Disclaimer: sadly, I don't own the Inuyasha characters; Rumiko has that honor.

Hey readers, this is my first attempt at writing fanfiction, please be gentle. - Please read & review; constructive criticism greatly appreciated!

A/N: First and foremost, I want to thank all the wonderful peoplethat reviewed the last chapter! THANK YOU! You don't know how much I appreciate it!Second, I want to apologize for the very late update. ALL my teachers burdened me with countless papers, projects and tests for the end of the semester. It was truly a crazy two week schedule. I'm not sure about you guys, but there were actually some nights where I had only two to three hours of sleep to nights where I had no sleep due to the additionalburden ofwork and after school activities! I was like a walking zombie during the day with black circles under my eyes-I'm sure I killed a couple of people with my appearance alone!o0 My teachers are so evil, but now that the semester is over with, Ihavefinally beenable to write a chapter albeita short one compared to my other ones. Gomen! I will try harder on the next one!


Unspoken Words

by: lady-rouge


Chapter 13

"Throughout our conversation and the given evidence, we have come to a decision on the case of Kagome-san and Naraku-san," the judge's voice rang firmly through the deadly silent room.

At the promise of hearing the results, Kagome gripped her pants tightly and felt her stomach start to churn wildly. This was it. The moment that her future would be announced. The moment that had the power to take away the dreams that she had worked so hard for.

"It has been found that . . ." he paused for a moment to look at the crowd and at the front tables. His eyes held no warmth and Kagome suppressed a shudder. "Naraku-san has not been found guilty . . ." There was an angry hiss from a nearby table but Kagome did not dare turn around. ". . . but Kagome has. She is sentenced to jail for . . ." His voice turned into a murmur as Kagome stared at shock at him.

Everything hit her at once. What the results meant and the full price of her lies. Her face whitened and her breathing stopped as tears trickled down her face. How could this be? Naraku was free . . .just that easily?Kagome turned her face down and let her tears flow freely as she heard him finish speaking and the crowd behind her get up to congratulate Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru. Shame washed over her as she felt people look at her. Some in pity and some in dislike.

"Kagome-san." She could hear her lawyer's voice gently reaching to her through the thick haze that she was in. "Kagome-san, snap out of it!" She could feel a shake on her shoulder and she turned her head heavily to him.

"Yes?"

"Don't worry too much," he said tiredly. "It's not as bad as it could have been. Plus, if I could talk to Inuyasha-san and Sesshoumaru-san, then maybe we could negotiate something out for you."

Kagome nodded weakly and wiped her tears with her sleeve. Suddenly, before she could say anything, she felt two strong hands grip her arms. "Hey . . ." she said feebly as she was pulled upwards. She looked up to see two police guards.

"It's time to go."

"Goodbye Kagome-san," Naraku said. His voice held sadness, but when she looked at his eyes, she saw that they twinkled with triumph and amusement. Her fists balled in anger. It was Naraku who ruined her life. And he found it amusing. Kagome swung her fist angrily at him, but was stopped by the guards' tight hold on her. She tried to shake out of their grip and break the smile in his eyes, but she was not strong enough. She was too weak. Had always been. Angry tears built up in her eyes and she shook her head furiously to clear them away.

"You bastard," she said softly to him in pain. "I can't believe it . . ." the guards steered her away and led her towards a door next to Inuyasha's table. Kagome kept her face down and followed them obediently.

"Kagome . . ." her name was whispered hesitantly. Kagome's head snapped up at the familiar voice.

Sango . . . She was dressed in a business suit and had her hair in the usual hairstyle that made Kagome's eyes water. Sango was giving her a sad look. Kagome snapped her head back down, but could not ignore her next words: "Mirouku, Kouga and I . . . we still believe in your innocence, Kagome. Don't you forget that. We'll find a way to help you. No matter what . . ." With that, Kagome heard heels quickly tapping the marble floor and fading away. Kagome looked up in worry and saw Sango running away with her hands wiping at her eyes.

"Sango!" Kagome looked and saw a worried Mirouku start to chase after her, but not before giving her a small sad smile. Tears ran down Kagome's face and she turned away, trying to walk as fast as her injured leg would go. In her hurry to get away from everyone she did not see the jutting step and stumbled. She let out a soft cry as pain shot up her leg and stopped to let the pain recede. Breathing deeply, tears filled her eyes at the shocking pain and she blinked rapidly to make them disappear.

A chair could be heard shuffling back in a hurry and Kagome chanced to look up. Her gaze meshed with alarmed violet eyes and Kagome's face colored to be caught at such a disadvantage. She blinked in surprise when she detected worry in his eyes, but with a blink of his eyes, it was gone, replaced by aversion. It stung her and made her already numb pain flair up again in a hot flash. She held back a bitter laugh and continued on as she broke their eye contact.

As soon as she was taken back into her cell again, Kagome leaned towards the wall and rested her head on the cool wall. It was then that she let out the tide of tears that she had been trying to hold back at bay since she had heard her the announcement. "I can't believe it . . .I was such a fool," she cried as tears blurred her vision. She finally fell into a troubled sleep after the light rays of the sun began to reach up to touch the sky.

-

"Inuyasha-san, Sesshoumaru-san, please listen to us."

". . ."

Sango stared at the stoic men that sat at the table silently and bit back a growl. "This is Kagome that we're talking about, not some stranger." Their faces still remained impassive and Sango turned to Mirouku with a pointed look. He sighed and nodded before stepping up from his spot by the tall plant.

"Ahem, Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha," he said nervously. "Although all evidence may point to her, I know strongly that she would never do something like that to you." There was silence and Mirouku gulped. He knew that both of them were in a bad mood and he did not want to worsen it, but Sango had insistently insisted that they talk immediately. He sighed and tried again. But this time, towards Inuyasha. "At least go talk to her again and give her a chance to tell you whatever that she needs to, Inuyasha."

Inuyashafinally let out a growl and shook his head. "You even heard it yourself from her own mouth, Mirouku. She did not deny any of the accusations made against her. She even told us that she wanted to poison me." His face suddenly became upset and he stood up abruptly to go stand by the massive window that overlooked the garden in his home. "What more can she say that has not been said?" He craned his neck questioningly at Mirouku and Sango and turned quickly away, but not before they saw the turmoil that burned in his violet eyes; the sadness that framed them. His voice suddenly became harsher when he spoke again. "I knew that she was not to be trusted. We're lucky that she got caught before she could do any more harm to us. I say good riddance to her."

He gave one last look at the scenery before turning completely around to face them all. His face tilted down for a moment and when he looked up at them, a smile graced his lips and he gave a laugh that sounded empty to Mirouku. "I say that this calls for a celebration, ne?" Sango gave a small gasp but he did not respond to it as he slanted his head down again, making his bangs overshadow his eyes and he walked away to the kitchen.

Sango looked at Sesshoumaru with a look of horror on her face, but Sesshoumaru did not say anything. He still kept the emotionless mask on his face and Sango wanted to cry. Why was everyone being so difficult? Mirouku gave her a helpless shrug and turned his sad eyes away to the window that Inuyasha had just been observing out of.

Inuyasha returned with a champagne bottle in one hand and some small, delicatecups in the other. He gave Sango and Mirouku an exuberant smile before raising the bottle slightly to them. Setting them down on the table, he began to pour it into the small delicate cups. As he finished pouring them, he handed one to Sesshoumaru who accepted it hesitantly and then he walked over to them. He held one out to Sango and Sango glared at him angrily.

She was mad, mad at Inuyasha for not caring and mad at Sesshoumaru for not attempting to help. Mad at Naraku because she knew he was responsible for everything. Sango looked at Inuyasha's cheerful smile and without thinking, her hand ran through the air and slapped his cheek. The resounding noise left behind a tense silence in its wake and Sango gasped, but held her ground firmly. Surprise flitted across Inuyasha's face as he staggered back from the impact and then he became angry.

"What did you do that for?" He said angrily as his hand went to feel his wounded cheek. "I didn't do anything to you."

"You're right," she said angrily in return. "But you did something to Kagome and that hurts me. She's my friend. She's our friend and what do you do when trouble comes? You doubt her and willingly blame everything on her. You don't even blame Naraku. What kind of a friend are you?" A sob broke through her and she forcefully pushed them back. "Today at the trial, she was in so much pain, Inuyasha. So much pain. It hurt me to just sit there and watch her cry from all the condemning glares that shot her way." A tear trickled down Sango's check and she wiped it with an angry swipe.

Pain flashed through Inuyasha's face before anger took over again. "Didn't you hear her, Sango? She confessed that it was all the truth. What else am I supposed to believe, Sango?" His eyes took on a dark look. "You don't know what I know either. I know that she is capable of doing this because she was able to betray me six years ago with Naraku. So, why can't she do it again, huh?"

Sango shook her head sadly. "You're wrong, Inuyasha. I do know. She told me the story already and from what I heard, it is not her fault." Her eyes saddened. "Circumstances of her family forced her to do so along with the persuasion of her parents. Why are you always so persistent in blaming her? Do you really hate her so much?" Inuyasha's eyes widened and he turned his head down without answering her. Sango continued on in a quiet, defeated voice. "I thought you were the one for her Inuyasha, I thought you really were because she was always so happy around you . . . but I guess I was wrong."

Tears were now coursing down Sango's cheeks freely, but she did not care anymore. She turned away from him and started to head for the door. She could feel Mirouku coming up to her and felt his arm swing around her waist. "If you won't help us, then we will find a way to help Kagome, with or wi-"

"Fine . . . I'll go talk to her with you guys."

Sango whipped her head around to look at him and happiness shone slightly. "You . . . will?"

He looked down at the smooth wood floor for a long time before turning to look at them. Sango took a step back at all the sadness that flowed from his eyes. He gave them a small sad smile and nodded. "But," he warned her, "If I do find that she is what she says she is, then I won't help anymore and you will have to do it on your own. I will not help someone who wants to kill me."

Sango nodded happily. Inuyasha had finally let go of the indifference that he had tried so hard to have.

"I'll . . . meet you guys in two days in front of the jail place." He continued on as an after thought. "I . . . will need time to collect myself," he said quietly.

Sango and Mirouku nodded in understanding and with a small, sober wave, they left Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru in the thick silence.

-

Kagome hugged the thin cloth that was called a blanket to her body and held back a shiver. She was so scared. After the trial, the men were bolder than ever in calling to her. They were not afraid anymore because she was all alone now. The day had gone by achingly slow and Kagome's eyes watered at the idea that this was only the beginning of a long stay in the jail. She stared at the dark wall unblinkingly for a moment; lost in thought until the sound of footsteps echoed loudly in her direction. Kagome jerked up to see the guard rolling in a cart of trays. It must be breakfast, she thought with surprise. Everything was so confusing to her and so slow that now, even time was meshing into one long time span with no days or nights. She felt like just crawling into a corner and curling into a ball for a couple of years. But sadly, fate never let her do anything that she wanted.

The guard rolled up to her and walked into her cell with a tray in his hand. "Here's your breakfast." Kagome got up grudgingly from her comfortable spot to take it. As one of her hands reached for the outstretched plate, his free hand quickly snapped up to intercept it with its sweaty hold. He pulled her close to him and looked at her lustfully. "What do I get for giving you breakfast, miss?"

Kagome shrank away from the intent in his eyes and shook her head vehemently. "Let go of me," she said angrily to the grinning guard.

"Wrong answer," he said softly before swooping down to give her a slobbering kiss on the mouth. Kagome's eyes widened in distaste and she used her other hand to push him off of her, but his strength overpowered her and she could not budge him. She let out a cry as his mouth started to move around her face and his tongue start to pry its way into her mouth. His hand loosely caressed her body and revulsion swept through her body. Panic set in as she saw her powerlessness and she let out a scream, but he covered it with his big, meaty hand. Instinct set in and her knee kicked up towards his groin. One minute, he was kissing her and the next, he was crouching in pain as the sound of a glass platecrashed into the ground with a loud clatter and the food splattered all over the cement floor and walls. Kagome cringed at the sound of glass shattering, but she let out a sigh of relief from the absence of his touch.

It was short-lived though.

When he looked up, there was an evil glint in his eyes and they had hardened from teasing toa blunthardness in his eyes. "You bitch," he hissed in pain. "Wait until I get my hands on you. Then I'll get you back for that dirty trick"

Dread crawled up her stomach and Kagome gulped as he started to take slow, painful steps towards her.

-

Sango and Mirouku waited impatiently in front of the police building. Sango looked at her watch and sighed worriedly. He was 10 minutes late and she was afraid that he had decided not to show up at the last minute. Her eyes looked around her to inspect the huge building with the slightly crumbling bricks. The sun reflected off of the maroon bricks and gave the building a bright, shiny look that Sango knew did not hold true because the building represented doom and imprisonment. Her eyes roved around and stopped at the silver car that was currently in the process of parking across the street. Sango let out a relieved sigh and waved at the man docked in a navy ironed suit as he got out. His hand rose in the air to return it somberly and he jogged over to them. With a slow stop in front of them, he halted and spoke.

"Sesshoumaru wanted to come with us so we might have to wait for him as well."

Sango spoke in a shocked tone: "I thought he didn't want to?"

Inuyasha nodded with a rueful twist of his mouth. "He did, but later on, he called me and told me that he didn't want me doing anything stupid." He huffed and crossed his arms. "Like I would!"

Sango nodded thoughtfully and her eyes looked unseeingly at the cement ground for a while as they waited for Inuyasha's brother. Their wait was not long for a minute later, his black car drove into a parking space and a suited man stepped out. His face was grave and as he walked to them, it seemed like he was in deep thought.

They stepped up to him and matched his stride into the police building where they headed to the main office.

"We've come to visit Higurashi Kagome," Mirouku said in a calm tone to the lady behind the desk. She looked at a thickpacket of paper, trailing one forefinger down the pages until her eyes brightened. Findingwhat she was looking for, she started to type furiously into the computer. After a couple of seconds, she nodded firmly to them.

"Right now they are taking breakfast but if you still want to, she could come out for a short while."

"Ah . . . actually," Mirouku gave a boyish grin to the woman, "we wanted to see her cell and see for ourselves how her living conditions are like."

The woman started to shake her head, but stopped. "They usually don't let you, but some people have done it, so I suppose you guys could do it too. But only for a short while," she warned.

A huge smile swept over Sango's face and she nodded happily. "Can we go now?"

The officer nodded and held out one finger to them. "Just give me one sec to call the guard on duty to come get you guys." She punched in some numbers quickly and waited, but it did not pick up. She tried again, but received the same response. She let out a frustrated groan and slammed down the phone. "He must have turned it off again."

"Why would he do that?" Sango asked curiously.

"Because he's lazy, that's why," the police officer said in an annoyed tone. "He's passing out breakfast trays right now, so he doesn't like to multitask. Lazy bum," she said in a quiet voice under her breath. She gave them a smile and shook her hand nonchalantly in the air. "But don't worry, I'll call up another officer to come guide you guys."

With that, she picked up the phone again and dialed another set of numbers. This time, it picked up immediately and she spoke into it. "Jiya, could you come to the front desk to help bring a group to Kagome-san's cell." They could hear a male voice speak and she nodded before smiling and hanging up. "He'll be here in a flash," she said to them before turning around to answer another ringing phone.

A door opened in the back of the room and a tall man clothed in a navy uniform stepped up to them. His short hair was in spikes and he gave them a courteous nod before directing his hand to a door across the room. "This way, please," he said in a low voice and started to walk in long strides. The group followed a couple of feet behind them and as they entered through the door, Sango could sense the difference in atmosphere. Sango suppressed a shiver at the bleak colors in the hallway-from the gray concrete floor to the white plain walls that held no decorations or life to them- it could almost drive a sane person insane. As they passed some of the cells, the quietness unnerved her and she moved closer to a silent Mirouku who walked next to her. Seeing her discomfort, he slid his arm comfortingly around her waist and some of the tenseness inside her ebbed away as they continued in that fashion for the next couple of minutes.

"Her cell is located in the hall right around this turn," the tall policeman said and Sango nodded with anticipation at the thought. What would she say to Kagome when she saw her? Would Kagome even want to talk to them? Sango shook away the foreboding thought and stepped closer to Mirouku. No matter what, they would make her listen to them and then they would force Inuyasha to drop the charges. After that, they all would go back to being friends again and forget the whole incident. Sango could not–no, would not think of it any other way. Inner turmoil settled in for the moment, Sango began to relax and let the tension fade away from her shoulders. She even let out a small smile . . . but it disappeared the moment a scream pierced the air.

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COMMENTS:

readingfreak742: Ahh . . .hehe . . . is this soon enough?

InuLvr: About the evidence being stupid and all - geez, I wish it was as easy as that . . . although I am the author . . . life doesn't work that way though. Don't worry, I'll work somehting out, I mean, I AM the author so I can make things better, ne?

animemistress419: Thanks for the compliment! At least this one isn't that bad, right?

azn-anime-anjel: I will! '-' Thanks for the review!

cyberdemon: That may be true about them forcing Naraku to give over the antidote, but Kagome is more worried about taking any risks that might put his life in danger and so it seems like she sees this as the only way to go about. About the search part, this small vial was in his shoe, so I'm not really sure if they could find it . . . or could they? Please enlighten me if you know. '-'

Black Wolf Girl: Well, hope this chapter took down some of the excitement!

dragonspirit888: Yeah, I agree with you on Naraku. He is a conniving little bastard! '-' Thanks for reviewing!

Danno123: Thank you for reviewing!

Rinelwin: Hopefully the suspense is appeased somewhat in this chapter! Thanx for your review!

Inusapphrine: WOW! Thanks for that wonderful and warm award and compliment! That makes me so happy to know that! Great advice and I will keep that in mind! Now, on the otherhand, Kagome, ah . . . did become guilty. Gomen! It is for the betterment of the story, I promise and things will look up soon!

MaekoChan: Thank you for your beautiful compliment! ::sniffles:: Everyone is so nice to me, I don't deserve it! LOL About the twist, I'm glad it surprised you. Since I like to think that I'm full of surprises, then you thereforemust have an imagination, right? '-' It works both ways!

Mini Nicka: Yeah, it is kind of tense right now . . . and about the ending, I'm not quite sure how I will make it happy again although I do have a slight idea . . .

laku: Yep, you guessed correctly, although hopefully it won't be too long.

michelle: Um . . . hope this update was as speedy as you wanted?

Kyasumi: Ah . . . you still alive? Or did the SUPER long wait kill you? LOL J/K. Although I am truly sorry about the slow update.

LostTaijiya: THANK YOU for the lovely compliment! That makes ME want to cry. So, if you say your pathetic because you cried, then I must be super pathetic, ne?

inuyasha-girl0820: Sorry about that! At least this one wasn't that bad, right?

Nauriell: Your right about the jury part. About the confession part . . . ah, let's say that the lawyer thought that she would confess something at the last minure because HE knows that she's not guilty, but just can't prove it. Does that work?

VairanFAWKES: JERK? LOL I am, aren't I? THANKS for the comment. I never thought I could write something that could make people cry! That's a compliment that makes me very happy!

Obsession: Hey, you're THE first one to congratulate me on leaving the readers on a cliffie! LOL that's never happened before, but thank you for that!

Kurai Okami: Hope this gives you a hint of what will happen.

gossa: Don't worry, hopefully she won't have to suffer much longer. There must be downs before there can be ups, ne?

code-wyze: You guessed right!

KajiMika: Hope this made you feel much better! I will try to update faster for the next chappie!

KUrama07: YES! I see it that way too! ::high fives:: Well . . . I hope the answer didn't surprise you or disappoint you.

dark bebi pan ssj4: I'm glad to hear that I surprised you along with some other readers! That made me feel much better that I'm not THAT predictable in my writing (although most of it probably is).

Priotessa: Sorry, but It will get better for her. Promise!

Kurokumo: HUMPH! I knew something was fishy with my journal missing n' all. But I guess you can have HALF of it for getting half of it right! I'm disappointed because you DO have my journal '-' Give it back and maybe I'll reconsider giving you the other half!

Shizuka Kaze: Gomen X 50! '-'

fan gurl: Thank you!

zman1289: LOL Should I be sorry for that? Because I'm not! '-'

Lady Mac: Yeah, she is letting Naraku boss her around, but in her POV, she sees it as the only safe way.

Shesshou's Bynx/S.Wooz: LOL Thanks for the review!

humble-bumble: -- Okay . . . maybe not less suspenseful . . . ::grins sheepishly :: but you know what I mean . . . BTW, things will look up, so cheers!

subaru: Well, here it is. Hopefully you like it!

CharMoonshine: Here it finally is, as fast as I could get it. That was what you asked for, ne? So don't get mad! '-'

animekat ): Sorry about the cliffie!

Signed Unknown: THANKS for the wonderful comment. It's those kinds of compliments that really encourage to continue to write!

stella: I know. I'm truly sorry!

Enchanted-Princess: Yeah, in a sense, that is what she's doing.

sessishot2005: Cool, I'll see if I can sneak in some time to read those stories. I really want to read the stories of my reviewers as well, but alas, I have NO time whatsoever. So, whatever time I can sneak away, it's usually for writing this story.

aryll silverhawk: Thanks for your consideraiton. I appreciate it!

cyberdemon: Sorry about the long wait. I truly am! But the next one will hopefully come out faster.

charnay: Like I said, I'm sorry about the long update.

jacky: Cruel, you say? Funny you should say that because cruel happens to be my middle name! LOL J/K. Thank you for your review!

ALL MY REVIEWERS: Thank you for reviewing! Seriously, it really encouraged me to write faster than I would have without it. Thank you once again! '-'

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TO BE CONTINUED

Readers, tell me your thoughts and feelings! Review! '-'