Sissi1789 : Thanks for adding my story to your favorites! I hope that you continue to enjoy reading it!
Talawolfgirl : They can feel each other's feelings, but both of them are so muddled with the influence of both Naraku in the beginning and now the Queen is messing with Kagome which is sure to influence what Inuyasha can feel coming from the Miko. The real question is will they be able to figure it out before Kagome make a decision that will cause only more pain to both of them?
windbreaking : Yeah she is and I felt that he would beat himself up with how he feels about Kagome, but his demon knew that she was their mate, while...well, you'll read about it in the chapter. ;)
InuKagLover 1992 : I feel like giving just enough information can help a reader, but can also led them to try and figure out the mystery, like a good mystery that leaves you guessing while also wanting to know more. I like Case Closed, an anime, that does this. Allows the viewer to see all the clues and while trying to figure it out before Conan gives you more information. Feeding it in small doses allows you to cast aside suspects and in this case allows you to try and figure out what the characters are going to do. And yes, they are still under the influence of the evil that tainted it from the beginning with just another stir of the pot by the Queen. I also try to update every day if I can, but sometimes things like writer's block get in the way.
Thanks to all of you that have stuck with this story for as long as you have! I appreciate all the readers, reviewers and the people who have added this story to their alerts! Thank you all soooooooo much!
Inuyasha couldn't believe that the slayer had just punched him! What had he done to deserve that, and then he noticed that she hadn't used the boomerang. Not only that, but she hadn't hit him as hard as she could, not that he knew how hard she could truly hit... only Miroku knew that. She was gripping her weapon so hard that her fingers and knuckles were turning white. He could tell that she really wanted to hit him and another question popped into his mind, but first... "What the fuck did you do that for bitch?!" The Hanyou rubbed his cheek, feeling a slight swelling already beginning to grow. It pulsed angrily at him, feeling as hot as he felt at that moment. "Oi, I was just telling the truth!" Her brown eyes glistened with tears, anger reflecting back at him so strongly he could swear that her eyes flashed.
"Sango?" the monk said, reaching out to touch her shoulder when he noted that Sesshomaru was shaking his head, as if he knew something that Miroku didn't, like how pissed off the woman before him was. He couldn't remember a time that true fear shown on Inuyasha's face when faced with the wrath of a slayer on the warpath. He drew back just as a sniffle came from the tumble of brown hair, some of it shifting with the soft wind that blew. It was so quiet, like the calm before the storm that warned you of how bad it truly was going to be when the doors finally broke. Miroku realized at that moment that he was witnessing the world collapsing around the brunette. So much was going on right now and it seemed to be one strike too many. She was still mourning the loss of her people, her father and her brother. The torment that she had to have endured with every fight against her own blood, the last of her people and her only remaining family member.
Kagome had always been there for her, a sister she could turn to when she felt that fresh pain, washing over her when they lost another one... she lost another one. She lost a part of herself that kept it together when the world dished out another blow. This was the one person she could confide to, that was like a missing family member that you had never knew came to live with you. An instant connection had brought the two this close, like he had felt when his eyes had come to rest on her that faithful day. That's what this group truly comprised of and he knew without a doubt that even with Inuyasha in the Alpha role of this pack that Sango as the Beta was just as able to run the pack, smacking the Alpha up when he did something wrong... and this...this was something wrong. If Inuyasha was the Alpha then that Kagome as first bitch and women were cold when it came to protecting their own sister as they were if it had came to their own children. Inuyasha had misspoke and Miroku knew this. The male would never speak ill of their friend and the woman that he loved. Sango had to know that even if she was super pissed off and in attack mode.
"You fucked up her up? You have been doing that forever now," the brunette spat, a chill running up his spine at the cold tone, but even as he felt that slight fear he felt anger rising. He hadn't been doing that! He had done it this time, but there wasn't another time he could think of that the moment. Sure, he admitted that he had belittled her in the past, but they had gotten past that. He hadn't called her anything unless he had gotten ticked off and said something in anger. The Miko had forgiven him for those, even if he had never really asked for forgiveness. She still hadn't lifted her head since it had fallen and he wondered how ticked off she was because the tone was scary enough, but if she looked as half as pissed off as she sounded he knew there would be a beating in there somewhere. "You can't even think of a time that you've done that, can you?" This seemed to be funny as a small chuckle broke out from her lips. It wasn't happy though, that was certain. "You do it all the time," she said softly. "Little things she can forgive and she's fine, back to her happy self without a care in the world, but then you do the bigger thing. You love her, but you're torn by your past love coming back," she stated, smacking him with the boomerang when he opened his mouth to speak.
"Instead of being a fucking man, you lead her own with a way that I myself will never understand, you don't tell her the truth." Sango looked up now and the darkness of her eyes truly even made his demon back down while all the while his demon didn't stay down long. It wasn't just made at her, it was mad at him. Every word coming out of the slayer's mouth was true and something it had been trying to get across since seeing the future born Miko, but he hadn't wanted to listen. His human heart just couldn't let go of what it had once had. After all, besides the instinct that led his demon and it being right a good portion of the time, demons were not led by their emotions since there were only a few. Eat, hunt, mate, fight. Those were essentially their life. There was no emotion to that, but because he was human as well there were underlying emotions to those actions so as a human he was so much more than his demon. He had a wider trail path. "Tell her that you can't give her your fucking heart, that even if you feel something that it isn't stronger than what you have for a woman who had long since been dead! Longer than Kagome's been alive for fuck's sake!"
She thumped him again, this time just because she was frustrated. "Because of your Kami damned actions of not only allowing that clay bitch to have a part of Kagome's soul, but you followed that filth around for fucking ever you left a perfectly alive woman to wallow in the despair of seeing that!" Another thump from the inside this time, hid demon signaling his agreement with the scary female before him. He took a chance to glance over at the only other two people in their group and then to the other silent party, Kirara. All of them refused to met his gaze, giving him the cold shoulder and that was saying a lot for his brother when the male was cold as ice. "No!" Three large wacks followed her word. "You finally broke her after all that! She forgave you for it all, the little things and then the Kikyo shit, but you still take it a step farther!"
"You saw me tell Kikyo to fuck off!" he reminded her.
"After we had to make you act like an adult! You wanted to go and see her before, but now you decided to just ignore her like she would go away on her own! She tried to kill Kagome for fuck sake!" She let out a frustrated growl as she shoved her weapon into the dirt. "You marked her and mated her! You impregnated the woman you couldn't commit to Inuyasha!"
"I said I fucked up!" he growled as he shot up into her face. "I don't know what else to say, but I fucked up! I have no idea what happened that night and it makes me so fucking mad and torn up at the same time because I know that I love Kagome!" Silence fell upon the small area, not a bird or bug to be heard. The night had fallen during this interaction, the party unaware as they continued to stare at the pair fighting. "I know that I love her and I knew that she was my mate for a damned while, but I fucked up. I ignored my demon until that night." He paused, looking at them all, this time they were meeting his gaze with their own, knowing that he was being completely truthful and open about his feelings for the Miko. "Until I remember the rest of that night, I can do nothing to fix this except try to convince her that we were meant to be." As if that storm had finally passed Sango grunted.
"You fucking better," that was all she said as she picked up the small bag with the cooking utensils. After finding the pot she said, "I'm going to find some water. Miroku get us some firewood and Inuyasha, get us some food." He blinked, turning to look at the others, Miroku smirking as he rushed off while Sesshomaru simple just smirked before taking a seat against the nearest tree. The Hanyou didn't know what to say as he stalked off to find some food, his brother chuckling softly after him.
Days later found the Miko standing before the Queen looking rather morose with a slightly twisted frown on her face. She had become more angry, her eyes changing more to a silver after left for a few days in the small room that had become her sanctuary since coming here. It was the highest in the castle, far away from the room that had born her new persona. She hated that room and hated this woman before her, longing to get away from her and live her life she became aware that she as like Kagura. She was trapped, with no way out and with the person holding controlling her, holding her hostage by the one thing Kagome loved more than herself... her pups. She had grown even bigger in the last few days, her stomach looking twice its size strangely enough. It was so weird having very little time with her babies still safe inside of her, knowing that they were maturing so fact because of a rare thing that happened when a Miko and a powerful demon mated. Looking down she noted that her nails had become claws. Nothing new had happened since then save for her claws were changing to a black tint. It must had to do with the darkness building in her.
She had feared it at first and now she nearly welcomed it with open arms. Giving herself a mental shake she knew that she needed to get out of this castle, away from this woman before her before she grew too dark to even remember why she needed to get out. Touching her stomach, feeling for her babies to acknowledge her. A small push against her palm let her know that they were truly still there, waiting for her to get them out of the darkness and back to the light. She might not stay here, even if she promised Sesshomaru and her babies she knew that she would need to get away from all of it. The temptation of the well and Kaede's village. She wouldn't allow herself or her pups to be harmed because of their father and his feelings about the conception of the babies. They wouldn't be without all the love that she could give them though, but first she had to get away from her and to do that she would need a way to kill the Queen.
"I know what you are thinking, Miko," she spoke, her voice harsh and soft all at once. "All who are poisoned by my evil become mine, their thoughts...their hearts...their bodies...and their souls." She paused between each item, as if she wanted to reiterate that she knew all the ways that they could betray her and that she wouldn't allow that to happen. Smirking she turned toward the shadows. "Abyss, why not show our little Miko that I mean business." The male stepped out from the shadows, his eyes a dark blood red, no longer shining anymore as if his soul were not only blackened with her evil, but that his soul was no longer there. He didn't even hesitate to strike out at her, his fist crashing into her face. A cry echoed in the large room as she tried to move her body to soften the blow. He hadn't held back and spitting out the taste of her own blood she watched in shock as one of her teeth landed in the bloody pool before her. "Tsk tsk, Abyss, not too hard," she said turning concerned eyes toward the fallen woman before a smirk twisted her lips. "We wouldn't want to cause her to lose those pups." Kagome stared in shock that was quickly turning into anger as the Queen burst out laughing. The sound was so dark, so full of hate that Kagome couldn't help the shudder that crawled over her skin, goosebumps breaking out as it passed.
"You bitch," Kagome hissed before spitting out more blood. The Queen merely smirked wider, enjoying the name she was being given.
"Good, Miko, let that hate fill you," she said, leaning forward. "It will only hasten the inevitable. You will become mine completely with no love, no misery, and no joy. You will become a wonderful tool to use in my taking over the world. In the end there will only be me and mine. For those that are left behind they will only feel hate, anger, and loyalty toward me." It was a bleak future, the words opening up Kagome's eyes to what she was volunteering to turn into. She was allowing her soul to be corrupted and in doing so she would banish all her friends to death or worse... a life that was far greater than death. Kagome could hear the voices behind her and wondered if that was what they were, the ones that the Queen spoke of just now. Those whom were created from what she had sent Kagome to do just that afternoon.
"That's why you had me go and oversee that attack this afternoon," she said, the anger still simmering at the surface even as she tried to tamp it down. She couldn't believe what this woman was trying to do! Naraku had been bad enough, but his dream had been but a fevered one and it would have been destroyed with the help of Inuyasha and the others with little more than one battle that had been just on the horizon. Then this woman had come into the picture. Naraku's greed had come back to bite him in the ass and with it he had doomed her to remain here with him. The Queen laughed at her, overjoyed that she had come to the realization that not only had she been warned in a very visual way, but had also realized that she truly wasn't free at any point. But that was just it. Kagome could get free if she could get past the darkness that had been slowly seeping into her while in the darkness of the castle. That was what was truly affecting her at this point, not the Queen herself. She hadn't felt that darkness when she had entered, just the evil that swam around her as if she had been dunked into a swimming pool, but now that she had been here for a few weeks with little interaction outside the walls of this structure she was drowning in it. It was being absorbed with every breath and every step she took. She had to get out of these walls for longer than just a day.
"Ah, but even then you would still retain my evil," the Queen said. "You could run free for years, but as long as I retain my power you would still be linked to me and like Abyss' former incarnations, you would be easy to find." Turning from the Queen Kagome headed out of the room wondering why the woman had called her before her. Had it just been to punish her for her mutinous thoughts or had there been more to it? Still, if she was confident enough to tell her how it all worked than that didn't bode well for the Miko. She would be stuck here until she could defeat the woman on the throne and she wasn't sure that she could do that alone.
No, I need Inuyasha, even if after we defeat her I must go in a separate direction. It had all been a lie, the things she had seen concerning her friends, save for Inuyasha. How could he not remember what had happened that night. Maybe she had been under Naraku's influence, but the Hanyou was stronger than that. He would have noticed the evil Hanyou stepping too close to them. Walking down the empty halls, the darkness only broken by a few candles that lit the long corridors she began to work thru it all, all that she could remember at this moment. The darkness seemed to throw more questions at her, ones that at this moment she had no answer for. There was the question that begged to be questioned above all else at the moment. How had Naraku taken her memories? How had he gotten close enough without anyone on the grounds seeing him much less feeling the evil that he was? Miroku would have sensed the evil, even when he faked it at times he had been spot on other times even when it hadn't benefited them with a place to stay for the night.
Sango might not have felt it, but even then she was close enough to the outside of the building and the main hall with their rooms just being outside there and yet she hadn't recalled anyone that night or she would have said something and then there was Inuyasha. He had the most sensitive senses and should have felt it the moment the male had come onto the grounds. He too had been in the main hall, the middle of the home that was close to all sides of the estate. Why hadn't h- "He had done something before hand." He had to have set up a demon at that home, knowing where they were and what they did when they needed a place to stay! After all he had his little flying spies that could have reported to the evil Hanyou where they were and what they were doing. It all made sense, but now she needed to figure out what he could have done to cause this and how he had gotten past the group that knew what his aura felt like and would have been able to easily identify it being too close to their camp.
So, now both the group and Kagome have come closer to what transpired that night, both about Inuyasha mating Kagome and the way that Naraku had erased such memories with the group being closer than the Miko. Naraku no longer appears to be a threat, not in his own right now, but maybe as the pawn of the Queen. Stay safe!