Complete Summary: Behind these rotting wooden walls and corroded and warped ceilings lay individuals who are tortured and tormented down to their very souls. Inescapable fates went unabashed, unhealable scars and wounds that ran so deep marred once beautifully creamy skin. Blemishes of the earth, nay- lower than the dirt they walked on and scorned for their association, they await an ultimatum, for an absolution that they all knew would one day come. It was all a matter of when.

NOTES:
This is a DARK fic. It will more than likely have controversial topics and extensive dark scenes. This is a challenging fic for me and written for personal reasons.
Please, if you are underage or too immature to handle dark themes and adult situations, please leave.

WARNING: Emphasis on character death and the start of the mourning process. The first third of this chapter is more filler than anything, but it does drop a few hints about chapters to come! It's your choice on whether or not you want to read it. If you don't, you can just jump down to the first separator. X3 I also want to apologize for such a late update! I had an AWFUL time writing this chapter, even though I KNEW exactly what I wanted to write, it didn't come out easy! X'D

Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

Bile rose to the back of her throat. The amount of disgust she had just witnessed had her mind reeling. With hollow eyes, she looked up to the woman responsible. How could she have done this? How sick did you have to be to do this?

"It really was a shame that Little Rin had to endure that," Yumi said as she leaned down and placed her chin in her hand. She had really only been gone for an hour. "Had it not been for my sister, I would have killed her a lot less painfully. Had it not been for you, she might not have been killed at all."

"You're sick in the mind," Kagome choked out, "no normal person could have done what you have. You can't guilt-trip me or place blame on me for what you've done."

"Normal?" The woman retorted with a huff, "You want to talk to me about being... normal?" She laughed outright, wiping a few tears from her eyes that had managed to escape with her mirth. "You are probably the most unnatural thing to ever walk this world. Just look at how long you have been living. And you want to talk to me about being normal."

"What are you talking about?" Kagome said, "I'm about as normal as you can get."

"Don't act like you have never done anything other than what I have," she said, "you are just as much a killer as I am."

"I would never kill in the way that you have," Kagome said with narrowed eyes. Even if that was all the strength she had left, she would give it. Even if, perhaps, it was the least she could do.

"But you have," the woman said as she sat down cross-legged. "Don't think I haven't heard the stories of you wiping out those families. You really don't have to even be in here, especially if you're capable of that."

"I choose to be here," Kagome interrupted. "I am..."

"You're what? Seeking penance?" Yumi shook her head disdainfully. "One hundred and fifty years have gone by, and you have yet to show any signs of maturity. You're acting like a rebellious adolescent. You being here does nothing for you except slow your death, and already that was slow, to begin with."

Even though she had long ago realized that she had stopped aging, she could hardly recall how long it had even been. The shock from her face was enough to tell Yumi she hadn't even been aware of the amount of time. Years really did fly. And what's more... she would never see those kids again.

"A hundred and fifty years, huh?" Kagome said with a lackluster laugh. "And to think... I could've been living in a palace all the way up to my time."

"Ah yes, you said you were from five hundred years in the future," Yumi said with a nod of her head. "Do you think you will still be in captivity up until then?"

"Honestly? No," Kagome said, sitting up as straight as she could against the wall. The strength had left her so long ago. "You're here to convince me to work for you again. I refuse."

"Well, they can't say I didn't try," Yumi said, leaning back on the pads of her hands. "Though these days, you are looking more haggard than not."

"Why do you all even keep me alive?" Kagome said. "There's literally no point. I won't work for you. My usefulness has long since expired. I did your dirty work for a time, either let me go or let me die."

"You know how the master is," Yumi said, rolling her eyes. "He likes his trophies; like the grandfather, like father, like son. You really think he's gonna just let you walk on out? His collection stems from his grandfather, and he's already holding steadfastly."

Talking with her like this felt almost normal. Why? Why was it like this? Shouldn't she be more upset? Shouldn't she be throwing fits? Shouldn't she be trying to rip the woman's throat out? Shouldn't she...

But she couldn't.

She barely had the strength anymore. All of the fight was gone; her body felt weary, and her emotions were going haywire. The woman in front of her kept throwing it all in her face over and over again, as well. When would it end? Why wouldn't it end? What ancestor did she piss off so badly to have her stuck here? Why did she have to pay anyway?

Her baby... their babies...

She stopped listening to everything and anything Yumi had to say. Her droning voice filled the silence of the halls, but it was unwelcome. Frustration filled her being... for she could do nothing but sit there and take it—no energy in her limbs.

She had caught a glimpse of herself in Kaguya's mirror. Her face was so sunken in, she was a literal walking skeleton. When was the last time she even had passed a solid excretion? When was the last time she provided self-care for herself?

Her thoughts were erratic. She could no more concentrate on what the woman said to her than her own thoughts. She began mumbling to herself as she tuned out everything around her. She didn't know when Yumi stood or when she walked off. She hummed lightly, enough to fill her own silence. The loneliness she felt was immense. The quiet was deafening. Only her mind kept her going these days.

And the tassel. She loved that tassel...

Her fist clenched softly at her side as she stared into the darkness. Tears slipped from her eyes, and she made no attempt to wipe at them. She wondered what Rin and Shippou's last thoughts were... but she had a guess. And that's what made it that much harder.

It was easier to believe that they had suffocated from the smoke inhalation. It was easier to accept they had died with that fire. But to know that it was someone they trusted, someone who they all thought was safe... and she knew... it was her fault. For never seeing the signs. For never speaking up and firing them on the spot. How many accidents had there been before she showed up? How many accidents had Rin gotten into before she had come to live with her and Kaede? Just how long had the two maids even been plotting?

It was so hard to wrap her head around. And just like that, the screams were back. They filled her mind. And she weakly lifted her hands to her ears in a failed attempt to block the sounds and images from playing in her mind's eye.

They raced the last stretch of land to reach the palace, but it felt like they weren't going fast enough. Kagome clung to Sesshomaru's fur for dear life, with her chest aching. Inuyasha attempted to keep up down below, perhaps not understanding the sudden urgency. The gravity for their return was palpable; what if they were too late? Just as they began nearing the square, the front entrance of the building collapsed. A knot twisted in her gut, and she wondered briefly if Sesshomaru felt it. Her hands twisted and tangled themself ever further into Sesshomaru's fur. She just hoped there had been no one caught inside.

They landed quickly, Kagome climbing down as fast as she possibly could. She had hardly made it halfway down when Inuyasha's arms wrapped around her to put her on the ground as quickly and safely as possible. Sesshomaru transformed back into his humanoid form; the intense winds from the transformation had the flames waving in the opposite direction, clearing some of the black smoke that had already begun filtering into the square.

The heat was near-unbearable, with them standing as close as they were. The flames licked at the square and roared in Kagome's ears... but she couldn't hear it. The adrenaline and panic that she could feel building within her had her chest heaving. Her eyes darted about, looking for the two little ones that she hoped had not been trapped inside. Even the panicked screams of those who had resided in the palace seemed to fade to the back of her mind during her brief search. The cries of families, of children... she could hardly hear them. Her focus was on her own kids.

Her own eyes were wide with fear and borderline panic. The calm she exuded was false, and she could do nothing but stare as Inuyasha and Sesshomaru raced into the burning palace to retrieve their children.

And then suddenly, more of the building fell to pieces, and she had to take a few steps back so she wouldn't get hurt by the slowly falling debris. And then both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru whipped past her and into the falling apart building. And her heart lept to her throat.

The kids are still in there. She knew. She didn't want to acknowledge it, but she knew. But, to portray calm, she had to keep her head. She turned back to people who were fussing back and forth across the square.

Some were attempting to use their abilities to stall the fire, but their power was drawn up short. Taming the fire would take at least three firetrucks from her era- there was no way they were going to stop the flames from eating their home. Wood had already splintered and cracked, and the intensity of the heat would ensure that it would continue to burn. Black smoke had already re-filled the square; if anything, this fire was still spreading and threatening to overtake the entire courtyard, too. People - demons - with varying looks of horrified petrification stood on the edge of the court, avoiding the fire as best they could. Many were weeping, and others seemed to seized functioning. She could see clusters of people, some by age, some by relation. A group of crying children seemed to hold her attention, causing her gaze to linger.

Tears began to bead at the corners of her eyes. For each long minute that transpired, it was yet another long moment that she had to wait. Time felt like it had slowed to a crawl; she knew that she had only been standing there for a mere minute or so, but it felt like it were so much longer. Several had tried to get her to evacuate the square within those couple of minutes, but she refused to move until she could confirm anything. But as the building began shifting at its foundation, she was forced several paces back toward the edge of the courtyard where others waited as well.

And then it happened.

They were there, right in front of her. And she was overcome with relief. She made her way through what felt like scores of people rushing back and forth in an attempt to save their home. She was pushed, and she stumbled, but she forced herself through the throng of people. She saw Sesshomaru take a few steps forward from the now-decrepit building.

And then Sesshomaru dropped to one knee.

And her whole world stopped.

She stopped.

The children in his arms were limp, utterly devoid of life. Thoughts raced through her mind as she came to a stop within a few feet of them. Her eyes widened minutely as she froze. The sight in front of her was, perhaps, the most heart-wrenching thing she'd ever witnessed.

Tears slid from Sesshomaru's eyes and had stopped all process of thought. His arm trembled, holding tightly to the two lifeless bodies. That little bit of expression... it was enough to confirm everything in her mind. His own stunned expression mirrored her own as she slowly slid to her knees, still several paces away. Tears flowed freely down to her chin, and she suddenly felt as though she couldn't think. Her body went numb, her hands trembled as they supported her upper body on the ground. She let her gaze drop to the ground and watched her tears pool between her hands in the cracked stone bricks.

She registered the screams all around her, but it suddenly felt so surreal. There were sudden sparks of energy everywhere, but all she focused on were the two children who lay in Sesshomaru's arm. Gone... and yet here... all at the same time.

She raised her gaze to look once more at the children, raising her hand as if to reach for them. Then... someone came up behind Sesshomaru and snapped something around his neck. Kagome's eyes widened, and she felt the sudden scramble from her body as she lurched forward to get to her feet. Her eyes widened further when she realized the collar blocked all traces of Sesshomaru's power, shocking him in place. His entire body went ramrod straight as if he were being electrocuted from the inside out. His jaw clenched, and his arm went slack. The children fell unceremoniously from his careful hold, still unmoving.

She clambered to straighten herself, and then abruptly, something was being clicked into place around her own neck. And her body burned. Every vein in her body scorched as her power flared to the surface in an attempt to block whatever was happening. Her muscles seized- it was like she had developed a cramp that went straight from the tips of her ears to her pinky toes. Her teeth ground against each other, her jaw locking as pain flared through her chest at her core. And almost as soon as all of it had come... it was gone. The burning sensation she had felt nearly had her face-planting into the smooth stone of the square. It left her breathless, gasping for air. Her lungs burned as they tried to find oxygen again. She hadn't even realized she had stopped breathing within those few moments. It couldn't have lasted for more than a few seconds, but those were probably some of the longest seconds she'd ever had. And then... she was dragged backward.

She screamed and kicked, her heels digging into the stone and attempting to catch. Her sandal snapped and came loose from her foot, flying haphazardly across the brick. Screaming reached her ears, and she realized then that people were being ambushed and captured all around her. She managed to face her attacker, her nails digging into the man's skin. It seemed like the man was startled at first by the fight she had put up because he paused a moment, and she had nearly gotten loose from his hold. The man then placed an arm around her shoulders to get her to comply, and she bit down hard enough to rip the skin on the man's forearm that held her. He cursed and swung, his fist hitting her square in the face, right on her cheekbone, and she let go. She could feel where her skin had split from the ring that was on the man's finger. She struggled to her feet, scrambling to get back to the children, to Sesshomaru. Reaching out toward them, only to be pulled back once more, this time by her hair. She was dragged as her body flailed, anything to try and knock the guy off balance, but he had a firm grip on her.

The adrenaline and sheer panic that pumped through her veins had her lively animated body thrashing. The man tugged hard on her hair, nearly ripping it from her scalp, and she fell to her knees, scraping them across the stone. She bit back a hiss as she attempted, again to bite him. Only this time, he simply picked her up, shoving her and throwing her over his shoulder. She beat on his back as he carted her away.

She glanced back at Sesshomaru and watched as he, too, was toted away like a sack of potatoes- had he lost consciousness? What happened? Just how powerful were these devices? And then she saw Inuyasha appear. Her eyes widened.. no one had noticed him yet.

"Inuyasha!" She cried, and Inuyasha found her voice and flinched in her direction. "The children! Get the children!"

He seemed unsure at first, hesitant. But there was no time to decide, and Kagome knew he was contemplating saving her. "Inuyasha, run!" She exclaimed as she was thrown into a crate. She could feel the bruises forming on her back where she had hit one of the bars.

"Shut the hell up, bitch," said the man as he slammed her head back into the bar. She slumped forward, unable to move after the blow to her head. The man kicked the door to the crate closed and walked away. She reached forward through the bars.

"Run... Inuyasha..." She whispered. Her eyelids were heavy as she sluggishly moved her head to look around, dizzy and likely having a concussion. Sesshomaru had been tossed into a cage and placed in a wagon nearby. "No..." She muttered, tears forming anew. "Se...Sesshomaru..." Her eyelids fluttered closed- she was unable to remain conscious any longer.

She could only hope that Inuyasha had gotten away.

Her eyes fluttered open... she could hear a woman down the hall, sniffling and crying. How long had she been here? Since when did this become...normal? Just when did she become accustomed to the screams of pain and the nightly terrors of both pleasure and sadness? Of the cries from those who were just as trapped as she?

The woman whispered out into the darkness of their living spaces, begging for forgiveness. She apologizes, though, to whom it was unclear. It continues for nearly an hour before the woman finally grows quiet.

Someone else down the hall was whispering. It was too low, but the "s's" echoed from cell to cell. Deranged self-assurances were chanted, almost on repeat, but nothing substantial that could be distinctly made out. And soon enough, that, too, had gone quiet.

Kagome rolled over onto her side. Perhaps it was best to get more rest.

See you guys in the next chapter!