A/N: I got reviews! Yay! (Smiles) As promised, here is chapter two...
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Manipulation
Chapter Two
"Help!" Inuyasha screamed, jumping frantically from the well with a bleeding Kagome in his arms. "Help!" He could feel her starting to go limp in his arms. The smell of her blood nearly overwhelmed his senses as it stained his robes.
Kagome's mother and grandfather ran from the house. Her mother paled.
"She needs help!" Inuyasha cried. "She's hurt herself! Please, help her!"
Kagome's grandfather had the family car running in less than two seconds flat.
"Did you do this to her?" demanded Kagome's mother, hitting Inuyasha ruthlessly across the face over and over again. "Huh? What happened? Tell me! How could you let this happen?" she screamed.
"It wasn't me!" Inuyasha whined. "It was Naraku...I think...and she stabbed herself with her own arrow. I was yelling at her...but it was like she couldn't even hear me..." he cast his eyes down at the ground.
Ms. Higurashi gasped. "She did this...to herself?"
"Not because she wanted to," Inuyasha sighed as they pulled up to the hospital. He ran inside with Kagome. "Hold on...please..."
They did not know how long Kagome had been in the operating room, nor how long they sat there. Souta would be out of school by now...home alone, and wondering where everyone was. Inuyasha wasn't sure if Miroku and Sango were alive or dead, but despite his worry, he did not think long on it. After all, Kagome was back there behind those big shiny doors, fighting for her life. Inuyasha fidgeted uncomfortably as his ears rubbed against the fabric of his hat.
"You think they'll come out soon?" he asked, looking worriedly at the stains from Kagome's blood that was all over his robes. "She'll be all right, won't she? I mean, with all this stuff here..."
But neither Ms. Higurashi nor her father said anything to him. Inuyasha looked up. He could hear faint footsteps, and then, at the end of the hallway, someone emerged from behind the big, shiny, gray doors. Inuyasha jumped up, picking the man up by the collar of his shirt. "How is she?" he demanded.
The old man looked fearful, and Inuyasha, sensing this, slowly released him. "How is she?" he asked, calmer this time.
The doctor removed his hat, and Kagome's mother and grandfather stood quickly. The doctor took a deep breath. "What ever it was that she used, it went in rather deep..."
"She didn't do that to herself!" Inuyasha interrupted angrily, although, technically, he did see her plunge the arrow into her own stomach. "It was..." but he stopped. The doctor was giving him an odd look, and Inuyasha sensed that this was not the time to explain about evil mind controlling demons from five hundred years past...
The doctor cleared his throat. "We were able to repair most of the internal damage, however, the girl lost a great deal of blood. She is in a coma right now. It is hard to say at this moment in time how her recovery will go..." he sighed. "But we must hope for the best..."
Inuyasha followed Kagome's mother and father into her hospital room. Kagome was hooked up to several different tubes and various different contraptions Inuyasha could not identify. He gasped at the sight.
"I want you to tell me..." whispered her mother, "tell me, Inuyasha...what happened to Kagome..." she pleaded.
Inuyasha nodded, cleared his throat, and began his tale. He took a seat next to the bed Kagome was lying in, took her hand, and began to tell her mother of the little girl in the forest, and the flowers she had given Kagome. It wasn't long before he reached the part about himself turning human, and Kagome claiming to have seen her father.
Her mother gasped. "But, see..." frowned Inuyasha, "I knew that Mr. Higurashi was dead...but, like I said, no matter what I did, it was as if Kagome couldn't hear me at all. Then she started talking to me, but it wasn't me...and she went towards the forest. I tried to stop her, but she wouldn't...she was talking to someone who wasn't there..." He paused. "Then, she said, 'Help, Inuyasha...Naraku has me!'...But he wasn't there, and she aimed the arrows at me. I closed my eyes thinking she was going to kill me, but when I opened them, Kagome screamed, and her eyes went wide, and she stabbed herself with her own arrow...it was horrible..." he shivered at the recent memory.
"So, she did do this to herself?" Kagome's mother whispered, nodding with sad understanding.
Kagome's grandfather shook his head. "Not really, my daughter. Kagome was under the control of someone else, as Inuyasha explained. I'm sure those demons have a greater influence than you or I could even imagine. But Inuyasha did well to bring Kagome back through the well. I think both of us knew that these sort of dangers existed for Kagome the moment we knew she could go through the well to the Feudal era..." Mr. Higurashi explained.
Kagome's mother nodded, and took her daughter's other hand. Inuyasha still held fast to the one he had taken hold of when he began his story.
"I expect you'll need Kagome to find the rest of the Shikon jewel shards?" her grandfather whispered.
Inuyasha frowned. "That doesn't seem to matter anymore," he sighed, "but at the same time, I know that if we don't find those shards in my time, there could be serious consequences in this time. If Naraku gets a hold of the shards, you might as well kiss humanity good bye..."
"Really? And what are you going to do?" asked Kagome's mother. She sounded extremely curious about the 'consequences' that Inuyasha had mentioned.
"Me? I'd be the first to die if Naraku takes over. He hates me. We will need Kagome in the final fight..." he looked down at the ground. "She's grown quite powerful as a miko, and she's deadly with a bow. Not to mention, she's the only one that can purify that damn jewel..."
Outside, the doctor that was about to give the Higurashi family an update on Kagome had stopped in his tracks. He listened for a while to their conversation. He was absolutely sure he had heard something about the Feudal era, demons, and the Shikon jewel...this was what intrigued him. He had heard a legend about a powerful jewel...he thought it had been called the Shikon no tama...but it was only supposed to be a myth. Yet, he was sure he had heard the Higurashi family talking about it just then. That, and a the well be the way to get to the time of which they spoke? And how would one go about doing this? The man snuck quietly away without even giving the Higurashi's their update. He was headed towards the Higurashi shrine....
Inuyasha frowned deeply. "It's too quiet in here..."
"This is a hospital, Inuyasha. It's supposed to be quiet in here..." Kagome's mother smirked at him.
"I know that! That's not what I'm talking about!" he groaned impatiently. "It just got quieter..."
Kagome's mother nodded. She glanced at her watch. "Where is that stupid doctor?" she growled. It was her turn to be impatient. The doctor that was supposed to be delivering their updates was several minutes late.
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"Stupid coward, Naraku..." Miroku grumbled as they stomped their way back to Granny Kaede's village. From there, not only would they be closer to the well when Inuyasha finally returned, but they could also fill Kaede in on what had happened.
"When we arrived, Kagome had an arrow in her stomach, and Naraku was about three feet from Inuyasha. Couldn't really tell you how Kagome managed to get one of her arrows into her stomach, but from what I heard Naraku say, I could bet it was his doing. He said something about some sort of poison..." Sango explained as Kaede played absentmindedly with Shippo's tail.
She paused. "A poison? That doth not sound good, I'm afraid. Methinks Naraku may have the upper hand. Do you have any idea about the nature of the poison, child?"
Miroku shook his head. "We have no ideas, Lady Kaede. We were hoping you could provide us with some. We didn't have any time to get any information from Naraku. As soon as Inuyasha fled with Kagome, Sango drew her weapon, and he ran off like a frightened little child..." Miroku laughed at the thought.
"Kagome was in pretty bad shape, though. You think we should go back and make sure she's all right?" she asked Miroku.
He shrugged. "It wouldn't hurt. Lady Kaede, you wouldn't mind keeping company with Shippo for a few days while we were gone, would you?"
Lady Kaede smiled. "Go ahead, children. Bring Kagome back safely."
Shippo looked mildly depressed about being left behind again, but whereas Inuyasha only needed to put on a hat and hide his ears, Shippo would have been a lot harder to explain to the modern people. Sango and Miroku waved as they ran off towards the bone eater's well, and jumped in, disappearing from sight.
Hopping out of the well, Kagome's little brother Souta was the first person Miroku and Sango saw. He looked disturbed about something, and Sango smiled at him.
"Your sister will be fine. Inuyasha has taken her to get the new medicine," she assured him.
But Souta did not speak. Miroku blinked worriedly at him. "Is there something else that troubles you, Souta? What is it?"
Souta whimpered, glancing over at a shadowy portion of the small temple. Sango and Miroku looked suspiciously in that same direction. Soon, a man in a white overcoat stepped from the shadows wearing the biggest grin any of them had ever seen.
"The legends were true...it does exist..." he whispered, a crazed glint in his eye.
Miroku stepped in front of Sango. "What legends?" he asked, although he knew that they were in a great deal of trouble.
"You just hopped out of the well. I saw it!" the man gasped.
"What well?" Miroku smirked. "I think you may have bumped your head, my friend. The woman and I were just...checking the well. The shrine has had a bug problem lately..."
"You can not deny what I have seen!" he yelled at them.
"Yes we can." Sango whispered nervously from behind Miroku.
The man shook his head. "There are things that you don't know. I heard the boy talking about it with the Higurashi family! The boy with the silver hair! He spoke of demons and the feudal era, and the Shikon jewel..."
"What's that?" Miroku smirked, although he held a pouch with several glowing jewels on the tie around his waist. He was holding it protectively now.
"How do I make the well work?" the man demanded.
"Sir, we have no idea what you are talking about. This well has been dry for years..."
"Tell me how it works, or I swear, I'll..."
"What could you possibly do?"
"I am the one responsible for the care of the girl. She is why you are here, is she not? I hear she is some sort of priestess, according to the boy..."
Sango took a step back, nearly tripping and falling back into the well. Miroku caught her and glared hatefully at the man in front of them. "You would endanger Kagome's life? How black your heart must be, sir, to speak of such horrible things..."
"Miroku..." Sango frowned. "You aren't going to...?" She gasped. Miroku was reaching into the small pouch around his waist. "Miroku, what the hell are you doing?"
"We need to see Kagome. This man has uncovered the secret of the well, and to use the wind tunnel in such a small space with the boy here would be far too risky. I shall give it to him. If Lady Kaede doesn't kill him on the spot, I'm sure someone else will, with the jewel shard in his possession..." Miroku tossed it. "Jump through the well with the jewel shard, and in time you will come out on the other side...."
The man eagerly took the jewel shard, jumped through the well, and promptly disappeared. Once he had gone, Miroku smiled, closing the well and placing many different seals over it.
Souta stood. "Those didn't work when my grandfather tried them..."
"I, little Souta, am not your grandfather..." Miroku laughed. "That evil man will not be able to come back through, even if he survives long enough to see anything..."
"And what do you suppose we do about the jewel shard you just gave to him?" Sango demanded.
"I have faith that we will have our hands on it again soon," he smiled.
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They were fighting Naraku. Sango lay bleeding and unconscious next to Kagome. She stared at her friend, the tears welling up in her eyes. Inuyasha had charged Naraku. Kagome would occasionally shoot off an arrow or two, and Miroku, by this point, had probably sucked in enough of Naraku's poisonous insects to kill three men. He lay propped up against a rock. He was paralyzed, but still conscious. Then, Kagome heard it. A blood curdling scream, and the sickening squishing sound that could only have been made one way...
Kagome averted her eyes back to Inuyasha and Naraku. Inuyasha was on the ground, his eyes wide with horror. Naraku held Inuyasha's sword in his hand.. There was no doubt in Kagome's mind that he had slain Inuyasha with his own sword. And now, he was charging at her...
"No!" Kagome screamed, shooting forward. She immediately felt terribly nauseous. Her vision blurred with the pain that shot to her head. When it had cleared, she saw Inuyasha, her mother, and her grandfather staring happily at her.
"I can't believe you woke up!" Inuyasha was celebrating. He looked at her, fearful for a moment that she would 'sit' him, and revised his sentence. "Err...I mean, because those stupid doctors were telling us it was going to be a long time, and I was...err...worried..."
Kagome coughed. Her voice was hoarse because her throat felt very dry. "You were...worried about me?" she smiled.
"We all were..." Kagome's mother smiled, wrapping her in a hug. "You've been in a coma for nearly a week, Kagome. It was horrible..."
No, thought Kagome, that dream was what was horrible.
Inuyasha could sense that something was bothering her. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"A bad dream is all..." she shrugged weakly. She nearly jumped several feet into the air as Miroku and Sango practically charged into the room. Miroku was carrying Kagome's little brother Souta on his back.
All three of them seemed surprised that Kagome was even awake. Their mouths hung open. "Kagome!" They chorused. "You're all right!"
"For now, anyways..." she grumbled under her breath. "My stomach hurts, but other than that..."
"Your stomach hurts?" mimicked Inuyasha. "Is that all you have to say? You should have seen the wound, Kagome!"
"Thank you, Inuyasha," growled Ms. Higurashi, a note of warning in her voice.
Inuyasha turned his attention to Sango and Miroku. "When did you guys get here?" he asked them.
"About an hour ago. A crazed man in a white coat of some sort was waiting for us when we came out of the well, so Miroku gave him one of his jewel shards and then sealed the well until we go back..." Sango explained.
Inuyasha reddened. "You did what?!"
"Well, I had to do it. Seems he heard you talking about it in here and was dead set on going back. He even threatened to hurt Kagome..." Miroku sighed, holding his hands up as a sort of truce. "He won't be able to come back, trust me..."
Kagome leaned back, trying to suppress a laugh for fear of the pain it would cause. She failed, giggled, and yelped in agony. Inuyasha rushed forward, but this was about the time that the doctors had realized that Kagome was awake. Several of them swarmed the hospital room, pushing him back.
Two of the doctors Inuyasha could see were women. One of the doctors was a short, pudgy American man with a bad tan, and the fourth...Inuyasha had seen his face before...
Kagome's eyes were wide. She recognized the fourth doctor as well. She glanced at Inuyasha, a look of panic on her face, and then quickly back to the man holding her medical charts.
Sango and Miroku took several steps forward after noticing the look on Inuyasha's face. Sango nearly screamed. "Naraku!"
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"Ah!" Inuyasha jolted awake. He was sleeping in the corner of the little hut, back in his own time. Was...was it all a dream? He looked over fearfully. The old woman he had met earlier was bent over a sleeping Kagome.
"How is she doing?" he asked, almost afraid of the answer he would receive.
The old woman smiled. "She's fine. She woke up once, but she didn't want to disturb you in your sleep. Some of the plants outside the village are full of toxins. I'm betting that's what produced her illness. She'll feel more than fine by tomorrow morning," the old woman assured him.
He sighed with relief. "That's good. I fear lingering in this village for too long," he said honestly.
"I understand," she nodded to him. With that, she got up and left.
Again, Inuyasha sighed with relief. It had to have been a dream, because from what he could tell, they were still in the Feudal era, and Kagome was going to be fine. She hadn't tried to kill him, or stabbed herself and nearly bled to death. Everything was going to be all right. In the back of his mind, however, he could not shake the images of Naraku from his head. There was something terrifyingly real about what he saw in that dream...
Naraku laughed with satisfaction. "Ha! I didn't think the poison would affect the stupid hanyou! This is indeed brilliant! With that stupid miko human temporarily out of my way, I can collect more of the jewel shards, and now, Inuyasha is hallucinating! What a show!"
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"Master..." Jaken whined in his high- pitched wheezy voice.
"What is it, Jaken? It had better be good..." Sesshoumaru added as he stared with contempt at his little green servant.
Jaken winced. "Naraku has poisoned your brother and the human girl..." Jaken informed him.
Sesshoumaru turned. "Really now?" he smirked.
"Now would be a perfect time to take the sword, master...or, as you have wanted, to kill your worthless brother..." Jaken suggested. "Inuyasha and the miko are weak. Now is the time to strike..."
Sesshoumaru laughed. "You're forgetting, Jaken, that Naraku and I still have a bit of a score to settle." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Where are the monk and that slayer woman at?" he asked.
"From what I, Jaken, know right now, master, Naraku has been masquerading as one of the humans healers in the modern world. The monk and the slayer are there with Inuyasha and the human, but I am not sure if they are affected by the poison..."
Sesshoumaru nodded. "How does my brother get to this modern time? That well, correct? Well, we are going to pay them a visit. After all, I'm sure they'd love to hear about what Naraku has done to their friends..."
"Master wants to help the lowly human and the disgusting half-breed?" Jaken gasped.
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"That couldn't have been Naraku..." Miroku said under his breath for about the thirty-seventh time since the hoard of doctors had left the room. "If that was Naraku, we would all be dead right now, so that couldn't have been him..."
"Maybe you're right?" smiled Kagome weakly. "After all, I saw someone who looked exactly like Hojo in the Feudal era...I guess it's possible to see someone who looks like Naraku. After all, he stole that body of his, didn't he?"
Sango nodded. "It still worries me a bit, though. And..." Sango had just noticed Inuyasha. "Inuyasha? What's wrong with you?"
Inuyasha's eyes were glassed over. Kagome turned to look at him. He again had a hold on her hand, and his grip had started to tighten to the point of making Kagome's hand hurt.
"Inuyasha!" she groaned. "That hurts! What's wrong with you?" she demanded.
"Kagome...." Whispered Sango, indicating the prayer beads around Inuyasha's neck.
"Inuyasha, sit!" she commanded, and he dropped to the floor with a sickening crack. Kagome winced, but Inuyasha only blinked.
"What the...it wasn't a dream! Kagome! What the hell is going on here?" He panicked, picking himself up off the floor. "Kagome! Are you all right? Where's Naraku?" he demanded.
"Inuyasha, calm down. I'm right here," she sighed.
"I can tell you what's wrong with you," It was a very familiar voice. Everyone looked towards the door. Sesshoumaru stood there, draped in a long coat that was probably meant to hide his long, fluffy tail. "And Inuyasha's right...it involves Naraku..."
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A/N: Longer one, eh? If you haven't already figured it out, there is a method to my madness. Please review, and I will try to update soon.