Disclaimer~ I don't own Inuyasha or any related characters.
Dialog~ "Meep meep meep."
Thoughts~ 'Meep meep meep.'
Author's note~ Sorry I didn't get this chapter out as early as I had thought I may. Certain complications prevented me from doing so but I'm writing now so that must mean something. I found it's easier to write late into the hours of the night so that's what I've been doing. It shouldn't affect my writing too much. Except for the sleep deprivation which will probably result in more errors than usual. Okay, enough rambling, on with the chapter.
Chapter 3
Inuyasha woke abruptly with a stifled yawn. He had gotten very little sleep the other night; Sango's crying had kept him awake. Now it was morning and her muffled cries still filled his head. It baffled Inuyasha that Sango could be so affected by Miroku's absence. It was a real wake up call for him; she really cared for the idiot. Knowing this was going to only complicate things further.
His ears tweaked for a moment and he let out a low growl, she was crying in her sleep again. At this rate nobody was ever going to get any rest, certainly not Sango. It hurt watching her cry and not being able to stop her tears. There was nothing that could be said to help and that's what hurt the worst. Was there anything any of them could do?
Kagome rustled around in her sleep, aroused by the sudden sound of crying. 'Sango,' she thought. She let out a sigh, getting through this wasn't going to be easy. She turned her head and noticed Inuyasha awake in the corner silently watching Sango. She rolled out of her sleeping bag and tiptoed across the room, careful not to step on anyone. She reached the corner and plopped down silently beside him. The mood was tense.
Inuyasha recognized her presence but continued staring at Sango, his eyes filled the image of her face being red and swollen from all her crying. It was a pathetic sight to watch. His eyes flickered to Kagome for a moment and he smiled lightly. "What's up, Kagome?" He was glad to see somewhat of a happier face.
"Inuyasha," she said quietly. "I'm really worried about Sango. What are we going to do?" She leaned her head against his shoulder wanting some support. She was exhausted as well; she too had gotten little sleep.
Inuyasha wrapped his arm around her waist keeping her at his side. "I'm not sure myself Kagome, but I know whatever it is it's not going to be easy. Sango is in agony over Miroku and people don't tend to think straight when it comes to their needs. Love blinds you that way."
She nodded, knowing well how correct he was. He was so very intuitive that way. "I know, not to mention how stubborn Sango can be. I think this may be the straw that breaks the camel's back."
He shot her a confused look but continued with what he was going to say. "I don't know what camel you're talking about Kagome, but I do think this is what's going to break her. Sango may put on a tough rock solid exterior but on the inside she's like glass, very fragile."
Kagome was slightly shocked by Inuyasha's answer; he seemed to know so much about painful emotions. It was scary seeing him put forth so much logic. "You're right, she is like glass. She's been dropped too many times and can't glue the pieces back together again. Not without some help at least." A thin smile crossed over her lips, she hoped Inuyasha understood what she was implying.
He did, he was quite sharp early in the morning, truly amazing. "I don't know if we're the right people to necessarily help her. Miroku was, after all, the keeper of her heart. He still is too, she needs him more than anyone right now."
It was difficult for Kagome to overcome Inuyasha's logic but there was no real solution to the current problem, except for finding Miroku. This however was deemed slightly impossible at the moment. Things were looking quite bleak. "I think you're right Inuyasha but that just makes things worse. We both know we may not find Miroku, what will happen then?"
"I don't know," he said bluntly. "It just won't be good." He kissed her softly on the cheek and smiled. He knew how bad Kagome was feeling and had to cheer her up somehow. "Go back to sleep Kagome, we have nothing more discuss. You and I both need our rest. I don't think we'll be getting much sleep for a while." He averted his gaze over to Sango; her crying had quieted for the moment.
She blushed from Inuyasha's tenderness but was still able to safely make it across the room back to her sleeping bag despite her body erupting in giddiness. She closed her eyes and let sleep take her away again, hoping not to wake up to more crying.
Inuyasha let out a sigh of relief, as Kagome appeared to be sound to sleep. 'Good,' he thought. 'She needs her sleep, in fact we all do.' His eyes felt heavy, as they were no longer able to resist the impending darkness coming upon him. Sleep was inevitable.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Later That Morning~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inuyasha could feel someone at his side tugging away at his sleeves; he barred his fangs out in irritation. "Who's ever doing that has about three seconds to stop before I tear them to shreds."
"Inuyasha," wailed Shippou, "Stop being so mean! Kagome told me to wake you up so be mad at her not me!"
Inuyasha sighed and nodded. "Sorry Shippou I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. I'm not in a very good mood."
"Are you sick, Inuyasha? You never apologize to me. Maybe you should lie down and rest."
"Shippou!" Inuyasha clenched a tight fist ready to throttle the little kitsune.
"Inuyasha, sit boy." Kagome had just gone back in the hut to see what was taking so long and already Shippou was at Inuyasha's mercy. She knew how bad of a mood he was in but it was no excuse to take out all his frustration on Shippou.
Inuyasha muttered something silently under breath about Kagome being a bitch but didn't say anything besides that. He stood up and brushed off his clothes ready to get back on their journey for the Shikon Jewel. He knew Kagome wasn't in the mood for games either; everyone was very serious and grumpy this morning. "Lets go."
The three of them walked out of the hut and approached Sango who was waiting patiently outside. The look on her face told it all, she was torn. It wouldn't be easy trying to talk with her but Inuyasha and Kagome had to try.
"Sango," Kagome said quietly. "We're ready to go. Are you?" She stared down at her feet not wanting to make direct eye contact with her. She already knew the answer.
Sango fidgeted nervously, she was hoping Kagome would ask her that, and then she wouldn't have any other choice but to move on. In some ways she didn't want freedom to choose it only complicated matters. "Where are we planning on going?" she asked nervously, fearing what the answer may be.
Inuyasha answered for Kagome, he knew how hard it would be for her. "We're going to where there are more shards, Sango." Inuyasha stared at her waiting to see a reaction; Sango could be very calm or very unreasonable. You could never know with her.
"I see, so we aren't going to go and look for Miroku, are we?" She looked up at their faces; they were full of pity and sadness. She knew the answer. "Why aren't we going after him!? Tell me!" Tears began streaming down Sango's face, but she ignored them and continued glaring back at her companions searching for an answer.
Again Inuyasha spoke on the matter. "Sango, from what you told us it sounds like Miroku is probably already dead by now. Even if he's not we have no idea where to look for Naraku. Our best bet is to continue looking for the shards, that way we're bound to run into Naraku."
Sango stared back at Inuyasha in disbelief. He sounded so cold and unreasonable to her. "You're not serious, we're just going to forget about him!? How can you say that!?"
"Because it's the best thing for the group, Sango," said Kagome. She had gained enough confidence to try and talk to her friend, to show her the logic behind this move.
"You too, Kagome. You all feel this way, you all think we should forget about Miroku and just move on." She glared at all of them, she felt so hopelessly out numbered, but she didn't want to give up. She wanted to do what she felt was right.
"We're not forgetting about him! We just can't waste our time looking for someone when we don't even know where to look and the chances that the person is alive are slim. It's a waste of time and effort!" Inuyasha was beginning to get extremely angry, Sango couldn't make things easy for him. She wasn't able to tell how hard it was for him to say that, but it really was. He was just doing what he thought best for Sango, and everyone.
Sango couldn't control herself any more, Inuyasha's words just hurt too much. She stood up and walked over to him and slapped him hard in the face. "How dare you say that looking for a friend is a waste of time! If Kagome were the one being captured then you wouldn't waste any time to go and look for her, you don't have the right to make decisions for everyone and say that this is the right thing! It's not!" She took in a few quick shallow breaths trying to regain control over her emotions. Self-control was not her specialty.
Inuyasha felt like he was going to explode in absolute rage, first she slaps him, hard, and then she makes wild accusations about not caring that Miroku is gone and that he would go after Kagome if she were the one taken. It was a serious dent to his pride and he wasn't going to take things lightly. "Sango, don't start assuming anything about what I would do if it was anyone else. I would the say the same thing if it was Kagome, or you, or anyone for that matter. It's got nothing to do with Miroku. I understand your hurt but- -"
"Shut up! You don't understand!" Sango wasn't about to hear anything from Inuyasha about understanding her feelings. Nobody does, nobody ever could understand how she felt. "I don't care what you say, going after Miroku is the right thing to do. I'm going to go after him; I don't care if anyone else doesn't want to or not. He risked his life for me and I'm not going to just let Naraku do as he pleases with him."
She walked away from Inuyasha and went over to Kirara. "Let's go find Miroku, Kirara." She hopped on her back and rode away, saying nothing else to the group. She had nothing more to say to them, and she just wanted to get away.
Kagome started to run after her but Inuyasha quickly grabbed hold of her wrist. "You're not going after her, Kagome. She made her choice and it's time for us to move on."
She starred silently at him tears starting to form in her eyes. "How can you say that? We just lost Sango too. Don't you care?"
"Of course I do, that's why you shouldn't go after her. Sango knows the risk and it's sort of her own personal mission. Let her try to find him otherwise she'll never be happy."
"Inuyasha." She let out a small sob and buried her face within his muscular chest.
"Kagome." Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly to him. "Things will work out, you'll see."
Shippou sighed and scratched the back of his head. "I guess it's just the three of us again."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~********************~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Naraku smiled as he stood over the monk's limp body. Kagura had done precisely as he had asked and now his plan could be put into motion, but first. "Kagura."
She appeared silently out of the shadows behind him, reluctantly ready to serve what he asked. "Yes, Naraku? Is there something you need or do you just wish to waste my time?"
He grinned, "Cocky bitch," he muttered silently. "I actually just wanted your insight on my plan. You always seem to have good ideas when it comes to torturing others."
"My my, we're quite the flatterer. Okay, explain your plan to me. This could be quite amusing." She let out flirtatious laugh.
"Believe it or not there was a reason I asked you not to kill the monk, I know you easily could have. The thing is it's much more painful to play with other's emotions before you kill them, it's so much more fun that way."
"I understand but that doesn't explain your plan. Are you planning to turn him into a puppet like Kohaku? Or are you going to be original this time?" She waited impatiently for his answer; she didn't want to have another mindless drone to baby-sit.
"Your sarcasm is well noted, Kagura. I do however have something similar plan for our poor houshi. Except of course, this time the whole group will suffer. It's not any fun just torturing one person when you can torture many."
"What sort of torture are you planning, Naraku?" He had really caught her interest, when suffering was involved Kagura was all ears.
"What if I did give Miroku back to them but not as the same person? What if he was completely different and didn't know of any of them? What if he thought he was a different person?"
Kagura let out an annoyed little sound, this didn't sound very diabolical, more stupid than anything. "I don't get it, he's just going to be a different person. Why the hell would they care?"
He stroked his chin in a thought-provoking manner. "Think about it for a second Kagura, the demon slayer is in love with him, correct? How would you feel if the person you love was no longer that person but someone completely different? Could you ever love that person again?"
"Don't ask such stupid questions, Naraku. I would never love a person so don't ask how I would feel in such a case."
"Well, my point is it's sort of an emotional torture, for all of them really. This good friend they've grown so close to doesn't remember any of them and is now a completely different person. It's like he's dead but not really, and that's what hurts them so badly. He's there but not really and there's no way to get him back to the way he was. He's not Miroku anymore."
"I suppose I can understand, but I still think it's pretty stupid. You're really not doing anything to them. You should just kill the bastard, that'd be a lot more fun."
"Kagura, you fail to see how fun this plan can really be. I'm just going to go along with anyway. We'll see soon who was right."
Humph. "Indeed we will." She crossed her arms defiantly and waited for him to get his plan under way, whether or not she turns out to be right or wrong it was all going to be terribly amusing. Although, it would prove to be more fun if she was right and see one of Naraku's plans fail miserably. She felt excited; she wanted so badly to see him fail. Things were about to get much more amusing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~***************~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Miroku let out a small moan, his head was spinning and his body ached all over. Wherever he was it was extremely dark and he couldn't see a thing. It was like he was having one giant hang over. "Where am I?"
A dark figure loomed over his body watching him carefully. "Don't talk." Without warning his foot connected with Miroku's stomach.
Miroku coughed out a small amount of blood, that move was very unexpected. He clutched his stomach tightly trying to ease the pain. "What do you want?"
"I said no talking!" He sent a hard boot to Miroku's face wanting to teach the monk a lesson.
Miroku could feel a wet liquid running down his face. He knew it was blood and winced slightly. Being kicked around wasn't help with his sore body. He didn't say anything more; he didn't want to be kicked again.
Silence.
"Good, I see that you got the message. That was wise, although I did enjoy kicking you."
"Bastard!" Miroku felt like he had to say something, he wasn't going to be kicked around like a dog. He didn't have such a strong pride like Inuyasha but still he had some pride. No man liked being ridiculed in such a manner.
"We just don't learn." He picked up Miroku up off the ground and landed several hard blows to his face. Once he was satisfied and could feel Miroku shaking in his grasp he threw him back to the ground. "Behave and I wont have to hit you."
"Who are you?" he whispered.
"I'll tell you but first, punishment." He sent a hard kick square into Miroku's stomach.
Miroku let out a small wince of pain but didn't say anything. The wind had been knocked out of him, along with a few spats of blood.
"Now, I'm surprised you don't recognize my voice. You should, after all I'm the one you've been seeking."
"Naraku." Miroku covered his mouth; he knew what would be coming next. He felt a jab of pain rippling through his stomach again. He felt like he was going to throw up.
"Now that the introductions are over lets get down to business." He cracked his knuckles, showing him that more pain was going to be headed his way.
Miroku gulped, he was defenseless and couldn't see a damn thing. If he couldn't see he couldn't defend himself from a blow. He decided it was best to stay quiet and hope he wouldn't be hit again.
"You should really be thanking me, Miroku. I saved you from a big mistake. Getting involved with the taiji-ya would be a big mistake."
At this Miroku's usual cool head wasn't thinking too straight. "Shut up! What do you know!?"
"Can't keep our mouth shut and let me finish, can you?" He landed another hard blow in his face, Miroku just winced. "If you keep this up your pretty face will be ruined, and Sango wont have anything nice to look at."
All rational thinking was thrown out the window for Miroku. He wasn't going to let Naraku insult him like this. "Bastard! What do you want!?"
"To see you suffer," he said coldly. "I want hear you scream, I want the sounds of your voice ringing in my ear begging me for mercy." He picked him up of the ground and shook him wildly. "Do you understand!? Your pain is all that I care about!"
He slammed the monk's face hard into the ground and picked him back up. He whispered silently into his ear, "I want you to be in hell. I want to make every last minute of your life miserable. You will suffer, even if you don't realize it." He could see the horror on Miroku's face and it made him feel giddy, like a schoolgirl. He pushed him back down to the ground landing hard with a thud.
His body felt like it was on fire, everything had a wild burning. His whole life had been painful and scary for him, but at this instance he was truly afraid, he was horrified of dying. After he had come so far he didn't want to give up yet, he wanted more than anything to see Sango again. He stayed quiet, he didn't want to get hit again.
"Silence is golden, that's a very good boy, Miroku." He cracked a smile, sure that this would set the monk off. He enjoyed having a reason to beat the pulp out of him.
Miroku didn't have to try too hard to stay silent, his throat was too choked up with tears and blood to utter a sound.
"You know this is your own fault. If you weren't such a pervert you would have never gotten into a fight with Sango. She would have never run off and you would have never had to go after her." He waited again, for his plan to work he needed Miroku to retaliate against him, that's what he was counting on.
Miroku's eyes widened in shock, it was like he just found out the meaning to life. "How did you know!?"
"I know a lot more than you may think, Miroku. But you're not letting me finish!" He sent a couple of hard kicks to Miroku's back sending him into a fetal position, curling into a ball. "Every second you stay alive you make Sango suffer. If you're alive she just has one more person to worry about getting hurt or killed. Not to mention your perverted ways, how can she stand you? You're a filthy animal."
"Liar!" he screamed. He desperately fought in his mind to resist Naraku's words. Unfortunately it would be easier if he weren't just kicked in the face again.
"You know it's true! Sango's heart aches every time you go off with another woman. You're just a silent killer inside her heart. She'd be better off without you!"
Miroku let out a small cry, everything hurt so badly; he was in nightmare. "You're lying! She loves me!" He braced himself for the next impact, fortunately it didn't come, at least, not right away.
"Did she ever tell you that she loved you?" He was going to wait a moment to hit him and let him think out his answer. It was great leaving him out to dry.
Miroku's throat got choked up, he was searching desperately for a moment when she had said she loved him. He couldn't remember, he couldn't remember a time that she did. He couldn't stay silent however, that would be like letting him win. "I know she loves me! She kissed me! I love her and she loves me!"
"Sure she does, that's why she let Kagura take you away without trying to stop her." He smiled, he could sense the monk's frustration. He was fighting desperately in his mind to not believe him. In the mean time he sent another few blows to his body, making the whole process even more painful for him.
"She didn't let her take me away. She was hurt, if she could she would have. She loves me I know it!" Miroku didn't even realize how loud he was screaming, he wanted desperately to believe his words. He couldn't have any doubts.
Naraku was depriving great pleasure out of this, he was putting so many doubts in his mind. It was easy to tell how badly it was getting to him. "Face it, she doesn't love you. Even if she did, how could she love a pervert who would never stay faithful? How could she ever trust you!? You make her suffer!"
"Liar! Liar! Liar!" he continued screaming at the top of his lungs, he didn't want to hear Naraku's voice; he couldn't take it. He was going insane.
"Stop fighting, Miroku! You know it's true! She can't ever love you! You're just a stupid lecher who never learns his lesson. She'd be miserable if she spent her life with you!" He watched as Miroku appeared to be going crazy. He was thrashing his head about and his hands were covered tightly over his ears. 'Perfect,' he thought. Everything was going according to plan. "Time to end this."
He peeled Miroku of the ground and shouted loudly into his face, "She doesn't love you! You make her suffer! She could never be happy if she spent her life with you! She hates you!" He smacked him hard in the face, a big bruise was beginning to form under his right eye and blood was still flowing freely from his mouth and nose.
"No!" He fought desperately in his mind to repel the words, however horrid images still crept into his mind. He could see her crying, she was miserable. He was making her miserable. She was screaming at him, she said she hated him.
"Yes! You're making her cry at this very second! She loves you but yet you make her suffer by groping all those women! She's even slightly glad Kagura took you away! Now you can't hurt her!"
"No," he whispered, "No, no, no. It can't be true." He let out a small sob, he was growing more pathetic by the second. Naraku was winning, he couldn't take it anymore the images haunted him. "No," he cried silently. "No! Make it stop! Make it stop!"
He smiled, he wouldn't have to go any further. "I can make it stop, just let me make it stop hurting for you. Don't resist. I can take away all those images."
"No! I can't!" He screamed, he screamed loud and hard, he was fighting within himself to not give in. "I can't! But it hurts so much! It hurts so much!" He squeezed his head tightly trying to take the images away. "I don't want to hurt anymore!"
Naraku let out an annoyed growl, he was putting up a greater fight than he had hoped. However, it didn't matter. It would soon be over. "It doesn't have to hurt, you don't have to go on like this. Let me help you."
"No," he whispered. "No, I don't want your help." He couldn't say anymore his face was being bombarded by a number of hard blows. He was in excruciating pain.
Naraku dropped Miroku back to the ground and then began kicking him over and over again in his face and chest, and anywhere else he pleased. He was going to make him suffer before he gave in. He was going to give in, or he was going to kill him. "Just admit the truth! Stop fighting! You're in denial! You know the truth, you just don't want to admit it!"
"Make it stop! I'm sorry, Sango! I'm sorry! Just make it stop!" He curled back up into a ball not wanting to be anymore vulnerable than he already was. He was deep within his mind, trying to not give in. It felt impossible.
"It will all be over soon. Just don't move." He bent down next to Miroku and placed his hand over his forehead. "Relax, this wont hurt at all." He let out a small laugh, he had finally won. The houshi's mind was far too warped to resist anymore.
He did his best to try and to resist, but he couldn't. He was lost within the depths of his mind of what he believed to be true. Darkness loomed over him, he didn't know anymore, what was truth or lies all ran together. His mind was free to mold. He watched at images of his life flashed before him before dissolving into darkness. His last memory with Sango filled his eyes with tears, that kiss was something he never wanted to forget. He cringed as it slowly escaped his mind, 'Forgive me, Sango.' He closed his eyes and everything went dark again.
Naraku smiled, the hard part had been finished. Miroku's mind was a clean slate, and he no longer had any memories to fall back on to remember who he really was. Now all he had to do was implant the fake memories into his mind and the deed would be finished.
He thought up a nice little identity for Miroku. He'll be everything Sango never wanted him to be. He removed his hand and whispered silently into his ear,
"You're not Miroku the houshi, you're Xen the taiji-ya. You don't know anything about your family or your past. You've been exterminating demons since you could remember. You're cursed and no one wants you. You don't want to get close to anyone, you'll only hurt them. You have no mission in life but to exterminate demons, this is all you know and all you live for. You have no one."
He let out a satisfied laugh, "Yes, I think that should do nicely. When you wake up you'll remember none of this, and you will be who I told you to be. Good-bye, Miroku."
"And hello, Xen." Kagura smiled as she entered the dark room where Naraku was just finishing things up. "I over heard everything, and I find it all terribly amusing. You're right, this could be very fun."
"I'm glad you think so, here." He picked up Miroku's body and tossed it over to Kagura. "Get him some new garments, ones to fit his new personality and dump him at the hillside near the castle. The girl, Sango will be there shortly. It's best she finds him right away. Then the fun can begin all that quicker."
"I understand." She smiled and picked up the fallen monk off of her feet and slung him over her shoulder. "I'll do as you ask but only because, I think it'll be terribly fun."
"As you wish, Kagura. Go now and fulfill your mission."
"See you," she turned her head to Miroku and smiled. "Come on, we'll get all fixed up to see your girlfriend again. It'll be great fun." She left the room with Miroku and set out to do her job.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~End of chapter~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I hope that was detailed enough so people understood what happened. I know I said this chapter would be up a lot sooner but some unexpected problems came up. I'm very sorry. Please forgive me. But thanks a lot to everyone who reviewed! You all kick ass!
Inu-shounen~ I can tell I haven't really caught your interest yet, but I assure you things get much more interesting.
Rissi-sama~ You just can't be the conventional reviewer and say nice things, can you? Oh well, thanks; you did say it was a good chapter.
Small-buttercup~ As long as you review I don't care what time it is. Thanks, I'm glad this chapter made bedtime good for you.
Lar-lar~ It's good to know you're finding things great, but I still miss your favorite word. Bring back fantastic!
Fanfictiongeek36~ Writing angst just comes naturally to me, sorry if I made you just about cry. What can I say, it's a habit. Thanks a lot for the review! ^^
Doggeh~ Don't worry about it; what you said really made me happy. I enjoy the compliments. Thanks; hope to see a review from you again soon.
SM together~ I would have, really. However, thanksgiving day proved to be treacherous and emotional scarring ensued. Yes, that's my excuse. Updates will come faster though. At least this was a long chapter though.
Soli-chan~ You're a good author and it's nice hearing good things from you. It must mean I'm doing something right, thank you.
Sango-Chan~ Glad you snuck off too! It's wonderful to get a review from you. Thanks a lot.
Aamalie~ Yeah, it's evil to have fluff then angst but I like torturing you like that. Deal with it ^_^
Kaylana~ I laugh every time I read your review I can just picture it.
Kagura~ Chasing after Miroku with a cheese grater. "Come back houshi-sama! It wont hurt too much! I need you for my salad toppings!"
Miroku~ O.O;; "Noooooooo!"
Kagura~ "Fine." Pulls out her lawn mower, we'll do this the hard way. Chases after him.
Miroku~ EEP! O.O Runs far away.
Any way, I know I sort of killed the mood but I'm horrible with analogies. Thanks a lot though, that was great. ^^
SennenHimemiya~ I didn't know you have ever read any of my stories. Glad you like this one though. Hope you continue to. Thanks for the review.
That's all for the kick ass reviewers for chapter 2! Thanks to everyone who reviewed! It means a lot!
Expect the next update around Thursday or Friday.
Adios for now,
Zero.
Dialog~ "Meep meep meep."
Thoughts~ 'Meep meep meep.'
Author's note~ Sorry I didn't get this chapter out as early as I had thought I may. Certain complications prevented me from doing so but I'm writing now so that must mean something. I found it's easier to write late into the hours of the night so that's what I've been doing. It shouldn't affect my writing too much. Except for the sleep deprivation which will probably result in more errors than usual. Okay, enough rambling, on with the chapter.
Chapter 3
Inuyasha woke abruptly with a stifled yawn. He had gotten very little sleep the other night; Sango's crying had kept him awake. Now it was morning and her muffled cries still filled his head. It baffled Inuyasha that Sango could be so affected by Miroku's absence. It was a real wake up call for him; she really cared for the idiot. Knowing this was going to only complicate things further.
His ears tweaked for a moment and he let out a low growl, she was crying in her sleep again. At this rate nobody was ever going to get any rest, certainly not Sango. It hurt watching her cry and not being able to stop her tears. There was nothing that could be said to help and that's what hurt the worst. Was there anything any of them could do?
Kagome rustled around in her sleep, aroused by the sudden sound of crying. 'Sango,' she thought. She let out a sigh, getting through this wasn't going to be easy. She turned her head and noticed Inuyasha awake in the corner silently watching Sango. She rolled out of her sleeping bag and tiptoed across the room, careful not to step on anyone. She reached the corner and plopped down silently beside him. The mood was tense.
Inuyasha recognized her presence but continued staring at Sango, his eyes filled the image of her face being red and swollen from all her crying. It was a pathetic sight to watch. His eyes flickered to Kagome for a moment and he smiled lightly. "What's up, Kagome?" He was glad to see somewhat of a happier face.
"Inuyasha," she said quietly. "I'm really worried about Sango. What are we going to do?" She leaned her head against his shoulder wanting some support. She was exhausted as well; she too had gotten little sleep.
Inuyasha wrapped his arm around her waist keeping her at his side. "I'm not sure myself Kagome, but I know whatever it is it's not going to be easy. Sango is in agony over Miroku and people don't tend to think straight when it comes to their needs. Love blinds you that way."
She nodded, knowing well how correct he was. He was so very intuitive that way. "I know, not to mention how stubborn Sango can be. I think this may be the straw that breaks the camel's back."
He shot her a confused look but continued with what he was going to say. "I don't know what camel you're talking about Kagome, but I do think this is what's going to break her. Sango may put on a tough rock solid exterior but on the inside she's like glass, very fragile."
Kagome was slightly shocked by Inuyasha's answer; he seemed to know so much about painful emotions. It was scary seeing him put forth so much logic. "You're right, she is like glass. She's been dropped too many times and can't glue the pieces back together again. Not without some help at least." A thin smile crossed over her lips, she hoped Inuyasha understood what she was implying.
He did, he was quite sharp early in the morning, truly amazing. "I don't know if we're the right people to necessarily help her. Miroku was, after all, the keeper of her heart. He still is too, she needs him more than anyone right now."
It was difficult for Kagome to overcome Inuyasha's logic but there was no real solution to the current problem, except for finding Miroku. This however was deemed slightly impossible at the moment. Things were looking quite bleak. "I think you're right Inuyasha but that just makes things worse. We both know we may not find Miroku, what will happen then?"
"I don't know," he said bluntly. "It just won't be good." He kissed her softly on the cheek and smiled. He knew how bad Kagome was feeling and had to cheer her up somehow. "Go back to sleep Kagome, we have nothing more discuss. You and I both need our rest. I don't think we'll be getting much sleep for a while." He averted his gaze over to Sango; her crying had quieted for the moment.
She blushed from Inuyasha's tenderness but was still able to safely make it across the room back to her sleeping bag despite her body erupting in giddiness. She closed her eyes and let sleep take her away again, hoping not to wake up to more crying.
Inuyasha let out a sigh of relief, as Kagome appeared to be sound to sleep. 'Good,' he thought. 'She needs her sleep, in fact we all do.' His eyes felt heavy, as they were no longer able to resist the impending darkness coming upon him. Sleep was inevitable.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Later That Morning~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inuyasha could feel someone at his side tugging away at his sleeves; he barred his fangs out in irritation. "Who's ever doing that has about three seconds to stop before I tear them to shreds."
"Inuyasha," wailed Shippou, "Stop being so mean! Kagome told me to wake you up so be mad at her not me!"
Inuyasha sighed and nodded. "Sorry Shippou I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. I'm not in a very good mood."
"Are you sick, Inuyasha? You never apologize to me. Maybe you should lie down and rest."
"Shippou!" Inuyasha clenched a tight fist ready to throttle the little kitsune.
"Inuyasha, sit boy." Kagome had just gone back in the hut to see what was taking so long and already Shippou was at Inuyasha's mercy. She knew how bad of a mood he was in but it was no excuse to take out all his frustration on Shippou.
Inuyasha muttered something silently under breath about Kagome being a bitch but didn't say anything besides that. He stood up and brushed off his clothes ready to get back on their journey for the Shikon Jewel. He knew Kagome wasn't in the mood for games either; everyone was very serious and grumpy this morning. "Lets go."
The three of them walked out of the hut and approached Sango who was waiting patiently outside. The look on her face told it all, she was torn. It wouldn't be easy trying to talk with her but Inuyasha and Kagome had to try.
"Sango," Kagome said quietly. "We're ready to go. Are you?" She stared down at her feet not wanting to make direct eye contact with her. She already knew the answer.
Sango fidgeted nervously, she was hoping Kagome would ask her that, and then she wouldn't have any other choice but to move on. In some ways she didn't want freedom to choose it only complicated matters. "Where are we planning on going?" she asked nervously, fearing what the answer may be.
Inuyasha answered for Kagome, he knew how hard it would be for her. "We're going to where there are more shards, Sango." Inuyasha stared at her waiting to see a reaction; Sango could be very calm or very unreasonable. You could never know with her.
"I see, so we aren't going to go and look for Miroku, are we?" She looked up at their faces; they were full of pity and sadness. She knew the answer. "Why aren't we going after him!? Tell me!" Tears began streaming down Sango's face, but she ignored them and continued glaring back at her companions searching for an answer.
Again Inuyasha spoke on the matter. "Sango, from what you told us it sounds like Miroku is probably already dead by now. Even if he's not we have no idea where to look for Naraku. Our best bet is to continue looking for the shards, that way we're bound to run into Naraku."
Sango stared back at Inuyasha in disbelief. He sounded so cold and unreasonable to her. "You're not serious, we're just going to forget about him!? How can you say that!?"
"Because it's the best thing for the group, Sango," said Kagome. She had gained enough confidence to try and talk to her friend, to show her the logic behind this move.
"You too, Kagome. You all feel this way, you all think we should forget about Miroku and just move on." She glared at all of them, she felt so hopelessly out numbered, but she didn't want to give up. She wanted to do what she felt was right.
"We're not forgetting about him! We just can't waste our time looking for someone when we don't even know where to look and the chances that the person is alive are slim. It's a waste of time and effort!" Inuyasha was beginning to get extremely angry, Sango couldn't make things easy for him. She wasn't able to tell how hard it was for him to say that, but it really was. He was just doing what he thought best for Sango, and everyone.
Sango couldn't control herself any more, Inuyasha's words just hurt too much. She stood up and walked over to him and slapped him hard in the face. "How dare you say that looking for a friend is a waste of time! If Kagome were the one being captured then you wouldn't waste any time to go and look for her, you don't have the right to make decisions for everyone and say that this is the right thing! It's not!" She took in a few quick shallow breaths trying to regain control over her emotions. Self-control was not her specialty.
Inuyasha felt like he was going to explode in absolute rage, first she slaps him, hard, and then she makes wild accusations about not caring that Miroku is gone and that he would go after Kagome if she were the one taken. It was a serious dent to his pride and he wasn't going to take things lightly. "Sango, don't start assuming anything about what I would do if it was anyone else. I would the say the same thing if it was Kagome, or you, or anyone for that matter. It's got nothing to do with Miroku. I understand your hurt but- -"
"Shut up! You don't understand!" Sango wasn't about to hear anything from Inuyasha about understanding her feelings. Nobody does, nobody ever could understand how she felt. "I don't care what you say, going after Miroku is the right thing to do. I'm going to go after him; I don't care if anyone else doesn't want to or not. He risked his life for me and I'm not going to just let Naraku do as he pleases with him."
She walked away from Inuyasha and went over to Kirara. "Let's go find Miroku, Kirara." She hopped on her back and rode away, saying nothing else to the group. She had nothing more to say to them, and she just wanted to get away.
Kagome started to run after her but Inuyasha quickly grabbed hold of her wrist. "You're not going after her, Kagome. She made her choice and it's time for us to move on."
She starred silently at him tears starting to form in her eyes. "How can you say that? We just lost Sango too. Don't you care?"
"Of course I do, that's why you shouldn't go after her. Sango knows the risk and it's sort of her own personal mission. Let her try to find him otherwise she'll never be happy."
"Inuyasha." She let out a small sob and buried her face within his muscular chest.
"Kagome." Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly to him. "Things will work out, you'll see."
Shippou sighed and scratched the back of his head. "I guess it's just the three of us again."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~********************~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Naraku smiled as he stood over the monk's limp body. Kagura had done precisely as he had asked and now his plan could be put into motion, but first. "Kagura."
She appeared silently out of the shadows behind him, reluctantly ready to serve what he asked. "Yes, Naraku? Is there something you need or do you just wish to waste my time?"
He grinned, "Cocky bitch," he muttered silently. "I actually just wanted your insight on my plan. You always seem to have good ideas when it comes to torturing others."
"My my, we're quite the flatterer. Okay, explain your plan to me. This could be quite amusing." She let out flirtatious laugh.
"Believe it or not there was a reason I asked you not to kill the monk, I know you easily could have. The thing is it's much more painful to play with other's emotions before you kill them, it's so much more fun that way."
"I understand but that doesn't explain your plan. Are you planning to turn him into a puppet like Kohaku? Or are you going to be original this time?" She waited impatiently for his answer; she didn't want to have another mindless drone to baby-sit.
"Your sarcasm is well noted, Kagura. I do however have something similar plan for our poor houshi. Except of course, this time the whole group will suffer. It's not any fun just torturing one person when you can torture many."
"What sort of torture are you planning, Naraku?" He had really caught her interest, when suffering was involved Kagura was all ears.
"What if I did give Miroku back to them but not as the same person? What if he was completely different and didn't know of any of them? What if he thought he was a different person?"
Kagura let out an annoyed little sound, this didn't sound very diabolical, more stupid than anything. "I don't get it, he's just going to be a different person. Why the hell would they care?"
He stroked his chin in a thought-provoking manner. "Think about it for a second Kagura, the demon slayer is in love with him, correct? How would you feel if the person you love was no longer that person but someone completely different? Could you ever love that person again?"
"Don't ask such stupid questions, Naraku. I would never love a person so don't ask how I would feel in such a case."
"Well, my point is it's sort of an emotional torture, for all of them really. This good friend they've grown so close to doesn't remember any of them and is now a completely different person. It's like he's dead but not really, and that's what hurts them so badly. He's there but not really and there's no way to get him back to the way he was. He's not Miroku anymore."
"I suppose I can understand, but I still think it's pretty stupid. You're really not doing anything to them. You should just kill the bastard, that'd be a lot more fun."
"Kagura, you fail to see how fun this plan can really be. I'm just going to go along with anyway. We'll see soon who was right."
Humph. "Indeed we will." She crossed her arms defiantly and waited for him to get his plan under way, whether or not she turns out to be right or wrong it was all going to be terribly amusing. Although, it would prove to be more fun if she was right and see one of Naraku's plans fail miserably. She felt excited; she wanted so badly to see him fail. Things were about to get much more amusing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~***************~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Miroku let out a small moan, his head was spinning and his body ached all over. Wherever he was it was extremely dark and he couldn't see a thing. It was like he was having one giant hang over. "Where am I?"
A dark figure loomed over his body watching him carefully. "Don't talk." Without warning his foot connected with Miroku's stomach.
Miroku coughed out a small amount of blood, that move was very unexpected. He clutched his stomach tightly trying to ease the pain. "What do you want?"
"I said no talking!" He sent a hard boot to Miroku's face wanting to teach the monk a lesson.
Miroku could feel a wet liquid running down his face. He knew it was blood and winced slightly. Being kicked around wasn't help with his sore body. He didn't say anything more; he didn't want to be kicked again.
Silence.
"Good, I see that you got the message. That was wise, although I did enjoy kicking you."
"Bastard!" Miroku felt like he had to say something, he wasn't going to be kicked around like a dog. He didn't have such a strong pride like Inuyasha but still he had some pride. No man liked being ridiculed in such a manner.
"We just don't learn." He picked up Miroku up off the ground and landed several hard blows to his face. Once he was satisfied and could feel Miroku shaking in his grasp he threw him back to the ground. "Behave and I wont have to hit you."
"Who are you?" he whispered.
"I'll tell you but first, punishment." He sent a hard kick square into Miroku's stomach.
Miroku let out a small wince of pain but didn't say anything. The wind had been knocked out of him, along with a few spats of blood.
"Now, I'm surprised you don't recognize my voice. You should, after all I'm the one you've been seeking."
"Naraku." Miroku covered his mouth; he knew what would be coming next. He felt a jab of pain rippling through his stomach again. He felt like he was going to throw up.
"Now that the introductions are over lets get down to business." He cracked his knuckles, showing him that more pain was going to be headed his way.
Miroku gulped, he was defenseless and couldn't see a damn thing. If he couldn't see he couldn't defend himself from a blow. He decided it was best to stay quiet and hope he wouldn't be hit again.
"You should really be thanking me, Miroku. I saved you from a big mistake. Getting involved with the taiji-ya would be a big mistake."
At this Miroku's usual cool head wasn't thinking too straight. "Shut up! What do you know!?"
"Can't keep our mouth shut and let me finish, can you?" He landed another hard blow in his face, Miroku just winced. "If you keep this up your pretty face will be ruined, and Sango wont have anything nice to look at."
All rational thinking was thrown out the window for Miroku. He wasn't going to let Naraku insult him like this. "Bastard! What do you want!?"
"To see you suffer," he said coldly. "I want hear you scream, I want the sounds of your voice ringing in my ear begging me for mercy." He picked him up of the ground and shook him wildly. "Do you understand!? Your pain is all that I care about!"
He slammed the monk's face hard into the ground and picked him back up. He whispered silently into his ear, "I want you to be in hell. I want to make every last minute of your life miserable. You will suffer, even if you don't realize it." He could see the horror on Miroku's face and it made him feel giddy, like a schoolgirl. He pushed him back down to the ground landing hard with a thud.
His body felt like it was on fire, everything had a wild burning. His whole life had been painful and scary for him, but at this instance he was truly afraid, he was horrified of dying. After he had come so far he didn't want to give up yet, he wanted more than anything to see Sango again. He stayed quiet, he didn't want to get hit again.
"Silence is golden, that's a very good boy, Miroku." He cracked a smile, sure that this would set the monk off. He enjoyed having a reason to beat the pulp out of him.
Miroku didn't have to try too hard to stay silent, his throat was too choked up with tears and blood to utter a sound.
"You know this is your own fault. If you weren't such a pervert you would have never gotten into a fight with Sango. She would have never run off and you would have never had to go after her." He waited again, for his plan to work he needed Miroku to retaliate against him, that's what he was counting on.
Miroku's eyes widened in shock, it was like he just found out the meaning to life. "How did you know!?"
"I know a lot more than you may think, Miroku. But you're not letting me finish!" He sent a couple of hard kicks to Miroku's back sending him into a fetal position, curling into a ball. "Every second you stay alive you make Sango suffer. If you're alive she just has one more person to worry about getting hurt or killed. Not to mention your perverted ways, how can she stand you? You're a filthy animal."
"Liar!" he screamed. He desperately fought in his mind to resist Naraku's words. Unfortunately it would be easier if he weren't just kicked in the face again.
"You know it's true! Sango's heart aches every time you go off with another woman. You're just a silent killer inside her heart. She'd be better off without you!"
Miroku let out a small cry, everything hurt so badly; he was in nightmare. "You're lying! She loves me!" He braced himself for the next impact, fortunately it didn't come, at least, not right away.
"Did she ever tell you that she loved you?" He was going to wait a moment to hit him and let him think out his answer. It was great leaving him out to dry.
Miroku's throat got choked up, he was searching desperately for a moment when she had said she loved him. He couldn't remember, he couldn't remember a time that she did. He couldn't stay silent however, that would be like letting him win. "I know she loves me! She kissed me! I love her and she loves me!"
"Sure she does, that's why she let Kagura take you away without trying to stop her." He smiled, he could sense the monk's frustration. He was fighting desperately in his mind to not believe him. In the mean time he sent another few blows to his body, making the whole process even more painful for him.
"She didn't let her take me away. She was hurt, if she could she would have. She loves me I know it!" Miroku didn't even realize how loud he was screaming, he wanted desperately to believe his words. He couldn't have any doubts.
Naraku was depriving great pleasure out of this, he was putting so many doubts in his mind. It was easy to tell how badly it was getting to him. "Face it, she doesn't love you. Even if she did, how could she love a pervert who would never stay faithful? How could she ever trust you!? You make her suffer!"
"Liar! Liar! Liar!" he continued screaming at the top of his lungs, he didn't want to hear Naraku's voice; he couldn't take it. He was going insane.
"Stop fighting, Miroku! You know it's true! She can't ever love you! You're just a stupid lecher who never learns his lesson. She'd be miserable if she spent her life with you!" He watched as Miroku appeared to be going crazy. He was thrashing his head about and his hands were covered tightly over his ears. 'Perfect,' he thought. Everything was going according to plan. "Time to end this."
He peeled Miroku of the ground and shouted loudly into his face, "She doesn't love you! You make her suffer! She could never be happy if she spent her life with you! She hates you!" He smacked him hard in the face, a big bruise was beginning to form under his right eye and blood was still flowing freely from his mouth and nose.
"No!" He fought desperately in his mind to repel the words, however horrid images still crept into his mind. He could see her crying, she was miserable. He was making her miserable. She was screaming at him, she said she hated him.
"Yes! You're making her cry at this very second! She loves you but yet you make her suffer by groping all those women! She's even slightly glad Kagura took you away! Now you can't hurt her!"
"No," he whispered, "No, no, no. It can't be true." He let out a small sob, he was growing more pathetic by the second. Naraku was winning, he couldn't take it anymore the images haunted him. "No," he cried silently. "No! Make it stop! Make it stop!"
He smiled, he wouldn't have to go any further. "I can make it stop, just let me make it stop hurting for you. Don't resist. I can take away all those images."
"No! I can't!" He screamed, he screamed loud and hard, he was fighting within himself to not give in. "I can't! But it hurts so much! It hurts so much!" He squeezed his head tightly trying to take the images away. "I don't want to hurt anymore!"
Naraku let out an annoyed growl, he was putting up a greater fight than he had hoped. However, it didn't matter. It would soon be over. "It doesn't have to hurt, you don't have to go on like this. Let me help you."
"No," he whispered. "No, I don't want your help." He couldn't say anymore his face was being bombarded by a number of hard blows. He was in excruciating pain.
Naraku dropped Miroku back to the ground and then began kicking him over and over again in his face and chest, and anywhere else he pleased. He was going to make him suffer before he gave in. He was going to give in, or he was going to kill him. "Just admit the truth! Stop fighting! You're in denial! You know the truth, you just don't want to admit it!"
"Make it stop! I'm sorry, Sango! I'm sorry! Just make it stop!" He curled back up into a ball not wanting to be anymore vulnerable than he already was. He was deep within his mind, trying to not give in. It felt impossible.
"It will all be over soon. Just don't move." He bent down next to Miroku and placed his hand over his forehead. "Relax, this wont hurt at all." He let out a small laugh, he had finally won. The houshi's mind was far too warped to resist anymore.
He did his best to try and to resist, but he couldn't. He was lost within the depths of his mind of what he believed to be true. Darkness loomed over him, he didn't know anymore, what was truth or lies all ran together. His mind was free to mold. He watched at images of his life flashed before him before dissolving into darkness. His last memory with Sango filled his eyes with tears, that kiss was something he never wanted to forget. He cringed as it slowly escaped his mind, 'Forgive me, Sango.' He closed his eyes and everything went dark again.
Naraku smiled, the hard part had been finished. Miroku's mind was a clean slate, and he no longer had any memories to fall back on to remember who he really was. Now all he had to do was implant the fake memories into his mind and the deed would be finished.
He thought up a nice little identity for Miroku. He'll be everything Sango never wanted him to be. He removed his hand and whispered silently into his ear,
"You're not Miroku the houshi, you're Xen the taiji-ya. You don't know anything about your family or your past. You've been exterminating demons since you could remember. You're cursed and no one wants you. You don't want to get close to anyone, you'll only hurt them. You have no mission in life but to exterminate demons, this is all you know and all you live for. You have no one."
He let out a satisfied laugh, "Yes, I think that should do nicely. When you wake up you'll remember none of this, and you will be who I told you to be. Good-bye, Miroku."
"And hello, Xen." Kagura smiled as she entered the dark room where Naraku was just finishing things up. "I over heard everything, and I find it all terribly amusing. You're right, this could be very fun."
"I'm glad you think so, here." He picked up Miroku's body and tossed it over to Kagura. "Get him some new garments, ones to fit his new personality and dump him at the hillside near the castle. The girl, Sango will be there shortly. It's best she finds him right away. Then the fun can begin all that quicker."
"I understand." She smiled and picked up the fallen monk off of her feet and slung him over her shoulder. "I'll do as you ask but only because, I think it'll be terribly fun."
"As you wish, Kagura. Go now and fulfill your mission."
"See you," she turned her head to Miroku and smiled. "Come on, we'll get all fixed up to see your girlfriend again. It'll be great fun." She left the room with Miroku and set out to do her job.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~End of chapter~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I hope that was detailed enough so people understood what happened. I know I said this chapter would be up a lot sooner but some unexpected problems came up. I'm very sorry. Please forgive me. But thanks a lot to everyone who reviewed! You all kick ass!
Inu-shounen~ I can tell I haven't really caught your interest yet, but I assure you things get much more interesting.
Rissi-sama~ You just can't be the conventional reviewer and say nice things, can you? Oh well, thanks; you did say it was a good chapter.
Small-buttercup~ As long as you review I don't care what time it is. Thanks, I'm glad this chapter made bedtime good for you.
Lar-lar~ It's good to know you're finding things great, but I still miss your favorite word. Bring back fantastic!
Fanfictiongeek36~ Writing angst just comes naturally to me, sorry if I made you just about cry. What can I say, it's a habit. Thanks a lot for the review! ^^
Doggeh~ Don't worry about it; what you said really made me happy. I enjoy the compliments. Thanks; hope to see a review from you again soon.
SM together~ I would have, really. However, thanksgiving day proved to be treacherous and emotional scarring ensued. Yes, that's my excuse. Updates will come faster though. At least this was a long chapter though.
Soli-chan~ You're a good author and it's nice hearing good things from you. It must mean I'm doing something right, thank you.
Sango-Chan~ Glad you snuck off too! It's wonderful to get a review from you. Thanks a lot.
Aamalie~ Yeah, it's evil to have fluff then angst but I like torturing you like that. Deal with it ^_^
Kaylana~ I laugh every time I read your review I can just picture it.
Kagura~ Chasing after Miroku with a cheese grater. "Come back houshi-sama! It wont hurt too much! I need you for my salad toppings!"
Miroku~ O.O;; "Noooooooo!"
Kagura~ "Fine." Pulls out her lawn mower, we'll do this the hard way. Chases after him.
Miroku~ EEP! O.O Runs far away.
Any way, I know I sort of killed the mood but I'm horrible with analogies. Thanks a lot though, that was great. ^^
SennenHimemiya~ I didn't know you have ever read any of my stories. Glad you like this one though. Hope you continue to. Thanks for the review.
That's all for the kick ass reviewers for chapter 2! Thanks to everyone who reviewed! It means a lot!
Expect the next update around Thursday or Friday.
Adios for now,
Zero.