Thief of Hearts
Sakura's Note: I've been working all week trying to get all three updates ready for all three stories, and somehow Friday came very fast. Luckily, today there wasn't any school so I was able to write all of this.
Now there's a thunderstorm, and I don't know how much longer I'll be able to stay on the computer. So, let me hurry and scribble down this A/N. This chapter is more within the Jidai's lives more so than Kagome's. Until there's more romance, this will most likely be the format.
Next time I'll try and respond to individual reviews, so be sure to include any questions you have.
Please R&R and enjoy this chapter!
.-..-.
Chapter 6: Are You In, Or Are You Out?
.-..-.
"That was pointless." Naraku griped. He was sitting atop his pile of gold, making him look like he'd sprouted golden tentacles as legs. "We spent most of the time fighting, and for what?"
Inuyasha rubbed his throbbing temples. He'd been listening to this all day. "Naraku--"
"No jewel! That's what!" Naraku continued, directing his angry glare at his King. "We fought for nothing!"
"Damn it, look what you're sitting on!" Kouga snapped, pointing angrily at Naraku's loot. "Shut up! No one wants to hear you complain!"
Ginta nodded, along with Ryoukan.
"I don't care what you say! You're all suck-ups. What all did you get out of it, anyway?" Naraku asked, ignoring the golden coin covering that once was their floor.
"We got more loot, that's what!" Bankotsu argued, tossing a handful of rubies around. "You've been going on about this since we got back, and you're giving us all headaches."
Inuyasha glared, "Naraku, you're being an ass."
Naraku spit at the ground, covering a few gold coins with saliva, before stalking out of the room.
Sesshoumaru watched calmly. Once the usual eating and partying resumed, he made his way over to his brother. "Watch it, Inuyasha. If you keep making judgments like this one, you might not be King for long."
"Is that a threat?"
His brother chose not to answer. "It's my shift for the horses."
"Damn it, answer me!" Inuyasha hissed, grabbing the older man's shirt. "Don't you dare keep secrets from your King."
"I'd be a better leader, Inuyasha. Don't throw the title in my face. After all, it was just a fluke that you beat me. Father would have wanted me to be King." Sesshoumaru jerked free and headed towards the entrance of Ano Horaana to tend to the horses outside.
Inuyasha cursed under his breath. So his brother wanted the throne? He'd be damned if he let his brother have it. Of course, he knew he was being unfair by giving Sesshoumaru barely any authority... But it was the only way to make sure he didn't try and take over. They were brothers, but they were by no means close.
Their father had probably wanted them to be the perfect image of brotherly love, but when he died the act had stopped.
As it was, Inuyasha was the King of the Sengoku Jidai and he intended on keeping it that way.
.-..-.
Naraku watched as the two brothers broke away from one another, Inuyasha left looking a little bit shook up. It must have been a serious argument this time...
"Naraku." Onigumo shuffled into the hallway where Naraku was. "I think we have a winner."
With a smirk, the two of them sauntered back into the dining hall, only to exit Ano Horaana altogether -- unnoticed.
Sesshoumaru was counting the horses when he sensed someone watching him. He turned to see both Naraku and Onigumo coming towards him. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes, "What is it?"
"We noticed your disagreement with Inuyasha." Naraku started coolly. "And we agree with you."
"When you say noticed, you obviously mean eavesdropped, correct?" Sesshoumaru watched their expressions change slightly. No more did they only look conspiratorial, they also looked sinister.
"Yeah, we did." Naraku admitted, "Inuyasha isn't the rightful King; he can't run things. He's all run-in-head-first, where as we know there is logic behind planning. We already lost one Jidai because of it."
"Miroku." Onigumo supplied, fidgeting with his bandages anxiously.
Sesshoumaru continued to look impassive. "What are you planning to do about it?"
"We're planning on overthrowing him; turning him in. We'll give the Shikon Guards the password to Ano Horaana. While they're gone, getting Inuyasha and his other loyal kiss ups, we'll raid Shikon of their precious Jewel." Naraku smirked devilishly. "It's the perfect logical plan. It will be his undoing."
"And who will take over once everything's said and done and my brother is behind bars?"
"Naraku will be King."
Naraku looked pretty pleased with this little fact. "Onigumo has the right idea."
"If you heard our conversation correctly, you'd understand that I feel I'd suit the role better." Sesshoumaru pointed out, resuming his work.
There was a look of concern on Naraku's face, but it was gone in an instant. "Done."
Sesshoumaru stopped filling the water trough and looked up. "You're giving up leadership just to have me on your side?"
"Why not? Either way I will still have that annoying Jidai out of my hair and out of our lives. Both of us have the kind of mind needed. It's a win-win. So, are you in, or are you out?"
They watched anxiously as the brother of their King thought it over. But, they could hardly contain their excitement when they saw a glimmer of pleasure in Sesshoumaru's eyes.
"I'm in."
.-..-.
It wasn't fair. At all.
"I should have just killed you." Sango hissed hatefully. "It would have been so much easier."
Miroku only grinned more. "But then you'd have been walking in the wrong direction for two weeks without any water or food before you died a horrible death and hoards of vultures fought over which part of you they'd eat."
The Shikonian pondered this. "Well... I can survive that."
"You can survive hoards of vultures eating your flesh?" Miroku's eyebrows were raised in surprise. "Wow, you really are something extraordinary."
Sango just huffed. "You know what I meant, pervert."
"When was the last time I did something perverted to you?" The Jidai countered. "And don't count when I was tying you up. I couldn't help but touch you then."
"You shouldn't have tied me up at all!" Sango argued, testing the ropes on her wrists again. "And since you weren't tying up my breasts I don't see why you had to touch them! I could have tied myself up myself if you were so gung-ho about it."
"Ah, but that's not one of the perks of being a Jidai hostage, Sango dear." Miroku chided lightly, winking over her shoulder.
Sango ignored this and continued warily, "What type of perks?"
Miroku smirked, "You can ravish me as much as you want, and I won't do anything to stop you."
"I hope none of your male hostages took advantage of that one..." Sango muttered, smiling in satisfaction when the thief behind her stiffened at the implication.
"Can't say they have." He managed, urging Kazaana forward.
There was an odd sound from the woman sitting in front of him, and he gave an amused frown.
"What was that?"
"Nothing." Sango screwed up her mouth to force the smile away.
"You laughed, didn't you?" He seemed just as amazed as he was.
"How could I ever laugh at something a Jidai said?" She asked, straightening her back. This meant she had to be in contact with Miroku's chest, but it wasn't as bad as it sounded. "Where exactly are you taking me, anyway?"
"Shikon." Miroku answered simply.
"Shikon?" Sango sounded surprised. "But, I'm your hostage! Why are you taking me back?"
"If I didn't know any better I'd think you wanted to come back with me." Miroku mused. Lucky for Sango he didn't notice the stain coming to her cheeks.
"In your dreams, Jidai."
"I said I knew better." He shrugged. "Of course you don't want to know where our hiding place is, what the password is, and how many of us there are."
Sango froze. Damn!
She could feel Miroku's chest vibrating in time with his laughter. "In any case, it will be a while until we reach your precious homeland. So, why don't you get some shut eye?"
"And let you feel me up? I don't think so." Sango looked down at one of the many bags hanging off Kazaana's saddle. In one of them were all of her weapons, and her ticket to freedom. She was completely defenseless as it were. "I should have just killed you."
"Everyone has their regrets."
That's when Sango realized something. "Where's my Hiraikotsu?"
"I left it."
"WHAT?!"
.-..-.
Kagome finished tying the ruby sash around her waist and stepped out from behind the screen. Her outfit was scarlet, cascading down her figure to meet her feet where the pants were tied at her ankles. Her top, made for summer weather, was off the shoulder and the sleeves were see-through.
She'd been trying on new clothes since early that morning. Her mother had insisted that it would keep her mind off the troubles of the city. Especially the loss of her cousin. Riders had found her boomerang discarded in the sand.
When she'd heard, Kagome had cried her eyes out until her mother had finally intervened and handed her thirty or so new garments.
Now, she was basically numb.
Sango was the only person that had seen the outside of the castle and spoken kindly of it. Her mother had made sure Kagome never had to walk the streets and dirty her shoes with the sand like she had had to do. Therefore, Kagome had never been outside. Unless, of course, standing on the balconies of the palace counted.
And now her only source of escape was gone.
Wind Scar had never been her horse, so she couldn't exactly be angry at Inuyasha for taking her back. The fact that her hopes had been so high for a few hours was what killed her.
"Princess?"
Kagome knew that voice; Hojo was at her door.
She turned with a spark of fire in her eyes, but otherwise looking completely calm as usual. "Hojo."
"I apologize for this morning, but as your suitor I couldn't stay silent. You would have gone crazy had someone not calmed you..."
Kagome's eyes widened, and her calm exterior shattered. He was supposed to be her King? "I would not have gone crazy! My cousin was like my sister, and I've lost her! You do not know how it feels to have lost someone, Hojo, and you don't have the right to try and calm me the way you did."
"Princess, please, calm yourself--"
"No! I will not stay calm when you're acting like some pompous jerk!" She glared. While he was there, she might as well ask him what had been nagging her all morning. "I have a question for you."
Hojo looked worried. "Anything, my Princess."
Oh, how she hated being called that night and day! "Where did you get my horse?"
"I told you, Princess, from a reliable horse trader." His look of worry changed to one of confusion. "Why?"
Kagome laughed darkly. "That's funny, because it already belongs to someone." She gauged his reaction.
"You're talking nonsense! Desert Flower--"
"Her name wasn't Desert Flower, either! It's Wind Scar." She ignored Hojo's blatant look of disgust. "You gave me someone else's horse! Inuyasha's horse!"
Her suitor balked. "Princess--"
"Stop calling me that! That isn't my name! My name is Kagome!" She glared. "How could you steal from the stables? How could you endanger me like that by giving me the King of Thieves' horse?" If it hadn't been for the Jewel, she wouldn't have been in trouble, but it was much more dramatic the way she was leading him to believe it.
"Prin-- Kagome, I know you're upset, but that horse was Shikon's now."
"You accuse them of stealing and then steal from them yourself!" Kagome argued, "I should tell my mother! You stole from Inuyasha, and you stole from Shikon! And you lied to me! There is no way you couldn't have known."
"Why are you acting as though you know this first hand?" Hojo looked suspicious. "Are you keeping something from me?"
That was when Kagome snapped. "Keeping something from you? Keeping something from you?!" She screamed out of frustration. "YOU are not one to talk about keeping something from anyone! I want you out. You are no longer my suitor."
"I love you, Princess. I might be bold, but it's true. I can't allow you to make such a request."
"How will you stop me?" She dared, picking up her bow. "By force? You would surely be kicked out of Shikon for that."
Hojo blinked; Kagome was right. "You will change your mind, Kagome. I know it in my heart of hearts."
Kagome scoffed, "I don't think I'm sorry to say I won't."
"I need to discuss this with your mother." Hojo relented and left the room.
"You go do that." She whispered, stomping over to her balcony angrily. "I need to get out of here... But where will I go?"
.-..-.
They needed food.
The Sengoku Jidai had run out that morning, and were starving. The problem? The ride to the gypsies would take half a day, and only half of his men would move.
Inuyasha was annoyed -- and hungry. For the other Jidai it was a dangerous combination and they were pushing it. "Come on, let's go!"
Naraku sneered from his spot at the empty keg of sake. "You wish."
Sesshoumaru was already on his horse, waiting impatiently with Nobunaga, Ryoukan, Kouga, Ginta, Hakkaku, Jinenji, and a hand full of others. They didn't look too happy sitting out in the sun.
"If everyone doesn't go then we won't be able to carry back the food and the liquor." Nobunaga complained, gaining everyone's attention. He was the youngest there, yet he seemed to be have gotten through to them.
"Alright, we're going." Onigumo snapped, throwing his hands up in surrender. "There's no way we're gonna go without beer."
"Tha's right!" Jinenji agreed, "Now let's go."
Jakotsu, who was next to Inuyasha, beamed. "Ok everyone! Onto the horses! The gypsies won't wait around forever."
"They don't even know we're coming!" Gatenmaru argued, leaping onto his horse.
"Of course they do!" Jakotsu argued, "They have fortune tellers!"
Inuyasha sighed. This was going to one hell of a long ride.
.-..-.
Miroku kept silent, allowing Sango to talk herself into a coma. She had gotten bored with him not responding and gone to sleep around half an hour ago. What made him puff up with pride is that she felt comfortable enough in his presence to fall asleep. Or maybe it was because she was too exhausted to stay awake any longer. He preferred his idea better though.
Up ahead he could make out the sand dunes that marked Ano Horaana. She had fallen for him taking her home easily. But, he had to save face first. Now, all he had to do was get inside without her waking up.
He muttered the opening mantra and Ano Horaana appeared, the moon shining down over it mystically. "Welcome home, Miroku..." he muttered to himself.
.-..-.
Sango woke up in an entirely foreign place. The walls were not marble, there were no windows, and the only light came from somewhere off in the distance. When she tried to move she noticed two things; she was lying on something extremely soft, and she wasn't tied up.
"Kagome?" She raised her head up off the bed and tried to look around. It was too dark to tell exactly where in the room she was, or how large it was, but she did still see the light. Was she back at the palace? Were the curtains drawn?
Getting up off the bed proved simple enough, but finding her way without bumping into anything was a challenge. "Oof!"
"Ah, you're awake."
Sango stopped. "Where am I?"
"The question is, how in the world was a lowly Jidai able to fool an able-bodied Shikon Warrior Princess?" Miroku smirked in the darkness and leaned on the threshold to his room. "Luckily no one else was here, or you'd be sitting in some dark, drippy chamber in the back."
"Where are we?" Sango demanded, following his silhouette to the entryway. "This is not Shikon and this is not funny!"
"Oh, like it was funny when you made me a living sand castle?" Miroku countered, walking down the hall.
She followed. "I gave you a way to escape!"
"You'll be out of here before you know it." Miroku soothed, stopping.
"What do you mean?" Sango eyed him warily. "How do you expect me to trust you at all? You fooled me into believing I was going home!"
"'Tis the way of a Jidai, my lady. My sincerest apologies, but you are my hostage, after all. I couldn't tell you we were coming here, or you would know the way in."
It was bright enough now that Miroku could see Sango's dry expression. He laughed, "Never mind Shikonian formalities. Just come on, I'll explain everything in the dining hall."
"You're damn well right you'll give me an explanation!" Sango hissed, "How dare you kidnap me... Wow..." She gasped upon entering the room she figured was the dining hall. It seemed the room was flooded with gold and jewels. Although it was unlawful, it was still beautiful.
Miroku, though, didn't seem to revel in it's beauty as much as she did. Instead, he plopped down in a seat and gestured for her to sit as well.
Sango chose the seat opposite his, to which he shook his head. "Don't sit there."
"And why not?"
"Did you happen to see a man covered in bandages last time our two sides met?" He asked airily. She balked and made her way to another seat. "Alright, deal time."
Sango glared.
"We both need to save face. If you stay here and pretend that I kidnapped you--"
"Which you did!"
"--until the others return then I won't have to explain why I was two days late to our celebration. Then, you can return to Shikon with the heroic tale of escaping the clutches of the Sengoku Jidai with little more than a scratch."
While she was thinking this over, Miroku scanned the room for food. Upon finding none, he added, "They should be gone until late tomorrow."
"Late tomorrow?!" Sango shot up from her sit angrily, "I don't think so! I can easily leave this place and return saying I was held up due to a sand storm."
"But isn't that against the Shikonian code?"
"What do you know of any type of code? Thieves don't have any rules at all!"
Miroku laughed. "Ha ha, that's funny." He leaned back in his chair. "Sango, dear, we have the Jidai code. Break those guidelines, and your punishment is worst than death."
"I still don't get why I should stay. I could easily go back and be welcomed, I'm sure Kagome is dying in that place without me there, anyway. Without me, no one barely treats her like a real person!" The Warrior mentally cursed. Why did I just say that? You're a damn fool, Sango.
Miroku raised an eyebrow but said nothing. "Look, I guarantee you a safe escape."
Sango kept her mouth shut.
"No one will try anything when they get back, because, technically, you're mine as of now. Well, that doesn't sound so convincing, does it?" He rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously. "I won't try anything either! The entire time you're here I can assure you that you will not be groped, manhandled, or assaulted."
She still didn't respond.
Miroku sighed. "Fine."
"...what's the code?"
The Jidai jumped, startled by her voice. "W-what?"
"What's the Jidai code?" She reiterated eagerly. Sango had to admit; she was interested.
"Number one; no mutiny." He settled his chair back on all fours and opened his mouth to continue.
"The punishment?"
"You're killed."
"Oh yeah, that's worse than death." Sango drawled, yawning.
Miroku rose an eyebrow, "Yeah? Number two; no stealing from your fellow Jidai. Punishment; whatever you stole with is cut off."
Sango winced at that, but was still grossly interested. "Has it ever happened?"
"Who would be crazy enough to test it out?" Miroku closed one eye and thought for a moment. "Number three; no turning one another in. Punishment; you're buried in the desert for seven days and seven nights."
"That doesn't sound like it's as harsh as the crime..." Sango thought aloud.
"With scorpions buried with you." When Sango looked up, Miroku's face was totally serious. "Number four; no molesting the pri--" He quickly moved on. "Number five--"
"Wait, wait, wait! Why'd you skip four?" Sango narrowed her eyes.
"It's not that important."
"Molesting is pretty important to everyone." Sango rebuked.
Miroku sighed. "No molesting the... Prince."
Sango choked. On what, Miroku didn't know. All he knew was that she did. "WHAT?!"
"No molesting the Prince." Yeah, that was good. If Sango managed to find Kikyo, everything would be over. She could free her, he knew it, and then they would be dead.
"You have a Prince?" Sango asked, still trying to recover.
"King, Prince, he can be called both."
"Who would molest--"
"Dunno.""Well, what's the punishment?" She breathed.
"Having the skin pealed off your hands." Well, if it was the punishment for touching the priestess, it could be the punishment for touching Inuyasha. "Number five... Inuyasha made up."
The Shikonian cocked her head to the side. "So?"
"He wouldn't want an outsider to know..."
Miroku looked over at Sango worrisomely. If she knew the fifth -- and last -- code that Miroku knew, then she would know their weakness. The one way they could find a way to beat them.
"Why?" Sango looked over at him just as she got an idea. "I'll make a deal with you. If you tell me, then I'll stay here until tomorrow."
"You will?" Miroku looked unbearably hopeful.
"Only until midday, if they're not back by then I'm gone." She allowed herself to reach out her hand to allow him to shake it, hoping he wouldn't take it the wrong way.
He stretched out his hand as well. "Deal."
"So what is it?" Sango pressed.
"Number five; no harming children." Miroku stopped when he saw how crestfallen his 'hostage' was. "What is it?"
"...I already knew that." Sango groaned, "I made a deal with you for-"
"Nothing." Miroku finished, a smirk forming on his face. "Congratulations Sango, you have the pleasure of my company until tomorrow afternoon."
He looked absolutely ecstatic; Sango just looked dead.