Immortality
Screams and cries of pain filled the room, echoing endlessly in the dark mustiness; Kikyo watched with a small smile, reaching into her pocket and touching the rosary beads that lie there with triumph, thinking, 'Very soon...'
The sounds abruptly stopped, leaving a silence that seemed deathly calm, and the dead miko stepped forward, her brow creased the slightest, studying the young girl that hung from the chains.
The girl's hair, so much like Kikyo's, hung over her face, blocking it from the dead miko's view, but even the hair couldn't hide the rest of her body.
A twinge of disgust flashed through Kikyo, quickly vanishing, as her gaze swept over the numerous bruises and gashes that littered the girl's abused body, the dim light in the room hiding most of the damage in its shadowy depths.
Kikyo's gaze moved slowly from the girl to Naraku, who stood next to the unconscious figure, glaring at her with gleaming black eyes as he wiped a knife in his hand with some type of cloth, blood staining the white material to a dark pink.
"It has been nearly a week since you retrieved the rosary beads Kikyo, yet the girl still holds strong... I fear her body shall give before her spirit does, even without the protection." He announced, placing the knife on a table where many other objects lay, their sharp edges flashing in the dim light, and Kikyo walked over to him, looking up into his dark black eyes without blinking, whispering, "I told you she cannot die or the power shall be lost."
"Yes my love, I understand that... we must not allow her to die. Maybe..."
"What do you think? We need to do something quickly, her time grows short."
They studied the girl in silence, listening to her shallow breathing, watching as her life seeped away slowly, and Naraku smiled the slightest, acknowledging, "I have tried to gain access to her power many times, by merely touching her cheek... I believe I have weakened that point of her spirit to its breaking point."
"You haven't much time to destroy the spirit, you must hurry than."
"No, we are not going to let her slip off into death... that would be too kind of us, my love. Instead, we'll make her feel every bit of pain, every bit of suffering, until her spirit breaks."
"But if her body gives out before her spirit, how are we to stop it?"
Stepping forward until he was facing the unconscious figure, Naraku grabbed her hair, forcing her head back until her face was upturned toward him, and Kikyo noticed the marks of abuse upon her face: several long gashes ran down the left side of her face, dried blood encrusted on them, her lower lip swollen with numerous bruises covering it. Her eyes slid to the girl's right cheek, where a nasty looking gash was festering, its color a deep shade of red, and Kikyo noted that was the same cheek Inuyasha had grabbed at when he had the vision.
Chuckling to himself, Naraku lifted his hand, stretching his fore finger outward as a deep black energy began to wrap around it, slowly shaping into three black snakes with smoky appearances, and his black eyes were on the girl in his hold when he whispered, "We'll make it impossible for her body to give out before her spirit."
Touching his finger to her right cheek, he traced the gash that lie along her cheekbone, the smoky black snakes quickly slipping into the wound, turning the festering deep red gash into a smoldering black marking.
Her screams filled the room, tears leaking from under her closed eyes, her body jerking against the chains that held her, yet still she remained unconscious.
Watching with wide eyes, Kikyo noticed an unearthly light engulf the prisoner as the mark on her cheek turned a deathly black, the pain filled screams filling her ears.
The last of the black smoke that had curled around Naraku's fingers vanished into the gash, and he stepped back from the thrashing girl, his black eyes shining with triumph as he whispered, "My demons, that now lie enclosed in her power, shall insure immortality for this frail human... until she loses her power."
--------- --------- ---------
Pain...
It filled every fiber of her body...
Indescribable, incomprehensible, undeniable...
She hurt.
Groaning, Kagome lifted her head, feeling the stiffness in her neck, and with another groan of pain, she forced her legs to straighten and support her weight.
The room she was in was quickly becoming familiar to wake up to, the damp musty smell that she was breathing in becoming something she would always dread for the rest of her life...
Not that she would survive this place.
Her gaze landed on the table that held all of Naraku's tools of torture, nearly three feet away from her, but even just seeing the items brought back the memories of what Naraku had been doing to her as she heaved dryly, her stomach rebelling against her at the memories.
Sweat beaded her body, dirt seemed to cover every inch of her, and she felt sticky with her own blood, but she ignored these facts, fighting the tears that slipped down her cheeks uncontrollably.
Wondering how long it had been since Naraku's last torture session, Kagome licked her dry lips, wincing when her tongue hit a wound, and it started to bleed anew, the metallic taste she loathed filling her mouth.
It had been forever since she had seen the sun...
Taken a breath of fresh air...
Eaten a morsel of food...
Sobs stuck in her throat, shaking her bodily violently as she held them in, unwilling to let her misery show.
Everything was a mess, everything she once believed, she no longer did, everything she had ever thought, was shattered, torn apart...
Her innocence gone.
Yet she didn't give in...
She would never give in...
She just couldn't give in...
When she had been unconscious, nightmares had assailed her... where Naraku had gained her power, taken the world under his thumb... all because of her.
'No,' She thought, lifting her chin and staring ahead of her into the dark shadows, her tear filled brown eyes flashing with determination, 'I will die before I let Naraku gain my power.'
Still, what of this power?
Why hadn't she known about it?
It didn't make any sense at all...
Except for the fact that she hurt.
Badly.
Looking down, Kagome saw her body in the dim light of the room, blood staining what was left of her clothes, bruises covering almost every inch of pale skin...
Retching her eyes away from the sight of her body, she felt a tinge of desperation, the need to get out of this dark room and into sunlight...
Suddenly she couldn't breath, it felt like Naraku was suffocating her again, she couldn't hear, not a sound, and the darkness seemed to swoop down upon her, throwing her into an ocean of nothingness.
She fought out blindly, a panic rising inside of her so strong she was afraid it would swallow her up, but even as she fought, a sense of peace seemed to slip over her body, taunting her to accept it all...
"NOOOOO!" Her own scream tore her from the blackness, throwing her back into the dark damp room that was her prison, and she stood there, her limbs shaking with fatigue, gasping for breath.
Why? She asked herself, fighting against the chains that held her, relishing the pain that came from her wrists, but silence was her only answer, laughing at her misery with its quiet whispers.
Why don't I just give in? Would it be that bad?
Eyes darkening, Kagome stopped her struggling, her breath slowing, and she imagined giving into the darkness that taunted her...
It would be so easy...
Then something hit her...
A memory, from long ago... when she was but a little girl, sitting on a rock with Souta...
"Sis, why are you crying?" The younger Souta asked, cocking his head the slightest, his expression confused, and Kagome's younger self glanced up at him, wiping at the tears that rolled down her cheeks.
"Well. someone broke their promise to me... it was a very important promise too..." She whispered, her brows furrowed on her young face, and Souta bit his lip, swinging his short legs in the air as he sat on the rock, looking out at the sky and asking, "What's a promise?"
"A promise is something you tell someone you will do... and no matter what, you have to keep it... no matter what."
"But, if you have to keep it... how do you break it?"
"Only people who don't care enough break their promise Souta... here, how about we make a deal?"
Souta turned from gazing into the sky, his childish face lighting up with a smile, showing a missing tooth, and he nodded, leaving Kagome to tap her chin in thought, finally replying, "Lets pinky swear right here... pinky swear that we will never ever break a promise to anyone, no matter what."
Souta's eyes darkened the slightest, but he quickly grinned, nodding his head, twisting his body and wrapping his pinky around her own, adding, "No matter what."
Pulled back into the world of pain, Kagome felt tears on her cheeks, and she wished she were back home with Souta and her family...
But she couldn't get home.
Lifting her chin from where it lay upon her chest, she realized that there was only one reason she was going through all this...
She had promises to keep... many of them...
Her will to fight came back within an instant, filling her body with a vigor she hadn't had for days, and she struggled against the chains, unaware of the eyes that were upon her.
Naraku and Kikyo stood in the shadows, watching the prisoner as she fought against the chains, her cries of pain and frustration echoing the room.
"It has been more than two weeks since you got the rosary beads... yet her spirit still thrives, resisting me every time I go for her power..." Naraku whispered, his eyes flashing angrily, and Kikyo nodded, studying the chained girl with narrow eyes, a cold smile coming to her face.
"I think I shall have a little fun before I finish off the dear mutt..." She laughed, walking into the room where the struggling girl was, and Naraku followed, his eyes narrowed in contemplation.
Ceasing her fight with the chains, Kagome turned towards them, tears trickling down her cheeks from the pain that racked her body.
"Kik-Kikyo..." She croaked, her tear filled eyes narrowing in disgust, and her gaze slid from Kikyo to Naraku, her body tensing automatically, awaiting the means of abuse that were sure to come.
"Kagome dear..." Kikyo whispered, her dead eyes examining the girl in front of her, and her wicked smile grew, "It is amazing how long you have lasted..."
"Yeah... you sho-should... talk..."
Knowing she was wasting precious energy, Kagome took a shuddering breath, wanting to hurt the dead miko, if not physically then mentally.
"Look gr-great... for...walkin... zo-zombie..."
A growl of anger came from the dead miko, a flash of triumph from the chained prisoner, and a raised eyebrow from Naraku, but Kikyo smiled coldly, reaching into her pocket and drawing out an object.
Holding her hand out before Kagome, she laughed, her dark eyes sparkling with evil, and asked, "Do you recognize these?"
A heavy weight seemed to settle over Kagome as she stared at the rosary beads in Kikyo's hand, the dim light in the room lightly bouncing off the polished cover of the beads, and with a small moan, all of Kagome's memories bombarded her, Inuyasha's angry expression, his flashing amber eyes...
"Your dear mutt had possession of these... that is the only reason your spirit didn't break before. Now though, you have no protection..." The dead miko whispered, her eyebrows rising the slightest, and her teeth flashed in a cold smile when she added, "Now all that must be done is rid myself of that useless hanyou..."
"Don't you dare lay a damn hand on Inuyasha! Or I'll..." Kagome shouted, a burst of energy flooding her body at the mention of harm to one of her friends, and unknown to her, blue flames engulfed her body with a roar, illuminating the many injuries that covered it.
Watching her with wide eyes, both Kikyo and Naraku stepped back from the blue flames that danced around the chained prisoner, their expressions a mix between shock and awe.
Staring at both of them with a guarded expression, Kagome shuffled through her hazy mind, attempting to find a threat suitable for the dead miko, but her thoughts were lost when Kikyo laughed, retorting, "You'll what? It seems that you are quite unable to do a thing dear Kagome... of course, before you removed these rosary beads you might have been able to save him... but now, he's mine... once again, as it was before you stole him from me."
"He still loves you! What do you mean I stole him... how could I steal him when you still have him?"
"Not true... when my dear sister put this necklace on that mutt, and you said the word sit, you created a connection between him and yourself... that connection enabled many things to happen..."
Glaring at Kikyo, Kagome shifted restlessly, the pain throbbing from all over her being the constant reminder of what she was being put through...
'Just to get the power they say I have.'
When the silence was stretched to the breaking point, the chained miko finally snorted, "What? Expect me to say something?"
"Humph... of course not, you must be in a considerable amount of pain... .. back to what I was saying before, this connection between Inuyasha and yourself awoke a power deep within you... one you couldn't handle by yourself... thus it remained hidden until you created the connection. The connection worked in both of your favors... this power inside of you protected you when you required it, but also gave Inuyasha strength when he required it."
"Protected me?"
"Yes, indeed... when you first found the Tetsusiaga, did Inuyasha's brother not attempt to kill you with his poisonous claws?"
"But the Tetsusiaga."
"Oh, you silly prattled girl... the Tetsusiaga can only be used by demons... it is your own power that saved you."
"B-but."
"It is quite ingenious actually... the rosary beads granted you protection and Inuyasha power... only you could break that connection, so your power was safe...until now. It is time for you to relinquish your power over to Naraku so he may become a full fledged demon."
"A full fledged demon?"
"Yes, for he is only half demon now... with your power he shall become a true demon, and I must be going... but not before I tell you the rest of my wicked scheme..."
Turning and gracefully walking away, Kikyo left the room, not noticing that Naraku hadn't followed, but instead he was watching his captive with interest.
Kagome took little notice of the attention she had gained though, her own thoughts instead on an entirely different matter, 'Kikyo says the connection is broken... and it is true, the rosary beads connection is gone... but yet something is still there... his protection is like a cloak that cannot be cast aside...'
Clenching her teeth, she took a deep breath, closing her eyes against the pounding in her head that was quickly overtaking the rest of the pain in her body, and she reached deep inside of her, feeling for something...
Anything...
'There!'
She felt it, a connection deeper than anything the rosary beads ever had created...
Yet the connection wasn't complete.
Kagome's eyes shot open as she realized this, their brown depths shining with a flare of light, but why wasn't it complete? What was this connection?
'You know what it is...' A little voice inside of her whispered, sending chills down her back, but she ignored the chills, closing her eyes and feeling the connection, 'You created this connection out of your love for Inuyasha... the only way to complete it is for him to acknowledge it.'
His image popped up in her mind, the only thing that had kept her going for so long, but her jumbled thoughts were interrupted by Kikyo as she entered the room, followed by a shorter figure, and when Kagome opened her eyes, she gasped, recognizing the figure instantly, crying, "Kohaku!"
It was no other than Sango's little brother, his eyes blank, face emotionless, and Kagome felt her stomach tie into a knot when Kikyo wrapped an arm around the young boy's shoulders, her eyes gleaming wickedly through their dead haze.
"Naraku has been so kind as to let me borrow this young lad to complete my revenge... he shall help me restrain your dear friends while I slowly kill Inuyasha, but not before I tell him what shall happen to you. He failed to protect me... and now you." Kikyo whispered, her cold smile doing nothing to quail Kagome's fear, and with that last jab, the dead miko left, handing the rosary beads to Naraku with a knowing look.
When both the dead miko and Kohaku were gone, Kagome shuddered involuntarily, knowing that Naraku would stop at nothing to get the power she held.
'I have to complete the connection...' She told herself, squelching the panic that exploded to life as Naraku walked over to the table where his torture toys lay, but any brilliant plans floated right beyond her grasp.
Tears shimmered in her eyes, blurring her vision just as Naraku started walked in front of her, and lifting her head, she stared up at him through the tears, her lower lip trembling from the emotions that were swirling inside her.
The blue flames that surrounded her body trickled down until there was nothing left at all, but Kagome didn't notice, her mind still focused on helping her friends...
Then, the first scream was torn from her lips...
********* ********** ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* *********
To those who reviewed: Thanks!
~Lily123, Jammies2000, Lady Mayhem, Pau lahi lahi, Three-Letter-Word, Mattielover, Tiger of the Wind, Shadow Wraith, N Hanyou Queen~
Letz move on to the next chappie, eh?
Hugz N Kissez, Ali
Screams and cries of pain filled the room, echoing endlessly in the dark mustiness; Kikyo watched with a small smile, reaching into her pocket and touching the rosary beads that lie there with triumph, thinking, 'Very soon...'
The sounds abruptly stopped, leaving a silence that seemed deathly calm, and the dead miko stepped forward, her brow creased the slightest, studying the young girl that hung from the chains.
The girl's hair, so much like Kikyo's, hung over her face, blocking it from the dead miko's view, but even the hair couldn't hide the rest of her body.
A twinge of disgust flashed through Kikyo, quickly vanishing, as her gaze swept over the numerous bruises and gashes that littered the girl's abused body, the dim light in the room hiding most of the damage in its shadowy depths.
Kikyo's gaze moved slowly from the girl to Naraku, who stood next to the unconscious figure, glaring at her with gleaming black eyes as he wiped a knife in his hand with some type of cloth, blood staining the white material to a dark pink.
"It has been nearly a week since you retrieved the rosary beads Kikyo, yet the girl still holds strong... I fear her body shall give before her spirit does, even without the protection." He announced, placing the knife on a table where many other objects lay, their sharp edges flashing in the dim light, and Kikyo walked over to him, looking up into his dark black eyes without blinking, whispering, "I told you she cannot die or the power shall be lost."
"Yes my love, I understand that... we must not allow her to die. Maybe..."
"What do you think? We need to do something quickly, her time grows short."
They studied the girl in silence, listening to her shallow breathing, watching as her life seeped away slowly, and Naraku smiled the slightest, acknowledging, "I have tried to gain access to her power many times, by merely touching her cheek... I believe I have weakened that point of her spirit to its breaking point."
"You haven't much time to destroy the spirit, you must hurry than."
"No, we are not going to let her slip off into death... that would be too kind of us, my love. Instead, we'll make her feel every bit of pain, every bit of suffering, until her spirit breaks."
"But if her body gives out before her spirit, how are we to stop it?"
Stepping forward until he was facing the unconscious figure, Naraku grabbed her hair, forcing her head back until her face was upturned toward him, and Kikyo noticed the marks of abuse upon her face: several long gashes ran down the left side of her face, dried blood encrusted on them, her lower lip swollen with numerous bruises covering it. Her eyes slid to the girl's right cheek, where a nasty looking gash was festering, its color a deep shade of red, and Kikyo noted that was the same cheek Inuyasha had grabbed at when he had the vision.
Chuckling to himself, Naraku lifted his hand, stretching his fore finger outward as a deep black energy began to wrap around it, slowly shaping into three black snakes with smoky appearances, and his black eyes were on the girl in his hold when he whispered, "We'll make it impossible for her body to give out before her spirit."
Touching his finger to her right cheek, he traced the gash that lie along her cheekbone, the smoky black snakes quickly slipping into the wound, turning the festering deep red gash into a smoldering black marking.
Her screams filled the room, tears leaking from under her closed eyes, her body jerking against the chains that held her, yet still she remained unconscious.
Watching with wide eyes, Kikyo noticed an unearthly light engulf the prisoner as the mark on her cheek turned a deathly black, the pain filled screams filling her ears.
The last of the black smoke that had curled around Naraku's fingers vanished into the gash, and he stepped back from the thrashing girl, his black eyes shining with triumph as he whispered, "My demons, that now lie enclosed in her power, shall insure immortality for this frail human... until she loses her power."
--------- --------- ---------
Pain...
It filled every fiber of her body...
Indescribable, incomprehensible, undeniable...
She hurt.
Groaning, Kagome lifted her head, feeling the stiffness in her neck, and with another groan of pain, she forced her legs to straighten and support her weight.
The room she was in was quickly becoming familiar to wake up to, the damp musty smell that she was breathing in becoming something she would always dread for the rest of her life...
Not that she would survive this place.
Her gaze landed on the table that held all of Naraku's tools of torture, nearly three feet away from her, but even just seeing the items brought back the memories of what Naraku had been doing to her as she heaved dryly, her stomach rebelling against her at the memories.
Sweat beaded her body, dirt seemed to cover every inch of her, and she felt sticky with her own blood, but she ignored these facts, fighting the tears that slipped down her cheeks uncontrollably.
Wondering how long it had been since Naraku's last torture session, Kagome licked her dry lips, wincing when her tongue hit a wound, and it started to bleed anew, the metallic taste she loathed filling her mouth.
It had been forever since she had seen the sun...
Taken a breath of fresh air...
Eaten a morsel of food...
Sobs stuck in her throat, shaking her bodily violently as she held them in, unwilling to let her misery show.
Everything was a mess, everything she once believed, she no longer did, everything she had ever thought, was shattered, torn apart...
Her innocence gone.
Yet she didn't give in...
She would never give in...
She just couldn't give in...
When she had been unconscious, nightmares had assailed her... where Naraku had gained her power, taken the world under his thumb... all because of her.
'No,' She thought, lifting her chin and staring ahead of her into the dark shadows, her tear filled brown eyes flashing with determination, 'I will die before I let Naraku gain my power.'
Still, what of this power?
Why hadn't she known about it?
It didn't make any sense at all...
Except for the fact that she hurt.
Badly.
Looking down, Kagome saw her body in the dim light of the room, blood staining what was left of her clothes, bruises covering almost every inch of pale skin...
Retching her eyes away from the sight of her body, she felt a tinge of desperation, the need to get out of this dark room and into sunlight...
Suddenly she couldn't breath, it felt like Naraku was suffocating her again, she couldn't hear, not a sound, and the darkness seemed to swoop down upon her, throwing her into an ocean of nothingness.
She fought out blindly, a panic rising inside of her so strong she was afraid it would swallow her up, but even as she fought, a sense of peace seemed to slip over her body, taunting her to accept it all...
"NOOOOO!" Her own scream tore her from the blackness, throwing her back into the dark damp room that was her prison, and she stood there, her limbs shaking with fatigue, gasping for breath.
Why? She asked herself, fighting against the chains that held her, relishing the pain that came from her wrists, but silence was her only answer, laughing at her misery with its quiet whispers.
Why don't I just give in? Would it be that bad?
Eyes darkening, Kagome stopped her struggling, her breath slowing, and she imagined giving into the darkness that taunted her...
It would be so easy...
Then something hit her...
A memory, from long ago... when she was but a little girl, sitting on a rock with Souta...
"Sis, why are you crying?" The younger Souta asked, cocking his head the slightest, his expression confused, and Kagome's younger self glanced up at him, wiping at the tears that rolled down her cheeks.
"Well. someone broke their promise to me... it was a very important promise too..." She whispered, her brows furrowed on her young face, and Souta bit his lip, swinging his short legs in the air as he sat on the rock, looking out at the sky and asking, "What's a promise?"
"A promise is something you tell someone you will do... and no matter what, you have to keep it... no matter what."
"But, if you have to keep it... how do you break it?"
"Only people who don't care enough break their promise Souta... here, how about we make a deal?"
Souta turned from gazing into the sky, his childish face lighting up with a smile, showing a missing tooth, and he nodded, leaving Kagome to tap her chin in thought, finally replying, "Lets pinky swear right here... pinky swear that we will never ever break a promise to anyone, no matter what."
Souta's eyes darkened the slightest, but he quickly grinned, nodding his head, twisting his body and wrapping his pinky around her own, adding, "No matter what."
Pulled back into the world of pain, Kagome felt tears on her cheeks, and she wished she were back home with Souta and her family...
But she couldn't get home.
Lifting her chin from where it lay upon her chest, she realized that there was only one reason she was going through all this...
She had promises to keep... many of them...
Her will to fight came back within an instant, filling her body with a vigor she hadn't had for days, and she struggled against the chains, unaware of the eyes that were upon her.
Naraku and Kikyo stood in the shadows, watching the prisoner as she fought against the chains, her cries of pain and frustration echoing the room.
"It has been more than two weeks since you got the rosary beads... yet her spirit still thrives, resisting me every time I go for her power..." Naraku whispered, his eyes flashing angrily, and Kikyo nodded, studying the chained girl with narrow eyes, a cold smile coming to her face.
"I think I shall have a little fun before I finish off the dear mutt..." She laughed, walking into the room where the struggling girl was, and Naraku followed, his eyes narrowed in contemplation.
Ceasing her fight with the chains, Kagome turned towards them, tears trickling down her cheeks from the pain that racked her body.
"Kik-Kikyo..." She croaked, her tear filled eyes narrowing in disgust, and her gaze slid from Kikyo to Naraku, her body tensing automatically, awaiting the means of abuse that were sure to come.
"Kagome dear..." Kikyo whispered, her dead eyes examining the girl in front of her, and her wicked smile grew, "It is amazing how long you have lasted..."
"Yeah... you sho-should... talk..."
Knowing she was wasting precious energy, Kagome took a shuddering breath, wanting to hurt the dead miko, if not physically then mentally.
"Look gr-great... for...walkin... zo-zombie..."
A growl of anger came from the dead miko, a flash of triumph from the chained prisoner, and a raised eyebrow from Naraku, but Kikyo smiled coldly, reaching into her pocket and drawing out an object.
Holding her hand out before Kagome, she laughed, her dark eyes sparkling with evil, and asked, "Do you recognize these?"
A heavy weight seemed to settle over Kagome as she stared at the rosary beads in Kikyo's hand, the dim light in the room lightly bouncing off the polished cover of the beads, and with a small moan, all of Kagome's memories bombarded her, Inuyasha's angry expression, his flashing amber eyes...
"Your dear mutt had possession of these... that is the only reason your spirit didn't break before. Now though, you have no protection..." The dead miko whispered, her eyebrows rising the slightest, and her teeth flashed in a cold smile when she added, "Now all that must be done is rid myself of that useless hanyou..."
"Don't you dare lay a damn hand on Inuyasha! Or I'll..." Kagome shouted, a burst of energy flooding her body at the mention of harm to one of her friends, and unknown to her, blue flames engulfed her body with a roar, illuminating the many injuries that covered it.
Watching her with wide eyes, both Kikyo and Naraku stepped back from the blue flames that danced around the chained prisoner, their expressions a mix between shock and awe.
Staring at both of them with a guarded expression, Kagome shuffled through her hazy mind, attempting to find a threat suitable for the dead miko, but her thoughts were lost when Kikyo laughed, retorting, "You'll what? It seems that you are quite unable to do a thing dear Kagome... of course, before you removed these rosary beads you might have been able to save him... but now, he's mine... once again, as it was before you stole him from me."
"He still loves you! What do you mean I stole him... how could I steal him when you still have him?"
"Not true... when my dear sister put this necklace on that mutt, and you said the word sit, you created a connection between him and yourself... that connection enabled many things to happen..."
Glaring at Kikyo, Kagome shifted restlessly, the pain throbbing from all over her being the constant reminder of what she was being put through...
'Just to get the power they say I have.'
When the silence was stretched to the breaking point, the chained miko finally snorted, "What? Expect me to say something?"
"Humph... of course not, you must be in a considerable amount of pain... .. back to what I was saying before, this connection between Inuyasha and yourself awoke a power deep within you... one you couldn't handle by yourself... thus it remained hidden until you created the connection. The connection worked in both of your favors... this power inside of you protected you when you required it, but also gave Inuyasha strength when he required it."
"Protected me?"
"Yes, indeed... when you first found the Tetsusiaga, did Inuyasha's brother not attempt to kill you with his poisonous claws?"
"But the Tetsusiaga."
"Oh, you silly prattled girl... the Tetsusiaga can only be used by demons... it is your own power that saved you."
"B-but."
"It is quite ingenious actually... the rosary beads granted you protection and Inuyasha power... only you could break that connection, so your power was safe...until now. It is time for you to relinquish your power over to Naraku so he may become a full fledged demon."
"A full fledged demon?"
"Yes, for he is only half demon now... with your power he shall become a true demon, and I must be going... but not before I tell you the rest of my wicked scheme..."
Turning and gracefully walking away, Kikyo left the room, not noticing that Naraku hadn't followed, but instead he was watching his captive with interest.
Kagome took little notice of the attention she had gained though, her own thoughts instead on an entirely different matter, 'Kikyo says the connection is broken... and it is true, the rosary beads connection is gone... but yet something is still there... his protection is like a cloak that cannot be cast aside...'
Clenching her teeth, she took a deep breath, closing her eyes against the pounding in her head that was quickly overtaking the rest of the pain in her body, and she reached deep inside of her, feeling for something...
Anything...
'There!'
She felt it, a connection deeper than anything the rosary beads ever had created...
Yet the connection wasn't complete.
Kagome's eyes shot open as she realized this, their brown depths shining with a flare of light, but why wasn't it complete? What was this connection?
'You know what it is...' A little voice inside of her whispered, sending chills down her back, but she ignored the chills, closing her eyes and feeling the connection, 'You created this connection out of your love for Inuyasha... the only way to complete it is for him to acknowledge it.'
His image popped up in her mind, the only thing that had kept her going for so long, but her jumbled thoughts were interrupted by Kikyo as she entered the room, followed by a shorter figure, and when Kagome opened her eyes, she gasped, recognizing the figure instantly, crying, "Kohaku!"
It was no other than Sango's little brother, his eyes blank, face emotionless, and Kagome felt her stomach tie into a knot when Kikyo wrapped an arm around the young boy's shoulders, her eyes gleaming wickedly through their dead haze.
"Naraku has been so kind as to let me borrow this young lad to complete my revenge... he shall help me restrain your dear friends while I slowly kill Inuyasha, but not before I tell him what shall happen to you. He failed to protect me... and now you." Kikyo whispered, her cold smile doing nothing to quail Kagome's fear, and with that last jab, the dead miko left, handing the rosary beads to Naraku with a knowing look.
When both the dead miko and Kohaku were gone, Kagome shuddered involuntarily, knowing that Naraku would stop at nothing to get the power she held.
'I have to complete the connection...' She told herself, squelching the panic that exploded to life as Naraku walked over to the table where his torture toys lay, but any brilliant plans floated right beyond her grasp.
Tears shimmered in her eyes, blurring her vision just as Naraku started walked in front of her, and lifting her head, she stared up at him through the tears, her lower lip trembling from the emotions that were swirling inside her.
The blue flames that surrounded her body trickled down until there was nothing left at all, but Kagome didn't notice, her mind still focused on helping her friends...
Then, the first scream was torn from her lips...
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To those who reviewed: Thanks!
~Lily123, Jammies2000, Lady Mayhem, Pau lahi lahi, Three-Letter-Word, Mattielover, Tiger of the Wind, Shadow Wraith, N Hanyou Queen~
Letz move on to the next chappie, eh?
Hugz N Kissez, Ali
