Kagome groaned as Naraku pushed her to her stomach and placed a foot to her backbone while he tied her hands around her back. She had misbehaved and once again the worn tie was pressed between her teeth.

"Now I know this won't last long either because you're cunning," he complimented her. "But I know a place where I can get a better solution. It'll only take a moment, I promise."

Securely tied, Naraku used his foot to flip her onto her back, noticing the look of angry defiance on her face.

"That's interesting," he said, raising his eyebrows. "Still got some fight in you, do you? Well then, I guess I'll live up to my threat after all."

He went over to the desk and brought the gun out, walking back to her with purpose. Then he used his foot again to roll her back over on her stomach.

Kagome struggled until he straddled her and sat on the lowest part of her back.

"Don't move or I might fuck this up," he said, grabbing her left hand and pressing it down as far as possible. Her fingertips laid flat against the side of her ribs.

"Do you have a preference?" Naraku asked as he gently touched the butt of his gun against each finger. "The pinky is the easiest to break but it's so close to your ring finger that it might break too."

Kagome struggled in growing fear, groaning under her gag.

"Now the thumb is a good choice," Naraku said as he lightly tapped the weapon against it. "It's furthest from your other fingers but the bone is just a tad thicker so it might need two hits instead of one."

He kept tapping each finger lightly as if playing eeny-meeny until he finally stopped.

"Aha," he said as if coming to a brilliant conclusion. "Your pointer finger is perfect. I can push it away from the other ones and it should only take one good hit. The extra downside to this is that it's going to bruise your ribs too, you know that right?"

Kagome flailed as he lightly tapped her ring finger three or four times like he was setting up his aim.

"I'm serious, don't move," he said with a sense of concentration and held the gun high over his head.

Kagome took a deep breath and shut her eyes, trembling with the fear and expectation of extreme pain.

"Will you behave yourself now?" Naraku asked, still in striking position.

Kagome nodded furiously, the moans under her gag emphasizing that she was very willing to submit.

"That's better," he said and brought his arm down and put the gun against her shoulder so she knew it wasn't in the air anymore.

Her entire body sagged with relief.

"It's such a shame though," Naraku said, "That I can't trust you."

He raised the gun quickly and brought it slamming down with as much force as his arm would give him.

Kagome's scream echoed the hallway.

Phone charged and ringing, Naraku lightly jogged down the stairs until the line finally connected.

"What happened?" Yuzuru asked nervously.

"Just a few technical difficulties," he said pleasantly, pausing to sit on a step. "Hello again," he smiled. "I suppose by now Takagi is at the bank waiting for his master to make him bark?"

"Isn't that what this is about?"

Naraku's laugh echoed through the stairwell. "No, not exactly but it is a bonus. Now before you say anything, I must tell you something about your little princess."

"Oh god! What-"

"Relax, she isn't dead," Naraku assured. "I must say though, she does remind me of you and I back in the day. All fire and spirit with no idea where to draw the line. I had to teach her the error of her ways just now."

There was a soft gasp on the other line followed by the signs of a sniffle.

"Oh don't turn on the tears, she's fine," he lightly snapped. "It's just a broken finger, not the end of the world. You should be proud. She's barely shed a tear since she's been with me. Though I intend to change that."

"Please," Yuzuru's voice was shaky. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because," Naraku seethed, "The pain hasn't healed for me yet, why should it for you?"

"Any amount," Yuzuru pushed, "Just name it."

"Again with the money," he gave a deep sigh. "That's all you know how to do, isn't it? Just pay until it goes away. How about giving me something worth caring about? I'm not very interested in a ransom at the moment," he explained. "What I want from you is a lot more valuable."

"Just tell me!"

"I want the truth from you," he said. "Consider it closure. For the first time since what you've done, I want you not to bullshit me."

"It was just a simple misunder-"

"I swear to god, Yuzuru," Naraku was getting angry, "I will snuff her out like a candle."

"Enough!" she was sniffling, getting scared and anxious. "What do you want me to say?"

"We'll start with why you pulled the rug from under my feet seventeen years ago," he said, "and decided kill my child and let me believe those girls were mine."

It was probably the dumbest and most frustrating thing to ever happen to a man with murder on his mind.

Bumper to bumper traffic.

Some self-proclaimed hero he was, rushing off to possibly prevent further harm to the girl he was in love with.

If she was even in that building to begin with.

What would he say to her once he found her? 'Sorry, Kagome. The freeway was backed up for miles.'

An hour had already passed and the sun was getting sleepy.

Sesshomaru gripped his wheel tightly with anger and checked his GPS. He was forty minutes away by car, even longer if he walked.

The trains would be no good, not at this hour.

He could feel the tightness in his chest, the feeling of powerlessness. While a part of him knew that his circumstances with his father and Kagura had prevented him from giving Kagome his full attention, the other part was ripping him apart that he hadn't been scouring the earth for her in his every waking moment.

Some hero he was indeed.

Two days now…and he had investigated so leisurely, so slowly while who knows what was happening to her. She could be bruised and bloodied. She could be in severe pain…

She could be…

He mentally punched himself. That was not an option at all.

In its' retaliation, his mind made it worse for him by thinking 'If she is…you're just like her parents for not being there in time.'

He closed his eyes, almost trembling with the thought.

Fuck it.

Sesshomaru turned off the car, input the address into his phone's GPS, tucked the gun away safely, and slammed the car door behind him as he began walking away.

"Oi! You there!" a nearby traffic cop made an immediate beeline for Sesshomaru.

Unfazed, Sesshomaru kept on walking without even turning back.

"Where are you going? You can't leave your car there!" he was screaming. "It's the middle of rush hour, what do you think you're doing!"

Sesshomaru just waved a hand behind him indicating that he didn't care.

"I'll have it impounded!" the cop threatened. "And fined!"

"I'm shaking," Sesshomaru snapped loudly as he turned the corner.

"We had it all planned out," Naraku slumped down against the wall, placing the gun beside him. "Funnel the money, save it up, run away together. It was such a good little dream, wasn't it?"

"You were making it impossible," Yuzuru hissed. She had been able to gather her composure and steady her voice.

"You kept pumping it into that failing business of yours. The money I gave you totaled almost two million dollars," Yuzuru said, a hint of anger and regret in her voice. "You were bleeding me dry, Naraku. I had to cut the cord somewhere."

"What do you mean by 'you'?" Naraku asked. "We were bleeding Renge dry. Yet when you told me…when you told me about the baby, you couldn't fathom the idea of not being taken care of. All I needed was more time. But as soon as the boat was sinking-"

"—again-"

"Shut up," Naraku snapped. "That's all you were focused on. As soon as you thought the cash wasn't coming back you went scurrying back to Renge."

"I never meant to hurt you," she said softly. "I loved you, but what I had to do was best for me. You believe me, don't you?"

"What about me?" Naraku asked. "How could you do that to me? And you didn't even tell me you got rid of it!" Naraku's voice shook with anger and pain, "That's not something you write in a fucking letter as your lawyer hands me hush money.

I spent so much time searching. I finally found them after all your country hopping," He said painfully. "And five year olds and six year olds look so much alike…could you blame me? Thinking they were mine?"

"…I'm sorry…"

"I tried to save you all from him," Naraku sounded tired and sad, "You were so miserable and they were growing up not knowing who their father really was and I just wanted so badly to…" he cut himself off with a deep sigh. "You made a fool of me, thinking you could just give me money and a letter and that would console me. Why couldn't you just give me my child instead?"

There was a deep and heavy silence on the other line followed by a small intake of breath.

Yuzuru's voice was soft and desolate when she unfurled the truth, "He had figured it out and I…I couldn't raise a child that didn't belong to him… It was my way of… apologizing to him."

Now it was his turn to mull over the words, to feel them as they entered his brain and pierced his heart. The phone began to shake in Naraku's hand.

"Because that was what was best for you, right?" he asked. "The only way he'd let you come crawling back into his arms?"

"It wasn't like that..." Yuzuru said.

"Then tell me how it was like?"

"What you and I had…" Yuzuru steadied herself, choosing her words carefully. "Renge and I tried to make it work. And for a little while it did. Until you shattered us."

"Good!" Naraku screamed into the receiver. "Why were that son of a bitch's children better than my own? You killed mine then gave him three. But you didn't love him; it was because of the money. And you don't love them either."

"Of course I love them," she whispered with conviction. From across the world she wiped away a stray tear. "I've been in pain ever since Kikyo-"

"Spare me the fucking dramatics," Naraku snapped. "I've kept track here and there. You think I don't know that you've never been to that grave, not once in all these years?"

"…I couldn't bring myself to."

"You're a coward then," he retorted. "Guess where I go every single year? In a church in Toshima, there's a little graveyard that's dedicated to dead children, born or unborn. They gave him a tombstone. They named him Akago," Naraku's voice toned down with melancholy. "You could've given him to me, Yuzuru. You could have saved me from that madness, that loss. Kagome is the only way to make you feel what I feel."

"You've done that already," Yuzuru said softly, quietly "…You've made it hard for me to look at her. Every time I see Kagome I think about you-"

"And that's how it should be," Naraku agreed. "But it's not enough. Not for people like you and Renge. She's so unhappy with you both. It's like you haven't learned anything at all. And because of your selfishness I will use her to make you both suffer."

"Please," Yuzuru whispered shakily. "Don't take her from us too."

"I'm not going to kill her," Naraku promised. "I'm going to mentally and emotionally damage her so bad she won't know who to trust. Kagome'll never be able to function normally again. She'll never let anybody love her; no one will get that close. I'll make her part of my agony."

He paused to let her speak but all he heard was her soft shaky breathing, lost for words.

"You know, I made a mistake by killing Kikyo," Naraku said gently. "I was just so angry at you. It was my way of mourning…

But you still don't understand that. Losing a loved one is a slow healing pain but it dulls after a while for people like you. Now you get to see how I've felt every day. You will watch Kagome suffer for the rest of her life."

"I'm sorry," Yuzuru whimpered. "I made a mistake…please, forgive me and don't take it out on her."

"You know my son would have been eighteen or so around this time," he said casually.

"Naraku, please…"

"You took something from me and you never felt remorse for it," Naraku said. "Now I'm going to take something from you. And you will never forget it."

"Don't do this!"

"And now we come to the part you're good at," His voice was laced with menace again. "So tell me, how much is she worth to you?"

"Anything!" Yuzuru said, "I'll be on my way there in a matter of hours."

"In that case…you have ten hours to assemble half a million," he firmly decided. "By then, Kagome will be thoroughly broken. I'll leave forever this time I promise."

"That's a lot of money in a short amount of time," Yuzuru begged. "I'll have to do it discreetly so I don't set off any alarms."

"Ah yes, the cover up," Naraku nodded. "Good job training Kagome to never tell my name. You needed to save face after all. What would your poor husband and the world think of you if they knew?"

"Renge can't know…"

"Tell you what," Naraku said. "If you tell the press that it was your lover who abducted your daughters the first and the second time, I'll leave without a penny. Seeing you air your own secrets would be all the payment I need. With pull like yours, it'll be on the Tokyo news in an hour."

There was a long pause on the other line.

He laughed. "Well then, I suggest you and Takagi start planning. I'll call you back in a few hours with a drop sight."

"Okay…"

"Oh and Yuzuru?" Naraku's voice had a special evil tone. "Kagome has been with me a few nights already but if we go by days, it's only been two. Once again it's only because I've called you like last time that you even know she was missing."

He checked his wristwatch. "So I wouldn't take my sweet time about that money," he advised. "Because you know what happens on day three don't you? …Someone dies."

Naraku came back when she was in heavy sleep, unable to stir easily.

It had taken him a while but he managed to push two heavy desks against the back wall. Each one had heavy metal drawers that had small silver loops so that a combination lock could be inserted for security.

Forcing Kagome to sit up, he pulled a special present out of his coat pocket, two brand new pairs of handcuffs. Each one locked around her wrists and then the opposite ends were pushed through the silver desk loops with a secure click.

He pulled back to look at his handiwork.

Kagome sat uncomfortably with her arms open and outstretched. Impossible to reach them or move them very much it had become a definite fact.

Kagome was trapped.

Sesshomaru's phone died as he entered the old financial district. The GPS had sucked the battery dry from his smartphone and with an annoyed huff, he tucked it in his pocket and kept walking.

His wristwatch read eight which meant he'd already been searching among the old abandoned buildings for two hours. The signs that were usually erected on the sides of buildings had either worn down or been removed and there was nothing but blocks and rows of forgotten structures. Apparently the money had moved, and with it the office buildings.

Sesshomaru gave it another three years or so before people began tearing them down and building condos.

By nine he was freezing from the cold and had the selfish thought of walking all the way back to get his car but dismissed it quickly.

He eyed the worn gates for recent car tracks. He searched the windows for signs of light or by some miracle, movement. He searched for names of the buildings, most of them on the lobby doors, worn and faded.

Determined to walk every block, turn every stone, scour every building, he searched for Kagome.

The best thing about sleep was that it put you in another state of mind.

It took away hunger.

It suspended sadness.

It numbed pain.

Because it was hurting, even in her sleep. But it was far off and little compared to the throbbing fire that awaited her when she woke up-

Kagome screamed as the pain came flooding in and snapped her out of her numbing doze.

Naraku let go of the blue and swollen digit with annoyance. "Apparently you don't hear me until I have to force my attention on you. How's the new position holding up?"

She looked at her new state in horror and flailed, trying to free her arms to no avail. Eventually she resigned.

Her legs were still free and she pushed herself up until they were close to her chest. It was the only way she could get as comfortable as possible.

"Come now, Kagome," he tried to comfort her. He removed her gag and threw it behind him. "Don't give me that look. Really, you brought it upon yourself. We're getting off to a really bad start you know."

Kagome took slow deep breaths to stop the throbbing pain of her left pointer finger.

Naraku turned around and took a seat on the desk and he shrugged his shoulders. "I never had a good relationship with my dad either," he confessed somewhat mournfully.

"He beat me relentlessly; he was a drunk and mean bastard." Naraku rolled up his sleeves, showing her his forearm that had a huge ugly scar, wide and long like a jagged spider. "When I was defiant, he used to tie me to the radiator and crank the heat. Sound familiar?"

Kagome groaned and turned her head away.

"When he…when he died, I knew I had to set a better example. An example of how a father should love his children. I knew I had to come home to you both, to make us a real family."

For a while, the only sound was Kagome breathing hard as her body refused to stop complaining with this sense of disgust and anxiety.

"I must admit I was a little harsh the first time we met. It was just so frustrating that you'd been brainwashed into thinking Renge was your father."

She didn't want to hear this.

"You know," Naraku said softly, "At one point, I loved you both very much. It was such a shame, losing your sister that way."

"You murdered her," Kagome grounded out with a dry mouth.

"I disciplined her," Naraku rebutted with conviction.

"You slaughtered her!" Kagome yelled. She felt her anger letting the pain ebb away slightly.

Naraku was silent for a few moments.

"It was because of you," He said quietly ,"That she had to suffer so. Your disobedience hurt no one but yourself. And your sister, of course."

"Shut up," Kagome muttered just loud enough for him to hear.

"Think about it," Naraku said as if they were about to have a friendly debate. "I told both of you that we'd run away and live happily ever after. All you girls had to do was sit quiet while I made the arrangements. She sat so quietly, so lovely, waiting for daddy to whisk her away. But no, not Kagome. You were determined to misbehave. Only when I used the hot on you, would you come to your senses."

Kagome was shaking, reliving the memories, feeling the pain being burned into her arms.

"Imagine my surprise coming back and finding that window smashed and only her there. She threw a brick at me, you know. Cut my damn head open." He pointed to a faded scar on his temple. "She was just like you were a little while ago, kicking and screaming. Ugh, it drove me nuts," Naraku shook his head. "I must admit, I went a little overboard."

"Please…" Kagome sagged, the talk becoming too much, too soon. "Stop..."

"Heh," Naraku chuckled. "You know she said the same thing to me when I cut her?"

Kagome choked back an immediate sob.

"She cried too. That, I couldn't blame her for. She called for you, you know."

"No" Kagome moaned, wishing she was deaf, even dead. "Naraku, please…"

"She screamed for you. Until her very last breath, she had your name on the tip of her tongue. Now imagine how fine she'd be if you had never left her there to take the beating for the both of you."

Kagome wept until she couldn't breathe and began taking large gasps.

Naraku went over to his living area and came back with a half-filled bottle of water and a dirty rag.

"There there," he cooed, wetting the rag and wiping her face. "We'll make it better together. It's not too late," he assured. "We still have each other, after all."

He put the bottle to her lips but when she refused to drink, he forcefully pulled her head back by her hair and then delicately began pouring the water into her mouth.

It was either swallow or choke and Kagome hated herself for getting relief on her burning throat from the cool water.

"Well actually, that's a bit of a lie," Naraku confessed. "At the end of this night, I may not even have you."

Kagome turned away, letting the bottle spill until he straightened it up.

"I'm going to give you back," he said. "I promise. But until then, we're going to talk until you see your so called parents for what they really are and realize that I'm the only one who really cares about you."

Kagome closed her eyes, more tears rolling down her face.

"I never meant to hurt you, it's all for the best." Naraku said with a hint of anger. "You believe me don't you?"

"He's not answering," Souta said as he hung up the phone. "Something's wrong. I can feel it."

He moved from the hotel bed to a chair and leaning forward to watch the floor, his young face laden with worry.

"What do you want to do?" Seji asked his young master gently. "Perhaps we should call your parents."

"Why, so I can talk to their voicemails?" he snapped. Souta suddenly grabbed the phone again and hit the redial button.

Seji could see the emotions walk across his face from hope as it dialed, to anxiousness as it rang, to disappointment as the ringing went on too long, then to anger when the sound of Sesshomaru's voicemail clicked on.

This time Souta grabbed the phone, ripping it off it off its cord and threw it against the wall where it clattered loudly and fell, bringing a nearby painting with it.

Souta huffed, his little body slightly breathless from the sudden tantrum. He took his seat again in the chair, sagging into it like a weary old man.

Seji, used to these types of tantrums from his sister, hadn't even flinched. But…

The way Souta folded his hands together over his eyes, his shoulders rigid with fear and indecision… he looked much older than a ten year old boy.

That really bothered Seji. It was the look little Kagome had worn often before he could stop her from retreating into herself.

Souta began bringing in the burden, the fear, trying to push it down in his chest so it wouldn't escape and damage him.

"Book a flight," Souta said.

"You have a concert in -"

"I don't care!" Souta screamed, looking up at Seji with a face of utter anger, "Book the damn flight!"

"What do you plan to do?" his guardian asked, still unfazed.

"I don't know yet!" He attacked the alarm clock this time, hearing it break as it slammed into a dresser. "I just need to go and see for myself! I owe her that much."

"Owe her?" Seji asked with concern. "What are you talking about?"

"…I never met Kikyo," Souta said softly, staring at the wall, "but Kagome never stops smiling for me. Ever. Until she thinks about the sister I never got a chance to know… "

He took a haggard breath, "When Kagome frowns or pouts or cries when she thinks I'm not looking…it's because she's thinking about the time no one wanted to go see for themselves what was going on," Souta frowned deeply. "I don't want her to know that I sat around waiting for the phone to ring."

The more he spoke, the older he looked and it worried his caretaker that going to Tokyo would only make it worse.

"We should wait here until we know more; otherwise no one would be able to reach you as you run around Tokyo like a chicken with your head cut off."

"But what if she's hurt?" Souta's head sagged as he searched the floor for answers. "What if she's in trouble and I'm not there?"

"You wouldn't be much help," Seji said logically. "You should give that young man some more time."

Souta leaned back again, closing his eyes and pressing steepled hands over them. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost her," he said softly.

"Don't think like that."

"I couldn't take it if she left me alone. Who's gonna look at me like I'm not a genius? Who's gonna make me sandwiches and rustle my hair and play video games with me and say 'Stupid kid' when she loses and-"

"Stop that,"Seji warned. "You're doing yourself no good."

The little boy's body began to shake softly, "If Kagome dies, I don't know what I'd do."

"Souta, you mustn't say-"

Tears began slipping down his face, his eyes still hidden, "If Kagome dies, I'll have no real family left."

For the first time in a long time, Seji looked at the person in the chair and finally saw the little boy who could only put on a brave face because he had someone he could take it off for.

"If Kagome dies, "His lips began to quiver as more tears fell, "It'll kill me."

He sniffled and gave a quivering pout like he'd already lost her, like he felt deep down inside he'd never see her again.

Seji walked over. "Let's go to Tokyo," he said gently.

The boy shakily removed his hands, his eyes watery and red.

Seji put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "She will be all right," he assured him.

Souta' nodded quickly, trying to believe in Seji's words.

But his resolve finally gave and Kagome's treasured little brother began to wail.

A/N: This story is for enterainment purposes only and does not reflect my views on pro-life or pro-choice policies nor does it serve as a soapbox for such issues.