Disclaimer: Don't own Inuyasha or characters. I do own the prophecy mentioned throughout the chapters. Inuyasha's demon name Nozomu: Desire.

Note: Bold is Inuyasha speaking, Italic is Nozomu speaking

Chapter 21: Breaking point

Souta was glad they all had finally arrived at Sesshomaru's camp. Soldiers were scampering across the field, following shouted orders from their superiors. Swords were being sharpened, spears were being tested, arrows were shot and bow strings were being checked. Everyone was getting ready for an attack. He guessed that Sesshomaru had already obtained some information that was worth pursuing.

Glancing around, he reached out to one the soldiers. "I need to speak to Lord Sesshomaru."

The soldier paused momentarily, brow furrowed until he recognized who Souta was. "He's inside his tent," He pointed out a tent not too far from them. There was nothing grand about it, except for the crown's insignia etched into the flap of the entrance. He signaled for the rest of the gang to follow him.

Souta paused at the tent entrance. "Wait here." He hesitantly opened the flap, wondering what the lord would say when he saw him. As soon as he stepped in, he immediately bowed. "I have returned Lord Sesshomaru." He glanced up and found Sesshomaru looking over maps.

"Where have you been?" Sesshomaru replied his voice as cold as he had ever heard it. Souta was expecting nothing else. He continued.

"I failed to kill Nozomu," Souta licked his lips nervously. "He locked me up in his dungeons."

Sesshomaru paused, momentarily forgetting the maps in front of him and looked at Souta. "He did not kill you?"

Souta fidgeted. He wasn't sure how to explain what had happened, but there was no way around not telling him of what transpired while he was in Nozomu's castle. He began to tell Sesshomaru what happened, starting from his failed attempt, to finding his long lost sister, to being imprisoned because she had begged on his behalf. By the time to finished, Sesshomaru sat in his chair, in deep thought.

Several minutes passed before he spoke. "Where is Kagome now?"

"Miroku believes Naraku has taken her along with Nozomu."

Sesshomaru carefully stood. "Your sister is the key to Naraku's and Nozomu's demise. Jaken!" A little green imp made his way inside the tent, nodding his head enthusiastically as his lord regarded him. "Tell the soldiers to prepare themselves. We shall attack tomorrow night. And tell Souta's companions to come in."

"Yes, Milord." Jaken bowed hurriedly and left. A couple of muffled words passed from the outside of the tent and soon the flap opened and everyone piled in. They all stood a step or two behind Souta.

Sesshomaru turned his attention back to the boy. "I believe I have found Naraku's hideout. Word has spread quickly about Nozomu missing." Souta nodded. When Miroku freed him from the dungeon, he had noticed that the castle and all its servants were in an uproar. Many did not know where Nozomu was and Naraku had disappeared as well.

Miroku stepped up to stand next to Souta. "Lord Sesshomaru." He bowed. Sesshomaru indicated for him to speak. "My name is Miroku and I am one of Kagome's friends who was one of the servants for Nozomu. During my stay, I was able to gather a substantial amount of information about the prophecy. Please allow me to help. We are all worried about Kagome." He pleaded.

Sesshomaru nodded. "There is much that needs to be discussed." The rest of the gang stepped closer. "Tell me everything."

Miroku began to tell him all he had learned about the prophecy. He also related to him about the human Kagome visited during the New Moon.

"That was Nozomu. It seems that he's losing control of his body." Sesshomaru eyes flickered to Miroku. "What did Kagome tell you about him?"

"Not much," Sango jumped in, not bothering with the accustomed bow. "He didn't remember how or why he was locked up. He barely remembered his own name."

"Inuyasha." Sesshomaru mumbled, but loud enough for the gang to hear.

"Yes," Sango said, shocked. "That was his name."

Everyone watched Sesshomaru closely as his gaze glazed over. It seemed as if he was remembering something.

"It seems that there is more to this story than we all believed," Kouga broke the silence. He crossed his arms and continued to watch Sesshomaru. "Mind telling us how you know his name?"

Sesshomaru sighed. "Inuyasha is obviously the hanyou from the prophecy."

"But he was human when Kagome visited him. I don't understand." Ayame spoke her confusion.

"Hanyou's have three sides," Miroku stated. "There is a human side that comes out during a certain period of the month, than there is their half-breed side that everyone sees. The third side is the demon side. The demon side is mostly shown when the hanyou is in great danger or badly hurt." He paused, searching for a better explanation. "Think of it as a defense mechanism."

"Miroku is correct," Sesshomaru stated. "Nozomu is the demon side of Inuyasha. He needs the jewel to remain in control of the body. As time goes by, Nozomu's hold over Inuyasha will begin to diminish." He glanced at the group. "It seems that the new moon is when the human side surfaces."

"That doesn't make sense. How is it that he doesn't remember Nozomu or his past?" Sango asked, glancing at the others in confusion.

Souta's brow furrowed, deep in thought, and began to pace. "I think Naraku may have something to do with it." He spoke up after a while of doing this. "He was powerful enough to give Nozomu full control of Inuyasha's body. I'm pretty sure he is capable of suppressing the memories of his past as well as Nozomu's existence. He would be doing this as a defense to make sure no one knows his secret and to keep Inuyasha from being aware of what is going on." Everyone nodded. It was a possible conclusion.

"Kagome said Inuyasha only can remember things when he is awake. He remembered every encounter he had with Kagome. Inuyasha must be getting strong," Miroku mentioned and then turned to face Sesshomaru. "However, I believe we are missing something. I sense there is more, Lord Sesshomaru."

Sesshomaru sighed. "Inuyasha is my half-brother."

The collective gasp the group gave was perfectly in sync. The room fell into silence, so quiet that the voices of the soldiers could be heard from outside. No one said a word, too afraid of what was coming next. They didn't know what to expect.

Sesshomaru began to elaborate. "His mother, Izayoi was in love with my father." His voiced was back to icy cold. "My father died and Izayoi left the safety of their home. Her father was looking for her. She was foolish to leave. He would not have dared to try and take her if she had stayed."

"So you're telling us that Nozomu—I mean, Inuyasha—is your half-brother?" Sango's voice was dangerously close to shouting, inexplicable anger boiling from inside her. "You could have prevented this all from happening if you didn't let Izayoi leave!" Sango rushed forward, furious. "Lives have been lost. Countless people have died!"

Sesshomaru moved fast, grabbing Sango by the throat. Miroku stepped forward to go to her aid, but Souta and Koga held him back.

"I was not present when she left. Do you honestly think I didn't go look for her?" His voice had dropped to below zero, his tone clipped and barely contained anger lacing it. "By the time I finally located her, the damage was done. I have bared the burden of all the deaths for many years."

He let go and she fell into a heap onto the ground, he walked back to his chair as Ayame checked on Sango. "I have dedicated these several years to finding a way to stop Nozomu. He has killed several priests and priestesses that knew about the prophecy. It took me a longtime to finally obtain the information needed. I have waited for the perfect time to strike—and that is now. I have found Naraku's hideout. I am sure that Nozomu and Kagome are there."

"Kagome possesses the jewel," Miroku informed the king. "Lady Midoriko told her before she died. If Naraku finds out and obtains it…"

"We need to move quickly before he finds out." Sesshomaru pushed passed them and stepped out, shouting orders to the soldiers closest to him.

Ayame sighed. "Nothing like adding more twists to this crazy plot."

Souta clenched his fists. He hoped they didn't arrive too late.

XXX

Kagome was trying her best to think of a plan, some way she could get away from Naraku or destroy him or something. She didn't know how much longer she could stall him from finding out that the jewel was inside her and once he figured that out…

No doubt he'd cut me into ribbons, Kagome shuddered at the thought and swallowed the lump that suddenly formed in her throat. Naraku walked in front of her, her hands tied in the front. Right after they had left the cell, Naraku had decided to use the same sorcery to bind Kagome's hands. She couldn't see the rope, but she could feel it chaffing her wrists as she unsuccessfully attempted to free them.

Her thoughts turned back to who they'd left behind in the cell. I wonder if Nozomu is having better luck with this, Kagome sighed as she thought about what he had said to her. Nothing had really changed—and even though she was fairly sure that Nozomu regarded her more than just a plaything, Kagome found that she didn't want any of it anymore. She didn't want to have anything to do with Nozomu, with his lies and her conflicting feelings. While she knew that it was Naraku that had been pulling the strings, Nozomu had still destroyed this land, her family, her life…how could she forget all that?

Kagome blinked away tears before Naraku could sense them. It was foolish of her to be thinking such things now; it didn't matter anymore. She was being led to her death, in a sense, because she would never let Naraku have the jewel. Suddenly, golden eyes swam in her mind and she closed her eyes, silently apologizing to them.

Naraku stopped abruptly in front of her and she almost tripped, but managed not to and kept her feet steady.

"Here we are." Naraku turned to her, and waved his hand in front of him as if he was presenting a beautiful home.

They had stopped in front of an old wooden door in a corridor that had long been deserted. Kagome's heart began to pound loudly; she could feel it in her ears. She knew that this was where she would die, whatever the outcome. Either she would crack and tell him and he'd kill her or she would die with the secret.

She squared her shoulder as she made her decision.

Naraku unlocked the door with a key he had pulled out from his pocket, and as Kagome's eyes caught the glint of it she had to suppress a gasp. It was the same key she had used to open the tower. As she was pushed through the door, she discreetly felt her pocket where she usually stashed the key. Sure enough it was still there.

He didn't bother checking my pockets, she thought as a small ray of hope began to flood her heart. Was it possible that there was still a way out of this? If there was, she would have to get crafty.

XXX

"Get in," Naraku pushed the girl inside, and with a satisfied smirk watched her lose her footing. She picked herself up and regarded him with a glare that would have burned anybody else. But he was not just anybody and he was going to get what he wanted. It had been a long time coming. Power suited him much more than it had suited the half-breed-turned-demon. Even his name was not worthy of being thought of anymore. A means to the end.

And this girl was going to be the same.

"Where is the jewel?" Naraku grabbed Kagome by her hair, pulling her up to meet his gaze. She stifled her cries of pain and kept silent. How he hated how stubborn she was. Still, that piercing gaze of hers reminded him of the one Kikyo gave him before she died. Once she confessed to him where the jewel lay, then he would kill her. Then he could revive Kikyo.

He gave her a wicked grin and he laughed with merciless mirth as he pulled out a knife from his pocket and she saw her shiver slightly. There was a method to breaking people—no one was that strong-willed, especially a young girl like Kagome.

He touched her cheek with the knife and watched as the fear slowly and steadily flowed into her eyes. "Where is it?"

She spat at him, all of a sudden, and he could see the determination in her eyes again. Ah, but she would be beaten, if he had anything to say about it. "Wrong answer."

Kagome's screams of pain echoed throughout the castle.

Please Review! This chapter was done by me and my Daichilover!