Disclaimer: From Inuyasha… to Sango, Miroku; from Shippo, Kirara… to Ka-a-gome; from the Goshinboku… to the Gobbling We-e-ell… this series does not belong to you or me. Nice song, eh?
A/N: I'm back! This update didn't take as long as last time's, eh? Well, I'm not into lengthy A/N's so onto the chapter!
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Ch. 7.
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"What are we going to do, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, while pacing nervously. "Naraku's practically placed us under house arrest. Something bad is going to happen; I can just feel it." She pulled her arms around herself and shivered slightly.
Inuyasha walked over to her and put a comforting arm about her shoulders. "Don't worry, Kagome. Things will turn out alright," he said reassuringly, albeit uncertainly.
Over the past couple days, Naraku had ordered two bodyguards to stand by their door, refusing to let them out for any reason. Kagome hadn't known the consequences for removing her youkai's tag would have been so serious. Naraku probably assumed that she was trying to help him become a Fugitive, or something ludicrous as that. There was something about her boss that gave her goosebumps. The man seemed so phony. What if he decided she wasn't fit to own Inuyasha? What if he took him away and gave her youkai to some merciless experimenter for torture?
She'd only been with Inuyasha for several weeks, but he was as dear to her as a close companion. She didn't want to see him hurt.
The door suddenly swung open. One of the demon bodyguards stood in front of the two of them. "Naraku will see you now. I will lead you to his office. Bring the hanyou," he stated swiftly and mechanically.
The youkai the marched away and Kagome hastened to follow him. The three of them went to the elevator and up twenty levels to Naraku's office. The youkai bodyguard nodded to a second one guarding his office and the latter opened the door for them.
Kagome gulped nervously and entered the large room. The moment they stepped into the office, the guards behind them pulled out heavy chains and immediately shackled Inuyasha. He snarled ferociously and tried to jerk away, but he only received a blow to the head as a reward.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried out, alarmed.
"Do not worry about him," Naraku said from behind his desk. He was completely calm and his fingers were threaded together. "He is a hanyou. It will not hurt him much."
Kagome turned to him.
The man gestured to the chairs in front of his desk. "Have a seat, Miss Higurashi."
Tentatively, she did as she was told. Behind her, she took note of the chained up Inuyasha, held down by the two burly guards. "What about Inuyasha?" She asked softly.
Naraku snorted. "He is youkai, and an experimental subject at that. I do not care for his condition, painful or otherwise."
Kagome clenched her hands over the chair's armrest, but said nothing.
"Now then, Miss Higurashi, let us get down to business." He said, unfolding his hands and shuffling through a few papers on his desk. "One of my inspectors, Kagura Arekuruukaze, tells me that Inuyasha was not wearing his tag nor his chains, as I can clearly tell, when she made inspections to my employees. Would you care to tell me why you removed them when your specified instructions were to leave them on?"
Kagome fidgeted uncomfortably. "The chains seemed… uncomfortable. They kept rubbing against his skin, so I took them off. And the tag… well… it kept finding ways to touch his skin for some reason and he was blistering, so… I also removed that too," she lied.
Naraku looked past her and nodded at one of the guards. The youkai jerked down the high collar of the turtleneck to expose Inuyasha's neck. There was no sign of any abrasions.
"Ah," the man nodded understandingly, "From the looks of your hanyou's skin, you've either lied or have taken off his tag long ago," His dark eyes pierced into hers, "or both. Which one is it?"
Kagome lowered her gaze, unable to look him in the eyes. "I took off several days ago," she said, not really answering his question.
"You realize this is a strict violation of the rules, Miss Higurashi?" Naraku asked in a sharp tone.
"Y-yes," she stuttered.
Naraku reached out a long, white finger and pulled her chin up so she looked at him. Inuyasha growled low in his throat. He did not like that man, Naraku and he certainly did not want him touching Kagome.
"Miss Higurashi, you must understand. Firstly, it is dangerous to release Inuyasha of his tag. If he were to walk out a door, any door of this office building wearing the tag, the alarm will automatically be triggered. If he was not wearing the tag, he could easily get away. Secondly, youkai have no feelings. Do not worry for them. If they are uncomfortable, so be it. They are only our experimental puppets. That is their only purpose. They are monsters that must be chained and shackled."
Inuyasha snarled angrily and tried to pull away from the bodyguards. They tightened the chains around his wrist. "That's right," the hanyou growled, "pull them tighter because it will only be that much more sweet when I get my hands around your neck," Inuyasha bit out at Naraku, though the man could not hear him.
But Kagome heard him. Her heart felt for him, but again she held back her tongue.
"For your health and for the health of the innocents outside this building, you will put that tag back on and keep the chains around him. That is an order." Naraku said with finality. "Is that understood?"
Kagome nodded, bowing her head politely, "Yes, sir."
"I will be placing the two of you under house arrest for another 72 hours, just in case. Have a good day, Miss Higurashi." With that, she was escorted out of his office and back to her room.
Once the door was shut tight, Kagome whirled around to face Inuyasha. "That's it, I can't stand it anymore. We have to get out of here!"
"What are you talking about, woman?" Inuyasha grunted as he tugged against his confines.
"This place… it's horrible! The way that… that man regarded you and the way those youkai treated you!" She walked up to him until they were practically touching. "Before I met you, I never thought I would ever be compassionate toward youkai. After all, it was a youkai that killed my family in the first place." She looked down for a moment, struggling to get a hold of her emotions.
Inuyasha watched her silently.
"But now I understand why that demon did what it did. I've seen the labs where they experiment on youkai. They give no consideration to comfort; they don't even care if the test medication accidentally kills the youkai! It's horrible! But I never really realized how bad it really was. I never thought that youkai had feelings at all," she looked back up at him and reached out a hand to rest on his shoulder, "until I met you.
"Pretty soon, they will be noticing that my project isn't coming along very fast. In order for me to turn in my report, I need a test subject, but I refuse to use you as one!" Kagome stomped one of her feet for emphasis.
"So what do you propose we do?" Inuyasha asked, his heart thumping at the prospect of escape.
"We'll have to get out of here."
The hanyou rolled his eyes. "Well, that much is obvious. I mean, how are we going to do it?"
"Well," Kagome pulled out a set of keys, "first, we're going to have to get you free."
Inuyasha looked at her surprised, "How did you get those?"
Kagome gave him a mischievous look, "I grabbed them from the guard's pocket when he wasn't looking." She began fitting the keys to the various locks around him and the chains fell away one by one. "We'll have to act like nothing's wrong at first. Once they let us off house arrest, we'll get away, somehow. We're going to need some help, though."
"I know someone," Inuyasha said suddenly.
Kagome looked surprised. "You do?"
"Yeah. I met someone the other day. He said he'd be around if I ever needed him."
"Who's this friend of yours?"
"His name's Miroku. He's a wind demon and I'm sure he'll be happy to help. He has no owner, but he's okay."
"No owner, huh?" Kagome muttered to herself. "Well that's good. But we're also going to need someone to help cover us back here. Maybe Rin will be willing. I'll call Sango to see if she can help us at all."
Inuyasha watched her as she retreated to her room, pulling out a bag and putting a few essentials in it. He stepped up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Kagome," he said slowly, struggling with his words, "you realize that by doing this, you're putting a lot at risk. Your job, your home, your friends…"
Kagome turned to face him, "I know it's a big sacrifice. Most of my memories are of this place and I can barely remember life outside of Shikon, but this place is so wrong! Youkai are people too! They deserve no less than what we have. This place has no morals and I shame myself just by staying here. Do you understand, Inuyasha? I don't want to be here!"
Inuyasha nodded, his throat constricting. Never had he met someone who was so compassionate toward youkai. This Kagome was something amazing. "Where will we go?" he asked when his throat had loosened.
Kagome shook her head wearily. "I don't know. But I suppose anywhere's better than here."
An idea sparked in Inuyasha's head, "What if we go to Musashi?"
Kagome stared at him a moment. "Are… are we allowed to? I mean, won't they kill me on the spot when they see I'm not youkai?" She asked hesitantly.
Inuyasha drew himself up and puffed out his chest. "I won't let them. I'll protect you."
Kagome giggled at the comical image he put up and drew her arms around his waist in a friendly hug, "Thanks, Inuyasha. I know you'll always be there for me."
Inuyasha's face flamed and he stood awkwardly, not knowing what to do. "Um… no problem."
Kagome pulled back and picked up the phone, dialing her friends' numbers. Her youkai watched until she was finished.
"What do we do now?"
Kagome made herself comfortable on her bed and motioned Inuyasha to sit next to her.
"We wait."
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Sango had received a strange call from Kagome, which consisted of questions about how she felt about Shikon Company and how far would she be willing to help a close friend. Naturally, she wanted to go see if Kagome was in good health and despite her warning not to visit, Sango decided it wouldn't hurt to check up on the girl anyway.
She was just about to turn the corner leading to Kagome's apartment when she walked straight into a wall.
An invisible wall.
"What the hell—?!" She cursed, rubbing her nose.
"I wouldn't go that way, if I were you," a disembodied voice told her.
Sango turned around quickly, but no one was there. She gave a suspicious glance back in the other direction. There was still no one. She gave up looking for the mysterious voice and carefully reached out a hand. The wall was still there. She placed both hands flat against, searching for a way past it. As she pushed her weight against it, it suddenly gave way.
She gave a surprised squeak and braced herself to hit the floor, but it never happened. She felt strong hands gripping her upper arms, its body cushioning hers. Sango looked up to see a young, black-haired man grinning at her.
"Hello, miss. What brings you to these parts?"
Sango noticed the slight slurring accent in his voice, but that thought dissolved from her mind once she noticed his pointed ears. She jerked herself away and pointed a shaky finger at him. "You're a youkai! But what… how…?"
Miroku waited patiently for the girl to catch her breath. "Don't be alarmed, miss. I am a youkai, but I won't harm you."
"I can… understand you?" Sango breathed in an incredulous voice.
The wind demon nodded his head once. "I've been around here for years. It didn't take me long to catch onto the language."
"Where's your owner?" She asked him curiously, looking around him.
"I have none."
"None?" Sango's eyes widened and she stepped back a bit.
"I told you, you have nothing to be alarmed about. I won't hurt you."
She stood up straighter. "Why should I believe you? You're a Fugitive who happens to be so advanced that you can speak the human language. You even have spiritual powers that allow you to erect invisible barriers and hide your presence."
Miroku grinned, obviously delighted, "Why, thank you."
Well, he doesn't seem to be dangerous, Sango thought to herself. "What is your name, youkai?"
"Why, it is Miroku, fair lady. Would you grant me the favor of escorting you back to your room?"
Sango shook her head stubbornly. "I have to see Kagome first."
"That would be ill-advised, Miss Sango. Miss Kagome is, at the moment, under house arrest and--"
"House arrest?!" Sango cried alarmed. "What did she do? Kagome never does anything bad!"
"While that may be true, Kagome is still under house arrest, and if you wish to stay out of trouble, you'd best stay away from her for a few days. She'll be let off eventually."
Sango stomped her foot down. "I don't believe you! I mean, why should I? You're a youkai, and you can talk human to boot. In fact, I should report you right away."
Miroku looked alarmed for the first time she'd seen him. "NO! …I mean, please don't do that. I haven't hurt anyone yet and I'd rather not go back into confinement. It's… not a very pleasant experience."
Sango crossed her arms, but she relented and allowed him to take her back to her apartment, only raising an eyebrow in question at his ability to lead her home without directions. "I'm letting it go for now, but I will find out what's going on in a few days. And nobody, not you nor some dumb youkai guards are going to stop me, you hear?" She said firmly.
"Got it, ma'am. No further interventions will be necessary after three days. Good day, Miss Sango." Miroku tipped his head slightly toward her and, suddenly, he was gone.
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A/N: And Sango and Miroku finally meet! There won't be a big romance between them, but you can expect several encounters between them. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry I took so long, I would have gotten it out a week ago, but something with my computer messed up and it went missing for a while. Boy was I scared when I realized that I couldn't find a chapter that was 98% written!
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Review Responses
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Mistress Koishii: Thanks for reviewing! Glad you liked it, and hoped you enjoyed this chapter! Crituque: Haha, thanks. Sorry I couldn't update sooner, what with my whole missing chapter crisis =P Anyway, thanks for reviewing! Sandywai: Heehee, thanks XD I love fluffy fics, don't you? I tried not to rush them into the romance, but sometimes, I can't stay away from the fluff. Hope you liked this chapter! It was a little longer than the last, but I'm hoping I'll be able to write longer in the future. FieryDemonFox: Thanks! I'm glad you like it! And I hope you keep up with that story of yours, the Tiger of the Princess. Thanks for the review! AnimeBrat: Haha, you're happy now, eh? And it's only been a little less than four weeks since I updated! (Vacation time DOESN'T count! =P And that was two weeks) Here's the update. Did you like it? Let me know! Silentslayer: Thank you! Yup, I think I finally have a plot in my head. Originally, I didn't really… but now I do! Well, my idea for their meeting was a little different… but that's alright! I didn't want too much violence or it might have gone out of control. Thanks for the suggestion though! Inuyasha1990: Thanks! I'm glad you're liking it! This chapter didn't take too long right? LOL. Sango's reincarnation: Haha, you bet! Isn't she always? Demented-squrriel: LOL. Yes, sometimes computers can be screwy. Like it was with me. Man I was so freaked out when this chapter went missing. But now I've found it. Whew! Thanks, I'm glad you like it! I try to make my plots as original as possible. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Moonlight-miko: How was this chapter eh? It's just a bit longer than the last. If I keep this up, hopefully I'll be getting out those humungo chapters! …Probably not… pinksakurablossom07: Hah, I guess I do deserve it, but I DID say it was on hiatus. I had a writer's block, but fortunately, I now have a plot! I predict that this story won't be too long. Maybe 15 chapters. But don't quote me on that one. Thanks for the review! Urei-sama: Haha, that was the reaction of a lot of people. ::basks in the love:: =P Here's chapter seven! Hope you've enjoyed it. Alana-star/Sugarcat: Thanks! I bet you're happy that I updated, eh? You've been hounding me about it for a while =P Ah, well, I don't mind. Hope you liked it! Black Katty: Thanks! Wow, that's a lot of 'really's! I'm glad you enjoy this. X-with stars: Thanks! You're about the only person who's said that. Vacationing was a blast! But now I'm back (well… I've been back for a couple weeks…) and with a new chapter! PHOEBE HOLLY: Sorry I took so long to update before! But this time was fast, right? I'm off my writer's block now. Thanks for the review!