Chapter Three
~*~
It just wasn't fair.
The woman who had betrayed everyone – allowed something so destructively powerful to fall into the enemies grasp was now living under the same roof as him – all because she claimed to have lost her memory.
And everyone else seemed to believe her when she said that she didn't remember, which simply infuriated him more.
Inuyasha did not know whether to go against his father's words and actually kill her, or to go off and find some offending demon and rip it to shreds.
Repeatedly.
It just was not right that just as he was about to get his way – he had to open his big mouth and let his father know that Shippou felt no ill will towards their new guest. And his father thought that the word of Shippou's was more important than his own.
Well quite frankly he didn't care because – he would not live under the same roof as some traitor.
Inuyasha and his family had been fighting against Naraku since he was simply a child. They did not know what the grounds were that Naraku attacked them – and they still haven't found out, but all Inuyasha knew was that his mother had died because of Naraku, so revenge seemed to be the only answer.
But then, just as he had reached his goal, just his family had located Naraku's castle and sent an attack force to go apprehend him – that blasted miko had to turn around and hand the jewel over to him.
She had handed the jewel to Naraku, of all people.
Maybe it wouldn't have been the same if it had been given to his father or something – that way they would have been able to use it to destroy Naraku and then destroy the jewel itself – but life was not the way that he wanted it to be.
What she had done was in the past and it would continue to remain in the past.
He had to worry about what was in the future.
And the future consisted of having dinner – with her.
Something that Inuyasha was not looking forward to in the least.
He knew that she was going to get discredited a great deal, which was something that he would simply love to see. It would be a lie to say that he did not hate the girl – because he did. Every single problem that the Inu-Clan had with Naraku was all due to that simple girl.
Well maybe it did not have everything to do with the girl – the fact that Naraku killed his mother had nothing to do with her, but he still had everything else to blame on her.
And whether or not he was wrong – he did not care.
Scoffing airily, Inuyasha fell down on his bed, thinking of different ways in which he could get that insufferable woman out of the citadel. He knew that it wouldn't be too hard, since of course she seemed like the type to fall into a trap easily; after all she fell into Naraku's.
Maybe he could simply go to her room while she was sleeping and take her out of the citadel and leave her out amongst the wild so that she could fend for herself. After all she was a miko so that wouldn't be a problem.
'I don't remember anything up until I met you.'
Suddenly Inuyasha's growled.
Everything seemed to be playing against him.
Just when he was going to leave her out in the wild he had to remember that – she could not remember anything. And if she didn't have any memories then that meant she would not be able to tap into her miko powers and –
Inuyasha rubbed his temples growling as a headache started to make itself known.
Plotting a way to get Kagome out of the citadel was completely out of the question, because even he was not cruel enough to put a defenseless girl in the middle of danger.
So he would simply have to train her.
And he would make all of her training sessions a complete and living hell.
~*~
Kagome sighed incoherently, burying her head into a soft pillow.
She never knew that having no memories would be so painful. She had told Shippou to leave a little while ago – not being able to deal with the fact that he could talk about every single memory that he had – but that she lacked.
She had asked him questions about his family, how he had came to be in the citadel, and many different questions about Inutaisho's family and friends, and what exactly Naraku was up to.
And all that seemed to do was bring up questions about her past – a past that she could not remember.
The tears that left her eyes were inevitable.
They stung and burned her eyes – leaving salty trails down her beautiful and elegant face.
And when she had started crying, she told Shippou to leave because – she did not want to look weak in front of a small child.
But she knew that it was already too late. He had given her that sympathetic look when he had left the room – a look that Kagome wished she would never have to see again. She knew that she had not been awake for long but –
She despised pity very much. And she would rather do without it. After all, there would be times when she would and could become stronger, her memories could return to her and then she could go on and continue living life the way that she had once before.
After all, she could have a family somewhere out in the world, a family that had always loved her and cherished her – cared for her beyond all belief. She had wondered if she had a husband like such – one who would run their fingers through her hair, whisper comforting words to her as she cried, and one who would give her sweet enchanting kisses for no reason at all. She had hoped that it was one who she could love, and who would love her in return.
She already knew that she was too young to even have children – Shippou had told her that himself, and for that she was glad. He had told her many things that would be important to her – such as the different kinds of people that roamed the earth – demon, half-breeds, and humans.
She was grateful to him for giving her such information but –
He couldn't help her with her family. No one could. Shippou had also said that she had been found in a village, dead bodies everywhere, and because of the fact that they had sensed some strange power pulsating from near there, they had decided to take her to a nearby forest and ask her some questions but she wouldn't have been of any help to them because she could not remember anything.
Kagome buried her face deeper into her pillow, inhaling the plain scent of cotton into her nostrils. She inwardly wondered how long she was going to be in the citadel – staying locked up in her room – being biased upon and –
A knock on her door caused Kagome to bolt upright and immediately stare at the door, shocked at the sudden sound. She could have sworn that she told Shippou to tell everyone to leave her alone as well but – letting out a huff of indignation at having her thoughts interrupted Kagome walked over to the door, and opened it slowly – only to look into dark amber eyes.
"Inuyasha?" She asked meekly, stepping aside from the door to let him in.
Inuyasha stalked into the room, sniffing once then twice before whirling around to glare at Kagome.
"You were crying again." Inuyasha said, crossing his arms over his chest in what seemed like disgust. Kagome merely turned away and rubbed her eyes with the sleeve of her kimono before turning around to face him, a false smile on her face.
"Yeah I was crying, but I'm fine now!" She chirped, ignoring the disbelieving look that spread its way across his features.
"Keh, whatever. You better be all right because I just finished talking to my father –"
"You guys aren't going to kick me out are you?" Kagome asked her voice filled with uncertainty and panic. She simply couldn't be thrown out of citadel already – not after all she had to go through since she had arrived. Besides she had no way to protect herself or –
"Let me finish damn it."
Kagome stayed quiet.
" I was thinking about how you betrayed us and all that crap," Kagome opened her mouth to retaliate only to be on the receiving end of a glare from Inuyasha," and I remembered that you said you had no memories. So it got me thinking on how you wouldn't be able to use your miko abilities or anything if I had you thrown out of the castle, so I decided that you should be trained in hand to hand combat – my father agreed so there is no way out of it."
"You wanted to have me thrown out of the citadel?" Kagome fumed, crossing her arms over her chest indignantly.
"Well would you want a traitor living under the same roof as you? I mean you could probably be lying about losing your memories and working for Naraku!"
"That could be true but I'm not. I don't even know who Naraku is." Kagome replied dejectedly.
"Whatever – just be ready for training tomorrow at mid-morning. Just so you know, that is right after the morning meals."
"Why do I have to train?" Kagome asked, fiddling with the obi of her kimono. Inuyasha merely raised an eyebrow before turning away and walking towards the door.
"That way, when I do throw you out – you'll be able to fend for yourself." Inuyasha replied before walking out of her room, leaving a fuming Kagome behind.
Kagome merely huffed, before crossing her arms over her chest and plopping down on her bed.
"Jerk." She mumbled quietly before turning to glare out the window.
Why did he have to be so rude to her? He barely even knew her and already – Kagome growled loudly, narrowing her eyes even more staring through the window and at the crystal clear blue sky. She probably wouldn't admit it to anyone – except maybe Shippou – but after seeing all the color that was in the world, she could not help but notice how lovely it all was and she knew that for certain she would never take it for granted and –
Kagome slapped her forehead growling in annoyance. Once again she had realized that she had forgotten to ask Inuyasha who exactly Naraku was and how she had betrayed them.
"Ugh." Kagome gurgled rubbing her temples roughly.
She knew that without a doubt if Inuyasha's rudeness didn't kill her, that she would die of head pain because every single time she thought about Naraku her head would pound, and her brain would feel like it was swelling. Needless to say it was not a comfortable feeling.
Stretching slightly Kagome yawned and flopped down on her bed.
She knew that she shouldn't be sleeping but she just could not help it. She knew that her endless fits of tears had been one of the reasons why she felt so tired but she also knew that it would not be in her best interest to go to sleep, especially since Kagome was to appear before the entire Inu-Clan, but she was just so drained, emotionally and physically and she didn't exactly know if she would be able to keep her eyes open.
But her body was screaming at her, demanding that she fall into a deep dreamless sleep – and as she made herself even more comfortable on her bed she found her eyes lids slowly drifting closed and the world around her spinning.
She hadn't expected to see the colors blur so quickly but they had and –
Her eyes drifted closed, and almost at once Kagome fell into a peaceful slumber.
~*~
The fire crackled in front of her, casting shadows on her small figure.
It had already been a fortnight since it had occurred – the death of her mother – and now she was the one to be held responsible.
No matter what type of pain she was feeling – what kind of grief she was going through – there was simply nothing that she would be able to do. She had to fulfill her duties and that was it. There would be no other way out of it.
It had been passed on through blood – the ceremony had not taken long, but because of it she now had a scar on her hip – a scar that would remind her of the duty that she had to fulfill.
The duty that consisted of protecting the small round orb that hung listlessly from her neck.
Instinctively, her fingers reached up and curled around it, feeling the warm surge of energy that it sent through her, recognizing her as its master.
She was surprised at how quickly it had started to respond to even the simplest touch, when it had been in the care of her mother for so long, but she knew that it had something to do with the passing of blood.
But no matter how she would look at the situation it would always be the same.
Her mother had died and she had lived.
If the enemy had wanted the simple glass ball so badly then why was it that he did not ask for it? She was sure that her mother would have given it up willingly – after all she had seen the inner turmoil that her mother had gone through in guarding it – she had simply wanted a normal life but – she would never be able to have it because of the burden that she had to carry.
It was something that she wished her mother had never had to go through.
She knew that her mother had been in love once – that's how she had given birth to her but it didn't matter anymore. It was that love for her that had caused her to die and now – her mother was gone and the woman- child was alone.
It was safe to say that she was a traveling miko now – after all she had no place to go, and no one to stay with.
People would run from her, knowing that she held one of the most powerful weapons in her hands – knowing that he was still out there, craving for it's power, lusting after it – and he would do anything to get it.
Even if it ended in death.
Which was the only reason why she kept on running. He was out there lusting after an object that he would never have – one that she would never give up to him, simply because he had killed the person most dear to her.
But for some reason she felt no ill will towards him because – her mother no longer felt any pain. Her soul had left the Earth, to go rest in peace among the heavens, and she knew that one day she would too.
Sighing loudly she withdrew herself from her thoughts and poked the fire in front of her with a stick, watching as sparks flew and the flames crackled, illuminating everything around her, but casting suspicious shadows at the same time.
She half expected strange figures to emerge from the shadows ready to attack her and demand for her to hand over the tiny glass ball and –
A twig snapped not to far from her and she immediately raised her head, her eyes narrowing as she tried to see through the darkness.
Cursing mentally she could feel the dark aura emitting from him – crashing into hers, threatening to drown her in his own hate and bitterness. Grabbing the bow that rested besides her, she stood up, pulling a bow from the quiver on her back – ready and waiting – searching for the center of his wickedness.
But almost as if not wanting her to locate him he allowed his evil to spread, drowning her – suffocating her in a never- ending sea of hate.
"You, child, should not be the protector of the Shikon." He whispered, his breath hot on her neck. And as much as she wanted to turn around – as much as she wished that she could send an arrow through his being she couldn't because – his miasma was becoming too much for her to handle.
Her eyes watered as the poison stung her eyes, causing her body to go slack, the bow and arrow that she had been holding to so tightly clattering to the ground. She could still feel his hot breath down her back, as one of his hands reached up to grip her shoulder tightly.
She hissed at the sudden contact as his fingers dug into her skin, threatening to puncture her tender flesh – as she slowly began to fall down to her knees.
The hot searing pain that shot through her body was completely unbearable and –
"Give me the Shikon no Tama." He replied, his voice low and menacing. All she could manage to do was to stifle a little whimper of pain as his fingers indented themselves painfully into her shoulder – slicing through flesh and muscle.
The tears had already started pouring down her arm as his fingers dripped with her blood, forming a small crimson puddle on the ground.
She knew that without a doubt he would continue to cause her to feel pain but – her mother had not given up the Shikon no Tama so she knew that she would not either.
"No." She whispered as she gathered up the rest of her strength, fueling it into one simple core.
"You dare to defy me?" He snarled, bringing his hand down onto her injured shoulder once again.
But just as he did a bright pink light shot through the air, up his arm – causing blisters, burns, and scars to appear on his once perfect creamy skin. Hissing in pain he pulled away from her – his death threats reaching her ears and –
Her eyes widened as the sickening sound of tearing flesh permeated the bowels of her ears.
Looking down at her chest her brown eyes widened even more as she watched thick crimson sticky blood pour from the new wound in her stomach.
Everything around her – the loud sound of the crackling flames, the beautiful orange luminescent glow of the fire, the almost majestic shadows that surrounded her slowly began to fade in and out – her body losing consciousness.
But it would be all right because – he was gone and she would not have to worry about him for sometime.
So after another short moment of allowing her body to go cold, and her skin to get pale and clammy – her eyes drifted shut, allowing her to fall into darkness.
~*~
Inutaisho growled in aggravation as he sat at the dining room table along with many other members of the Inu-Clan waiting to have Kagome introduced to them. It was hard enough trying to convince them to allow her to stay – but for her to completely miss the dinner he had ordered her to come to … it was completely preposterous.
And if it could be helped, he would not stand for it. He had been hospitable enough, and all she had done was turn around and throw it in his face.
As more people filtered into the room, Inutaisho could not help but notice the curious glances that had been sent his way. He knew that everyone else knew what had happened – how Kagome had came to stay in the castle, and he also knew that they would be more than curious. But for Kagome to skip the dinner completely –
Inutaisho had been sure that he told Inuyasha to make sure that Kagome made it to the dinner like she was supposed to, and the fact that neither of them had showed up yet was quite angering.
Glancing around the room he noticed that Inuyasha had not made it to the dinner either, and he knew that he was definitely going to have a word with his son. After all it was common knowledge that his son did not feel obligated to have to live under the same roof as Kagome, for she was a traitor – someone who had given the entire nation to Naraku by the deliverance of one simple jewel but –
Closing his eyes, Inutaisho rubbed his temples as the last of the Inu-Clan filed into the room, taking their respective places at the table. After glancing up one more time, Inutaisho noticed that neither his son, nor his guest were present. Sighing in aggravation he knew that he was going to have to start the dinner without them.
~*~
Inuyasha froze as his hand reached out to slid open her door.
He could hear it – the soft tiny whimpers of pain coming from the room, the smell of salty tears permeating the air. Wrinkling his brow in a slight confusion he slid open her door, wondering what one Earth could have made her cry again.
As he entered the room, the smell of salt grew larger and –
Kagome's small form was huddled in the corner, her body shaking with violent sobs. After raising an eyebrow Inuyasha walked up to her to say something – anything, but as soon as he took a step, her eyes snapped towards his figure, and she immediately pulled herself into the corner further.
"What the hell is wrong with you now?" Inuyasha asked gruffly, taking another step towards the sobbing girl, only to have Kagome let out a whimper of fear.
Fear.
It was something that Inuyasha had never seen from anyone, but it seemed as though she feared him, as though she did not want him to touch her.
"Kagome?" Inuyasha asked carefully as he finally made it towards her small figure, taking notice of how she had balled herself up rather tightly.
Tentatively he reached a hand out towards her, only to watch her recoil in fear once again.
The way she was acting was – strange. Flattening his ears to his skull, Inuyasha made another attempt to reach out to her, only to watch her scuttle away from him again.
Sighing in annoyance, Inuyasha sat down completely, watching as Kagome pressed herself to her bed, grasping the black sheets tightly, causing her knuckles to go white.
"Damn it Kagome, what the hell's wrong with you?"
"T-The S-shikon n-n-no Tama." Kagome stammered, keeping her eyes averted from Inuyasha.
At her statement however, Inuyasha perked up and was at her side immediately. Placing a hand against her shoulder somewhat roughly, he whirled her around to face him, a determined look apparent on his face. Whether she were crying or not – he had to know what she meant. It was the jewel, the one that she had given to Naraku, an ultimate power that only one should be able to control – that only one should be able to destroy. Inuyasha simply had to know.
But as his hand touched her shoulder, he could not help but notice the sharp intake of breath that she took.
And it was in that moment that his question died in his throat, it was in that moment that he knew something was truly wrong.
Pulling his hand away from her shoulder, he sat there for a moment wondering and contemplating what could possibly be troubling the trembling girl, when it hit his senses full force.
His hand crept up to Kagome's shoulder once more and he slowly slid her kimono sleeve down her shoulder, his eyes widening as he took in the gruesome sight.
He didn't know why it hadn't reached his senses before – why he was not able to smell it or see it but it was there, flowing down her beautiful white skin only to stain her beautiful kimono a dark scarlet color.
"Blood." Inuyasha breathed, raising his eyes to meet Kagome's frightened ones once more.