InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Through The Eyes Of An Innocent ❯ Chapter Six ( Chapter 6 )

---

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

Through The Eyes Of An Innocent: Chapter Six

Everything seemed so dark.

He didn't except everything to look like it was now, the sky completely gray - random sunrays making their way through the thick condensed rain clouds. When he had first arrived within the Northern Lands everything that he had set his eyes on were green luscious and majestic, but now it all looked so cold and desolate.

The birds had stopped singing, and crickets stopped chirping - Inuyasha found himself preferring the sun as opposed to the rain. He didn't know why he like the sun rather than the blackened sky, but he had a suspicion that it had something to with the fact that his castle was in the mountains and it was usually dark and desolate there as well.

But whatever it was, he knew that it didn't matter because he had other things he had to think about - such as what Kikyou had told Sango and him about her group. Inuyasha still could not believe what they had said. Never in his wildest dreams would he have expected them to be - of all things - rebels.

He himself thought that they were working for a lost cause, but everything Kikyou had told him, everything that was said - he couldn't believe his ears.

The Empress herself was the daughter of a man who had slaughtered hundreds for no reason. Kikyou's family had been lost within that simple revolution and all she wanted was revenge but - Inuyasha felt that it had to have been the most selfish thing he had ever heard. To take the life of another just for one's own benefit - he knew that everyone was meant to die for death was inevitable, but to simply speed up the process - he truly did not understand hate.

Life was so precious and despite the fact that many people lost their lives over a simple thing such as hate - Inuyasha sighed heavily, rubbing his temples. He really did not wish to think about all the blood that had been spilled during that revolution.

He could still picture that nasty scar that went across one of Kikyou's comrades throat - and he inwardly wondered how she even managed to stay alive. The woman herself seemed cold and isolated - her burgundy eyes dark and filled with hate. If Inuyasha could remember correctly Kikyou said that her name was Kagura -

"Inuyasha?" His golden eyes scanned the area at the sound of his name and he sighed in a sense of relief as Sango walked over to him, her boomerang positioned carefully against her back. In truth he had not expected to see her with her weapon, because Kikyou had told them what would happen if they were caught outside with them - but he guessed that Sango really did not care.

"Yeah." It was more of a statement rather than a question, and almost immediately Inuyasha plopped down on the wet dewy grass, and turned his golden eyes skyward. Sango sat down next to Inuyasha and she too looked at the sky, frowning at how dark the sky suddenly looked.

"It's so much different than home isn't it?" Sango asked, deciding to stray away from what she originally wanted to talk about. Inuyasha glanced at his friend, an eyebrow raised in question before he turned his eyes back towards the gloomy sky and sighed audibly.

"Yeah, in a sense I miss the mountains - the snow and the wind, but I could get used to this." Inuyasha spoke softly, folding his arms across his chest before letting out another sigh.

"You know, Kikyou was wondering if we could help -"

"No. I don't want to be any part of it. Besides she said that she already had someone in the castle, we'll just leave it to them. Besides you know just as well as I do that Sesshoumaru will kill us if we worry to much about their cause as opposed to ours," and then almost as if seeing Sango's sympathetic look Inuyasha quickly added, " and whether or not you pity them it's none of our business. Their families were massacred and -"

"But what if it was Kohaku, Inuyasha? He's like a little brother to you right? Well think of him getting killed right before your very eyes." Sango replied calmly, although Inuyasha could sense the underlying tone of fear within her voice.

"But it wasn't Kohaku, Sango. If it was - then yes maybe I would want to help them, but it wasn't so it's none of our business."

"How do you expect us to get into the castle then Inuyasha? They already have someone working in the castle - if we agree to work with them perhaps they can get us into the castle with little or no suspicion." Sango pressed.

Inuyasha merely glanced at her skeptically, an eyebrow raised in disbelief. Did she honestly want to help Kikyou's rebels that badly? If so, then why? She had barely known them for an entire day and already she was feeling completely sympathetic. That simple thought alone perturbed Inuyasha. In all of the time that he had known the young Lady he had never expected her to be so - soft. She was usually ruthless and emotionless (except for when she was around her younger brother) and very tough on her soldiers.

But now - just because some people lost their families at a young age she pitied them and wanted to help them. He knew that it probably had something to do with the fact that her mother had died when she was only a child and her younger brother, Kohaku, was simply a baby - but she had been raised rather well.

She probably just didn't want to see them go through the same type of pain that she had to go through at such a young age - and he knew that if that would have happened to her then she would have gone completely crazy and slaughtered the perpetrator immediately.

Sighing wistfully Inuyasha shook his head. She did make some extremely valid points. Kikyou's faction did already have someone in the palace working for them - and they could enter the palace without any trouble, after all they would know every passageway, every room, and everyone's schedule. It would only be too easy.

But - it was still none of their business, and - Inuyasha sighed once more before turning to look at Sango, his gold eyes shining with an unanswered question. As soon as she looked into his eyes she could see that simple question and could not help but smile - she was victorious.

"We only have to report to them, and help get them into the castle at a certain day. They only want to know the schedule of one of the nobles - Lord Higurashi I think his name was. Anyways, I am going to go tell Kikyou that we are going to help them. " And with that, Sango stood up and raced down the small hill that they both sat on, her boomerang bobbing up and down.

Inwardly, Inuyasha wandered why her weapon hadn't been taken away from her - but that thought was cut short as the few drops of rain pelted his body, threatening to soak him completely.

_____________________________________________

They said her name was Kanna, and Inuyasha couldn't care less.

Her eyes were so blank and empty, her voice cold and intimidating, and her stance so straight and perfect - and he was forced to room with her. She did not act like she truly wished to speak with him, or that she wanted to room with him.

All she had managed to do when Kikyou informed him that he would be sharing with him was glance at him - her pale hazel almost white eyes staring through his soul. It unnerved him greatly to know that a simple girl who looked so young could send chills up his spine, but what made it even worse was the fact that she was so emotionless.

He had been told that she was Kagura's younger sister, and she had lived through those scarring moments, just as Kagura had done - but unlike her older sister she had made is out unscathed. The only thing that had changed about her was the fact that she had become less cheerful, more emotionless, and she allowed hate to fuel her emotions. Even though she had an extremely stoic exterior, Inuyasha knew that inside - she was raging.

Whether or not Kanna was happy about the fact that she made another ally - one who was skilled in combat - or not, he didn't know. Quite frankly he found himself not caring whether or not she approved of him because - it didn't matter in the long run. It wasn't like he was truly going to help them anyways. He would simply leave everything up to the other accomplice within the palace.

Cracking his knuckles he rolled out a blanket, ignoring the frigid glance that was sent his way by Kanna, and started to straighten everything out on the damp dirt floor. He inwardly wandered why they didn't have wood, or carpeting on the floor, but then again he had to remember that he was living with peasants and -

"I don't trust you." Kanna whispered, her voice low and somewhat melodic. Inuyasha merely raised an eyebrow before shrugging his shoulders and making himself comfortable on his makeshift bed.

"Kikyou normally has better judgment but - what can you expect from a carbon copy?" Kanna asked, watching Inuyasha with those lifeless hazel-white eyes. That simple statement alone was enough to get Inuyasha to turn towards the woman-child, his eyebrow raised in question.

"What do you mean carbon copy?" Inuyasha asked, sitting up slowly to look at Kanna levelly. Kanna merely shrugged before making herself comfortable on her own blanket, and looking over towards Inuyasha, her hazel eyes sparkling.

"You were accounted for at the presentation ceremony, Kikyou resembles Lady Higura - Empress Yokoshima immensely. That is the only reason why she seemed so withdrawn today. She was angry that something as filthy as that creature could even remotely resemble her or vice versa." Kanna explained calmly, ignoring the look of surprise that had found its way across Inuyasha's handsome features.

"It sounds like you hold more dislike for Kikyou than you do for Empress Yokoshima."

"That is where you are true. Ever since I saw that saddened look in her eyes at the presentation ceremony - she doesn't deserve the fate that was bestowed upon her. But now - Kikyou wants to dispose of her as well, simply because Kikyou is her carbon copy. It is quite amusing don't you think?" However, Kanna's face displayed no emotion. She simply looked blank - her voice had not risen or lowered throughout that entire explanation - it merely stayed the same.

It confused Inuyasha as to why she would feel so strongly about the entire situation when he got the impression that she seemingly did not have any emotions - or seemed to care at all about the situation, but he found himself feeling extremely wrong. If Kanna had not cared about the fate of the Empress then why was she so against Kikyou's decision?

'She doesn't deserve the fate that was bestowed upon her.'

'And she doesn't. I saw the pain in her eyes as she was forced to go out and be presented to the Northern Lands. She doesn't want it.'

"You look like you have reached Enlightenment." Kanna stated blandly, reaching up to push a stray lock of silvery hair out of her face. Inuyasha glanced at her, a scowl apparent on his face. He had barely known her for a day and already she was assuming to know what he was like - that thought alone infuriated him.

"Keh." Inuyasha mumbled out before crossing his arms across his chest and turning away from Kanna.

"If I were you, I would get out of this while you still can. Kikyou only thinks about her bitter feelings, and in the end we will be forced to perish."

"Then why did you join this pathetic excuse of a rebellion?" Inuyasha asked, his attention reverted back to the woman-child.

"Because - my life was supposed to be taken years ago - I am only speeding up the process." And with that Kanna blew out the single candle that illuminated the room and lay down to go to sleep, leaving a confused Inuyasha to ponder over his thoughts in the now damp cold room.

_______________________________________

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow.

Never in his entire life had he expected the correspondent to be a child. Was Kikyou really that selfish to use a child to do her dirty work? He could understand if Kikyou had sent Kanna in - after all she did not seem to care about whether or not she lost her life - but for a child who looked as young as this one did - it made him start to dislike this decision more and more.

After all couldn't the child be executed if she were found out? Inuyasha did not know about Sango, but he definitely would not be able to live with himself he were to endanger the life of a child, after all it was so completely selfish and -

Inuyasha blinked, noticing that the child had been talking to him for sometime now. In truth he did not really care what she said to him, because all he wanted to do was get in the castle, but he knew that if he did not know what she was talking about it could be a major mistake.

"I didn't catch what you said." Inuyasha mumbled, ignoring the glare that Sango sent his way from where she was polishing her boomerang. The child merely crossed her arms over her chest and huffed indignantly.

"Rin asked what your name was." The child repeated, folding and unfolding her arms once again as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Inuyasha merely scoffed before nodding in understanding and walked passed her.

"Inuyasha - now can we just leave? I have stuff that needs to be taken care of." Inuyasha stated rudely, receiving another glare from Sango. Rin simply scoffed before grabbing him by the elbow and escorting him out of the cold stone house.

As they wandered through the streets, Inuyasha saw things that he never would have imagined seeing if he were in the Southern Lands. There were people littering the streets - their skin tight on their bones, their eyes yellow, and their clothes tattered and torn.

As he and the child named Rin would pass them, he could see them eying him with disgust, almost as if they were jealous of the fact that he had been well nourished and they had not. The sight was horrifying. Rin however, seemed to simply walk passed them - as though not noticing them or caring that they were on the streets. But Inuyasha guessed that she found herself lucky - that she did not have to have such a fate bestowed upon her being. And Inuyasha knew that if it were him he would probably act the same way because - he wouldn't want to live that way either, but he would not want to have to watch people suffer like this every single day. And whether or not he had an almost arrogant air to him, he still had some compassion and he knew that it was wrong to allow people to live like that.

So why was it that they did? Did the Emperor not know of the oppression that was happening within his own Lands? And if he did, how come he did nothing about it? There could be so many ways to end the poverty that Inuyasha had seen - after all the Northern Lands were so beautiful - the soil so fertile and rich, that there could be farms all over the place, that way more people could be fed and watered and -

"It's better not to watch them. They might end up attacking you." Rin said as she led him down another street by the sleeve of his brown shirt. Inuyasha scoffed, trying his best to ignore what she had said - but was that why she acted as though she did not care about what was happening? She feared that they would attack her?

Sighing inwardly, Inuyasha decided that it would be best not to care about the feelings of others. After all it would only get in the way of his mission - and if he was already disliking the fact that there was so many oppressed people littering the streets then - he was certainly glad that he had decided to stay within the castle. He would simply leave Sango to care about what was going on within the Northern Lands, because once again - it was none of his business what happened to these people.

He was only there to find out about Djinn, and whether or not the Emperor was going to expand East because - a hard tug on his sleeve caused Inuyasha to snap out of his thoughts and look down at the child, who was beaming up at him almost happily.

"We're here Inuyasha. From here on out you are going to be my betrothed - don't look at Rin like that, I only have a couple of years before I am actually old enough to be married - and you miss me terribly when I am away. It's for non-profit purposes only. Now come, and you must hold Rin's hand." Rin replied while lacing her fingers through his and leading him into the servant's quarters of the castle.

When Inuyasha entered them, he noticed that they looked exactly like Kikyou's dwelling. The floors were made of dirt, the stone walls were covered with moss, and they were cold. Many blankets littered the floor, each with their own candle next to them. There were many rooms like that single one - each with at least 20 different blankets stretched across the cold dirt floor, some still occupied, and others wrinkled and empty.

Inuyasha did not know whether or not he would be forced to sleep in the same room with Rin or not - but he inwardly hoped that his back would not be as stiff as it was when he had slept on that thin blanket Kikyou had provided for him and Sango.

"Inuyasha, my friend Koharu is coming, so please act like you want to merry me no matter how much older you are then me." She whispered, gripping Inuyasha's hand tighter in hers. Inuyasha merely snorted indignantly, but nodded all the same.

Then the mentioned girl - Koharu - bounded up to them merrily, her brown eyes wide in awe as she took in the couple.

"Rin! Who is your friend?" Koharu asked as Rin scooted in closer to Inuyasha, hugging his arm tightly.

"He is my betrothed." Rin stated plainly, as Inuyasha eyed the newcomer with annoyance. Koharu's eyes merely widened in shock and she immediately cupped her hands over her mouth, trying to stifle the gasp of shock that she had made at Rin's words.

"But you - you are still so young, and he is - so much older. He looks to be about 17 winters!" Koharu shrieked loudly, catching the annoyed stares of some of the other servants. Rin merely waved them off before smiling brightly at Koharu, snuggling closer to Inuyasha - who could not help but think that Rin was doing a wonderful job of milking up the entire performance.

"I think that it would be best to start from the beginning Koharu - but Rin needs to have Inuyasha introduced to Governess Toshikasa so that she can decide on whether or not he is able to work here. Now let's go." Rin stated before leading Inuyasha away from an extremely dazed Koharu.

________________________________________

Kagome sat down on her bed, her fingers buried in the fabric of her dress.

It had already been one night since she had been married to Naraku and - it was turning out to be better than she had originally anticipated. She had not seen him since the presentation ceremony the other day, and for that she was glad.

She got to spend time with Miroku, which was something that she rarely ever got to do - and she was able to forget about her duties as Empress. She had yet to place that silver tiara on her head - and it was already mid-morning. She simply continued to sit on her bed, her blue eyes shining with mirth.

She had half expected Miroku to come and visit her again like he had promised he would, but she knew that he would be too busy womanizing to even start to pay attention to her - and even though they were best friends, she knew that he deserved to be happy too. He truly did not need to have to listen to all of her sorrows and woes - for then it would seem like they were both so attached and -

Kagome shifted on her bed, looking towards the door. She was glad that she had been able to tell everyone to simply leave her be, for she did not want to leave her room. She knew that if she did then she would be probably be dragged around the palace by her advisors and - she could already picture herself snapping at them for bothering her too much.

But if she did leave the room, it would give her time to go visit her father and talk to him about what her life would possibly hold from here on out, and she could probably get tips on how to assist in running the Northern Lands.

In fact, Kagome found herself realizing that she hadn't had time to speak to her father since her wedding ceremony. She had not seen him after the presentation ceremony, for she had gone to her room to stay by herself. Not to mention she had allowed Miroku to take up all of her time in the Gardens. In truth they had not really done anything, they simple sat in silence, and they would occasionally say a few words - and there was one time when Kagome simply started crying and Miroku comforted her - but other than that it was a companionable silence.

The even had continued to stay out there when it had started raining, and only reentered the castle when they became tired. They both had skipped dinner for the night had been emotionally tiring, and they truly did not wish to be disturbed.

Whether or not the council would find it suspicious Kagome didn't care because she was the Empress and -

She found herself caring less about the fact that she had just stressing duties to attend to as well. She supposed that the entire ordeal with Miroku had been some sort of relief for her burden, and it had been lifted from her shoulders slightly, but she still feared that the unwanted weight would be returned to her once she placed the tiara atop her head once again.

She knew that eventually she would simply have to give into the fact that she had to where the tiara, but she still wasn't ready. And she doubted that she would ever be ready, but she still had to be strong - not only for herself, but for her father, and more surprisingly Miroku. She didn't realize it right away, but as soon as she did, she knew that she had to be strong for him as well because he had given her something to live for. And a true friendship was something that she could not come by easily.

"Kagome."

Kagome jumped visibly, tearing her eyes away from the tiara that she had been gazing so relentlessly at, to turn to the sound of the voice. It was apparent to the newcomer that she had not heard him enter - and she was not aware of how long he had been standing there - but he could care less.

"Naraku." She whispered quietly looking away.

She half expected him to yell at her - to smack her for missing breakfast with him, but instead he casually strolled over to her and curled his fingers around her arm and hoisted her up.

Surprised by the sudden contact, Kagome yelped and pulled away, ignoring the piercing look that was sent her way at her disobedience, but she immediately muttered an apology and bowed her head respectfully.

"Come." He stated, before grabbing her by the arm once again and all but dragging her out of the room.

Kagome knew better than to struggle against him, for he could easily turn around and slap her, which was something that she did not want to happen in the least, so she simply did her best to keep up with his long strides - doing her best to ignore the annoyed growls he sent back her way.

She did not know where he was leading her - but it was definitely away from the sleeping chambers. And as he led her down corridor after corridor, she inwardly wandered what it was that he wanted to tell her, to show her, or to do to her. He hadn't made contact with her at all after the ceremony so why would he want to talk to her now? Dismissing the fact that she was his wife, and that he despised her there truly was no reason for him to want to have an audience with her - and if he did, wouldn't he have sent someone to get her?

Almost as soon as they turned down another corridor, Kagome clapped her hands over her mouth and nose, nearly suffocating on the disgusting scent that assaulted her scent. Whether Naraku noticed her discomfort or not - he showed no signs, he merely continued to led her towards a room. And it was a room Kagome had no desire to enter because it simply reeked in there.

"We are here." Naraku stated before stopping in front of the room. Kagome grimaced, her nose wrinkled in disgust as she looked up at him, her blue eyes questioning and confused.

"He is dead."

"Who is dead?" Kagome asked, her voice muffled by her hands. Naraku merely glanced at her before motioning towards the door.

"Enter the room and you will see."

"But it stinks. I don't want to go in there." Kagome whined, her voice going up an octave although still muffled by her small hands. Naraku merely glared at her before placing a hand on the small of her back and pushing her through the newly opened door.

At first, all that Kagome was able to notice was the incredibly disgusting smell that managed to slip through the creases in her fingers, but when she allowed her eyes to focus on the only thing in the room - her hands fell to her side.

Her face was expressionless, emotionless as she took in the sight before her - the white walls covered in dried blood, the dried and cracked pool of blood on the floor - and her father resting in the middle of it, his skin yellow and his brown eyes wide with shock. The stab wound was visible through the torn cloth, and even though the wound looked like it had clotted -

The pain finally flooded into her body and she dropped to her knees, hot salty tears blinding her. It felt as though a thousand hot white knives had just been thrust into her being - it felt as though her heart had been torn from her chest and ripped in two - it felt as though she were dying in that very instant.

And everything she had done - was for nothing. All of the sacrifices that were made were now useless and - her body started to shake violently and choked sobs broke through the deafening silence. The stench of death was everywhere - and it seemed as though it were ready to consume Kagome.

She had never felt pain as immense as what she was feeling in that very moment. Where there was once love and respect towards her father, there was a huge black hole, threatening to consume all of her emotions. And she knew that this simple death - it was killing her emotionally.

Her body continued to shake violently as Naraku walked in and stood next to her. He did not show any emotion towards the sight, he merely grabbed her by the arm and hoisted her up again, and lead her out of the room.

Kagome wanted to kick, scream, and mutilate him for taking her away from her father but - she knew that it would be worth it. Her father was dead and there would be nothing that she would be able to do about it.

So she did the only thing that would even remotely make sense to her.

She tore her arm away from him - and she ran.

________________________________________

Inuyasha sighed in relief as he wandered down the halls aimlessly.

The interview that he had with Governess Toshikasa had been a wonderful success, and for that he was grateful. He had managed to slip away from Rin while she was busy chattering with Koharu, making up a false story about how he had known her since she was a baby, and their parents thought that they would be perfect for each other - and thus they were betrothed.

And for some strange reason the simply thought of being betrothed to the child was somewhat unnerving because - she was just so young, and supposedly innocent - but if she were innocent she would not be helping Kikyou.

Inuyasha inwardly wondered why Rin would even agree to help someone as maniacal as Kikyou but the some of Kanna's words ran though his mind once more.

'I was supposed to die years ago - so I am simply speeding up the process.'

Inuyasha could not help but think how intelligent that Kanna truly was. Despite the fact that she was almost child like, Inuyasha could tell that she had wisdom beyond her years. And despite the fact that her words - even though emotionless - held a bitter condescending feel to them, she wasn't half bad.

She simply kept her emotions hidden under a very thick, almost frightening barrier of ice and -

Inuyasha sucked in a sharp hiss of breath as he rounded a corner, only to smack into something, and rather hard at that. Inuyasha stumbled backwards, attempting to keep his balance as the object that he ran into fell back - a soft grunt of discomfort escaping its lips.

As Inuyasha regained his balance he looked down to the ground, ready to reprimand whoever had ran into him, but stopped short as his eyes landed on the person of his own discomfort.

He recognized her almost immediately.

Her face was streaked with tears, her face flushed, and her blue eyes filled with pain as though she had gone through a devastating loss. Inuyasha immediately bit his lip, hating the fact that someone as beautiful as her could feel so much pain.

Kneeling down next to her, he placed a gentle hand upon her shoulder. She jerked her eyes over to him - causing him to flinch as he looked into those pain filled blue-gray eyes.

A moment of silence passed between the two, as they looked into each other's eyes, surprised at the beauty of each, before she looked away and down into her lap.

"I'm sorry." She murmured quietly, pushing a stray lock of ebony hair behind her ear. Inuyasha merely huffed in annoyance before standing up and looking down at her.

"Don't beat yourself up over it. It's nothing."

"But I ran into -"

"I don't care. Now stand up, the ground is no place for an Empress." He stated gruffly, holding out a hand to help her up. Kagome merely looked at it, as though it were alien to her before accepting it gratefully, a small painful smile gracing her features.

A painful smile that Inuyasha would never be able to forget.