AN: Hey! I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in such a long time! I can't believe it! What has it been? 7 months! Again, very, very sorry about that. I hope that people are still taking an interest to this story! Please review and tell me what you think about this chapter. I've tried to make a longer one this time but was not that successful +__+;; anyway, hope you enjoy!
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She couldn't sleep for the rest of the night. Not even when she tried, or when she just lay in the bed for a few minutes, waiting for darkness to engulf her. It was annoying, to say the least. She grunted as she shifted positions again; the mattress underneath her creaked horrendously. The move to unit F was certainly a big change; she used to have a room to herself, decorated with flowery pendants and other ornaments. She even had her own bathroom! Kagome certainly did not want to know what the bathrooms here were like; she could imagine the cockroaches creeping out and the rats infesting some burrow of dust in the far northern corners. She shuddered at the thought of it.
"Damn it," she swore underneath her breath. Her fingers traced intricate patterns along the hard, cold wall, familiarizing her touch with it. She blinked her gray eyes rapidly as she pushed a lock of hair away from her delicate face. The long tresses of her nightgown billowed underneath the bed's thin sheets as a wave of air welcomed itself into the room. Kagome looked around perpetually, wondering what, if anything, had brought the wind in. Her eyes traveled around the room, in taking every small detail there was to absorb; and even though she searched ever so hard, she could not find the thing she was looking for. "Must be some damned hallucinations," she muttered, stabbing herself in the arm with her index finger. It had become a ritual of some sort. Whenever she did something terribly wrong, or anything of that sort, she would poke her arm in order to remind herself to come back to reality.
Kagome relaxed into the mattress, praying to all gods that the old antiquity wouldn't break itself on her. Truthfully, she was more scared that Sango's mattress would burst into smithereens and the girl would crash herself onto Kagome! She turned over on her back, facing upwards; her hands clenched themselves together as her long fingernails grazed her skin, causing small "U" trenches to erupt on it. She shivered in the cold as another gust of wind came to bequeath her with its presence.
"Stupid building," she said as she gritted her teeth, "it's probably got some damned holes in it or something!"
"Watch what you say, dear lady," Kagome heard a voice whisper in her ear. Her eyes widened themselves as she recognized who it belonged to. She couldn't quite remember the name, but she had memorized everything there was to know about the person.
"The devil's back," his smooth voice whispered again. She shuddered voluptuously under the sheets, trying hard not to catch sight of the man that was bent over her. Nevertheless, she failed and found herself staring right into his eyes. There was no depth inside them, no hidden soul subsided, and certainly no emotion present. Oftentimes she wondered how it was possible to attain that look of outright nothingness in one's eyes, for even she, the 'queen of all darkness' could not possess them.
"Why the hell are you here--…" she glared.
"Naraku, Kagome, it's Naraku. Make sure you don't forget that. Now come out of that damned bed of yours and go outside."
Kagome bit her lip in fury, clutching on her sheets tightly, hoping that the man's present before her was but a dream. She was more than just a little disappointed, though, when after a few seconds, he was still there, hovering over her like the sky. She forced herself out of the bed, pushing him away in the process.
"There, now that's a good girl," he remarked sadistically. He gripped her arm tightly as he prodded her to the door's direction, careful not to make a sound in the process. She looked around fearfully, her eyes interlocked with the deadened bodies of other children. Kagome hated them for not being awake, and despised them even more for not being able to defend her. But it wasn't like they were going to defend her anyway. No sirree, that wasn't the way it worked in this orphanage. She cursed underneath her breath again as Naraku dragged her onto the pavilion outside.
"What do you want from me?" she asked, trying hard not to punch him in the face. She stomped her bare foot on the sidewalk as a new crack ruptured in the cheap cement.
"You remember me?" he asked as his lips twitched into a domineering smile.
"Of course I do!" she snorted. "You made my life hell."
"Hell? But didn't you already have hell before I came along?"
"Piss off, bastard!" Kagome screamed, molding herself into a fighting stance.
"Getting a little worked up there, aren't we?" Naraku circled around her lightly, his long hair blew ferociously in the wind as his long fingers embraced the ends of her hair tightly, causing her head to tilt backwards. "You don't call me bastard, do you understand?"
"No, I don't, so humor me," Kagome flashed him a deranged smile before she escaped his grip.
"Do you remember what I did when I first came to your unit?"
"---…"
"I take that as a yes."
"You know what? Go to hell! I'm not the same as I was before!"
"So you're not the little girl that still wishes for her mommy and daddy to come hold her at night?" Naraku asked icily not forgetting to turn his voice into a babyish mockery at the end of the sentence. Kagome shifted her stance slightly, her arms relaxed themselves as she tried to back away from his figure. She could see him reaching in for something inside the pocket of his trousers and she immediately turned her back on him to fly towards the door. Her eyes flickered to his direction as a paradox of anxiety overcame her whilst she backed away in fright.
"Relax, Kagome, I'm not bringing out a knife," she heard him say. His voice became distant as a light-headed dizziness ruptured in her head. She clutched her forehead tightly while her free arm rested itself on the wall.
"Come on now, come here," he motioned at her, pointing towards the empty spot of ground in front of him. Kagome pressed her back on the wall as she slid onto the pavement, her knees finally giving out on her. She closed her eyes disdainfully and wished for her strength to return to her, but no matter how many prayers she uttered, not a single ounce of force came to fill her body. The girl buried her face within her hands, her long fingers ran through her silky hair as her chin touched the infringement of her chest. The folds of her white nightgown came to rest on the dirty ground.
"I see that you have disobeyed me," Naraku remarked amusingly. He tapped his foot on the pavement, creating small, but evident crackling noises. Kagome watched him as his hand slowly came out of his pocket. She caught sight of a small, white piece of paper that he crumpled within his grip. She tightened her formation against the wall as her knees rose to her chest and her arms protected her legs. Kagome looked up hurriedly, her eyes wide with anticipation.
"You're afraid, aren't you?" Naraku asked while strolling to her.
"That's a question you should be able to figure out on your own," Kagome spat out. The seams of her nightgown brazed her legs as another gust of wind came to haunt her. She tried to hug the material in order to prevent it from showing any parts, but despite all of her efforts, failed to do so.
"My, my, that was quite a sight, sadly though, it is not what I was wanting to do. But trust me, that will come for later," Naraku let his tongue run over his perfectly aligned teeth as his eyes bore straight into Kagome's figure. They glazed over her body and finally came to rest at her face. "Fear, I see, is what I manage to produce from you. Very well then, I will show you what I had intended to from the very beginning."
Kagome winced as Naraku began to take long, hard strides towards her. The look on his face suggested that he was done toying with her, but knowing the man, she knew that he was far from it. Her glance shifted itself to the paper held in his hands, wondering what the hell was inside it that was so important. She cursed at the auspicious smile playing on Naraku face and looked away gradually.
"Face me," Naraku commanded, his voice set as stone. He bent down to reach her level as his hands cupped the side of her face, pushing her to his direction. She shivered at his cold touch and restrained herself from slapping him outright. "I'll make a deal with you."
Kagome's ears perked up at the sound of 'deal.' She had oftentimes had negotiations with Naraku and had always been delighted with the outcomes. Her eyes brazed themselves with an unruly determination as a small snicker came to replace the fear set in her face.
"Tell me, Kagome, what is this?" He asked, straightening out the piece of paper held within his hands. He plastered it in front of the girl's face as she omitted a gasp of surprise. Naraku smiled as he received her probable reaction.
"Where the hell did you get this?" Kagome asked, fingering the photo delicately.
"Remember, I was his child."
"You mean?"
"Oh dear, Kagome! Don't tell me you've forgotten already! Who else but his? Your whore of a mother came to marry my father who merely wanted a woman to take care of his unwanted son!" Naraku exclaimed as he stood up. The back of his hand slapped his forehead overdramatically while his free arm offered a hand for Kagome.
"Who could ever forget a bastard son such as you?" Kagome sneered, slapping away his hand with full vengeance. "Now what's this deal you ask me to do?"
"Right down to business, as always, it is my pleasure, fine lady," Naraku drawled lazily on the word fine. His blatant expression caused Kagome to retaliate into anger.
"Get on with it!"
"Now, now, calm down. See? Your anger makes you look like a pit bull!" Naraku laughed at his own remark. "I will give this picture to you, which is possibly the only picture you have left of your family, and in return, you will help me to tackle down Miroku, Inu-yasha, Kouga and their idiotic gang."
"Before we make this certain, why the hell do you want to obliterate them from the world, so to speak?"
"They have something that I want, more likely, Inu-yasha and Kouga have something that I want."
"And what is that?"
"That, my lady, is a secret best kept for later," Naraku lifted his index finger to his lips, pouting slightly as he did so.
"Shouldn't I know what I am dealing with?"
"It's all, or nothing, Kagome. Do you want this picture or not?"
"Yes."
"Well then you only have to make this deal. It's not like you are going to make any sacrifices."
"Then it's done."
"Welcome, Kagome, to my world."
Naraku set his arm sternly in front of him, creating a half circle within the air. He clicked his fingers gently as he bowed before Kagome, and with that, he hurried himself out of her presence.
"Something you want, eh, Naraku?" Kagome whispered as her raven hair covered her face. "I'll make sure I find out what it is. Oh yes, and I'll certainly remember to destroy it! It's payback time."
Kagome grudgingly returned back to the dorm room, licking her dried lips as she thought up of a conniving plan. She let out a yawn and pushed herself onto her bed, forgetting that the old mattress would omit more than just a few silent creaks.
"What the hell?" she heard Sango ask. Kagome watched as Sango bent downwards to catch a look at her. "Kagome, was that you?"
"Yeah."
"Where've you been?"
"Just out," Kagome faked another yawn, "I couldn't sleep so I decided to take a walk."
"Did you meet anyone outside?" Sango asked worriedly.
"What is this, 20 questions?" Kagome murmured beneath her breath, her gray eyes flaring at Sango's direction. "Well, I met this one guy, but it was nothing."
"I see, go back to sleep, it's a long day ahead of you," Sango smiled tightly as she watched Kagome tuck herself in. She sighed in aggravation and pulled herself up again, heaving a long breath. "What have you got yourself into girl?"
---
The rest of the night continued to rupture in shambles for Kagome. First, her body had decided that even though it would let her sleep for one hour, it would proceed to be active for the next three. So in order to tire it out, she ran around the building twice, did sixty push ups and sprinted across the hallway for God knew how long. Unfortunately, her body held much stamina in it and she could not tire out at all. In the end, she had sat on her bed, counting off invisible sheep while daylight broke and morning came.
"Hey, Kagome, why're you looking so tired?" Sango asked perkily, swinging her head sideways. Her ponytail loosened itself as the rubber band that contained it snapped in two. "Aww crap!"
"Before you ask other people their problems, why don't you sort out yours?" Miroku smiled, stepping behind Sango. His eyes traveled lusciously over Sango's body as his free hand slapped her derriere, causing Sango to flare up in anger.
"How dare you!!!" Sango cried, punching the poor boy in the face.
"My, oh my, I'm very sorry Sango," he pouted, wiping the coalition of blood forming underneath his mouth, "you just look great with your hair down like that!" Sango continued to abuse him with full vengeance and the fight grew from battle-like to outright war. Kagome watched with avid interest whilst the two chased each other around the building, Sango with her fist, and Miroku trying to duck it.
"Don't mind them," a gruff voice commanded beside her, inviting itself over to sit on her bed.
"Inu-yasha," she gasped, taken by surprise at the course of his action.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing," she remarked mysteriously. Kagome found his eyes stare at her with amused interest and gave herself an invisible sign of victory. If she wanted to know what it was Naraku truly wanted from this anything-but-perfect boy, she would have to get close with him. She continued her deviant acting as she set her tone of voice slightly higher than normal. "It's just that, those two seem to be quite the commotion." Kagome folded her hands over on her lap and doubled over with pretence laughter as Miroku finally bombed out from running around and Sango stomped furiously on his back.
"Oh, them. That's actually their sick way of showing that they care for each other. Some kind of twisted way to tell the whole world, eh?" Inu-yasha laughed.
"Do you know anyone called Naraku?" Kagome whispered, cupping her palm over his ear so that no other people would hear her question. She caught people gazing at them with furtive glances and snarled with instant ferocity at their impeccable actions. Kagome's attention shifted to Inu-yasha as she found that his posture had stiffened noticeably.
"Naraku?" He asked, gritting his teeth until she could almost hear them grinding against each other. His eyes passed over Kagome coldly as his hand clenched her mattress tightly. She could see the muscles of his arm form taught knots and pursed her lips in distaste. It would take a lot of work to get close to this one.
"Has he done anything to you?" Inu-yasha asked, unaware of the crowd gathering around him.
"No-…"
"Well that's good," he said, cutting her sentence off. "Don't ever get close to him," Inu-yasha commanded. "He's nothing but an outright bastard."
"What did he do to make you hate him so much?" Kagome interrogated, making sure that her voice did not reach the liminalities of borderline frustration.
"It's nothing you should concern yourself with."
She huffed a breath of annoyance as she realized that the boy wasn't going to tell her anything unless she made a few direct changes in her tactic. It was frustrating! Usually she could purge information out of anyone within an hour of her approaching them, but this one was clearly a little more complex than the rest. Still, it was a challenge, and the prize in the end was well worth it. Kagome remembered the spontaneity of the moment when Naraku introduced to her the picture of her family and grinned at the thought of finding the man's putrid, little secret. Kagome bit her lip again as she attempted to level Inu-yasha a different way.
"So you don't trust me," she sighed, drooping her hands over her neck as she bent over on her knees. She tried her best to create a forlorn expression and grasped her face with her delicate fingers, slowly tracing the bone of her jawline using her thumb. Kagome omitted a sigh of defeat as she keeled her head over to see Inu-yasha.
"It's not that, well, not exactly---…"
"Then why don't you tell me what he did?" she forced herself not to smile when Inu-yasha's blatant expression turned into one of immense confusion.
"Because I just can't…"
Her gaze traveled to the other side of the room and she snarled in frustration as she saw Miroku raise his eyebrows to Inu-yasha. He nodded at his direction and immediately strode towards Inu-yasha's side, defeating Kagome in her self-waged war.
"Yo, Inu-yasha!" He exclaimed, slapping Inu-yasha on the back. "What's up man? This chick here looks pretty fine!" Miroku drawled, winking at Kagome while darting other signals around. "I didn't know you had it in you! Quite the player, eh?" Miroku stepped in between Inu-yasha and Kagome and lied down lazily on Kagome's bed, forcing a snarl from Inu-yasha.
"Shut up!"
"Hey, hey! I was just joking there. Come on, how long has it been? 1 year? That's way too long to be mooning over some damned chick! You've got to live your life."
"I'm living my life just fine, thank you very much."
"Then why don't you join me to go ass-hunting today? There's going to be a lot of wind today and a lot of skirts down at the joint," Miroku sat up.
"No."
"Living your life just fine, aren't you Inu-yasha? Think about that, because it's exactly what you're not doing," Miroku stood while patting Inu-yasha on the back. His eyes flickered with thought as he walked away, slamming his head profusely against the palm of his hand.
"Stupid bastard," Inu-yasha muttered.
"If you don't mind me asking," Kagome gently remarked, "what was he talking about?"
"First of all, I do mind you asking, and second of all, that's another thing you shouldn't concern yourself with." Kagome cursed silently when Inu-yasha lifted himself up from her bed. He walked in the same way Miroku did, which was an utter predicament. She glared irritably at his lonesome figure, pursing her lips in distress. Her nose flared and she gripped her arm heatedly to prevent her from punching into the air.
"Damn you!" Kagome snarled, "you're going to pay for that. No-one, no-one talks to me that way!" Kagome threshed onto her bed, trying hard not to scream in annoyance at Inu-yasha's volatile actions.
"Hey, Kagome, what's wrong?" Kagome opened her eyes to find the worried face of Sango staring down directly at her. She sighed voluptuously and swung her feet over the edge of her bed.
"Oh, nothing, just a little tired!"
"Come on, you can tell me! I bet it's Inu-yasha, right?" Sango asked, sitting Indian style on the floor.
"No--…"
"Nuh-uh! You can't lie to me! It is him, right?"
"Yeah."
"Aw, don't worry about him! The fact that he even talks to you is a big deal already! Say, you look like someone I knew a year or two ago; do you have a sister or something?"
"No, why?"
"Oh, forget about it, that's nothing. Anyway, I saw you guys talking to each other from across the room. You should've seen the look on his face when you were whispering into his ear! My God, he's either fallen for you already or has reprimanded his face to blush like that once every few seconds."
"He was blushing?" Kagome asked in surprise. She scratched her head as she heaved a sigh of relief.
"Of course he was!" Sango clapped her hands in glee, "problem is, do you like him?"
"No, at least I don't think I do, but really, blushing?"
"Yes sirree! Now get your butt out of bed! You wouldn't want our ever so 'divine' headmaster to kill us for being late now, do you?" Kagome forced a smile to rupture on her face and hurriedly pushed herself out of bed, shaking her hair loose from the knots carved in it.
"You know, you've got really nice hair!" Sango exclaimed, "How'd you get it that way?"
Sango was right, it was going to be a long, long day.
---
Kagome bent down on her knees and lifted her apron up to cover her shirt. She tightened the bandana on her forehead and wiped the clean part of her arm over the ever-present perspiration. The humidity in the air felt palpable against her now-dry skin and she bit into the sides of her mouth to subside her growing anger.
"Since when do I, of all people, have to clean toilets?" she complained, throwing the bottle of toilet cleaner high into the air, hoping it would burst open so that she wouldn't have to spend more time inside the bathroom.
"Since I came here to rescue you!" A male voice called out, catching the bottle in mid air and landing gracefully on the wet floor.
"Kouga!" Kagome squealed, pushing herself to grin at the sound of his name. After all, if Inu-yasha was not willing to tell her any information about Naraku's unknown plan, Kouga might still have some inside knowledge.
"I have come to rescue you, fair goddess!"
Kagome snickered at Kouga's volatile words and closed her eyes with pleasure. He was certainly going to be an easy one.
"Tell me, Kouga darling," she remarked, flinching at the mention of any words concerning Kouga in her sentence. "I need to ask you a question, and you have to be absolutely truthful about it," she commanded, her eyes boring laboriously into his own.
"Of course, anything for you, Kagome!" Kouga looked at her hungrily.
"I met this guy the other day," she said, "he said that he knew you. His name was-…"
"Don't tell me…" Kouga scrambled towards the door, his eyes wide with fear.
"You know him?"
"Yes, of course. Was his name---…"
"Barney?"
"EH?!" Kagome screamed, forgetting to hide her frustration. She wiped the sweat off her forehead in full vengeance as screaming thoughts came to plague her mind. Even if the guy knew something, he would be too stupid to even realize it!
"You see, Kagome dear--…" Kouga walked towards her, trying to explain his story.
"Cut it. I don't have a lot of time. The guy I met was called Naraku."
"Naraku, huh?" Kouga folded his arms across his chest, "that rings a bell."
"Really?" Kagome's face brightened.
"He used to go to this orphanage, but he ran away after he got sick of it. Haven't heard from him ever since. How is the bastard?" Kouga blasted her with a screen of thoughts.
"He's fine, I guess."
"Well then good for him!" Kouga picked up his mop and started scrubbing the floors, silencing his ever-talking mouth into the depths of oblivion. Kagome grabbed his forearm sturdily as she hardened the dead look in her eyes.
"What did he do, Kouga? What the hell did he do here?"
"I'm sorry, but that's something I can't tell you," he pleaded to her aggravatingly.
"Why the hell does everyone keep telling me that? What was so wrong with him that no-one can possibly bear to mention his name?" Kagome screamed, releasing Kouga's arm from her grip. She clutched his muscular shoulders as she pushed him onto the wall, ready to attack anytime soon.
"Let go, Kagome," Kouga commanded sternly. He snarled angrily when she wouldn't release her grip and pushed her aside, leaving a shocked Kagome standing in the midst of the room. Kouga arched his face to her direction. "If you want to know what he did, it's something that we have sworn to our graves never to tell, Kagome." He talked slowly and carefully, picking his words cautiously so as to not reveal any pertinent information. "Even we have our morals, and once we have pledged by something, we will never break it."
Kagome watched in disdain as Kouga took a step outside the bathroom. Her perfect posture slumped as she heard the soft noise of the door closing. "Damn," she hissed, "even an idiot like that would keep a secret."
---
"Inu-yasha," Sango huffed as she tried to catch up with the boy in front of her. Her arm reached out and grasped a nearby pole; she rested her back momentarily on it and called out once again to Inu-yasha. "I swear, if you don't get your butt over here, I will slap you to China!" she threatened, forcing a humorous laugh from Inu-yasha. "Hey! I'm not joking here! You know I can slap you all the way to China!" she screamed while folding her arms over her chest, all the tiredness seeping away from her.
"With that so-called strength you've got I bet you can't even raise your hand to slap me, let alone make me land all the way to China. Although that would be a nice trip! Imagine that, I'd get to see the Great Wall of whatever you call it and bug all the kings so that I could get a date with their daughters!" Inu-yasha remarked sarcastically.
"No offense, Inu-yasha, but umm, with your looks, I don't think you'd even get a rheumatic, half-blind 98 year old woman to go on a date with you," Sango snickered comically causing Inu-yasha to come by her and crush her with his all-mighty head-lock. "OK, OK!" Sango panted, "all jokes aside, what were you thinking?"
"It was frightening," Inu-yasha commented, casting his eyes on a spot on the ground, "no, it was terrifying to see that girl. I remembered the way she talked, the way she walked, heck, even the way she ate, and may all gods help me, but Kagome was an exact replica," he continued talking as Sango nodded at him. "At first I thought that it wasn't real because she was gone, she had to be gone, there was no way in hell that she survived through anything; and I guess that's when I blew it."
"You mean that first day she came?" Sango asked voluntarily.
"Yeah, she scared the hell out of me, you know?"
"She didn't seem to scare the hell out of you when you were talking to her on her bed!" Sango remarked playfully, punching Inu-yasha in the arm.
"Hey! Just because, just because---…" he sputtered.
"Just because what, Inu-yasha?" Sango pranced around, "there are no excuses! Besides, she seems like such a nice girl, I'd actually be surprised if you didn't like her."
"I never said I liked her!" Inu-yasha defended himself.
"Oh, come clean, you were practically drooling over her."
Inu-yasha frowned prolongingly and ran his fingers through his hair, tapping his foot aggravatingly on the ground.
"Hey, stop tapping your foot, Yasha, you sound like the Mad Hatter," Sango joked, "no, wait, you're the Mad Hatter in Love!"
"She asked about Naraku, you know."
Sango's eyes widened as she ceased all of her actions. She turned around slowly to face Inu-yasha and closed her eyes in exasperation. Her head drooped low as she pursed her lips, muttering a small chant.
"What did you say?" Inu-yasha asked, his buoyant expression glazed over Sango.
"A prayer."
"What for?"
"May the gods protect us from harm."
"It's coming again, isn't it?"
"Yeh, and this time we can't dodge it."
---
Kagome turned away from the scene before her, hiding behind the stony-cold wall that provided as a barrister between her, Inu-yasha and Sango. She rubbed her face dryly as she walked inside the dormitories, wondering whatever the hell made Naraku so fearful. She heard the door swing behind her as she turned to face it.
"Sango," Kagome blinked.
"Be careful," Sango whispered, passing by the other girl. A lone tear filled the trenches of her cheek as she continued to stride to her bunk.
"Yeh, I will," Kagome whispered back.
---
AN: Whew, again, I am so sorry that I haven't updated in such a long time! Argh, I hope that you guys liked this chapter, please review!!! Anyway, Naraku's, Sesshoumaru's, Inu-yasha's, Kouga's, Kagome's and the Mysterious Girl Who aka She who should not be named, will not have their usual cliché rules in this story, sorry to say ^_^, or at least I'm going to try real hard not to make them have their cliché rules ^_^ btw, Sesshoumaru will appear in the next chapter, to all the Sesshoumaru fans. And also, I haven't decided what pairing are going to be in this story, but it's a definite S/M! Also, sorry that all the charas seem out of character, but they'll shift into their usual personalities in around chapter 5 or 6. ^_^ please review! And I hope you liked this chapter ^_^
