InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The New Student and Kagome's Secret ❯ Chapter 43: At Last! The Castle! ( Chapter 44 )

A/N: Hey guys! I have a question for you! Do you think I should try to feature this fanfic? I was just wondering. It seems to be pretty popular and I just thought that maybe you guys might have some suggestions. I was just thinking about how much I would love for this fanfic to be featured. If you think it should be then tell me what you like so much about it and then go the Featured FanFics section and submit it for me. I would do it, but I am the author. I would like to know what the fans like most about this fic.

Also I would like to apologize for the severe lack of my presence in on this site. It turns out that my computer has been down. I just moved into a new apartment and EVERYTHING was wrong with it. My bedroom door was bashed in, the stove didn't work, the laundry door was hanging off the hinges, my toilet didn't work, our rooms were filthy, there was a hole in the kitchen wall, and to top it all off, I have been here for around a month and the air conditioning has broken seven times!!! And that's just a summary of everything that was wrong with it. To top it all off, my computer caught a virus terminating this chapter, so I had to rewrite it! AGH! *bashes head against wall many times* I love you guys for sticking with me though! *blow kisses* THANKS! I try to be a good little authoress, but things keep forcing me not to be one! GAH!!! Oh well, on with the next chapter….with hopefully no more delays!

Chapter 43

Much to the joy and relief of a certain hanyou, they were out of the city and walking through the countryside towards the castle. Everyone walked in the same fashion with Myouga leading, Sango and Miroku following close behind, and Kirara accompanied by Shippo on her head and Kagome on her back. Inuyasha remained close to Kagome the entire way. It was almost as if he was going to be sure he was there in case anything happened…even if it was something good like her waking up.

The countryside was absolutely breathtaking. There were rolling hills adorned with healthy, bright green grass and wildflowers, and a small forest bordered the magnificent landscape. Even the dirt path they now walked on seemed exquisite in that it was brilliant beige in color. Its surface was as smooth as glass and perfectly defined a clean-cut edge along the grass. Charming cottages were scattered throughout the small hills, and a small rippling brook of the cleanest, clearest water they had ever seen made its way through the hills growing wider and deeper, then circling around the back of the forest until it disappeared from sight. The sun shone brightly overhead and a light breeze blew through their hair relaxing them and enticing their senses. Small children flew kites and played what appeared to be kickball in the distance as their dogs barked playfully at their heels.

Sango and Miroku seemed absolutely amazed, yet Inuyasha was unfazed. In fact, he acted as if he did not want to realize where he was nor what was going on around him. He kept his eyes focused straight ahead towards his destination in his usual position with his arms folded into the sleeves of his haori.

"There she is!" Myouga said suddenly. "The castle is just over the hill! We'll be there in no time!"

"Thank God!" Sango said as she breathed a sigh of relief. "It will be so good to finally sleep in a nice, warm bed."

"That's if the beds are even there," Inuyasha retorted. Miroku and Sango glanced back at Inuyasha.

"What do you mean?" Miroku asked.

"The place was probably ransacked and pillaged after the villagers found out Sesshoumaru was dead," Inuyasha said flatly. "From what Myouga said he wasn't exactly Mr. Popularity."

"Really, do tell, Myouga," Miroku said looking at Myouga.

"Inuyasha is probably right. We will be lucky if the place is in half the condition it was when I left. The people hated Sesshoumaru. He was the reason a lot of people began to hate demons all together. He was ruthless, relentless, and cruel. He had no compassion or sympathy for others, and had a stare so cold that it froze anyone who opposed him in their tracks. Many attempted to overthrow Sesshoumaru, and all of them paid dearly for it with their lives. No one could stand up to Sesshoumaru and win, and with the former Lord and Lady deceased and Inuyasha gone, there was no one to challenge him. Then he found out about the prophecy and kept his eye on Kagome's every move. He never located Inuyasha long enough to find a solid location because he would always disappear beneath the tetsusaiga's barrier or disguise himself with different hairstyles and scents. Sesshoumaru knew Inuyasha was somewhere in the Eastern City but did not know where to look. Finally, when Kagome's powers were revealed, he didn't wait any longer. He immediately began forming a legion of demons to attack the humans before Kagome could realize the full strength of her powers. He had been planning it for some time, and he was also very aware that a friendship had been formed between Kagome and Inuyasha and that it would lure Inuyasha out of hiding if he knew Kagome was in danger. When the demons arrived at the castle, there was a lot of chaos, and I fled during all of the commotion to warn Inuyasha and the rest of you of what was taking place. Fortunately, I'm a demon, so the other demons thought nothing of it when they saw me racing towards the Eastern Lands. They assumed I was on their side until I arrived in the Eastern Lands. When I arrived, the battle had been going on for quite some time. They soon figured out whose side I was on. I managed to fight off a few of them until I could find a safe place to hide. Then I found you guys, and now we are here," Myouga said, finally finished with his long story.

"Okay, that was a nice trip down memory lane, but what the hell does that have to do with the castle?!" Inuyasha retorted. "I mean, you told us all of that and never made a point!"

"My point is, sire, that while I was running towards the Eastern City with the other demons, I noticed a few villagers edging their way towards the castle," Myouga said matter-of-factly. "It was a perfect idea. In fact, it's the way many of the villagers survived. Sesshoumaru had gathered all of his forces and had abandoned the castle. There was no one left to guard the castle against intruders. So, the villagers used it as a safe haven. But there is no telling what they did to it after they found out Sesshoumaru had supposedly been killed."

"Very true," Sango said. "I guess I understand that."

The group continued walking up the hill. They were almost there. They should be able to see the castle just over the top of the hill. They had been through so much and traveled for so long, but they had finally made it. The sun shone brightly overhead slightly blurring their vision when they reached the top of the hill. As soon as their eyes adjusted to the extra light at the top of the hill, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo gasped. There, at the bottom of the hill, stood the most magnificent castle they had ever seen. It was enormous. It was four stories high, but stretched for acres. It looked as though it was many connecting mansions. The front building was the tallest and the largest with two slightly smaller, identical buildings on either side of it. Connecting and stretching back behind those two were two very long and narrow buildings that left an opening of space between them. A perfectly, rectangular structure connected itself to the two narrow buildings. It too was open in the center.

(A/N: Above should be a rough…*ahem*…very rough sketch of what the castle should look like from an arial view but I don't know if it is going to show up or not once I post it online so if you see a bunch of weird lines all over the place then it didn't turn out, but if it actually looks like a building then remember that this place is HUGE!)

The castle looked as if it was made of a pale cream colored concrete, and had a black roof that came to a point in the middle and at each corner (A/N: the reason I said pointed is because I am trying to refer to the roof of a castle on the actual show…that's what the roof looks like). The entire castle was surrounded by a tall, wall made of different colors of beige brick. An elegant, black marble porch with three steps stretched away from the house in a half circle fashion allowing for a lovely balcony to be supported above by four tall, cream colored pillars. A deep red pathway led from the front door, also a deep red, towards a huge, black iron, front gate…the only means of access to the premises. From their altitude, they could see within the walls of the castle, and what they saw was truly amazing. Not only was the building's stature and mere size amazing, but its landscape was equally magnificent. Bright green grass, beautiful shrubbery, a variety of flowers, ponds and fountains, and many other things adorned this wonderful place Inuyasha had once called home.

Sango glanced at Inuyasha. She noticed that for some reason, he didn't seemed fazed by the sight at all. In fact, he seemed somewhat timid. All of those memories, everything he had tried to put behind him, was now staring him in the face, daring him to awaken the deep, dark past he had tried so desperately to forget. He stood there, emotionless…staring at the castle as if he were frozen in time and it just so happened the castle was in his line of vision. His face held no emotion and he didn't move. He just stared at the castle and didn't flinch. The last time he had seen the castle was when he was witnessing his own parents' deaths right in front of him. Now, he stood there with nothing to fear…and couldn't move a muscle.

Sango nudged Miroku and motioned towards Inuyasha. Miroku immediately picked up on Inuyasha's disposition and a look of worry came across his face. Myouga suddenly realized what they were staring at as well and decided it was time to break Inuyasha out of his trance.

"Master Inuyasha?" Myouga said timidly. Inuyasha looked at him. "Shall we proceed?"

Inuyasha took a deep breath and nodded his head. Myouga nodded and began leading the way with Inuyasha right behind him with Kirara carrying Kagome and Shippo beside him.

"I've never seen Inuyasha act like this," Sango said out of concern.

"Neither have I," Miroku replied. "I think it's best if we don't say anything to him about it though. He is probably going through a lot psychologically right now…though he would never admit it to us. Let's just pretend we don't notice. If he wants to talk about it, he will come to us."

"I agree," Sango said with a nod, and she and Miroku immediately followed Inuyasha and the others.

"Man!" Inuyasha retorted. "Just how long is that damn girl going to be out?!"

Sango and Miroku secretly smiled. They knew Inuyasha was trying to put on a tough and annoyed disposition in order check up on Kagome's condition, but they knew that he was really worried about her.

"Have patience, Inuyasha," Miroku said. "Kagome has really worked herself hard. She's saved an entire race from total annihilation and faced Bankotsu. Just be happy she isn't dead."

"Feh!" Inuyasha said folding his arms even tighter into his haori and sinking his neck down into his shoulders. He had to admit that just the thought of Kagome dying hurt like hell. He knew he wouldn't be able to go on if it really happened one day. He shook his head of these thoughts and continued walking.

Kirara looked over her shoulder at Kagome. She nudged her with her nose, but then allowed her ears to droop a little when Kagome didn't respond.

"It's okay, Kirara," Shippo said, encouraging his fellow demon friend. "Kagome will be okay. She's been through a lot worse than this."

Kirara's ears perked up and she slightly smiled. Inuyasha stared at Shippo in disbelief, but then smiled and shook his head. The little runt had grown quite fond of Kagome. He was surprised the little kitsune was being so positive about her condition, but even Inuyasha knew Shippo had a point. Kagome had been through a lot worse. He too, knew she was going to be okay, but the suspense was killing him. He wanted to KNOW she was going to be okay.

Everyone except Inuyasha and Myouga gasped as they reached the huge iron gate. It was bigger than it had looked from the hill. In fact it was huge. When Myouga said Inuyasha's father had built the castle as a safe haven for his family, he wasn't kidding. The wall surrounding the castle was two stories high and completely made of solid stone. The black iron gate looked intimidating and enticing, but also impenetrable. Miroku and Sango looked over at Myouga who calmly walked to the gate.

"Feh!" Inuyasha retorted. "I could jump over this in a heartbeat!"

He was about to leap into the air when Myouga stopped him.

"NO!" Myouga shouted. "Obviously you don't remember! The height of the wall was merely to prevent taller demons from peering in on the Lord's family. Your father cast a protective and powerful barrier around this castle. If you jump up and try to get in, it will fry you to a crisp."

"You wanna tell me information like that a little bit sooner next time!" Inuyasha shouted giving Myouga a slight lump on the head. "I could've been killed you stupid flea!"

"Forgive me, Lord Inuyasha," Myouga said bowing slightly.

"Inu…yasha…" came a calm, innocent, sweet voice.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha said aloud as his ears followed by his body turned in her direction.

"Lady Kagome!" Miroku said.

"She must be okay!" Sango shouted.

Shippo spun around and leaned over Kagome's motionless figure. Everyone gathered around thinking she was going to awake at any second. They all waited patiently, but her eyes remained closed and her body motionless. Then, she suddenly spoke.

"Inu…yasha…" Kagome muttered again. Inuyasha bent down so he could be at eye level with Kagome and stared at her.

"I'm right here," he said quickly, hoping she would answer. "What is it?"

Everyone waited for a few seconds before her weak response came.

"Inuyasha," she muttered as everyone leaned in closer, eagerly awaiting her response.

"Sit."

*WHAM*

Sango and Shippo gasped, but Miroku and Myouga immediately had a huge grin on their face as they were holding back fits of laughter.

"Grrrrrr," Inuyasha growled as he lifted his from the dirt. "Kaaaaagoooomeeeee, what the hell was that for?!"

Then, everyone lost it. They started laughing hysterically. Inuyasha stood up and brushed himself off glaring at everyone that laughed at him.

"Looks like Kagome's protects us even in her sleep!" Shippo said through his laughter.

"Ha ha!" Sango laughed. "Yeah! She must have `sensed' you being mean to Myouga again!"

Inuyasha growled as he balled his fists at his sides, his anger visibly rising within him. He then whirled around turning his back on his friends, growling and mumbling to himself, and folded his arms into his haori.

"I DON'T find ANY of this funny!" Inuyasha said. "It's these stupid prayer beads! Damn you Miroku! You're lucky Kagome's sick or I would kill you right now! I already plan on killing that old hag once we get back to the Eastern Lands! Let's just do this and get it overwith!"

Everyone soon stopped laughing. Myouga walked back over to the gate. Inuyasha's words played in everyone's minds, however. Myouga reached to the left of the gate and placed his hand on the wall, and closed his eyes. Did Inuyasha really intend on returning to the East? They looked back at Myouga. It was very obvious he was concentrating very hard.

Suddenly, the group heard a clang and the huge iron gate slowly began to screech open. They all watched in wonder as the gate completely opened to reveal the red flush carpet leading their way to the door of the castle.

"Welcome back, Lord Inuyasha," Myouga said.

Inuyasha took a cautious step onto the soft, red carpet. His senses were keen as he looked around the area in front of him. Everything flooded his memory at once. He couldn't believe it. It had been so long…so many years. He took another step and then another and slowly regained a normal walking pace. Sango and Miroku exchanged glances. They noticed Inuyasha's peculiar behavior but said nothing as they followed him to the entrance. Five black marble steps led up to the tall, red double doors. Inuyasha took a deep breath and reached for the door, but Myouga suddenly touched his shoulder.

"Are you sure you want to do this, my Lord," Myouga asked. "There's no telling what's behind those doors."

"Myouga," Inuyasha said with a heavy heart. "We've come this far. There's no turning back now."

Myouga nodded and released Inuyasha so he could proceed. Inuyasha glanced around at his friends one more time. They all looked upon him with such loving and encouraging faces. They were the first friends and really the only friends he had ever had. He knew that now. They all had come so far with him just to be supportive. He glanced at Kagome. Even in her weakened state she pushed herself to be by his side. She never thought twice about being there for him, even when he pushed her away and was mean and rude to her. He smiled slightly.

`If it's the last thing I do, Kagome,' he said to himself. `I promise to make everything up to you some day. Keeping you alive and safe is the most important thing right now. When I am certain things will be okay…*sigh*…that is a day I will long for.'

Inuyasha took a deep breath and swung open the mighty double doors….

A/N: Dun, dun, dun! Muhahahahaha! Okay so I left a cliffy! But I had to! The chapter was getting kind of long and I just had to end it right there! It was too perfect to resist! But I promise to update soon! I know I have said that before, but I really have no excuse. My computer is "supposedly" working now and I'm done with sorority recruitment, and I am moved into my new apartment and no one, except me, is sick! YAY!

Please tell me what you think! Thanks so much! *blows kisses to fans* I love you guys!