone started ringing. She made a sound of exasperation in the back of her throat, but still decided to answer. After all she did not know who was calling, and hoped it might be the day care owner letting her know that whoever had picked up Kanna had returned her. She trusted her Sesshoumaru completely, but said trust did not extend to his faithful retainer. Kagura had never liked Jaken, and would not put it past him to mess a task as simple as checking Kanna’s whereabouts at the daycare.
The wind sorceress quickly placed the phone against her ear. Her eager greeting was only met with conspicuous silence. Just as she was about to end the call after letting out a string of expletives, an all too familiar chuckle resonated on the other end of the line. Kagura’s face rapidly turned pasty white and suddenly deep down inside of her she knew exactly what had happened.
“Naraku.” She hissed vehemently.
“Hello my dear ungrateful daughter.”
“What have you done to my baby? I swear that if you’ve hurt a hair on her head, I will kill you. I will kill you with my bare fucking hands!” Kagura spat angrily.
“Ku ku ku do you really think you are in any position to make such threats? Do not forget that your precious daughter is at my mercy. Have you forgotten what I am capable of doing?” The clear menacing tone in her voice caused a shiver to go down her spine.
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“I thought I had taught you better. Did I not use my fists on you enough to have you know the answer to your stupid question?” Naraku answered, annoyance clear in his voice.
Sesshoumaru’s trained eye noticed the shiver that suddenly went through his fiancée’s body, and knew the reason for it had not been pleasure. He had interacted with Naraku enough to know that the dark hanyou would do anything to bring pain to the woman he loved and their daughter. Sesshoumaru also knew that it was his duty to thwart any plan Naraku might have.
Without hesitating for one second, the dog demon lunged forward and slipped Kagura’s cell phone out of her hand.
“What the?!...” The shocked wind sorceress turned around to face the person who had taken the device from her, and was not surprised to see none other than her lover. She opened her mouth to let Sesshoumaru know her feelings about him taking the phone from her. However the sudden warning glare Sesshoumaru sent her made her pause, but not for long. She glared back at him, letting him know that even if she did not voice it, she had not appreciated his action.
“Naraku. What is it you want this time?” Sesshoumaru spoke into the phone, using the cold impersonal voice he usually reserved for business dealings. He was not a fool, and knew that the last thing he or Kagura should do was let Naraku know how scared they were.
‘That damned spider is capable of using any possible opportunity or weakness to his advantage. However I will not let him do that. After all unlike Kagura I am not willing to let him get me riled up.’ Sesshoumaru thought even as he tightened his hold on the phone. The nervous action was the only proof of his deep anger.
“My my if it isn’t my dear son! I am so flattered to see that my dear girl has finally learned her lesson well. Instead of disrespecting me more, she passed on the phone to you so we could talk business. I really should have thought about grabbing that brat of hers sooner.”
Naraku’s words annoyed Sesshoumaru, but he kept his cool, and disregarded his remark. He then simply asked the question that he knew Naraku had been waiting for. “How much do you want?”
“I have truly always enjoyed this business side of you. Well let’s see now, why don’t I ask you a question in return? How much do you think my dear grandchild is worth? Do not forget she is my one and only grandchild.” The spider half demon asked amused even as his dark red eyes moved to look at the small child positioned at the center of the hotel bedroom he was hiding in. Kanna was hugging her beloved Kuma-chan to her chest, and trying to stay as silent as possible; Naraku had sworn to beat her if she did not keep quiet. She had seen him hurt her mother enough times not to want to get beaten up by him.
“She is not your granddaughter, and has no relations blood or other to you.” Sesshoumaru let some of his anger sip out.
“Well there is no use trying to elude the question after all…”
“How much?!” Sesshoumaru growled again, interrupting Naraku. At this point the dog demon did not care that the hanyou would be able to gloat and rejoice at having made the notoriously cold Sesshoumaru Takahashi lose his temper.
“I will give you three days to gather ten millions.” Naraku answered in a sing song voice.
“Have you lost your mind?” Sesshoumaru roared, his mind still reeling at the unfathomable figure. He knew firsthand that there was no way he would ever be able to gather that much money, especially on such short notice. From the corner of his eye he could see Kagura’s wide worried eyes looking at him with surprise, fear and anticipation dancing in them, and instead of answering her, he simply turned away from her. The last thing he wanted to see when dealing with Naraku was the haunting look in Kagura’s eyes.
“Oh? Do you mean you are unable to get the money? Ku ku ku did you hear that Kanna? Your dear daddy does not think you are worth that much money. It seems he would rather keep the money to make up a new family with your mommy and leave you with me.”
The sudden sharp intake of air Sesshoumaru heard coming from the other line let him know that Naraku had placed the receiver next to Kanna.
‘Probably with the sick and twisted aim to hurt me more, and make me angrier. As if he could push me to make a mistake so easily.’ Sesshoumaru reflected annoyed. An idea suddenly came to his mind. “Do not believe his lies!” The dog demon quickly exclaimed, hoping to reach his frightened daughter, and give her some comfort and hope.
“Tsk tsk! Such a bad boy Sesshoumaru. You should know I would not let you talk to my dear… guest without my consent first. It seems she will have to be punished for your transgression.”
At hearing Naraku’s words, Sesshoumaru suddenly had a flashback of in what shape Kagura had been when she had first come to live with him. Just the thought of Kanna covered in bruises, the like he had had to bandage on his fiancée’ body scared him. He knew that Naraku was heartless enough to do such a thing to a young child.
“There is no need for such extremes. I will do whatever you ask.”
Naraku smiled broadly at hearing the defeated words of his opponent. “Good. Then I will give you more information to let you know how we will proceed.”
Having the feeling that Naraku was about to hang up the phone, Sesshoumaru quickly spoke. “I want to speak to Kanna, and see if she is alright.”
“This is not a right you have yet earned.” With this cryptic words said in a huff, the dark hanyou hung up the phone, letting a worried Sesshoumaru listening to static noises.
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After the unsettling phone call he had received from Naraku, Sesshoumaru Takahashi was one mad demon. Kagura’s coldness did not do anything to improve Sesshoumaru’s mood. He had expected her to harass him with questions the second he would be off the phone, but she had done nothing. She was simply and silently staring at him. During their silent battle of wills, Sakura and her husband Morio were staying inconspicuously silent.
“What did he want?” Kagura gave in and finally asked. Her curiosity and fear for her daughter outweigh her anger at her fiancé. She was doing her best to stay as calm as possible, but despite her efforts could not help her crimson eyes from shooting daggers in Sesshoumaru’s direction. She after all had not forgiven him for taking her cell phone away when she was talking to Naraku. Just thinking about the dog demon’s action fanned the flames of Kagura’s anger, and she angrily snatched back her phone from Sesshoumaru’s outstretched hand. She then slipped the device back in her pocket, her eyes not leaving her fiancé’s closed off face.
“10 millions. He has given me three days to gather the money.” Sesshoumaru was very proud of himself not to have let his voice betray his anger at the situation.
“What?!” Kagura gasped in pure shock. She had known that Naraku would be up to no good, but had not expected him to ask for such an exorbitant amount of money. “He has gone insane!”
“This is preposterous! We will not let him get away with this. He has hurt this family far too many times, and it is high time we put a stop to his devilish actions.” Morio grumbled from behind the wind sorceress.
His pale faced wife took a few seconds to regain her bearings before opening her mouth. “Morio is right. We need to put an end to Naraku’s evil plans.”
“I will employ myself to this end.” Sesshoumaru vowed. Even as he spoke, his mind was thinking about who he could count on to help in his endeavor. “Come, we are leaving.” Not bothering to speak one more word, the dog demon walked towards the door, fully expecting to have Kagura dutifully follow after him.
“Do not order me like that. Talk to me! I can tell you have some idea running though your head. Whatever it is, I want in. It’s my baby that bastard took, and I intend to help you get her back.” Kagura took a hold of Sesshoumaru’s arm, making him pause. He turned around to look at her, and did not hide the annoyance in his gaze.
“Wait you two. Please listen. I think we should all calm down first of all. I think the two of you staying here for now would be better too.” Sakura spoke quickly, hoping to convince the young couple. She knew firsthand how painful being separated from her child could be hell for a mother, and Sakura truly felt sorry for her daughter.
“Naraku is probably watching your penthouse as we speak. I am sure that whatever you have planned would be more effective if that bastard had no knowledge of your plan.” The illusion demo pointed out.
“He does not know of this house?” Sesshoumaru turned to face Morio then arched an eyebrow in surprise.
“We have always made sure not to let him know. After all he already took one child away from us. What could prevent him from taking another one of our children?” Morio said thinking about how hard both he and his wife had worked to keep Naraku away from their family while still complying with his requests for money in exchange of information about Kagura’s whereabouts.
‘We have had to move several times to stay away from that bastard while allowing him to reach us in order to have information about Kagura.’ Just thinking about how much of a plague Naraku had been on his family caused the purple eyed demon to clench his fists in pure anger.
While Morio was busy thinking, Sesshoumaru was having thoughts of his own. ‘Morio is right. If I want to gather the forces, and work on taking the bastard of Naraku down, using the house of the Fujibayashis might be a good idea.’
“We shall be staying here then. Excuse me for now, I need to make some phone calls.” The dog demon said already slipping his phone out of his pocket.
“Sesshou…” Kagura stared speaking, but her fiancé simply kept on walking, then exited the room, not even sparing Kagura a comforting glance.
‘Why did he suddenly turn so cold?’ She asked herself, feeling her heart tighten even more.
Sakura walked over to her daughter and enveloped her in a tight soothing hug. “We will get Kanna back, I swear it to you.” The void demoness pressed a peck to Kagura’s temple, hoping to bring as much comfort to her daughter as possible.
Her mother’s love caused warmth to spread through Kagura while at the same time made her realize that her daughter must be scared and wishing for her own mother’s comfort. The idea of Naraku hurting her baby made tears of fear and anger pool in Kagura’s crimson gaze. Her mother’s warm arms surrounding her and Sesshoumaru’s sudden coldness did not help her get a hold of herself. Before she even realized it, she felt warm tear trailing down her cheeks.
As Kagura sobbed against her mother’s shoulder, she realized there was nothing she wanted more than to have things being just like the previous night: she holding her daughter in her arms while having Sesshoumaru next to her.
To be continued…
A/N: Here you have it dearies, a brand new update. I am sorry if it’s filled with typos. I didn’t really take the time to proofread it as I wanted to post it as quickly as possible. The next chapter will be called Rallying. It will feature Sesshoumaru’s attempt at fighting Naraku’s plan.
Converting /tmp/phphosxPk to /dev/stdout
Hello dear reader, yes this IS an update, you are not dreaming. I am so very sorry for having you guys wait so long for a new chapter, especially after such a mean cliffy. I can’t believe this story is already two years old (or that you guys are still reading it lol! :P)
I wouldn’t have been able to keep writing if I didn’t have your amazing support. I really appreciate all the reviews, story favorite/alert notices and PM’s I received for this story over the last two years. Thank you so much for being with me every step of the way!
Unfortunately this chapter isn’t that long, and won’t make the story advance a lot, but it will all be worth it in the end. I will never let the story unfinished, but I do not know when I will update next.
Thank you dear readers for your amazing support. A special mention for my great reviewers:
Syzhale
Sesshkagufan13
Little25Victor
Roguereader (All your questions about how Naraku managed to pull the kidnapping off will be answered. I do aim to please lol.)
Lemonz V
Sesshlover (Thank you for the support and the kind words!)
BookBlossom (I am glad to get new readers. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to update for the
anniversary of the story :( I’ll do my best to keep on writing for sure!)
Anana553
BlackBurningHeart
Halloween265
Disclaimer: If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…
“Talking”
‘ThoughtsR 17;
Naraku Onigumo had always been a man who believed in his great intelligence. It had taken careful planning, and a lot of thinking, but his plan had been successful. He was very proud to have worked hard, but managed to finish his plan. Even though had he been honest, he would have admitted that he, himself, was still surprised at how easily he had been able to sneak away the young child.
‘Not that it has not cost me much time and careful preparation…’ He thought to himself reflecting on his plan, a sour look on his face. He had had to push back his intervention several times, but was glad that it had all worked out in the end.
Naraku had always had some of his employees watching Kagura and Sesshoumaru while he waited for the couple to slip, and allow him to take advantage of one of their weaknesses. Therefore the second the hanyou had been informed that Kagura had enrolled her daughter in a small daycare, he had wasted no time taking his chance. He had arranged for the handyman of the small establishment to disappear then took the place of the old man as soon as a ‘help wanted’ sign had been placed on the front window of the daycare, and ads run in the newspapers.
It had been easy for Naraku to infiltrate himself, and using his charm and skills make himself indispensable to the old owner of the day care. The too often neglected older human woman had simply been too flattered to have a younger handsome man as Naraku paying her compliments to notice that he had taken a much too deep interest in one of the children in her day care, or that he had altered the file of said child.
‘At least now that my plan has come to fruition, I will not have to suck up to that horrid old hag. I could have killed her, but it would have been so messy… From now on I have to be careful lest all my efforts go to waste.’ He thought his crimson eyes resting on his young employee Mayumi, who unsuccessfully tried to feed Kanna. After all it was only the previous week that the police had come to the daycare to ask about the mysterious disappearance of their former handyman.
Naraku’s ‘boss’ had been beside herself in worry after hearing from the police officers about her old employee, and the dark hanyou had expected her to point him out to the police as a suspect any second, but a large dazzling smile from him had managed to change her mind. It had been so easy for him to plant into her head that the fact that he had known the name and information of the older man was a mere coincidence. How was the old day care owner to know that her newest employee, Naraku, had been behind the disappearance of her former faithful employee?
‘The old hag was willing to swallow up anything I would have told her. I don’t think she will rat me out to the police even if I won’t be showing my face around there anymore.’ Naraku paused in his musings on the plan he had implemented to glare at the younger woman with pale blond hair present in the room with him. The young woman’s offense had been to drop a bottle of water on the carpet of their room, causing a wet puddle to spread on the plush carpet. She was rewarded with a sharp glare, a clear promise of what was to come if she distracted him again.
‘Maybe involving the stupid bitch was a bad idea… although she was useful to pass on as Sakura.’ He grinned at the idea of how easily it had been to trick his ‘employer’ into thinking that due to her pale hair and small mirror Mayumi was actually related to Kanna. He knew that using the young woman had been a good idea; the perfect final piece to his elaborate plan.
Despite his hard efforts, he also knew he had only been careless once. The day he had had Sousuke Yamashita attack Sesshoumaru, the dog demon had almost caught him while he was watching the inu youkai drop off Kanna from inside the day care building. Naraku had quickly dodged away from the window and hid behind a thick curtain, and only thanked his lucky star that Sesshoumaru had not noticed him before leaving.
“Hum… Naraku… sorry I mean Master I don’t know why, but she won’t eat.” Mayumi said, cutting through Naraku’s thoughts.
“Why would I care? Let her starve if she wants to.” The hanyou said, a warning flashing in his crimson gaze.
“Yes of course, forgive me.” Mayumi wasted no time coming to her knees in front of her employer/master. She was now able to read his moods, and knew that he was happy, and intended to do everything to keep him this way.
He chose to ignore Mayumi’s relieved sigh, or the way she struggled to come to her feet, probably due to the bruises still covering her back courtesy of his blows, and instead focused his cold hard gaze on the scowling infant seated on the bed of the hotel room they were hiding into.
“Now now Kanna, why don’t you smile for your loving grandpa?” He chuckled, asking the infant. “I did bring you back your favorite blanket, did I not?” He pointed with a long pale finger to the white woolen fabric resting on the young child’s lap. It was the very same blanket Kagura had hand knitted for her daughter before she had even been born. The blanket that in her haste to leave Naraku’s house Kagura had forgotten behind.
Even if she ran her fingers along the comforting soft white fabric, Kanna did not bother to answer Naraku’s words. She did not even act as if she had heard him. She kept her face blank as she still remembered her mother telling her that there was nothing Naraku liked more than to take advantage of your fear. Her lack of response annoyed the spider half demon, and he therefore decided to kick things up a notch.
“Well then your ungrateful brat, how would you like to talk to your mommy?” He grinned at seeing the sudden light that came on in Kanna’s dark eyes, and wasted no time reaching over for the phone on the side table.
Kanna snuggled her beloved Kuma-chan closer to her chest. At that moment she really regretted not telling her parents that Naraku had been the cause of her recurring nightmares before Sakura had started helping her control her powers. She had through her mirror accidently overheard a conversation Naraku had had with one of his employees discussing Kanna’s enrollment in a small daycare facility. She knew from witnessing her mother’s abuse that Naraku was up to no good, and she had therefore immediately worried about what he intended to do. The young void demoness could not help but wonder if Naraku would have been able to snatch her away if she had warned Sesshoumaru of the dark hanyou’s possible plan.
‘Mommy. Sesshoumaru. Please come get me’ She thought to herself, forcing back tears.
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“What’s wrong?” Kagura asked her fiancé.
“It seems that the day care owner was telling the truth. I sent Jaken to check on things, and Kanna is not at the daycare as of now. Someone has picked her up.”
“Why in the hell would someone do that? How did that even happen?!” Kagura asked. Up to that instant she had been holding on to the mad hope that all that had happened had been some kind of joke, or a part of one of Sesshoumaru’s elaborate surprises, but seeing the look of worry displayed in the dog demon’s eyes, she knew firsthand that something had indeed happened to their daughter.
“It is something this Sesshoumaru intends to find out.” He let out the wheels in his head already turning actively. After so many trials and tribulation Sesshoumaru had finally managed to get his precious family back together, and he was not willing to let anyone destroy that.
Just as the words left Sesshoumaru’s mouth, Kagura’s phone started ringing. She made a sound of exasperation in the back of her throat, but still decided to answer. After all she did not know who was calling, and hoped it might be the day care owner letting her know that whoever had picked up Kanna had returned her. She trusted her Sesshoumaru completely, but said trust did not extend to his faithful retainer. Kagura had never liked Jaken, and would not put it past him to mess a task as simple as checking Kanna’s whereabouts at the daycare.
The wind sorceress quickly placed the phone against her ear. Her eager greeting was only met with conspicuous silence. Just as she was about to end the call after letting out a string of expletives, an all too familiar chuckle resonated on the other end of the line. Kagura’s face rapidly turned pasty white and suddenly deep down inside of her she knew exactly what had happened.
“Naraku.” She hissed vehemently.
“Hello my dear ungrateful daughter.”
“What have you done to my baby? I swear that if you’ve hurt a hair on her head, I will kill you. I will kill you with my bare fucking hands!” Kagura spat angrily.
“Ku ku ku do you really think you are in any position to make such threats? Do not forget that your precious daughter is at my mercy. Have you forgotten what I am capable of doing?” The clear menacing tone in her voice caused a shiver to go down her spine.
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“I thought I had taught you better. Did I not use my fists on you enough to have you know the answer to your stupid question?” Naraku answered, annoyance clear in his voice.
Sesshoumaru’s trained eye noticed the shiver that suddenly went through his fiancée’s body, and knew the reason for it had not been pleasure. He had interacted with Naraku enough to know that the dark hanyou would do anything to bring pain to the woman he loved and their daughter. Sesshoumaru also knew that it was his duty to thwart any plan Naraku might have.
Without hesitating for one second, the dog demon lunged forward and slipped Kagura’s cell phone out of her hand.
“What the?!...” The shocked wind sorceress turned around to face the person who had taken the device from her, and was not surprised to see none other than her lover. She opened her mouth to let Sesshoumaru know her feelings about him taking the phone from her. However the sudden warning glare Sesshoumaru sent her made her pause, but not for long. She glared back at him, letting him know that even if she did not voice it, she had not appreciated his action.
“Naraku. What is it you want this time?” Sesshoumaru spoke into the phone, using the cold impersonal voice he usually reserved for business dealings. He was not a fool, and knew that the last thing he or Kagura should do was let Naraku know how scared they were.
‘That damned spider is capable of using any possible opportunity or weakness to his advantage. However I will not let him do that. After all unlike Kagura I am not willing to let him get me riled up.’ Sesshoumaru thought even as he tightened his hold on the phone. The nervous action was the only proof of his deep anger.
“My my if it isn’t my dear son! I am so flattered to see that my dear girl has finally learned her lesson well. Instead of disrespecting me more, she passed on the phone to you so we could talk business. I really should have thought about grabbing that brat of hers sooner.”
Naraku’s words annoyed Sesshoumaru, but he kept his cool, and disregarded his remark. He then simply asked the question that he knew Naraku had been waiting for. “How much do you want?”
“I have truly always enjoyed this business side of you. Well let’s see now, why don’t I ask you a question in return? How much do you think my dear grandchild is worth? Do not forget she is my one and only grandchild.” The spider half demon asked amused even as his dark red eyes moved to look at the small child positioned at the center of the hotel bedroom he was hiding in. Kanna was hugging her beloved Kuma-chan to her chest, and trying to stay as silent as possible; Naraku had sworn to beat her if she did not keep quiet. She had seen him hurt her mother enough times not to want to get beaten up by him.
“She is not your granddaughter, and has no relations blood or other to you.” Sesshoumaru let some of his anger sip out.
“Well there is no use trying to elude the question after all…”
“How much?!” Sesshoumaru growled again, interrupting Naraku. At this point the dog demon did not care that the hanyou would be able to gloat and rejoice at having made the notoriously cold Sesshoumaru Takahashi lose his temper.
“I will give you three days to gather ten millions.” Naraku answered in a sing song voice.
“Have you lost your mind?” Sesshoumaru roared, his mind still reeling at the unfathomable figure. He knew firsthand that there was no way he would ever be able to gather that much money, especially on such short notice. From the corner of his eye he could see Kagura’s wide worried eyes looking at him with surprise, fear and anticipation dancing in them, and instead of answering her, he simply turned away from her. The last thing he wanted to see when dealing with Naraku was the haunting look in Kagura’s eyes.
“Oh? Do you mean you are unable to get the money? Ku ku ku did you hear that Kanna? Your dear daddy does not think you are worth that much money. It seems he would rather keep the money to make up a new family with your mommy and leave you with me.”
The sudden sharp intake of air Sesshoumaru heard coming from the other line let him know that Naraku had placed the receiver next to Kanna.
‘Probably with the sick and twisted aim to hurt me more, and make me angrier. As if he could push me to make a mistake so easily.’ Sesshoumaru reflected annoyed. An idea suddenly came to his mind. “Do not believe his lies!” The dog demon quickly exclaimed, hoping to reach his frightened daughter, and give her some comfort and hope.
“Tsk tsk! Such a bad boy Sesshoumaru. You should know I would not let you talk to my dear… guest without my consent first. It seems she will have to be punished for your transgression.”
At hearing Naraku’s words, Sesshoumaru suddenly had a flashback of in what shape Kagura had been when she had first come to live with him. Just the thought of Kanna covered in bruises, the like he had had to bandage on his fiancée’ body scared him. He knew that Naraku was heartless enough to do such a thing to a young child.
“There is no need for such extremes. I will do whatever you ask.”
Naraku smiled broadly at hearing the defeated words of his opponent. “Good. Then I will give you more information to let you know how we will proceed.”
Having the feeling that Naraku was about to hang up the phone, Sesshoumaru quickly spoke. “I want to speak to Kanna, and see if she is alright.”
“This is not a right you have yet earned.” With this cryptic words said in a huff, the dark hanyou hung up the phone, letting a worried Sesshoumaru listening to static noises.
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 000000000000000000000000
After the unsettling phone call he had received from Naraku, Sesshoumaru Takahashi was one mad demon. Kagura’s coldness did not do anything to improve Sesshoumaru’s mood. He had expected her to harass him with questions the second he would be off the phone, but she had done nothing. She was simply and silently staring at him. During their silent battle of wills, Sakura and her husband Morio were staying inconspicuously silent.
“What did he want?” Kagura gave in and finally asked. Her curiosity and fear for her daughter outweigh her anger at her fiancé. She was doing her best to stay as calm as possible, but despite her efforts could not help her crimson eyes from shooting daggers in Sesshoumaru’s direction. She after all had not forgiven him for taking her cell phone away when she was talking to Naraku. Just thinking about the dog demon’s action fanned the flames of Kagura’s anger, and she angrily snatched back her phone from Sesshoumaru’s outstretched hand. She then slipped the device back in her pocket, her eyes not leaving her fiancé’s closed off face.
“10 millions. He has given me three days to gather the money.” Sesshoumaru was very proud of himself not to have let his voice betray his anger at the situation.
“What?!” Kagura gasped in pure shock. She had known that Naraku would be up to no good, but had not expected him to ask for such an exorbitant amount of money. “He has gone insane!”
“This is preposterous! We will not let him get away with this. He has hurt this family far too many times, and it is high time we put a stop to his devilish actions.” Morio grumbled from behind the wind sorceress.
His pale faced wife took a few seconds to regain her bearings before opening her mouth. “Morio is right. We need to put an end to Naraku’s evil plans.”
“I will employ myself to this end.” Sesshoumaru vowed. Even as he spoke, his mind was thinking about who he could count on to help in his endeavor. “Come, we are leaving.” Not bothering to speak one more word, the dog demon walked towards the door, fully expecting to have Kagura dutifully follow after him.
“Do not order me like that. Talk to me! I can tell you have some idea running though your head. Whatever it is, I want in. It’s my baby that bastard took, and I intend to help you get her back.” Kagura took a hold of Sesshoumaru’s arm, making him pause. He turned around to look at her, and did not hide the annoyance in his gaze.
“Wait you two. Please listen. I think we should all calm down first of all. I think the two of you staying here for now would be better too.” Sakura spoke quickly, hoping to convince the young couple. She knew firsthand how painful being separated from her child could be hell for a mother, and Sakura truly felt sorry for her daughter.
“Naraku is probably watching your penthouse as we speak. I am sure that whatever you have planned would be more effective if that bastard had no knowledge of your plan.” The illusion demo pointed out.
“He does not know of this house?” Sesshoumaru turned to face Morio then arched an eyebrow in surprise.
“We have always made sure not to let him know. After all he already took one child away from us. What could prevent him from taking another one of our children?” Morio said thinking about how hard both he and his wife had worked to keep Naraku away from their family while still complying with his requests for money in exchange of information about Kagura’s whereabouts.
‘We have had to move several times to stay away from that bastard while allowing him to reach us in order to have information about Kagura.’ Just thinking about how much of a plague Naraku had been on his family caused the purple eyed demon to clench his fists in pure anger.
While Morio was busy thinking, Sesshoumaru was having thoughts of his own. ‘Morio is right. If I want to gather the forces, and work on taking the bastard of Naraku down, using the house of the Fujibayashis might be a good idea.’
“We shall be staying here then. Excuse me for now, I need to make some phone calls.” The dog demon said already slipping his phone out of his pocket.
“Sesshou…” Kagura stared speaking, but her fiancé simply kept on walking, then exited the room, not even sparing Kagura a comforting glance.
‘Why did he suddenly turn so cold?’ She asked herself, feeling her heart tighten even more.
Sakura walked over to her daughter and enveloped her in a tight soothing hug. “We will get Kanna back, I swear it to you.” The void demoness pressed a peck to Kagura’s temple, hoping to bring as much comfort to her daughter as possible.
Her mother’s love caused warmth to spread through Kagura while at the same time made her realize that her daughter must be scared and wishing for her own mother’s comfort. The idea of Naraku hurting her baby made tears of fear and anger pool in Kagura’s crimson gaze. Her mother’s warm arms surrounding her and Sesshoumaru’s sudden coldness did not help her get a hold of herself. Before she even realized it, she felt warm tear trailing down her cheeks.
As Kagura sobbed against her mother’s shoulder, she realized there was nothing she wanted more than to have things being just like the previous night: she holding her daughter in her arms while having Sesshoumaru next to her.
To be continued…
A/N: Here you have it dearies, a brand new update. I am sorry if it’s filled with typos. I didn’t really take the time to proofread it as I wanted to post it as quickly as possible. The next chapter will be called Rallying. It will feature Sesshoumaru’s attempt at fighting Naraku’s plan.
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