Disclaimer: I still do not own Inuyasha or any other anime for that matter.
"Why do I have to go with you?" Kagome asked as she and Inuyasha were walking along the street. A few hours earlier, he had coming storming into the room, saying that they were going to some youkai's house tonight. She tried to find a way to stay, but it proved to be futile. It's not that she really minded to go; in fact getting out of that room again was nice and it would be interesting to see how another youkai lived, but if Inuyasha was gone and he had left the rosary, then she could try to escape.
"Because I said so." Inuyasha replied. It was the same answer he gave to her question every time she had asked it, but then again, she kept asking the same question. Kagome sighed. This was getting nowhere.
"Then why are you going?"
"None of you business." He mocked. "You are the slave and just follow my orders."
"How do you know that I will be a 'proper' slave around the youkai." She laughed as he paused, that thought never really crossing his mind.
"All you have to do is stand quietly in a corner and serve me my food when it is brought out. Nothing else. Do not speak or anything." Inuyasha commanded.
"I will not stand quietly in a corner, I won't serve you your food, and I'll speak as often as I want to." Kagome responded instantly.
"Feh, you will do as your told, 'cause this youkai will kill you in an instant if you don't. She doesn't like slaves that think too high of themselves." He laughed as she paled a little, but stopped as they approached a strange, circular home. It was old and crumbling, not like Inuyasha's finely built home. At the same time, it had an air of power around it, like magic itself kept it together. In fact, whether by magic or not, Kagome saw thin strings wrapped around the entire house. It looked like if anyone were to remove those strings, the house would instantly fall apart. Kagome unconsciously fell behind Inuyasha, still gazing at the strange piece of architecture.
Inuyasha approached the door, but before he could knock, the door opened. "Mistress Yura awaits you in the dining hall." Came a hollow voice. Kagome couldn't see through the shadowed door to where the voice was coming from, but Inuyasha, seemed to be able to tell where he was, since he walked inside and followed their guide along many twisting corridors, until Kagome was completely lost. She could barely see anything that was farther than a foot away from her, so she kept a firm eye on Inuyasha back, glad that he wore red. Suddenly, they entered a room that was brightly lit, bright enough that Kagome had to shield her eyes before they got use to the blinding light.
She looked around and blinked in surprise. In many places around her, there was hair. The stings were so fine that they almost blended in with the background, but still highly noticeable. They were only located near the walls, the room itself clear, like an intricate spider's web. 'Creepy.' She thought to herself. Inuyasha didn't even appear to be affected, so Kagome assumed that this was how it was suppose to be. In fact, he strode farther in the room, directly towards some of the fine strings, but before he could run into them, they pulled out of his way.
"I knew you'd come." Said a voice high above them. Kagome looked up and saw a scantly clad woman balanced on the wires. Hairs came out from her hand and they seemed to be what was controlling the rest, since every time a finger moved, strings all around her shifted positions. The strange youkai leapt down, landing lightly on the floor. The first thing she did was approach Kagome and study her. "An interesting choice." She said after a moment. Kagome resisted her urge to slap the woman's hand away when she reached up and grabbed a portion of her hair. "Unfortunately, low quality hair." She murmured.
"My hair is fine, thank you very much." Kagome snapped and pulled away. She could see Inuyasha glare at her when she made her comment. Kagome ignored him. She wasn't going to let some youkai insult her. "I happen to take very good care of it."
"My, aren't you the outspoken one." The youkai stepped back. Kagome was a little surprised when she did nothing. All the other youkai, well all but Inuyasha, had hit her whenever she made any remarks like that. The strange youkai turned to Inuyasha. "She looks pretty useless though…is she your concubine?"
"WHAT!!!" Both Kagome and Inuyasha cried in unison. "She IS NOT my concubine!!!" Inuyasha yelled.
"Oh, well. Have a seat Inuyasha." She gestured to the table behind her. Inuyasha walked forward, but then stopped and turned to Kagome.
"Stay over there." He pointed to a corner of the room. Kagome walked stiffly over to where he pointed, still angry about the comment the youkai made. She leaned against the wall and tried to concentrate on what the two were saying.
"What were you talking about yesterday?" He demanded, sitting on one of the cushions that were placed on the floor.
"You certainly get to the point, don't you?" She sat across from him. "How about we eat first?"
"Keh, I'd rather find out the secret." Inuyasha glared.
"Hmm… of course you'd be interested." She said thoughtfully. "Have you ever heard of the Shikon no Tama?"
"Eh?" Inuyasha shook his head, a blank look covering his face.
"It's some kind of stone that will grant the person who has it their 'wish', I guess I could say." She tapped hand lightly on the table and a young, human girl walked in. She carried some type of old-fashioned box that was, as Kagome observed, wrapped around with the same kind of hair. Kagome couldn't see though the box, but picked up some kind of pink glow emanating from it. The glow was so alluring…Kagome felt this strange urge to go over there and take what was in the box. It was like it was calling her…"The Shikon no Tama was split up a long time ago, into four parts. One of the quarters was recently shattered when a massive group of youkai attacked a pitiful human settlement, where one portion of stone lied." She took the box from the girl and the girl bowed low before leaving the room. Kagome winced when she saw that the girl was riddled with scars. 'What could have done that?' She thought to herself. The girl happened to look over her while leaving, and what Kagome saw tore her heart. Her eyes seemed to be filled with grief and despair, as though she was trapped in something with no way out…
"Humph… nice story, but what does it have to do with me?" Inuyasha growled. Kagome's eyes snapped back to the conversation, breaking the momentary bond between her and that girl.
"It even has the power to change an odd ball hanyou like yourself into a full blooded youkai…or human, if you wish." She finished, her hands moving slightly. Inuyasha failed to notice this—instead thinking carefully over the words she had said.
"Whats in the box?" He asked after a moment. Yura opened it and held out a gleaming pink shard.
"A Shikon shard, of course." Kagome tried her best to pay attention to the strange conversation, but her attention was caught by the increased movement of the hair all around her. One strand came especially close to her so she lifted one finger and delicately touched it. She pulled her hand back in shock as the fine wire cut through her skin and drew blood. 'These are dangerous.' She realized. She had thought that they were some form of decoration, but…were they actual weapons? She looked back over to Inuyasha and saw the majority of the hairs heading to him, going around him in a slow, constricting circle. 'Inuyasha…why doesn't he notice?"
"Why are you telling me all this?" Inuyasha demanded. "Are you going to give me the shard or something?"
"Why would I do that?" Yura asked, laughing a bit. Her expression turned back into a strange smile. "Maybe I'll give it too you, but not for free." The hairs continued to close in around Inuyasha.
"Bah, I could just take the stupid shard from you right now." He reached out, but Yura jumped into the air, supported by the hairs coming around her. "Fine, then. What do you want?" He crossed his arms in annoyance. The hairs were almost within touching distance of Inuyasha. Kagome took a step forward. What was Inuyasha thinking? He should get out of the way.
"Its not much…I just want to play with your hair." Yura said.
"Let your filthy hand touch my hair? That's it?" Inuyasha asked incredulously. It seemed almost too easy.
"No, that's not all. Well, I'll give you my shard after that. I don't know where the other pieces are, or where the other fourths of it are." She smiled. Inuyasha looked at her suspiciously. "Of course, I will be wanting to keep your hair…" She said, almost as though it was an after thought.
"What!" He yelled. "You are going to cut off my hair?!" The strings were now thick around him. Kagome couldn't stand it anymore. She broke into a run, heading for Inuyasha.
"No…I will be cutting off your head!" With the last words, the strings tighten its grip around Inuyasha…who wasn't there. "What?" She looked down, seeing him lying flat on the floor looking incredulously at his slave who was on top of him. "Oh bother."
"What do you think you are doing!!" He yelled at her. "You come out of nowhere and tackle me—"
"You IDIOT! Are you trying to get yourself killed!" Kagome interrupted. She jumped off of him and glared at Yura. "And you! I don't know what your problem is, but it isn't polite to kill your guests!" Inuyasha sat up, still looking at her as though she had snapped. "What is wrong with you—eeeeech!" She cried and ducked under as a hair flew past her. It continued on, heading straight for Inuyasha. "DUCK, moron!" She yelled. Inuyasha just glared at her. It caught him in the middle of his chest and threw him across the room.
"What the—!" He yelled as he slammed against the wall.
"Oh dear, I guess you can see the hair, can't you?" Yura asked Kagome.
"Of course I can!" Did the woman think she was blind?
"I am afraid you annoy me. You can die now." The hairs surged toward her and caught her around both wrists, pulling her high in the air. Yura held up her hand and a sword flew to it. "I don't like slaves who get into youkai business!" She jumped up even with Kagome. "I guess I could collect your hair too…" She pulled back her weapon and Kagome shut her eyes, fearing for the worst. She heard a small scream and peaked one eye open, only to see Inuyasha holding the demon woman by her throat. He wasn't balanced on anything, and his weight caused Yura to fall to the ground, his powerful hands still wrapped around her neck.
"Bitch." He hissed. "Trying to kill me, huh?" He leapt backwards and flexed his claws dangerously. Yura quickly took in several deep breathes. "You will die! Sankon Tetsusou!!" He leapt back at her, his claw attack catching her by surprise. Her arm was torn off, and Kagome fell to the ground at the strings loosened.
"Inuyasha.." She said softly. Yura did not appear disturbed…in fact she broke out into laughter.
"This ought to be fun.." Kagome gasped as the arm reattach itself to Yura and the sword flew back into her hand. She swung the sword at him, but he avoided each attack with surprising ease. "I have to admit I underestimated you." Strings attached to his wrists and his arms, effectively pinning him "Now you will die." She cried, and rushed at him, sword out.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried, but a faint whisper tore her eyes away form the soon be attack. It was the girl from before, holding out a red skull.
"Please, kill her." She asked pleadingly. Kagome took the skull, noticing how it pulsed with power underneath her hands. Evil, deadly power. Kagome did the only thing she could think of. She threw it as hard as she could to the ground, and proceeded to stomp on it.
"What?" Yura stopped in mid run, choking slightly as power rushed from her. "You…" She hissed, looking at Kagome. Kagome glared up at her and then brought her foot down again with all her might, watching with satisfaction as it smashed in half. Yura's eyes glazed over. "NOOO!!" She yelled as her body began to turn to dust. "How could you--a mere human--?" She then vanished, nothing more than a pile of ashes on the ground.
"Heh, heh, she is dead." Inuayasha snorted, pulling free from the hair that had been wrapped around his wrist and ankles. "You could see the hairs?" He asked Kagome.
"Of course. Couldn't you?" He shook his head. "Oh, wait…" She looked over at the girl who had gave her the way to destroy Yura. "Thank you…but why didn't you destroy her yourself?"
The girl spoke softly, so softly that Kagome strained to catch her word's "I couldn't. I tried, but I couldn't." She turned and left the room, stopping once to look at Kagome. "Thank you." Kagome smiled, then looked back at Inuyasha.
"AND next time, when I say duck, you had better duck!" She yelled.
"Feh, like I'll listen to you." He said.
"Oohhh." Kagome glared at him, but then stopped when the house shuddered. "The house…it was held together by her hairs--" She suddenly remembered. "It's going to fall!'
"Damn." Inuyasha swore, and picked up the box that still held the shard. "Come on, Kagome." He called over his shoulder as he ran out the room. Kagome sprinted after him, but stopped as a beam fell in front of her, followed by a cloud of dust. She coughed and covered her nose and mouth with one hand.
"Inuyasha!" She called, picking her way as the house moaned and several more objects fell around her. She screamed as a large piece ceiling fell, and covered her head protectively. "Eh?" She asked after a moment, when nothing happened.
"Man, you are more trouble then you are worth." Came an all too familiar voice.
"Inuyasha!" She cried. He had easily caught the falling material and tossed it aside.
"Get on my back." He commanded, bending down a bit. She quickly did as he asked and he ran lightly down the halls, avoiding the falling objects with ease.
"Wait, Inuyasha! What about the other people in here?" Kagome called.
"Those slaves? Hah, they know this place better then we do. They'll make it just fine." He yelled. Kagome sighed in relief.
"That's good…but what will happen to them?" She asked as Inuyasha jumped over the falling doorway into the fresh outside air. "Their mistress died…"
"They will be caught and sold again." He replied. "No better off then before."
Kagome thought of the girl's eyes and the scars riddling her. "No, I think they will be better off. She was willing to try to kill her own owner. Yura must have been a cruel youkai." She said after a moment.
"Heh, Kagome, there are worst." He snorted.
"Well, that only means that there have to be better ones too." She said positively.
"Feh."
She suddenly remembered something. "Oh…did you say my name a second ago?" 'He said it earlier too.' She realized.
"Who cares? I have one slave. Other youkai would think I am stupid if I didn't know your name." He said defensively.
"Whatever, Inuyasha." Kagome sighed.
"Moron." He grumbled.
Sango walked by the Yura's house, looking at it in shock. There was no house…just ruins. "What happened?" She wondered. She had finally managed to get an assignment from Janegi that involved leaving the house, and decided to take the long way to the market, past Yura's strange home. She was hoping she could catch a glimpse what was happening inside. A small hope, but if Yura really did have it…
"Hey!" She called to a young girl who was sifting through the rubble. The girl looked up, a little frightened until she realized she was human. It was actually a very pretty girl, but had small scars all along her arm and parts of her face. Still, Sango was glad that it was her that was here, and not Miroku, who would probably be proceeding to ask the 'question.' "What happened here?"
The girl hesitated, then walked over to her. "Mistress Yura is dead." She said. "The house was kept together by her magic, so it fell as well."
"Really!" Sango asked. Though it was not too rare for a youkai to die in the city of Iferious, normally it only happened to the lower ones, not one of the higher class ones like Yura. "Who killed her?" Luckily for her, slaves often shared secrets with one another, bonding together since they were all under a similar problem.
"It was another slave girl." She whispered, looking around to be sure that no one else heard her. There was no one in the streets, so there was little to fear. Youkai didn't have much sympathy for one another, so it wasn't really surprising that no one had come over to check if Yura was dead or alive. Sooner or later, a patrol would come to…eh…round up the slaves and resell them. "She killed the bastard that killed my family." She hissed under her breath.
"How could she kill a youkai?" Sango asked. It wasn't that she doubted that someone did; in fact, she had killed many youkai herself, but in this city, killing youkai was harder since you lived directly under their control and they held no qualms about killing a slave who held themselves too high.
"I don't know. She could see the hairs that Mistr-- eh Yura was going to use to kill Inuyasha and then was able to break the red skull, which is the source of Yura's power." She said after a moment.
"Inuyasha…" That was the youkai she was looking for. Last night, she and Miroku had over heard a conversation… "So the slave was Inuyasha's? Did you happen to see some kind of pink shard?" Sango quickly asked. The girl seemed a little surprised.
"Yes, actually. Yura had it, but when she died, Inuyasha took it." So Inuyasha had the shard now…She quickly thanked the girl, who went back to the ruins and sat on a step. She felt a little sorry for the poor girl. If she left, she would be hunted and either killed or captured, but if she stayed, then she would be instantly sold. Either way was bad, but by staying at her owner's house, at least she wouldn't be killed. But still, knowing that freedom was within her grasp…
Sango shook her head from the depressing thoughts and continued on her way. She had to tell Miroku of her findings, then they could decide what to do next.
'Hey, where are you going?" Kagome asked as Inuyasha dropped her off at his room and removed the rosary from her.
"Its none of your business." He responded immediately, and the shut the door behind him, taking both the strange shard and the rosary with him.
"Ask the same question and expect the same answer." She sighed and carefully counted to ten before cracking open the door. The halls were clear; except for a monstrous human male who was patrolling the halls. Kagome shut the door quickly. Even though that man was probably a slave, he didn't look like the kind of human she wanted to hang around with. Especially while he carried that overlarge sword over one shoulder. She settled glumly on the couch to wait for Inuyasha's return.
In less than a half hour later, Inuyasha stormed back in the room, looking completely put out. "Of course no one knows anything about that stupid Shikon no Tama." He complained, then threw something toward Kagome. She caught it and looked at it suspiciously.
"What is it?"
"It's food, moron. You haven't eaten, right? Really, slaves are so helpless." He laughed.
"Oh, so you are serving me now?" Kagome said, taking a bite from the strange food. It was surprisingly filling, though a bit tasteless. 'Slave food.' She thought to herself.
"What! I am not! I just happened to go by the kitchens and remembered that I have a worthless slave now who can't even take care of herself!" He yelled.
"Well, if you told me where the kitchens were, then I could go get me my own food." She snapped back. "But thanks anyways."
"Bah, whatever." He snorted. "I am going to bed." He stomped into his room. Kagome looked to a clock in surprise. She hadn't even realized how late it was.
'I promised I'd try to escape tonight.' She reminded herself. 'I have to be ready.' Inuyasha had taken the rosary into his room, so if she wanted even a glimmer of chance to leave the mansion, much less the city of Iferious, she had better get it back. She settled down on the couch, waiting until she was sure Inuyasha would be asleep. She then snuck to Inuyasha's door and place her ear gently against. There were no sounds.
'Okay, here goes nothing.' She opened the door slowly, careful not to make a sound. Kagome stepped into the room, and looked around, glad that Inuyasha didn't seem to care about having many extra items. His room was almost bare, except for the bed, where he slept, and a small night stand that held both the box with the shard, and the rosary. She approached it cautiously, keeping one eye on Inuyasha. He slept strangely, propped up on one side and on top of his covers.
She reached over and picked the rosary up, then opened the box and withdrew the shard. She wasn't sure why it was so important, but the light drew her to it, and even now, power radiated from the shard into her hand and through out her body. It seemed to almost be connecting to her somehow. She shook her head and pocketed the shard and placed the rosary around her neck. 'This is almost too easy.' She realized. She started to head out, when something caught her eye. It was something pettily insignificant, but still it fascinated Kagome. Inuyasha's ears.
They were unlike most youkai ears she had seen. At least the humanoid ones. They were perched cutely atop his head and seemed to proclaim the fact that he was a mismatch of the two species. They reminded her of the ears of a dog she once had when she was very little…
She didn't know why, but she was overcome with an urge to touch them, just to reassure herself they were real. 'If I am really careful, it won't hurt too.' She decided. It was risky, but this would be her only chance to ever try. She doubt he would willingly let her touch them later, while he was awake, and if she did manage to escape, then she would never seem him again anyways. For some reason, she felt a little sad at that thought, but she quickly shoved that feeling aside. 'What am I thinking?' She then proceeded with her strange plan and knelt down beside Inuyasha and carefully brought one hand over towards his head…
Inuyasha sensed instantly when Kagome left her couch and approached his room. That was one of the many gifts his father gave him; a good nose and a strong sense of hearing. He could smell Kagome enter his room. "What is she doing?" He wondered. He could have easily made it known he was fully awake, but his curiosity got the best of him. He remained perfectly silent. 'Feh, that idiot is trying to escape!" He realized as he heard the sounds of something on the night stand beside him be taken away. He was about to yell at her, when he heard her stop, and then lean down near him. Her scent kept getting closer and closer…a strangely nice smell…
He panicked. He wasn't sure what she was doing, but shot open his eyes and grabbed the wrist that was hovering near him. "What the hell do you think you're doing!?" He cried, surprised when his voice came out a little stutterish. 'Eerrr,' he silently growled. 'What is wrong with me?' Kagome screamed in surprise and instantly used her free hand to slap him across his face. "Hey!! What was that for?" He yelled, feeling the imprint of her hand across her face.
"Sorry, sorry." She said after a moment. "You scared me."
"WHA--I scared you? You are the one who snuck into my room and in the middle of the night and you are the one who is scared?" He asked incredulously.
"Well, you shouldn't surprise people like that!" She cried.
"I can do whatever I want!" He exclaimed. He reached around her neck and took the rosary hanging from it. "And if you are trying to escape, you should have just grabbed this and run--why didn't you leave?" He asked suddenly. "I mean, I would have just tracked you down and dragged you back anyway, so you just saved me the trouble."
"I don't have to tell you." She said, looking embarrassed. 'What would she be embarrassed about?' He wondered.
"I order you to tell me." He said firmly.
"Its nothing important." She said quickly.
"TELL ME NOW!" He yelled.
"You don't have to YELL!!" She cried. "I was just wanting to touch your ears, if you want to know so much."
"My ears?"
"Uh, yah. Is there anything wrong with that?" She asked defensively.
"Keh, you are such an idiot! You shouldn't let distractions block you from your mission!" He cried. 'She likes my ears?' He wondered to himself.
"Are you wanting me to escape?" She asked sullenly.
"Of course not!" 'Wait, did that come out right?' He asked himself, then decided to phrase it a bit differently. "If I let an idiot human like you roam the streets, the other youkai are going to think I can't handle one slave." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Are you wanting to escape?" He asked suddenly.
"Of course I want to…" She said softly.
"Think it's so terrible here, huh?" He mocked. She just glared.
"I have a little brother to think of! He is all alone now and thinks that I am dead!" She cried.
"A brother? What's the use in family!?" He laughed.
"You have a family, don't you? A brother at least." She said. "Family is important."
"Heh, my brother would just as soon kill me. The only reason he lets me stay here is 'cause my father wished it before he died." He laughed.
"That is terrible…does everyone want to kill you?" She asked, seeming to be thinking back to the other youkai she had met.
"Why not? I wouldn't mind killing some of them myself."
"What about your father…he didn't want to kill you." She said.
"He died before I met him." He replied.
"Sorry." She said quickly.
"I don't care. I never met the old guy. Besides, it is partly his fault I am the way I am." He remarked.
"A hanyou…your mother was human, right? Didn't she care for you?" Inuyasha shrugged, and tried to hide the faint sadness that threatened to show itself. 'Never give in to those weak emotions.' He told himself.
"Bah, she died when I was really young. I was raised here."
"Well, family is important." Kagome insisted. "Whether they are dead or alive." 'She is really stuck on that.' He thought to himself. He hated this subject. It was pulling into memories he would rather not be reminded of.
"Just go away." He muttered. She didn't move. "I told you to leave." His voice raised a bit, coming out a little harsher than he had intended.
"Um…you still have my wrist." She said quietly.
"…oh…" He quickly let go of it, a little embarrassed. "Okay, now go." She stood up and walked out of the room. "Eh, Kagome." She turned around. "Thanks for helping me with that bitch, Yura."
"Oh yah…" She looked thoughtful. "I did save your life in a way, didn't I?"
"No, you didn't!" He yelled. "I would have lived either way. It takes more than a stupid piece of hair to kill me."
"You just don't want to admit it!" She accused. "I actually can be of some use!"
"Heh, you can see invisible hair and break skulls! What's the point in that later on!?" He demanded.
"You are such a jerk!" She cried, then turned around and slammed the door.
"Well, you are worthless!" He called. He heard the sounds of something being chunked at the door.
"I am the worthless girl who saved your life!" She cried, her voice muffled.
"Like I would be saved by some stupid human!" He yelled back.
"You are so immature!"
"Humph!"
"Whatever. Goodnight Inuyasha." She called and he heard the sounds of her getting back settled on the couch.
"Feh." He muttered, then settled himself down to sleep as well. He looked up at the ceiling blankly, and after a few minutes of doing so, he realized he couldn't sleep. His thoughts kept turning back to the Shikon shard and the fact that it could make him a full youkai. "I have to get all the pieces." He decided out loud. 'But how?' He had no clue where to start looking. No one in Iferious seemed to know, or at least were not talking. "I can go look for it myself." He decided.
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Thanks for the reviews! I would have had this posted sooner, but I was gone all weekend and then homework (my fault: otherwise called procrastination)…Oh well ^_^ I hope you enjoyed it!
Please review!