A Delayed Dawn

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, only this poor attempt at a story involving said characters.

Warning: This story is posted in the mature section for good reasons. If ideas such as vulgar language, descriptive violence, and sexual situations such as rape disturb you, then you are warned now.

Chapter Thirty-Six What is Truth?

War Dogs Compound

Kagome's eyes fluttered open. She sat up finding herself not in one of the rooms of Naraku's compound. Something a lot more modern, and stale. The room smelt too clean, sterile, but not rich with chemicals. The only colors in the room were grey and white, or maybe a pale blue color. Sterile, clean colors were what they were. The kind she didn't want to see. She flopped back down in the bed.

Yeah, she knew where she was at. And she wasn't happy about it at all.

She peered over at the door as it slowly creaked open. Kagome sat up, unsure of who or what it was. Two shadows appeared with a larger one behind him. Kagome relaxed and smiled. The door burst open and two objects jumped from the floor, flew through the air and landed on the bed with a thud and a pile of giggles.

"Mommy!" The kids yelled as they hugged their mother for the first time in many days. They had missed her warmth, her comfort. They had grown accustomed to having her around all of the time from their traveling after the attack in Hiroshima. To be separate so quickly, so violently, left them afraid that they might never see her again, even with the spell.

Kagome hugged her children back. Warmth and love washed over her. They were all grateful that kami allowed them to be reunited safely once again. Kagome couldn't hold back the tears of joy for her children. They were her everything.

"It's good to see ye awake Kagome," Kaede spoke as she closed the door behind her.

Kagome only nodded as her children got comfortable in her bed. Kaede stood by the bed and watched as the children were once again truly happy. Too many days had she seen the children mope around because Kagome's presence was lost on them. Hopefully, that would never come again.

"How are ye feeling child?" Kaede asked going into doctor mode.

"Better now. My head still hurts some," she explained rubbing the back of her where she felt the remnants of what must have been a large bump. Touch alone made it pulse lightly with pain.

Kaede slightly nodded. "Heard you took quite a hit on the head. No worries. Ye just need rest and it'll be fine."

"Thank you Kaede," Kagome whispered as she buried her face in the hair of her children, grateful for their safety.

Kaede shook her head, closing her good eye before opening it again to gaze at the young woman. "I don't know what ye were thinking Kagome. You and your children acted reckless in more than one instance."

Kagome looked down at her children. She knew that the only way for Inuyasha to have saved her was for him to have broken the barrier. And the only way to break the barrier was to travel far north for the orb. And she was pretty sure that only her children knew of that little secret, for it was one of very few that she shared with them.

"You two didn't?" She asked, a sigh of disappointment escaping her dry lips.

"Sorry mommy," Takeru whispered as he snuggled closer to his mother, his small arms wrapped tightly around her waist, wanting to just skip past that part. All he cared was that he was able to hug his mother again.

"I told you not to," Kagome sighed, disappointed in her children for not listening to her as she had told them never to go anywhere without adult supervision. And that Souta and Shippo were not adults. But she couldn't be mad at them. She didn't exactly blame them for doing what they did.

"Ye still need rest Kagome. Let's go, Takeru, Amaya. You can visit your mother later," Kaede instructed the tiny family.

Kagome kissed her children on their foreheads and then they climbed out of the bed, waving goodbye to their mother. She waved back and then was left alone. Sighing, she leaned back into the pillows. The privacy and quiet allowed her to replay everything she had discovered while at Naraku's compound. There was little else for her to do.

Naraku was most definitely after the jewel. It was all he wanted, all he needed for his plans, his goals. She didn't know what his plans or goals were exactly. But they couldn't be good. And then Kikyou was involved. It was obvious that Kikyou had helped Naraku, and yet, she wanted to kill him. Whatever her reasons were, Kagome didn't know those either and she wasn't sure if it was important or not. But it was another thing that she didn't know.

There was something missing to all of this. Why Naraku needed the jewel? Did he have a wish? And so, what was it? Kagome sighed, careful not to bother the bump on her head too much. She didn't know enough about Naraku to make any predictions about him at all. But now Kagome knew what she had to do.

And she couldn't sit in bed at the moment waiting for her body to heal. This was more important.

Kagome tossed the covers off of her body and gently slid out of the bed. She was dressed in War Dogs regulated clothing. Blah sturdy cotton pants, almost like blue jeans, but not, with a matching blah colored t-shirt. And it felt awful. Like a prison garb, to remind her of her place. She would need a change of clothes, as well as a bath later. First, she needed out of this room. Out of this place.

As she reached for the door, she was forced backwards, stumbling a few steps as the door opened up itself. No, someone opened it.

"Inuyasha," Kagome breathed out, surprised to see the hanyou standing there.

Inuyasha was astonished to see Kagome out of bed. Kaede had told him that she required at least another night of rest before she could be considered for discharged. And yet, he had caught her trying to sneak out.

"You're supposed to be in bed," he scolded her. Reaching out for her, he tried to help her back to the bed.

Kagome flinched away from his touch, taking another step back away from him. She cast her gaze down on the floor. Inuyasha remained still as he wondered why she was suddenly afraid of him. Naraku. Naraku did something to her. He watched as Kagome quickly directed her bluish-brown eyes up at him before casting them somewhere else.

"I know," she whispered the simple sentence.

Inuyasha's world froze. She . . . she knew. He opened his mouth only to close it. He couldn't look at her. Suddenly, he felt that he couldn't even be in the same room with her. He never felt more ashamed then he did at that moment.

"Did Kikyou tell you?" He asked. It was the only logical explanation for her knowing. Kikyou was there the night Naraku took Kagome. Kikyou was the one who gave Naraku the jewel. He growled at the thought of Kikyou and Naraku, working together, being together. How close were they?

Kagome nodded. "Yeah, she . . . she did," Kagome replied. Her voice shook with fear. Inuyasha could sense it. Kagome was afraid . . . of him. Kagome then looked up at Inuyasha. "Why?"

He wanted to tell her. He thought he should. But he couldn't. Never. Never would she, or anyone else outside of the Pack know why he did what he had done. Not even Kikyou would know why it had happened to her.

Inuyasha just shrugged. "It doesn't matter."

Kagome relaxed some, but her fear, and something else, something he couldn't pick out, was there. Her fingers fiddled with the hem of the oversized shirt she had been given in place of the silk kimono she had been forced to wear at Naraku's. Right now, she almost wished for that kimono back. "You love her though, don't you?"

He wasn't prepared for that question. And he didn't think much about it. But he answered anyways. "Yes."

Kagome winced at the answer. Inuyasha noticed it right away. The way the life drained from her eyes, the color fading from her already pale cheeks, it was frightening. Kagome let out a breath that she had been holding since Inuyasha walked into the room. She hurt. He rescued her, but he couldn't save her. Kagome realized that she had been defeated, completely. Inuyasha loved Kikyou.

Shaking her head slightly, Kagome knew that it was time to let it all go. She couldn't believe that she had let herself, for just a tiny moment, think that she had a chance with him. Why would she let herself fall in love in the first place? She didn't know, and she wasn't able to stop herself. But she would, starting now.

"So, you've caught me," she began. Her voice was harsh, cold. Inuyasha took immediate notice to it. "What does a draftee do now that she's been imprisoned?"

Inuyasha didn't like her tone. He didn't like the way she was talking. All of that fear she had was gone. It was replaced by malice, and sadness. He didn't understand. But he knew that he didn't have a right to bother her about it.

"I don't know. I'll have to speak to my brother about that," Inuyasha stated. He too felt defeated, but he didn't understand why.

Kagome nodded. "I would like to talk to him, if possible." Kagome then turned away from Inuyasha, climbing back into the bed. She buried herself deep into the blankets and kept herself turned away from him.

Inuyasha took a step forward, having so much to say to her and yet, he was denied the chance. From her body language, it was clear that she didn't want to hear what he had to say. Or maybe she was just tired. Only she knew what happened at Naraku's compound, other than Kikyou telling her what he had done. He knew that Kikyou knew. But why would she tell Kagome?

"I'll ask him," Inuyasha spoke as he turned away, heading toward the door.

"Thank you," her voice spoke, stopping him from leaving. He looked behind him, but she was still facing away from him. "For protecting my children."

Inuyasha nodded. He turned and left. She didn't thank him for saving her. Did she not want to be saved? Or did she hate him now that she believed him to be a raging demon rapist? That had to be it. Many humans only saw demons as crazy, powerful, evil, lustful beings that craved human blood, war, and women.

And one time, that may have been true.

Sesshoumaru's Office

Sesshoumaru sat behind his desk. Kagome sat on the other side in one of the chairs that he still had. If Inuyasha had been pissed off anymore that day, Sesshoumaru wasn't sure if he would still have had an office. Somehow, he was going to make his brother pay for the continuous damage to his office. Perhaps he would hold meetings with Inuyasha in the gym instead.

He studied the woman that sat in front of him. She sat tall, poised. Her eyes focused on him. She was afraid, but it was a normal response he received from any human and most demons as well. Though her fear of him was not as strong as most others. She was used to being in the presence of demons. Inuyasha was one of the few that weren't afraid of him.

"I don't want to stay here," Kagome finally spoke, breaking the silence that existed between the two. The longer she sat there, the longer she would be stuck in this place.

"No," he answered.

"Why? Because I'm a draftee? Because I've caused you too much trouble? I never asked for your help in the first place. I've already wasted too many of your resources. Just let me and my children go," she rattled out, pushing herself out of the chair more and more with each word she spoke.

"No," was his reply again.

Kagome gasped as her body fell back into the chair. "Is this . . . do you want the jewel?" She questioned his motives for keeping her locked up in his compound. That had to be the only reason why he would want to keep her here.

"No. I have no need for such things," he finally answered with an explanation. "I only want to end the war." Though it wasn't much of one.

"The only way for that to happen is to understand the war itself," Kagome replied, slouching into the chair, crossing her arms across her chest as she huffed from his stubbornness. Couldn't anyone see that?

Sesshoumaru was surprised by her answer. Many would just agree and give up, especially in his presence. She didn't. And her statement was thoughtful. "Impossible."

"And so is bringing someone back to life," she shot back, staring at him, her eyes narrowed, but focused. The fear she had fear because of his presence slowly melted away as their conversation continued.

Sesshoumaru nodded. It was impossible. It had been once. However, resting on his hip was something that made it possible. Of course she would know about it, the power of Tensaiga. Miroku then must have mentioned Rin during their travels. That was the only way she could know that he had used it, and understood its powers.

It was obvious to Kagome that Sesshoumaru had no intention of letting her out of this place. She was angered. She had the same goal as him. She believed that Naraku was the key to ending the war. And what did the great Sesshoumaru do about it?

Bolting out of the chair, Kagome took a step toward his desk and pointed her finger at him. "You'll never end the war from inside this room." She turned and left the room, making sure that he heard the door slam.

At that moment, he felt no fear from her. He sighed. She spoke words that made him think. There were few people, especially humans that could cause him to reexamine everything he had done, or planned to do. But she had. And that was why he couldn't let her leave.

Dawn

Kagome and her children huddled in the darkness of the hallways of the floor. It was just before dawn. She had them pack up their backpacks, taking with them only what they needed. From the children, she learned that security was fairly laxed at dawn. Not only that, but there was a change in guards at this time. They would be more occupied by that then by a woman and two children sneaking out. People were free to go and leave the compound as they wished. They weren't prisoners. She sure wasn't.

"Okay, you guys head out first, I'll be right behind you, just in case anyone follows." She whispered to them.

The children nodded. They had been told by Kagome that she was a prisoner here. That the tall man who Amaya referred to as someone colder than a snowman wouldn't let them leave. It was enough to convince the children to leave.

The children headed out following the route they had used to escape earlier. Takeru and Amaya used their 'playtime' to sneak around and play hide n seek with each other, which was pointless, but nonetheless, they learned ways to get out of the compound.

Kagome watched as her children disappeared. She stood up and snaked her way down the hallway. The lights hadn't been turned on yet in the hallways, giving her the cover she needed.

"Kagome," a voice spoke from behind her.

She spun around to find Inuyasha behind her. He had been leaning up against the wall, watching, and waiting for her to make her move. And the darkness, it didn't affect him. He could see her as if the lights were already on.

She looked away from him, berating herself for getting caught before she even got anywhere.

Inuyasha pushed himself off of the wall and walked towards her. "Why? Why do you keep running away from me?" His voice cracked out. He was desperate to know. He had to know.

Kagome looked up at him. Her face telling him that his question didn't make sense. "I don't know what you're talking about Inuyasha. I have no reason to be with you in the first place, so how can I run away from you?" She was wasting time standing here talking to him. She didn't have to explain herself to him. Never again. "I'm going home, with my children."

"What about Souta, Shippo and Kaede?" He asked. They were her family as well.

"They made their decisions," she replied softly, unable to meet his eyes, even in the dark.

"What about Sango?" He asked. It was a safety question.

Kagome smiled briefly. "She can visit."

"Kagome. What . . . what do you think you can do, out there?" He feared for her safety. He just feared for her, her children.

"The truth, Inuyasha. I intend to find out the truth, about this war," she replied. "It's what I want to do," she added.

With that said, she turned and ran down the hallway, leaving Inuyasha behind her, alone. Again, he could only watch as she ran away, ran out of his life again. Fuck, he thought, infuriated at himself and his life, his existence. He couldn't stop her. He was a demon rapist. And she knew it. She knew that it was Kikyou he raped. She knew why he had hated her. Had. He didn't anymore. But that wasn't enough to keep her from running.

Sesshoumaru's Office

"Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru said as his brother slammed the door open unannounced. Inuyasha stormed in, slamming the door shut behind him. He briefly wondered if there was a chance that he could move this into the gym quickly before anymore of his office furniture became a victim to Inuyasha's emotions.

"You fuckin' let her go?" He asked, his breathing labored from overflow of human emotions he was feeling.

"Excuse me?" Sesshoumaru asked, his golden eyes glancing up from his work for just a tiny moment.

"Kagome. You gave Kagome permission to leave."

Sesshoumaru stood up. She left. Of course she left. She told him that she didn't want to stay here. From what Miroku and Sango had mentioned in their reports, Kagome wasn't one to submit so easily. Nor was she completely required to. Draftees weren't prisoners, but were treated as such because of their value. Easier to have them confined to a location than out and about, location unknown.

"I did no such thing," he replied, making sure that Inuyasha knew that he wasn't the one responsible for her leaving. Sesshoumaru picked up the phone. "Summon the old miko woman."

A few minutes longer than both demons could handle and the woman finally arrived. Kaede entered the office and took a seat in one of the more comfortable chairs in the office. She could tell immediately that whatever it was, it had to do with Kagome. Kagome had a gift for being able to infuriate anybody to the point of no return. Though Kagome never did it intentionally. Perhaps this time she did.

"When was the last time you saw Higurashi?" Sesshoumaru asked, his clawed fingers folded, resting on top of the work he had.

""Yesterday afternoon. I brought the children to her. And I checked on her," Kaede told them. So that was the problem. Kagome had ran off, again.

"Fuck, I know where she's going. She's heading back to Hiroshima," Inuyasha blurted out, upset that his brother was keeping him in the office instead of going after her. She was still a draftee, demons, Naraku would still be after her.

Kaede looked over at Inuyasha. "Did Kagome say that exactly?"

"Well, no," he replied. "She said she was heading home."

Kaede smiled. There really wasn't much to worry about then. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru both caught the smile on the woman's face. Did she find this amusing?

"Explain yourself old miko," Sesshoumaru demanded. He didn't like it when someone knew something he didn't. It wasn't that he couldn't figure it out, but, it was rude.

"Aye. Kagome has a home here, in New Tokyo. The Shrine. It was where she was born. It was where her children were born. Kagome is safer than anyone of us if she's there. If ye decide to go after her, please allow me to accompany you." With that said she stood up and silently excused herself from the office. They still have yet to learn who Kagome was. She was not one to just sit down and let things happen.

Inuyasha started to follow Kaede out of the office. "Inuyasha, wait," Sesshoumaru spoke. The hanyou turned to look at his brother, frustrated that he was still keeping him in that office. "Why did you join the Pack?"

Inuyasha was confused. What kind of a question was that? And where did it come from? And yet, it was the question that that kept Inuyasha in this hell of a life he found himself living. In his mind, as he searched deeper and harder, he came up with nothing. There was no answer. Yes, why did he join the pack?

"The truth," he replied. It was his initial reason. The truth behind the missions. The reasons for the things they were asked to do.

Sesshoumaru sighed. Typical answer. "And are you any closer to the truth than before you joined the Pack?"

Inuyasha stood there stunned. What was the truth that he was seeking? He still carried out the same missions. What had joining the Pack given him? Rape. Hurt. Pain. Anguish. Loneliness. Nothing. He was no closer to the truth than before. Joining the Pack only meant he was privy to special knowledge, but nothing more, and nothing less. Knowledge that he could've figured out on his own if he tried.

Inuyasha left. It was too much. He couldn't believe that joining the Pack was a mistake. He couldn't let the rape be meaningless. He just couldn't. There was only one thing for him to do. He headed to the gym. With Takeru gone, Kouga would need someone to pick on him and Inuyasha was in the mood to do just that.

Sesshoumaru frowned. After all of these years of war, after all his training, the books he read, the intellect he possessed, the lack of human emotions that he believed caused those with human emotions to make mistakes, he found himself wrong.

Yes, he was wrong.

Higurashi Kagome was the one to prove him wrong. All of this time, as he sat behind this desk, waiting to get information. And what was that information, new gangs, new fighting. He was always thinking about the next fight. How to stop the fighting. But the end of fighting didn't necessarily mean the end of the war.

Truth. Truth was the solution to the war. Understanding the cause of the war and fixing that problem would end the war. It was too soon to think about peace. Peace only came through understanding and both sides working together. Once both sides understood what it was that caused the war, only then could they find a way to end it, for good.

Not even Sesshoumaru knew the actual cause of the war. In twenty years, that story had changed. The so called truth had changed as perception changed and as time went forward. He couldn't believe, no, he couldn't trust the stories anymore. He had to do what Kagome wanted to do. Go out and find the truth. The real truth. He wanted to have faith in her. That she could do what no one else had tried.

But he had doubts. About Kagome, maybe even himself.

What was the real truth of the war?

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