"Kagura, what's the season?" she asked, leaning against the golden bars that trapped her. She was dressed in layers, for her body was not to be seen by anyone else but him. Her hair was once the color of the night, but the gold had faded with her freedom. She twirled her snow white hair between her fingers, then let it slide like silk between them and fall back to it's place on her shoulder.
"It's winter. The first snow was yesterday." she responded, with no more emotion in her voice than hers. She glanced at the girl. "Kagome, why aren't you eating?" she demanded quietly, looking at the bowl of un-touched soup. Kagome frowned. "I don't have much of an appetite." she responded meekly, glancing at the bowl of lukewarm soup. Kagura sighed and shook her head. "Are you trying to kill yourself?" she asked, standing up.
Kagome avoided the question and shifted, leaning on a pillow instead of the harsh bars.
"What's Inuyasha doing this time of year?" Kagome asked. She used to dread hearing the answers to her question, but now that she no longer cared for him, it was a different story. "He gave up looking for the shards and settled down with the Demon Slayer." she informed her.
"That idiot!" she screamed, pounding a fist on the ground. A small wave of white light shot through her hand and into the ground, giving Kagura a headache. Her hopes of seeing the one thing she missed the most were dashed. She wanted so bad to see the moon again. "What phase is the moon going through now?" she asked quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. Kagura stood and walked towards the door. "New moon." She said, exiting the room before more conversation could ensue.
Kagome let a tear slide down her cheek undisturbed. The news of his 'defeat' sat in her chest like a stone. A stone that cracked her in two, breaking her will to live, her will to fight back, and her will to believe that she had a chance to be free. Five years of waiting had brought her nothing but disappointment. The tears stopped and it seemed as if the stone had poked a hole in her side and all her emotions were leaking out and leaving nothing but a feeling of emptiness. She reached and clung to the scrap of fire rat robe that she had strung on her neck, and sank into a reminiscing state.
"Inuyasha!" she screamed, struggling against the heavy arms wrapped around her waist. Inuyasha had a dilemma. Use the windscar, and he could easily destroy the puppet. But, Kagome could get in the way. He decided that if he didn't, there was no way he would be able to have her back.
It had been going on like this for months, Naraku and his puppets had been trying to get a hold of Kagome. There was one Jewel shard left, and both of them had an equal half of the jewel. He had tried tricking him, distracting him, and this was a new tactic. Outright battling him. And, so far, it was working. But, Inuyasha assured himself, it wouldn't for long.
A flash of light ripped through the air, and she was falling. Inuyasha jumped and caught her before she hit the ground, and retreated. The puppet was blasted to bits, and it looked as if she was safe. The rest of the gang rushed to her side. Inuyasha let Kagome's feet drop to the ground, and she brushed her green skirt off, standing. "Thank god you're okay!" Shippou said, jumping into her arms. Kagome welcomed him and gave him a hug before setting him on Miroku's shoulder. "You should be more careful." Inuyasha mumbled, turning away.
From there on, everything went in slow motion for Kagome. Miasma poured into the clearing, and Miroku and Shippou froze. Kagome covered her mouth and nose and squinted her eyes. She turned to Miroku and screamed. There was a crimson stain that dripped from his heart. But what was worse, is the fact that there was a root that was the cause of the blood. Miroku's eyes were blank, and his mouth hung slightly open. Shippou was already on the ground. Inuyasha reached his hand down and drew Tetsusaiga, but it was too late. Two thick roots wrapped around her waist and around her shoulders. She was being dragged away.
Time slowed even more. Inuyasha's feet were moving too slow, and she was screaming. Miroku clutched his heart as he fell to the ground as sango rushed to his side, screaming and sobbing at the same time. Shippou's blank, dead eyes stared at Kagome as she was pulled closer to a menacing force. Inuyasha dropped Tetsusaiga and reached for her hand. "INUYASHA!" Kagome screamed, reaching for his hand as well. Their fingers touched, but she was now rising in the air at an incredibly fast rate. Inuyasha jumped and reached for her once again. He missed by an inch, and fell back to the hard earth. The intoxicating miasma finally took affect, knocking Kagome unconscious. The last thing she heard was Naraku's cold laughter and Inuyasha screaming for her.
Kagome was broken out of her trance as she heard the door slide open, and felt the menacing presence fill the room with fear. Kagome did not look at him. Every single muscle in her body longed to rip his heart out and tear it to shreds. How she would love the chance to feel his blood spatter across her face as she watched his doom. But she was only human, so that was an impossible feat to imagine.
"My poor Kagome, what ails you?" he asked, his velvety voice wrapping around her mind, feeding the fire that raged inside of her. She did not respond. He sat down infront of the bars, and locked his eyes on her. "I heard that your little mutt has given up his quest." He mocked, a vicious smile spreading across his face. "How would you feel if I told you I had the half that you had collected together?" he said, removing a pouch from the inside of his Haori. Kagome ignored him, but knew that he was not lying. "It wasn't easy getting it, you see." He explained, returning the pouch back to it's hiding place. "He put up a fight, but gave up in the end." He taunted, edging closer to her. "All I need is that one last little shard, you know." He whispered, breathing down her neck. "Won't you find it for me, little chick?" he asked, too close for comfort.
Kagome turned away and shifted to another place. "No, I won't." she stated. Naraku seemed displeased but let it slide, for now at least. "Very well." He said, rising. "It's your choice of whether or not you want to eat or not." He said icily, before exiting. Kagome shuddered and leaned on a pillow. How she despised him.
This was going to far, he decided. Naraku's reign would soon take all of Japan, including his lands. Of course, he wouldn't allow it. Unbeknownst to Naraku, he had the last shard. Even though he was convinced he didn't need it, he used it to re-grow his arm. It didn't give him anymore strength, or so he thought. He had been searching for the filthy half-breed for three weeks, and recently caught his scent. Although faint, he had been tracking it, getting closer to the source every day. He pondered on the approach he should take. He would, no doubt, encounter Kagura and the rest of the gang. Kohaku was an easy target, and could be taken out easily. Kagura and Kanna, however, were a little bit harder, but definitely not impossible to defeat. Naraku would try the defensive tactic, and probably retreat like the coward that he was. Naraku was in his way, and thus forth needed to be wiped of the face of the planet.
Kagome sensed a jewel shard coming closer, and she wondered who in their right mind would bring Naraku the jewel shard. Of course it wasn't Kagura or any of his lackey's, they were all too stupid. Especially Kagura. 'What if it's Inuyasha?!' Kagome thought, immediately sitting upright and searching for her things. If he was here, she was certain he was going to get her out. So she might as well pack. Kagome cried as she went about gathering what little had been given to her. She was so happy that she was going to get rescued. Finally, she could return to Inuyasha and give him the what for. Kagome was absolutely giddy. The possibility of being free of that wretched place boggled her mind. Her seeing sunlight again? The moonlight? The sound of snow crunching as she tread over it. It seemed like a delightful dream.
A boom shook the entire palace, bringing a rather large piece of ceiling crashing down. Kagome was thrown back. With a groan, she sat back up and rubbed her head. 'Inuyasha sure knows how to make an entrance.' She thought. Another piece of debris came crashing down and she screamed.
Suddenly the door was flung open, and Kagura rushed in. She destroyed the cage and picked Kagome up by the shoulder quite roughly. Kagome cried in protest and screamed at Kagura. Kagura paid no heed to her screaming, and began to drag her out of the room. Her legs faltered at the years of disuse, and she struggled to keep up. "Let's go, scum." She ordered, pulling on arm harder. Kagome cried out as another wave of pain hit her and she tried to catch her footing. "What's going on?!" she demanded, trying to free herself from the Demoness' grip. Kagura smirked. "It seems as if your beloved's brother has attacked here. He wishes to overthr-" she was cut off by the wall exploding in front of her. Kagome and Kagura were throw back into a wall. Luckily for Kagome, Kagura took the brunt of the impact and she was left virtually unscathed. Kagome jumped up and looked at the scene before her. It was Sesshomaru, as icy as ever. "Come on, wretch, we're leaving." He said. He grabbed Kagome and strung her unceremoniously onto his shoulder. That's when she noticed that he had a second arm, and that the source of the last shard was, indeed, Sesshomaru. Kagome was about to say something, when cold air slapped her in the face, and she found herself falling. She screamed, but received no condolence from the Demon lord. They landed safely and he dashed away with her still slung over his shoulder like some sack of flour. She wanted to protest, but decided against it. He was getting her out of that horrible mess, and she was all too grateful.
His fight with Naraku was mostly successful. He broke the almost complete ball in half by using his nails at Naraku's chest. He gathered them, the girl, and fled. He was angry enough that he was forced to run, but it was all a plan. The last thing he needed at that moment was some human wretch screaming in his ear. Did she doubt that he would land gracefully? 'Pitiful humans.' He thought. Naraku was less than happy to see him steal away jewel shards, let alone be in his presence. Of course, Sesshomaru didn't care. After all, Naraku was far beneath him and should be considered dirty scum. His hanyou brother was better than him. Not by much, but still better. Sesshomaru could feel Kagura approaching. He effortlessly turned and sent his poison whip at her. It caught her off guard, stinging her face. The feather that she rode on faltered and slowed. As Kagura slowed down, Sesshomaru only picked up in speed, definitely scaring Kagome. She squeaked, but nothing else came out of her mouth but that.
How scared she was. She had never gone that fast in her life. She felt ready to pass out. And pass out she did.