Authors Note: Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! If it wasn't for you I wouldn't try so hard to make sure that these chapters got out as regularly as they are now. I really hope you like this chapter, but I honestly got so lost while writing it, trying to write everything to make it so what I want to happen between the characters still happens and makes sense, while at the same time I keep the story going where I need it to go so I can introduce more of the plot. So please R&R and let me know what you think so I can make sure im doing both!
Chapter 7:
Kidnapped
Sango and Miroku were just finishing cleaning up breakfast when Inuyasha finally made his way back into camp. Sango watched him as he came within a few feet of Miroku and stopped, his face looking bleak.
"What is it Inuyasha? We were wondering where you had run off to." Miroku asked puzzled. He couldn't help but feel the despair rolling off Inuyasha in waves.
Unable to speak, Inuyasha held up the bloody cloth that was dangling from his pointer finger and thumb. Sango and Miroku looked confused for only a moment, and then the realization of what he held in his hand dawned on both their faces. Sango buried her face in her hands, trying to hide the look of anguish that was now covering her face. Miroku let his head fall to the ground saying nothing.
Shippo finally broke the silence, and walking over to Inuyasha he tried to see if he could smell his mother's scent anywhere on the piece of cloth.
"That's not Kagome's blood Inuyasha!" Shippo shouted. Jumping up to sit on the hanyou's shoulder he sniffed the air around the cloth again and he was certain of it. "It's not her!" he shouted again. Growling, Inuyasha knocked Shippo from his shoulder and exclaimed, "Of course it's not her blood you twit! But this is a piece of her clothes and it happens to be covered in human blood!"
Taking the fabric from Inuyasha's hand, Miroku began to inspect the fabric. It was indeed the strange fabric Kagome wore, but it seemed as if it had been ripped almost too perfectly from her clothes.
"Inuyasha I don't think any harm has come of Kagome. It seems like she probably tore this herself, probably to make a bandage for whoever's blood this is. Look it's ripped to perfectly." He said as he held the fabric out for all to see.
"But then where is Kagome? If she were traveling with someone this injured I doubt they could have gotten far." Sango stated trying to remain optimistic for the girl that had become more of a sister to her.
"I don't know I can't find her scent anywhere. I just hope she's doing ok." Inuyasha mumbled, looking off towards the western skyline.
Kagome could already feel her muscles starting to feel sore after the rough battery they had been put through this morning. Lifting the sleeve of her kimono she could see the various bruises starting to form and could only imagine what the rest of her body looked like.
Sighing quietly Kagome looked up at the afternoon sun. There was heaviness over her heart, and she knew the familiar feeling creeping in. The sadness of the reminder that Inuyasha didn't love her, that her friends didn't truly care for her as she did for them. Closing her eyes she could see them with Kikyou and tears pricked the back of her eyes, but she squeezed her eyes as hard as she could and tried to force them back. She would not cry here, not where Sesshoumaru could see her and realize just how much of a weak human she was. Her thoughts drifting to the mornings training left her feeling flushed and a little angry. He had not gone easy on her which she did appreciate, but after she had accidently healed his arm he had left just as fast as he could. She couldn't help the feeling of abandon that rolled through her at the thought, everyone was always so quick to use her and leave her. The feelings of started to overwhelm her and Kagome opened her eyes to take in her surroundings.
'What am I doing here? I don't belong here I shouldn't have agreed to come.' Kagome thought to herself. Standing up she started to run, not quite sure what she was planning to do. She didn't have any supplies or her bow and arrow but it didn't matter to her, she just needed out of here as fast as possible.
She got to the wall that surrounded the house and began looking for a way out. Finding a small door hidden behind the ivy that covered the wall she pushed it open and crawled out. Standing on the other side of the wall she wasn't sure where to go now, or what she would even do on her own with nothing. The overwhelming urge to just run came over her and she ran till her legs couldn't take it anymore, and then pushed on longer. She ran for hours before she finally collapsed to the ground in the middle of the forest. The sun was lower in the sky and Kagome knew it was probably getting close to dinnertime. Would Sesshoumaru come looking for her when she didn't meet him in the dojo? 'Who am I kidding; he'll be glad to be rid of me without having to send me away. I did him a favor.' She thought miserably to herself. She thought of Rin, and how disappointed she would be when she heard Kagome had left without even saying goodbye to her, and for a moment Kagome almost turned back around, but reminding herself that she didn't belong there Kagome hung her head and stared at the shallow path in front of her and wondered where it was going to lead her.
Standing slowly and trying to get the feeling back in her legs Kagome tried to get a sense of direction, but she had no idea where she was. She wasn't prepared for this and she began quietly chiding herself for taking off on a whim without any supplies. Looking around she tried to tell if she could find any signs that she was close to a river or stream or any body of water. She needed water and soon, the day had been hot and she had not had much to drink since the day before, and the last thing she needed was to pass out and die from dehydration. Not seeing or hearing any signs of water, Kagome decided she would just keep walking forward till she found something, and then she would follow it to the next village and try to trade her skills for some supplies. Nodding at herself as she put her plan together she couldn't help but notice a shift in the forest. There was a strong demonic aura nearby, and it was closing in on her fast. It was familiar to her but she couldn't quite place where.
Suddenly she was face to face with Naraku, his nose only inches from her own as his eyes bore into her. Kagome began to panic, but forced herself to try and remain calm.
"Na-Na-Naraku." She stuttered, slienting screaming at herself to keep calm and not to look afraid.
He simply smiled at her, his eyes running up and down her body as slowly began to circle her, he finally spoke. "Well, well, well. What do we have here, Inuyasha's little wench traveling alone, with no one to protect her."
"I'm not alone." Kagome said quietly, still not being able to find her voice. What was she going to do? She had absolutely no way to defend herself and she was in the middle of the forest with no one to save her.
"Hmmm, I don't smell the dirty mutt or any of your other fellow human companions nearby. I don't even smell their scent on you, which leads me back to the conclusion that you are alone little miko, with no one or nothing to protect you."
Kagome stiffened as she felt his breath on the back of her neck, and tried to stand tall and stand her ground. She would have to find a way to escape and run, to where she didn't know but she just needed a good head start. Before she could move suddenly his arms were around her, one arm around her stomach and the other at her throat, holding her stiff body against his. He bent his head at her throat and Kagome shut her eyes tight as she felt his tongue moving along the base of her throat and to her ear. She felt like she was going to be sick, his tongue continued its intrusion on her person, as he drew it along to her other ear and back down her throat.
"You taste so sweet little miko, your innocence and purity makes my blood tingle. Now what should we do with you, kill you on the spot perhaps?"
His hand squeezed her throat a little and Kagome couldn't control the little whimper that escaped her lips.
"No, I think you need to come with me, maybe we can break down this spirit in you and you can finally be the puppet I always dreamed you would be."
And with that Kagome felt a sudden blow to her head, and as she fought to stay conscious she felt herself being thrown over his shoulder and felt him take off. Her last conscious thought was of golden eyes, hoping she would get to see them again.
Sesshoumaru grew angry, it was now an hour past dinner and the girl had still yet to show her face. He had shown up at dinner hoping to see her so he could thank him properly for regenerating his arm, but she hadn't shown up. He assumed she was resting as this morning had been intense, and he had seen her meditating in the garden before he had returned to his study to get some work done. But now he was sitting her feeling foolish, waiting on a human girl. Feeling his anger roll through him he stood up and exited the dojo, determined to find the girl and explain to her that when this Sesshoumaru told her she needed to be somewhere at a certain time, she either needed to show up or at least send her servant to tell him she wouldn't be coming.
He started in her room, and found it empty except for the girls few belongings. Her bed was neatly made and aside from a book sitting on top of the desk and her pack and weapon the room looked completely uninhabited. Looking down at the book his curiosity got the better of him and he opened the book to the front cover. In her elegant writing Kagome had written, 'For the eyes of Kagome Higurashi only!'
Flipping to the next page Sesshoumaru realized it was her diary and shut the book quickly, not wanting to invade her privacy. Leaving the room he searched the rest of the house and the grounds before realizing she wasn't anywhere to be found. Slowly he began to search for her scent, and finally found the weak lingering scent moving towards the wall. Following it he found the door that he had used a thousand times as a child to escape the everyday life of being the son of one of the mightiest demons around. He had hid it not long after Rin came to stay with him to keep her from wondering around outside the grounds so he and Jaken could keep a better eye on the girl, and now the scent of the miko was so strong he knew she must have left.
Leaping over the wall easily, Sesshoumaru tried to follow the girls scent but it was fading quickly as the breeze picked up. He ran for just a few moments, his lightning speed allowing him to track the girls scent quickly, and it only took a few minutes to recognize another more evil scent lingering with that of the miko's. He reached a tiny clearing and wrinkled his nose at the wretched stench of the hanyou's scent overpowered him. There was no sign of the girl or Naraku, and he couldn't help but feel a little guilty knowing that the girl had escaped from him, only to be captured by Naraku. Looking down at his newly regenerated arm Sesshoumaru sighed. Again he was in the girl's debt and if that meant tracking down Naraku and saving her life then so be it. He could only imagine the tortuous things the demented hanyou had in mind for the poor girl.
Kagome awoke suddenly, and as soon as she opened her eyes she wished she hadn't. It was pitch black, and as memories of what had happened before she had been knocked unconscious began to flood over her conscious, she couldn't help the tears that welled up behind her eyes. She had allowed herself to be an easy target, and Naraku had only been thoughtful enough to oblige and kidnap her. Trying to move her body to test for any injuries she realized there was a chain wrapped around her left wrist, and pulling on the chain she realized it must be cemented into the floor somewhere nearby. Her head was pounding, and as she raised her right hand up to her head to see what the damage was, and surprisingly she felt the warm sticky feeling of her own blood on the back of her head. It seemed minimal to her as the flow seemed to have stopped for the most part, but she still knew the risk of infection with a wound such as this, and in her current surroundings she couldn't help but imagine all the different bacteria crawling around all around her.
Shivering she tried to focus her mind, and willed her eyes to adjust to the darkness so she could at least make out her own hand in front of her face. Attempting to see just how much actual mobility she had with the chain Kagome stood and walked as far forward as she could, about 10 steps. Reaching her arms out in front of her she didn't feel another wall, so she tried taking some steps to the left and only 6 steps later did her hands feel the pressure of a firm cold surface beneath them. The familiar feeling of stones beneath her fingers reassured her that she was close to at least one wall. Turning she walked as far to the right as she could and was surprised when 10 steps later she was touching another wall. Trying to let her mind imagine her current surroundings, Kagome decided to feel along the wall back to where she had been originally sitting. As she quietly counted her steps to herself she felt her foot tap something metal on the floor, and she bent down to inspect the object. It was a small tray, holding a cup and some bread. She contemplated whether it was safe to eat but deciding Naraku wouldn't kidnap her and go to the extremes to chain her up just to poison her without at least trying to torture her just a little. Sitting down next to the tray Kagome carefully took a few bites of the bread and sipped at the water, trying to make sure it would last for as long as possible in case this was the last meal she would be able to eat for some time. Leaning against the back wall Kagome closed her eyes and tried to imagine herself away to a place where she felt safe and happy, but all she could picture was Kikyou taking her place. They didn't care about her, she was just a replacement and now that she was permanently out of the way they could finally not worry about hurting Kagome's feelings and would certainly call on the more experienced miko to come to their aid. She wondered to herself if Inuyasha would be kind enough to go deliver the news to her family, or if they would wait years, hoping she would return and forever grieving her absence in their lives. Tears pricked her eyes again and this time Kagome just let them all, she was going to die here in this horrible place she was certain, and no one would even miss her.
She cried for what seemed like hours, then finally the tears stopped coming and Kagome wiped her face and tried to tell herself to be strong. She opened her eyes and was surprised at how quickly her eyes were adjusting to the lack of light, she could make out some dim shapes here and there, although she still had no idea what they were and she wasn't going to find out anytime soon she told herself, imagining different pieces of bone laying around the cell was bad enough she didn't want to actually know that's what those shapes were. Finally she heard something, footsteps making their way down a hallway on one side of the wall, echoing through what must be a dungeon. Pressing herself firmly against the wall she watched as a door materialized out of the darkness, and light flooded the cell.
Naraku stood in the doorway, a lantern in his hand. Looking at the surprised look on the girls face when he entered he was pleased to see that her eyes were red as if she had been crying. Smiling evilly at the girl he said, "How do you like your new home little miko? I do hope it's up to your high expectations."
Kagome said nothing, and just continued to stare at him, attempting to wipe the look of surprise off her face and replace it with a calm, blank expression; she was not going to let him get the better of her.
"I see you did not like the food I brought. Does that mean you don't want any more of it?"
Shaking her head Kagome tried to keep her voice stead as she said, "I was just trying to make it last. There's not sense of time when there's no light." Trying to look brave she stared him straight in the eye, raised her head and continued, "But I've definitely had better."
Naraku laughed quietly as if this was some private joke that she should have gotten. When he stopped laughing, he began to simply look at her body, and Kagome couldn't help but feel he was trying to undress her with his eyes. Shifting uncomfortably beneath his gaze Kagome couldn't help the feeling of bile rise in her throat as her mind drifted to the different things beginning to run in his mind.
He walked up to her and bent down and just stared into her face for a few moments, before he grabbed her around the throat and stood up. Shoving her against the wall behind her he pressed his body against hers and Kagome closed her eyes and imagined herself shoving him off her and running, but the clinking of the chain against the wall reminded her she had nowhere to go. He ran his tongue up her throat, and began to tug at her kimono.
"I have always wondered what you looked like naked priestess. Always running around in those little clothes exposing yourself have really left not that much to the imagination, but still…"
He let the sentence linger unfinished between them as he touched her body. Kagome couldn't help but feel the tears prick the back of her eyes again, her mind running wild with the different things that could happen to her, knowing there was no one to save her now.
"Hmmm…let the games begin." Naraku whispered ominously into her ear, and with that he brought his hand up and slapped her hard across the face, sending her stumbling to the right. Looking back at her captor wide-eyed Kagome couldn't stop the tears that were starting to fall down her face as he approached her again.
