Chapter 4: Forgotten
"Let me go!" Kagome screamed. Naraku had taken her to his castle, hidden deep within the mountains. They had strapped her to a five-pointed star seal, that was designed to restrain her spiritual powers.
"Now why would I do that, Kagome." Naraku grinned as he appeared from the darkness, along with her father.
"What do you want with me. I thought I was a nuisance to you. Why bother keeping me alive."
"Hmph. I need you alive for what I have planned."
"What?"
"I'm going to use your spiritual powers to find the rest of the Shikon no Tama."
"I would never help you!"
"You're going to help me, whether you like it or not." Naraku puts out his hand towards the seal as it begins to glow. Kagome suddenly feels immense pain. It felt like a thousand swords were cutting her down all at the same time. She gave out a blood-curdling scream that would make any normal person stop in their tracks.
Akito stands there, emotionless as his 'daughter' was suffering. Naraku turns to him and Akito bows. "What shall I do next, Master?"
"Your job is done. I have no need for you anymore." Naraku holds out his hand and a heart appears.
"Hold on! That's not what we agreed on! You said I could go free if I get you my daughter!"
"There is one thing you must know about me, Akito. I never keep my promises." Naraku squeezes the heart and Akito falls to his knees, holding his chest in pain. He squeezes the heart until it turned to dust. Akito fell to the ground and turned to dust along with his heart.
Kagome's eyes widen as she watches her father die again. Even if he was a no good father, he was still family. And it hurt her to know that he died in such a horrible way. Naraku turns towards the Miko as she glares at the demon.
"What. Remind you of what you did to him?"
Kagome looked away. "How did you know of such a thing. I never told anyone."
"You didn't have to tell me. I read your mind, and found it in the deepest, darkest part of your mind, locked away with a spell. Even if it was a Miko's spell, it was easy to disperse and find what's hidden inside."
"AAAHHH!" Kagome's powers continue to be sucked out of her and she falls unconscious from the pain. Naraku walks up to her and is about to use her powers until the wall collapses. Appearing from the smoke, a familiar hanyou, demon slayer, monk, and two small demons, prepare to fight.
"Get away from her you filth!" Inuyasha held out his Tetsusaiga, pointed at the half-demon.
"You got here rather fast, Inuyasha."
"Where is she! What have you done with her!"
"She's been here the whole time, Inuyasha." Naraku steps to the side and Inuyasha notices the unconscious Miko.
"Kagome!" He rushes towards her but is blocked by a barrier. "Damn it!"
"You really thought that you could get to her that easily?"
"Yeah actually, I did!" Tetsusaiga changed into a reddish color. Inuyasha jumped and sliced the barrier in half. The barrier crumbled, and the group ran to their friend.
"Kagome!"
"Kagome-chan!"
"Kagome-sama!"
Inuyasha turned back to Naraku and growled. "What have you done to her!"
"I'm just going to use her spiritual powers against her free will to find the rest of the Shikon no Tama."
"Damn you!" Inuyasha swung Tetsusaiga down but got pushed back from Naraku's powers.
"HIRAIKOTSU!" Sango unleashed her boomerang and hit Naraku as he hit the wall.
"Weak and pathetic." Naraku sends blades of miasma towards the group. Inuyasha stepped in front of the group and readied his Tetsusaiga.
"BAKURYUHA!" Inuyasha swings down his sword and repels the miasma back towards Naraku along with his power. It made a direct hit as Naraku struggled to get a barrier up in time. Unfortunately, Naraku heals himself each time he's hit.
"He's allowing himself to be it, in order to prove that he cannot be killed!" Miroku stated.
"That's right, Monk."
"But, you can't escape from me. KAZANNA!" Miroku unwrapped his right hand and a black hole appeared, sucking everything in its path into the Meido. Naraku grinned as multiple groups of wasps formed around him aiming at the hole.
"Houshi-sama! Close the wind tunnel! You'll die from the poison!"
"Damn!" Miroku wrapped it back with the beads.
"You will never be able to defeat me, with your weak powers!"
"MEIDO ZANGETSUHA!" Naraku quickly turned around to find Inuyasha with the Tetsusaiga, slicing him down. The group surrounds him and Miroku puts a spell of to seal his powers upon Naraku.
"Now tell us, how do we get Kagome out of the seal." Naraku grinned and began to laugh.
"What are you laughing about, bastard."
"There is only one way to release her from her spell of death." The group waited in silence to hear the answer. "She'll have to seal her memories of the feudal era with her own power, causing her to forget everything and everyone she's met here."
"Damn you! HIRAIKOTSU!" Sango jabs Naraku in the back with hiraikotsu causing him to cough up blood.
"There's no other way. Either she forgets all of you, or she dies." He slowly turns to Inuyasha. "How does it feel, Inuyasha. Losing the one you love for a second time…" Naraku slowly turns into dust as he disappears with the wind.
"What are we going to do now…"
"AAHH!" Their attention quickly turns back to Kagome who falls from the seal.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha rushes towards her as she hits the floor. The group follows, seeing Inuyasha gently pick up Kagome. "Damn, if only I had been more cautious. None of this would've happened!"
"It's…not your…fault…Inuyasha…" The group's eyes widen as they see their favorite Miko slowly opening her eyes. A strange aura surrounded her body, signaling that the seal was still on her. "I will seal my memories…"
The group gasps. "No, Kagome! There must be another way! I'm not letting you do that!"
"It's all right…We'll make new memories together… And besides, it's the least I can do for you, after everything you've done for me."
"Stop!" Inuyasha held her close, tears begging to be released from his eyes. "I don't want you to forget about us, to forget about me." Kagome held up her hand and touched Inuyasha's face.
"I won't forget about you, not really. I'll get my memories back. I promise."
"Bu-" It was too late, Kagome put her hands to her head and began to seal her memories. She tries to hold in her screams of pain as her mind is wiped of the feudal era, h to no avail. Screams echoed through halls. Tears began to stream down the group's cheeks, their faces brimming with worry for their favorite Miko.
After a few minutes, the screaming diminished into a whimper and soon faded into silence. The group stood around her, hoping for her to be alright. "Let's get her back to Kaede's. She'll know what to do." Sango suggested.
Everyone nodded as Inuyasha picked Kagome and gently put her on his back. They rushed back to the old priestess's house. As they arrived at back at the village, Kaede wonders what happened as she noticed the unmoving Miko.
Sango and Miroku did most of the talking as Inuyasha was too worried about Kagome to speak. "I can't believe such a thing has happened," Kaede spoke after the explanation.
"Is there anything we can do to help her, Kaede-sama," Miroku asked. Kaede shook her head.
"I'm afraid there is nothing that can be done. Ye just have to wait for her awakening, and hope that she didn't seal everything."
Inuyasha walks outside after setting Kagome down on the Tatami mat, his eyes shadowing in despair. How could I have let this happen. It's my fault for not protecting her properly. Kagome, please don't forget me.
Days went by, and Kagome never woke. Days turned into weeks. And finally, there was some hope.
"Inuyasha! Inuyasha!" Kaede ran outside towards the tree Inuyasha sat in.
"What is it, Kaede-baba," Inuyasha asked with a sigh.
"It's Kagome." Inuyasha's ears twitched as he turned around to see Kaede's shocked expression. Is she awake?!
They ran into the house and saw the rest of the group standing around Kagome, who was starting to open her eyes. Inuyasha joined the group and waited for her to speak. She slowly sat up and looked around at her surroundings.
"Kagome…" the Hanyou spoke softly. The Miko turned her head towards the Hanyou and spoke with a hint of confusion in her voice.
"Who are you?"
Her words hit everyone's heart with pain. As soon as she spoke those hurtful words, everyone fell to the ground in tears, all except for Inuyasha, who clenched his fists in anger.
So you really did forget about me. Liar. You broke your promise…