Disclaimer: I own Rhiodoru, Karameida, Zaniistar, Kishotaka, Niishi, and Yuryu. All other characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi.

Royally Screwed

Miroku crept noiselessly down the passageway, Shippo clinging fearfully to one shoulder.

They had been walking for what felt like hours, though Miroku knew that in actuality it had only been about ten minutes. The corridor he and Shippo had taken when the group split was a long, straight hallway, with numerous doors on each side. These doors, they had discovered, led to nothing more than small bedrooms—guest rooms. Though he and Shippo had checked every room so far, they had all been empty. In fact, most of them looked as though no living creature had ever set foot in them.

Miroku frowned as he walked, gripping the handle of his staff tightly. The emptiness of the castle nagged at him. Why weren't there any other people here? Surely Naraku had servants and guards? Not only was the deserted castle wrong, it was also very unnerving, and Miroku grew more and more tense with each step. Rounding a gradual bend in the hall—the first turn they had encountered since starting out on their own—they stopped walking as their eyes fell on the abrupt end of the corridor. Miroku stared around the small garden courtyard, the moon shining brightly above them and illuminating the open space with eerily pale light.

The monk glanced about suspiciously, his eyes following the wooden boardwalk that ran around the edge of courtyard. About a dozen doors lined the walls of the square space.

Miroku felt a surge of dismay. They were going to have to check every single one of those rooms before moving on. He looked over at the kitsune perched on his shoulder, also studying the doors.

"Shippo, do you smell Niishi at all?"

The kitsune sniffed the air unenthusiastically a couple times. "No," he sighed, "all I smell is Naraku."

Sighing as well, the monk gestured at the left-hand side of the courtyard. "I'll take this side, you take the other. Sound good?"

Shippo took a nervous look around the moonlit space, then nodded and hopped off Miroku's shoulder.

Watching as Shippo cracked open the nearest door and slipped inside, Miroku turned and approached the first door on the left. Cautiously sliding it open, he leaped inside, braced for an attack.

Empty.

Disgusted, Miroku glared around the small room, adorned with nothing but a sleeping mat. Servants' quarters. Wonderful.

Frustrated and impatient, Miroku tried the next three doors in quick succession, experiencing the same results.

Heading for the fourth door, a little further down than the others, he let one hand trail on the wall as he passed, deep in thought. What if this search was actually pointless? What if Niishi wasn't here? The deserted castle would attest to that.

His trailing fingers hit an odd imperfection in the wall, but Miroku went another three steps before realizing just what he'd felt.

Quickly backtracking, he once again ran his hand over the wall, again finding that strange indentation. Leaning his staff against his shoulder, he slid both hands up and down the wooden surface, discovering that the tiny crack, though almost invisible, ran vertically from roof to floor.

Hardly daring to hope, Miroku gave the wall to the right of the crack a gentle push.

Nothing happened.

Disappointment filling his mouth with a bitter taste, Miroku gave the panel another halfhearted shove.

With absolute silence, the panel slid open, revealing a dark opening.

A secret passageway! Excitedly, Miroku scanned the courtyard for Shippo. Seeing a door halfway down the far wall open, Miroku swallowed an annoyed sigh.

Too impatient to wait for the kitsune, Miroku stepped into the dark confines of the narrow passageway. When Shippo found him gone, the kitsune could easily follow his scent—even if the open door didn't give his position away immediately.

Taking another couple steps down the dark, secret corridor, Miroku stopped and looked over his shoulder, fingering his staff and eyeing the open door.

Maybe he should shut it. He didn't want any stray demons of Naraku's to see the inviting open door and creep up behind him in the dark. But if he shut it, Shippo might not be able to get it open. He hesitated, undecided.

Then, even as he watched, the panel started to slide shut of its own accord.

With a strangled cry, Miroku jumped forward, only to crash into the door as it closed with an almost inaudible click, plunging the passageway into darkness.

Quickly smothering a wave of panic, Miroku ran his hands of the smooth inside of the door, desperately searching for some kind of latch or lever.

Nothing.

Taking a step back, he threw his weight forward, slamming his shoulder into the panel.

It didn't even budge.

Rubbing his now sore shoulder, Miroku used his staff to rap on the door, dismayed by the metallic clang that resulted.

The door was reinforced with metal, braced and barred to withstand pressure from the inside. The only way in or out was by pushing on the panel from the outside, the inside lacking any kind of handhold to pull it open.

Miroku stared into the darkness where the door was, the slow realization of his situation creating a hard knot of fear in his stomach.

He was trapped!

: x ∙ x ∙ x ∙ X ∙ X ∙ X ∙ x ∙ x ∙ x :

Shippo sighed as he exited yet another empty room.

This whole castle was empty! Shippo quietly muttered a few choice curses he had heard Inuyasha use on any number of occasions. Shippo hadn't seen a single person besides Inuyasha since they had arrived as this creepy manor house.

At the thought of the hanyou, Shippo stifled a frightened sob. Poor Inuyasha, trapped by that horrible Niishi woman. He couldn't even be angry at the hanyou for hurting Kagome, not now that he knew Inuyasha had been under someone else's control when it had happened.

Biting back another sigh, the kitsune trotted out of the room, his eyes scanning the courtyard for Miroku. Not seeing the monk, Shippo shrugged to himself as he headed for the next door. The monk was probably just inside a room at the moment.

At least, Shippo thought grumpily, I don't have to worry about the lecherous monk running off after some woman since the castle's deserted.

Cracking open the door to the next room, Shippo stuck his head in, then blinked in surprise. This room was completely different from all the others! It was monstrous, decorated with elegant tapestries, silk pillows, and painted folding screens.

Staring in open-mouthed wonder, Shippo explored the room, examining priceless art and sculptures, touching expensive silks and fabrics, and gaping at all the opulence. Stopping in front of one the folding screens that partitioned the room—though this one was placed right by the far wall—Shippo reached out a hand to gingerly touch the intricate painting.

A sudden crash made him start, his arm jerking and tearing a gaping hole in the delicate canvas of the screen.

Shippo whirled, his eyes falling on the broken vase that had toppled off a low table at the other end of the room.

Annoyed, the kitsune turned back to the screen, glancing around guiltily and clumsily trying to hold the jagged edges of canvas together.

Abruptly remembering that this was Naraku's castle, Shippo gave the screen a nasty look, then a good swipe with his fist for good measure. Satisfied with damage, Shippo started to turn away when he realized that something wasn't right.

There was no wall behind the screen.

Frowning, Shippo turned back and examined the scene. Yes, the screen was clearly pushed up against the wall. But where the tear was, he could see an open space behind it.

Curious now, Shippo slunk forward, then tore that canvas away, revealing a small crawl space that disappeared into the wall.

Swallowing nervously, Shippo studied the dark tunnel. He took a frightened step back.

Unbidden, the image of Inuyasha's face popped into his mind.

For Inuyasha! Shippo thought fiercely, summoning up all his courage. Swallowing hard, he plunged into the tunnel.

Darkness engulfed him. Determination temporarily overcoming fear, he blundered on, realizing that the passageway was moving upwards, rapidly growing steeper. Shippo climbed. After what felt like a year of blindly scrabbling in the dark, the path abruptly leveled out, revealing a dim light up ahead.

Picking up speed, Shippo sprinted desperately for the welcoming light.

Panting—almost sobbing—with relief, Shippo knelt by the crack in the passageway floor, basking in the light and squinting in the sudden brightness.

Glancing down, Shippo realized that he could see into a room beneath him. He must be on the second floor.

Infinitely curious now, Shippo leaned down and pressed one eye to the crack, peering down into the brightly lit room below.

"And just what do you think you're doing?"

The soft, cold voice came from directly underneath him.

Shippo froze in terror, his eyes finally adjusting to the light and focusing on the figures below him.

And he found himself looking down on none other than Naraku himself.

: x ∙ To Be Continued ∙ x :

A/N:

Aw, too bad. Only two cliffhangers this chapter…or does that count as five since I didn't resolve any of the cliffies from the previous chapter? :ponders: Hmm…

:evil smile:

Chapter 26 – The Prison of Darkness