Disclaimer: It's so tempting to say I own Inuyasha, but out of truthfulness, I don't. (Such a sob story, eh?)
A/N: Exams are over (what a relief) and all my time for summer is dedicated to my stories and my friends! I have lots of time now with nothing to do but write for the next couple of weeks. I'm so sorry you all had to wait for this update. I was so tempted to keep writing this while studying, but if I were to do so, I wouldn't have been able to keep focused on the subjects I needed more attention in. Well, enough of the school talk! Here is the much anticipated chapter eleven! Please review all who haven't. I was very glad to see I'm so far on the favourite list of 9 people so far. My thanks to all who reads my stories! I hope you all enjoy!
Chapter Eleven: Reason for Secrets
"Who's back, Inuyasha?" Shippo asked worriedly, hopping into Kagome's arms for protection.
"Naraku…" Inuyasha growled. His hand was itching to grasp the handle of his infamous sword, but he fought off the urges to wait for the opportune moment to strike when Naraku was in reach to attack. Fighting back the urges to unleash Tetsusaiga, he instead balled his fists tightly, bit his lip, and waited for Naraku to approach. His scent was coming closer to them by the second; no doubt he was coming to Inuyasha and the others.
Kagome, with Shippo on her shoulder ran behind Inuyasha, as a sudden figure cloaked in the darkness of the night appeared from behind the trees. The figure did not run, but seemed to hover inches above the ground. It moved so quickly, that it was barely recognizable. If Inuyasha hadn't muttered his name, nobody would have realized it was Naraku until the last moment. Something was wrong though. If Naraku was coming, why hadn't Kagome sense any jewel shards?
The white blurred image halted to a quick stop, nose-to-nose with Inuyasha. His tall stature towered over him, but the robe of white baboon fur made him look somewhat comical. The evil glare of gray eyes with a hint of malicious amusement in them poured into Inuyasha's revengeful golden ones.
"What do you want?" Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. He restricted himself from plunging his claws into Naraku and pulling out his throat. His fingers twitched closer to the handle of his sword.
The man under the baboon suit only grinned at Inuyasha's grimace. "I'm just dying to know whether you know about that present yet…" The raspy voice said through the mask of the baboon head.
"Present? What present?" Inuyasha demanded, now gripping the sword's handle tightly. He quickly glanced around to Kagome, Shippo, Sango and Miroku behind him, who all were as clueless as he was.
"Don't tell me your own sister did not tell you… Your very own sister won't even tell you when she is in need of assistance? This is turning out to be quite the dilemma for her." Naraku chuckled in the back of his throat, only increasing Inuyasha's urge to shred him and that cloak to confetti.
"What the hell are you talking about! What did you do to Asaki!" Inuyasha yelled into his face. This only amused Naraku more.
"Calm yourself, Inuyasha. It is not what I did to her, but what she is doing to herself," he riddled. "She simply will not follow my commands; therefore, she gets hurt of her own accord." Naraku grinned wider as he saw Inuyasha's patience wear and his temper begin to boil. He could tell that Inuyasha was confused at his words, which made him even angrier.
"I don't have time for your damn riddles! You bastard…TELL ME WHAT YOU DID TO HER!" Not being able to control the urge any longer, Inuyasha quickly stepped back and pulled the sword from its sheath. He pointed the tip of the blade threateningly close to Naraku's neck.
Naraku did not flinch, nor did he take any notice to the large sword under his nose. The evil grin was quickly wiped clean from his face. He knew he had limited time before Inuyasha lost control, for his temper was not always wise to meddle with.
"Do not be so impatient Inuyasha; besides, it is not my responsibility to tell you. Perhaps Asaki can tell you. Next time you see her, ask her about that lovely bracelet on her wrist…"
Inuyasha's heart skipped a beat. Asaki was wearing a gold bracelet the last time he saw her!
Flashback
Inuyasha certainly had not remembered anything that tight on her wrist before Naraku had taken her. Her skin underneath the band of gold seemed puckered and almost losing circulation.
"What's that?" Inuyasha asked Asaki, pointing towards the band of gold on her left wrist.
"Oh…Nothing, it's….nothing. Just a bracelet. I've never been able to take it off."
End Flashback
She lied? Asaki lied to Inuyasha about that thing on her wrist? But what was it doing to her, and why did she refuse to tell Inuyasha about it! Inuyasha was outraged that his sister kept that from him.
"I'll ask you one last time before I send you to your fate," he muttered, shaking from anger, "Tell me what you've done! What does that thing do to her!" He readied his stance for an attack.
"I already told you, it is not my responsibility to tell you. It is your sister's for not telling you first."
Inuyasha growled viscously at Naraku. He had had enough now. If Naraku wasn't going to tell him anything useful, he might as well be dead. He lunged toward the figure in the baboon cape, and plunged the tip of the blade into his chest.
A sudden cloud of violet vapour escaped from the furry disguise. Inuyasha instantly realized he had been talking to one of Naraku's puppets all along! How could he have not noticed? He mentally kicked himself for not realizing it sooner.
The group covered their face and waited for the cloud of vapour to subside. As soon as the clouds of violet smoke disappeared, they found the only thing left of the puppet was a wooden doll with a black hair tied around it.
Still in fits of confusion and fury, Inuyasha turned to others who stood dazed behind him.
"We can't waste any time! We have to go find Asaki!"
Sesshomaru strode out of the woods, walking around the inanimate bodies of demons on the ground that he had just previously slain. Although killing weak demons such as those were usually what he needed to calm his nerves, tonight there was no such relief. Tonight, his mind was filled to the brim with anxiety—an emotion that Sesshomaru was not accustomed to. The only one he had ever worried about like this was Rin; but Rin was always by his side so he could keep an eye on her at any time. Asaki was off on her own, vulnerable and unprotected.
Sesshomaru glanced at the evening sky above the tree tops. The sun had completely set, letting the crescent moon shine, and the bright stars glimmer down upon the earth. He remembered how it was exactly the same the night when Asaki lost many of her demonic powers. Not a cloud hid a single star that night, nor did any chill kiss the ground with frost. The night was perfect, although it revived many vivid memories that ought to be forgotten.
Rendering himself hopeless to be free from this loathing emotion, he gave up killing demons and began to walk back in the direction of where Rin and Jaken had fallen asleep. It was a hopeless case to be free from anxiety when Asaki was somewhere out in Japan, possibly in trouble and he couldn't do anything about it. She forbade him to come and help her, and considering what happened in the past, Sesshomaru knew what would come if he came to help her.
But even with the words of his sister still ringing through his memory, Sesshomaru couldn't help but feel slightly curious to where Asaki and father hid the jewel all this time without someone or something finding it. Was it still hidden? Did it even still exist? It had been three centuries since it had last been mentioned. Suddenly, a horrid, livid thought appeared in Sesshomaru's mind.
How did Naraku know about Asaki and the jewel? They were both before Naraku's time! Not even the founder of Naraku's body, Onigumo had been born yet! If Naraku knew about all of this, what other secrets did he know about? Asaki was really in trouble now with that wretched demon on the loose.
Sesshomaru stopped walking to think for a moment. Even if it was dangerous to follow Asaki right now, he had to get to her before Naraku or anyone else could get to her. No matter what the risk, Asaki had to be safe or Sesshomaru would regret it.
Making up his mind, he turned and began running the other way. He ignored his sister's previous warning about not following her.
"Asaki, you better be safe. I can't sit around and wait for you to be hurt…"
"Naraku, what was the purpose of telling Inuyasha about Asaki?" Kagura asked her master as the two watched Inuyasha and the group depart from the village through Kanna's mirror.
Naraku sat hidden in the shadows. He suppressed a low chuckle to Kagura's question. "This is all part of my plan Kagura."
"What is this plan? And how will it work if Inuyasha figures out about his sister?" Kagura tapped her fan impatiently on the window pane she stared out of.
"Patience, you will see in time. If I gave it all away here and now, it would not be as fun to see Inuyasha and Sesshomaru suffer, now would it?" Naraku stood up from the dark corner and came into the moonlit part of the room. He walked closer to Kanna and Kagura.
"Besides, even if Inuyasha knew about it, the bracelet cannot be removed unless Asaki fulfills my requests. He and his brother are virtually helpless. There is nothing that they can do." Naraku gave yet another low chuckle as he mentally admired his plans. "One by one, the off spring of Inu Taishou will cease to be anything but a memory."
Kagura raised a brow at her master's comment. Sesshomaru and Inuyasha were of the most powerful demons—be it full youkai or hanyou—that she had ever seen. Asaki was an easy target, but her brothers were somewhat questionable. How would Naraku do this? If Naraku would ever have the poisoned jewel in his possession, then maybe it was possible…
"Kanna," Naraku commanded.
"Yes my lord?" Kanna replied quietly.
"Show me Asaki," he said. Kanna bowed her head, as an image appeared in the silver mirror that rested on her lap. Naraku sat down across from Kanna and peered into the mirror. Kagura curiously cocked her head to get a view of the vision in Kanna's mirror.
"Good, so she is going to get it after all. This should get interesting…" Naraku watched inventively as a young, silver-haired girl came into focus. Naraku was deeply interested as to where to jewel was hidden.
Asaki knew it was close now; the force of the jewel was getting stronger. Asaki would definitely find it before the sun would rise. It was not far from where she was.
Asaki was walking amidst a deep and misty bog. The bog was old, and the air possessed a mysterious aura to it. A certain kind of aura that would make one wonder what sort of happenings were held in this bog long ago. It was enough to make Asaki feel uneasy about the whole ordeal even more. She couldn't help but feel a bit frightened being there in the first place.
The last time she had been in this particular bog, it was the last time she had seen the jewel. That time, she was with her father, and she still possessed all her full demonic powers. Being back in such a distrustful place with no protection was somewhat unnerving. Her father had told her many stories of evil demons living in that bog before, and Asaki did not want to find out if his stories were true or not.
The night air was quiet. Not a single cricket chirp or croak of a frog could be heard, even with a demon's delicate sense of hearing. Although the weather was not humid, a light fog covered the soggy ground. The whole atmosphere was becoming quite unnerving.
After walking around the bog for a bit, she noticed a familiar spot. One large, round pool of water lay amidst the trees and marsh. It reflected the moonlight on its undisturbed, glass-like surface. Asaki was astonished at the fact that this pool had not changed one bit since the last she had seen it. It was remarkable to see a body of water untouched for three centuries. But then again, when a pool of water like this held many secrets of the past, it was not all that surprising.
Asaki took in a large breath to calm herself. This would be the time. She would get the jewel back and destroy it before that vulgar demon got his filthy hands onto it. No matter what the cost may be, Asaki made up her mind to finish the cursed thing off until it would be nothing but a memory.
Taking in another deep breath, Asaki took a step into the water. The surface was barely disturbed, even as she took more steps into the dark waters. Asaki's white silk kimono was already getting wet, but she ignored it and kept moving further and further into the water. She stopped when she became immersed to her waist in the water. Asaki filled her lungs with air and pulled the rest of her body down into the depths of the cold water.
She was not able to see for a moment or two, but then the bottom was visible. The body of water went in much deeper further ahead. So deep, that an underwater cave lay far beneath its surface. That was the location that Asaki was looking for.
Without a moment to spare, Asaki swam below the surface and towards the underwater cavern.
Unfortunately, before Asaki went into the water, she was unaware of the people watching her every move from behind the trunk of a tree.
"What is she doing?" Inuyasha whispered as the group watched his sister plunge into the unusual-looking pond.
Kagome shrugged, as did everyone else who was watching. "I have no clue. What would she be trying to do, swimming in the middle of the night in a swamp?" Each of them watched intently, waiting for Asaki to resurface from going underneath the water. But to their surprise, she did not come back up!
"Umm…Inuyasha, do you think she is drowning?" Shippo asked him worriedly.
"Don't be stupid Shippo, demons don't drown." But Inuyasha contradicted himself when he still did not see her come up. This was beginning to worry him.
"Are you sure she's alright? Don't demons need to breathe?" Sango asked. But before anyone could answer her question, Inuyasha dashed off quickly to the water.
Inuyasha waded himself into it, then began searching the area for Asaki. He hesitated at first to stick his head in, but eventually wound up doing so. He instantly spotted the cavern under the water, for there was a glowing purple light emitting from the cave's entrance.
"Hey guys!" Inuyasha spluttered after pulling his now soaking mane out of the water, "There is some kind of cave down there. I think we should go check it out!" Before any of them replied, he went back down into the water.
"Umm, let's not," Kagome said wearily, "I'm not sure this place is safe. It's giving me the creeps!" Shippo agreed with Kagome.
"But Asaki is down there, and you said yourself that we needed to ask her some questions, right?" Miroku tried swaying Kagome's decision.
Kagome finally agreed. So Miroku, Sango, Shippo, Kagome and Kilala followed Inuyasha into the water and began swimming down towards the cave.
It was close. Sesshomaru could smell it; the place that had been forbidden by both father and Asaki to ever go near. This would be the night that he would find out what lay in the forbidden bog. He of course knew the jewel was hidden somewhere in there, but that was the least of his growing worries.
He walked through the bog, following Asaki's scent. He came across the pool of water she had gone into earlier, when he came across another disturbing smell. Inuyasha and his gang of humans were there as well. Did they come with Asaki, or did they follow her? Either way, he would punish Inuyasha for it. The thought of him being with his sister raised his temper.
Sesshomaru strode into the water, becoming ankle deep in the water. He was slightly confused. How could Asaki get the jewel from a pond?
"You look simply baffled," a malicious voice told him from behind. Sesshomaru turned around to see none other than Naraku staring him into the face.
Sesshomaru sneered at him. "What do you want with me now? Do you wish for an early grave?"
Naraku chuckled, "Perhaps. I wish to know whether Asaki told you or not about her little secret."
"Don't play games. What are you talking about?" Sesshomaru's temper rose even higher with every second of that pathetic excuse for a demon being present.
"She didn't? How surprising! She did not tell even one of her brothers!" Naraku grinned.
"You will tell me this "secret" or you will tell me your death wish," Sesshomaru threatened calmly, flexing his claws that instantly glowed green.
"Why don't you ask Asaki? She is down in that cave, under the water," Naraku pointed to a faint purple glow coming from the bottom of the pond. Sesshomaru looked back quickly. He turned around again to find Naraku missing.
Sesshomaru wanted to go search for the vile creature and rip him to pieces, but he instead stopped and turned back around to the pool of water. He would go kill Naraku later, but right now, he would get to Asaki and ask her about this "secret" of hers.
Not wasting a second, he swam into the water, following the violet glow.
A/N: It feels good to get this chapter done! My exams are over (thanks to everyone who wished me well!) and I am doing quite a lot of writing on the computer now! I am really sorry again for the wait! I really hope you enjoy my stories! Be aware that probably in the next 5 or so chapters, it will be finished. Please review now! Constructive criticism would be great, as I am hoping to increase my grammatical/literary skills. Any flames, comments, questions, etc. please give me your thoughts! Chapter 12 will be updated shortly!
