Authour's Note: If by now you're wondering where Shippo is through all of this, he's staying with Sesshoumaru and Rin's farm caretaker
Disclaimer: I dont own inuyasha
And Those Amber Eyes of Sunlight...-Chapter Sixteen: Follow the Leader
Pulling off to the side of the dirt road, they hid the car deep within the underbrush and stood for along time, looking around. Through the thickly treed forest, they could see a large mansion type building that was half built into the side of the large mountain that loomed above them. "Kagome's scent is strong from there," Inuyasha said softly then loosened his sword, a fang from his father's mouth, and started along the beaten path leading up to the side of the giant house.
Seeing no other way to get there more sneakily, the others followed quietly. "Hey," Sango whispered softly, nudging Rin in the side, "What do you suppose will happen once Inuyasha's saved both Kagome and Kikyo from this awful place?" Shrugging, Rin looked down at her feet and then back towards the car where they had left the still unconscious priestess. "I don't know, Sango," She answered back and they continued walking in silence, losing sight of the car when they turned a bend, the setting sun of the third day behind them.
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Naraku looked up from his papers, slightly perturbed, as someone knocked on the door to his study. "You better have a good reason for bothering me while I'm working," He growled, ripping the door open to find two guards standing before him, the blank eyed Kagome standing in between.
Sighing in frustration, he looked to the first guard, who stood shifting uncomfortably beneath his gaze. "What's this all about?" In a shaky voice, the guard answered back, "Sir, we found the priestess in Warlord Crast's room...Sir, Lord Crast and his wife are dead..."
Naraku shifted his gaze to Kagome and raised a brow, not receiving any reaction from her what-so-ever. Then, turning back to the man, he said in an offhand voice, "Burn the bodies, or feed them to the wild youkai, then clean the rooms and get them ready for some other guest. Nodding, both guards bowed and turned, leaving down the hall to disappear into the unlighted portion.
Sighing again, he shoved the still emotionless Kagome inside the room and turned, watching as she turned also to face him. "Well, what do you have to say for yourself?" Opening her mouth slowly, she simply answered back, "They asked me to dance."
Raising a hand to cover his eyes, he growled and sat down in the chair at his desk again, leaning back in it somewhat. He remembered now, how he used the command, dance, to send her to exterminate some unwanted company at any appointed time.
"My lord," She began again, "You told me never to truly dance for anyone but my master, they told me to dance. Did they want to die?"
Looking up, he shook his head unbelievingly then stood and looked at her closely, setting his hands on both her shoulders. "I have no idea, Pet."
He never used her name, for in doing that he would break half the spell that bound her to him, the other half being the key to unlock her collar, for within the small bell attached to it, swirled the powers of control. Who ever had the key, would have the control. In the first place, he had never ordered the wild youkai to enslave her body, only contain her will, as he did with the rest of his victims. What good is a servant if they couldn't obey orders?
Shaking his head once more, he paused, standing still for a moment. Tilting his head, he listened, as if a noise had come from the silence that surrounded them. When he turned back, he found that Kagome still stared straight ahead with the same blank expression she always did. He sort of missed it when she had her own mind, she was more exciting. He dismissed a notion that had made itself known though, when he realized that if he were to set her free, she'd only defy him.
So turning, he walked towards the door and opened it. Knowing his puppy would follow, he started down the hall towards the grand dome like room, the intersection between all halls in the mansion that eventually opened into the cavernous place.
Sitting himself down in his throne, he looked down the aisle towards the dark opening that led to the entrance on the estate in time to see a blank- eyed Kikyo emerge from its depths. "Ahh, what an obedient Pet, coming back to me just like I ordered," he rasped softly, lifting a hand to catch Kikyo's as she neared, and pull her close in his evil embrace, his face going into her hair to inhale deeply. "Welcome back...Kikyo."
A gasp came from the form against him and he felt arms wrap around him and return the embrace tightly. "Oh, Naraku! I had the oddest dream...," Her voice said softly in his ear.
Just then, Inuyasha and the others came running out of the hall as well. Turning, he caught the hanyou's gasp of shock before it turned to that of hurt and then anger. 'Yes, what a wonderful way to die, heart broken and betrayed...'
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He didn't understand what was happening in front of him, in Naraku's arms stood Kikyo. 'How can that be?! We left her in the car!' But he knew the vision was real. Then, turning his head slightly, another surprise registered in his mind, for a scarcely dressed, blank-eyed Kagome stood behind the two, staring straight ahead as if nothing were happening.
Shaking his head, he looked back to the monster as Sesshoumaru came up behind him to stand at his left for support. Growling, he yelled, "What's going on Naraku, what sort have trickery have you done to convince both Kikyo and Kagome into following under your command?"
He felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle as an evil laugh filled the dome and Naraku answered back in a calm voice, "Inuyasha, for one, it is no trickery, she came to me on her own," He pulled Kikyo a little closer to prove his point and the priestess laid her head on his shoulder, staring at Inuyasha with a wicked smile on her lips, "And the other, well, she had been a little difficult to break down, but containing her will had helped the matter a great deal. But you don't care about the other do you?" baffled, Inuyasha took a step back before answering, "What do you mean?" Laughing again, Naraku continued, "When you found Kikyo again, that's all you could think of, it was all that mattered wasn't it?"
Stepping back again, Inuyasha raised an arm as if to ward away Naraku's words, but deep inside, he knew that the wicked hanyou was right. But hell if he was going to admit that, he thought, snapping back, "You're wrong! I would never give up on Kagome like that!" "You lie," Naraku screamed back as soon as Inuyasha had finished his sentence.
Releasing Kikyo, Naraku turned to fully look upon the hanyou. "You lied, Inuyasha, just now, but let me tell you something to make it even better. While you stand there, thinking about Kikyo, my obedient slave stands there thinking of you. I can feel it, I can hear her contained mind screaming for your help, and do you come, no! Of course not, for now that you've found Kikyo, why would you need to find someone you didn't even care about. You don't care about her do you, DO YOU?! So why do you stand there, staring at me with that horrified face as if I were crazy when you are the one who marched through death's doorstep to save someone who meant nothing to you?"
Shocked beyond anything that had ever happened to him before, he could only stare wide eyed at Naraku before lowering his head, his mind reeling in pain as he tried to sort out the emotions that were boiling up inside of him. 'Could he be right? Does she really mean nothing to me? Am I really here for no reason?!' His brows wrinkled in deep concentration, '...No...NO! That can't be true...I...I do feel something for her, but what is it? Do..do I love her? Even after finding that Kikyo's alive, can I really love her?' Raising his head, he looked at the still emotionless figure behind Naraku and some deep feeling began to surface. 'I do love her, I love Kagome!'
Drawing his sword, he opened his mouth and yelled in the most forceful voice he could muster, "You're wrong! I do love her!" With that, he ran forward toward Naraku who now stood staring in shock this time.
Jumping, he held his sword outstretched him front of him and came down upon the paralyzed hanyou who was too surprised to do anything but hold up his hands in defense. But before he could lay a hit, Kagome appeared in front of him, intercepting his blow with her own sword. "Kagome," he exclaimed, hopping back a few feet and landing at a crouch on the marble floor, "What are you doing?!"
Naraku, who had recovered from his shock, straightened and grinned, answering for the girl, "Her will is mine as long as I hold the keys to her collar and her name on my lips, Inuyasha! She will die before your swing ever come in contact with my body." He laughed, while Inuyasha sat helpless to do anything, now noticing the silky looking material around her throat, a tiny silver bell hanging from it. Then, looking up, he watched as Naraku flashed a silver key momentarily before putting it in his pocket.
By then, Kikyo had disappeared and the others in the group had come forward to stand behind him, for at that moment, wild youkai surged from the darkness below, descending towards the small group to attack.
'What can we do,' Inuyasha thought rapidly, searching for answers, but finding none.
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Tricky situation there huh? Sucks for them. Review please and I'll continue on and tell you what happens in the next chapter, "The False Exchange." Oh and thank you to all those who reviewed sofar, you're so nice =)