Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

Chapter 4:

A Different Way

Inuyasha let out a wide yawn as he stretched his arms above his head. His eyelids fluttered open and he had to admit, he had a good night's sleep. There wasn't a single noise and any disturbance last night, so he had enough time to recover all the energy he'd lost while trying to heal. He reminded himself to thank Kagome for keeping guard. Now that he had gotten his rest, he wouldn't mind if she wanted to sleep next.

Speaking of Kagome, his head spun around to the empty hut he was in. Where is everybody? He slowly got up and picked up the lying Tessaiga. He assumed that everyone woke up just before him.

As he headed to the doorway and pushed aside the noren, coincidentally, Kagome was just about to enter, her face right in front of him. Her eyes widened before she pulled him into a sudden embrace. He stood still for a few seconds, his brows furrowed, not knowing what in the world happened while he was asleep. Maybe her sleep deprivation had gotten the best of her?

"Um, Kagome—"

"Inuyasha, I was so worried!"

His ears drooped slightly and he pulled away to look at her. "Whaddaya mean?"

Then, his face rose as he caught movement, and found the rest of his group approaching him.

"Inuyasha, we heard what happened," Miroku said.

"Thank goodness you're alright. It seems you were at their mercy," Sango added.

"Okay, stop," Inuyasha finally said and took a step back. He breathed in, and out, trying to understand what they were saying. "What the hell happened while I was asleep?"

Kagome had just finished explaining to Inuyasha, from the part where she had fallen asleep, to the part where he almost got himself kidnapped. His jaw was dropped and his eyes were widened in disbelief. There was no way he didn't notice a single thing, right? But no matter how hard he tried to recall whether or not he heard at least a sound, he just had no memory of it. Thinking about what Kagome had explained to him... it was scary now that he thought about it. Almost all of the time he had kept his guard, and last night when he didn't, he had almost gotten himself taken away while sleeping.

"I am never sleeping comfortably again," Inuyasha said, his hand holding Tessaiga's scabbard. "Also, why didn't you just run? She could've hurt you, Kagome!"

"And leave you?! Inuyasha, you were the most defenseless yesterday! And not to mention, it seemed that she was only aiming for you. If she had taken you, who knew what would've happened!"

Inuyasha blinked before turning away. "Keh! I'm sure I'll be able to escape when I wake up."

But Kagome was right. He was the most defenseless yesterday. He let his guard down so much, to the point of becoming totally unconscious, that he didn't notice a thing yesterday. Still, she shouldn't have risked herself that night, or should've at least call Miroku or Sango for help. Kagome's safety was one thing. The other thing that was bothering him was that he needed to be protected, which wasn't necessary. He could protect himself... at least until last night.

"Look," Kagome said and exhaled deeply. "Inuyasha, it was my fault. I know this happened while we're not sleeping, but I should've stayed awake, but instead, I fell asleep."

"Don't you dare apologize, wench," Inuyasha snapped, but then his facial expression changed into something more remorseful. "If anyone should be apologizin', it should be me. I made you stay up when you should be sleeping, so..." he looked away and a frown appeared on his face. "I... I'm..."

Kagome smiled, but internally, she was surprised at the hanyou's behavior. "It's alright, Inuyasha. You shouldn't apologize either. You were hurt yesterday, and you must've quickened your healing."

Inuyasha averted her gaze, a faint blush visible on his face. "Keh!"

She smiled and had to hold back a laugh when she faced her friends and they were all wide-eye. All of them couldn't believe that the hanyou almost, but close enough, to apologizing.

Miroku finally recovered from his loss of words and cleared his throat. "But Kagome-sama, don't you think it's weird that the enemy left him like that?"

"It is," Kagome nodded. "But she said she would be coming back... so maybe she let him off this time because she knows she would be getting him back?"

The most confusing part was that Jikiko, that little girl, doesn't seem to be harmful that night. At first glance, Kagome thought that she would be as violent as her puppets, but after seeing the way she soothed Shippou, it doesn't look like it. She also left just like that, even when she had gotten what she wanted. It wasn't as if the little girl had no choice or anything... she left on her own will. Maybe she sensed something? Or maybe she was ordered to leave Inuyasha? But that wouldn't make sense. Why come all the way here, leave, and letting them know that someone is targeting the hanyou?

Also, why would Jikiko tell her that she would be coming back? The way she spoke... it wasn't as if she wanted to scare her. It was more like warning her. Kagome thought hard. Someone must be ordering the girl around. But when the child let go of Inuyasha, it seemed out of her own will, not by orders.

Kagome had just remembered. Jikiko mentioned that a guy named Waru needed Inuyasha. That may have solved who wanted Inuyasha. But the question now is, who is this Waru? And what does he want with him?

Waru chuckled as he listened to Naraku's times while fighting Inuyasha. The black-haired demon had proven himself worthy a while ago during their conversations. Not only does Naraku know who is accompanying Inuyasha, but he could warn him beforehand on what they are. So it seemed Inuyasha's group consist of a taijiya slayer, a monk, a reincarnated miko, a nekomata, and a kitsune. This was going to run smoothly. Without Naraku's assistance, he was sure he would be dealing with trouble having to get rid of all of them.

Naraku also told him their weaknesses. So the taijiya had a little brother who died and is being manipulated by Naraku himself, the monk had a Wind Tunnel that could easily be countered with poison insects, the miko wasn't as strong as her first incarnation, and the hanyou had different sorts of weakness depending on the situation.

But this information might be useless, as he had sent Jikiko over to Inuyasha during the time when Naraku's horde of demons were attacking the village. Jikiko was powerful, and a small task as getting the hanyou wouldn't be a problem to her. He was also informed that the hanyou had gotten himself hurt by Jikiko's puppet, so that would make things way easier for the puppeteer. All he had to do was wait for the good news and—

He heard a knock. Speak of the devil. He granted permission for the person to come in. To his surprise, it wasn't Jikiko, it was one of the servants. She was trembling and she lowered herself to whisper to him.

"What?!" Waru practically shouted.

"Y-Yes, my lord. That's what happened."

"Is something the matter?" Naraku asked.

Waru let out an annoyed huff and rubbed his temple. "Jikiko failed her task. I am going to speak to her immediately. Would you like to stay here or follow me?"

"Since I have nothing to do, my lord, I will accompany you," Naraku answered with a hidden smirk.

Waru and Naraku exited the meeting room. Naraku followed behind the demon lord, his thoughts running wild in his head. He must've overestimated that puppet master. He was actually convinced that the girl was strong and would be dragging Inuyasha here by now, but it looked like he was wrong. The puppeteer proved to be a disappointment.

They crossed the narrow hallway and Waru stopped in front of a door, which Naraku guessed to be Jikiko's room. Without the little girl's consent, Waru barged in, his hand swinging the door opened with full-force. He marched in and found the blonde girl sitting on a chair, her back facing him.

"Jikiko, what happened?" Waru asked, his eyes narrowing. "You are very much capable of your task, so how were you able to fail?"

"I let him go..." she whispered, still not facing him. "The girl... was sad."

"Girl?" Waru questioned out loud.

It was either the taijiya or the miko. But judging by the taijiya's personality, it would be very unlikely to be her. So it must be the miko, since Naraku mentioned that she had feelings for that half-breed.

"I am disappointed, Jikiko," Waru said, his voice holding more of an angry tone. He stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I expected more from you. Have you forgotten our plan? You will receive your punishment for defying my—"

Waru took a step back on impulse as the temperature of the room dropped several degrees, and the hair at the back of his neck stood. He subconsciously shivered as a chill ran down his spine, his instincts were screaming at him, telling him to back away immediately. This aura... It was a miracle that his legs haven't gave out yet. He had felt this once before, long ago, and he didn't expect to feel it again.

This was going to be troublesome. It had been a while since Jikiko disobeyed his orders, and if she does, it means she was starting to feel those pathetic emotions to those humans and that half-breed. He thought sending Jikiko over would save loads of trouble, but instead, he found out they were causing him new problems.

After gathering the last pieces of his courage, he slowly looked up, and as he expected, Jikiko's usual blue eyes were replaced with black empty voids. She was looking over her shoulder, turning her head a hundred and eighty degrees to look at him. Her usual subtle aura, was now gone. Instead, a dark and life-threatening aura was seeping out of her, an indication for him to leave, or else...

She slowly turned her head back, allowing him to face the back of her skull once more. He swallowed a lump in his throat before turning around and heading towards the door.

"I will be taking my leave then," he said before closing the door behind him.

Before the door was fully closed, he didn't miss Jikiko's monotone voice.

"Good."

Waru and Naraku walked towards the dining area at Waru's insistence. The auburn-haired demon may have not notice, but Naraku had been eyeing on him after they left Jikiko's room.

Naraku couldn't believe that the oh-so-confident demon lord had been reduced to this quiet state. But then again, anyone would become like this if they were faced too close with that kind of aura. Even Naraku was caught off guard by the sudden powerful aura released by that child. He won't admit it, but he could still feel the goosebumps on his skin.

No, he had underestimated this time. After that burst of aura, that puppet-controlling child was no ordinary kid. That kid was hiding a far more dangerous thing inside of her. Whether Waru knows what was hiding or not, he was just going to keep his mouth shut and see how this goes. One thing for sure was that, just like his incarnations, like Kagura, Waru's follower—assistant or whatever—isn't completely loyal to him.

"Forgive me for this uncomfortable silence," Waru finally spoke after what it seemed a long time. "I have yet to tell you about Jikiko."

Naraku grinned inwardly. He was getting information without him asking. He didn't want to question it, but that doesn't mean he wasn't curious about that child.

"Rest assured, my lord. I was also unaware of the sudden aura bursting out of her."

Waru gave a faint smile as an appreciation for Naraku's understandment. He cleared his throat, "Jikiko... is unual. She has three different personalities as far as I'm concerned. One, is the quiet submissive type. Two, is that, which I have no idea what it actually is, all I know is that it is dangerous. Three, is another personality she had yet to show you. It's more like a normal person, if you ask me."

"Interesting," Naraku said and couldn't hide his devious grin, which he instantly changed into a frown before Waru caught sight of it. "But she doesn't look like she obeys all of your orders, my lord?"

"That is correct," Waru said. "Only the submissive personality obeys my orders. The other two... hardly."

Naraku chuckled lowly at the demon lord's frustration. He had no regrets forming an alliance with this youkai. Things were surely going to be entertaining, seeing that there were mysteries that lies ahead. He still haven't found out why Waru needed that half-breed's blood, but he was going to find out sooner or later. He just had to be patient with his own plan—that will get into action itself—and was going to give him so many benefits.

"So what do you wish to do, now that the girl failed to capture the hanyou?" Naraku asked, breaking the silence.

"It seems the information you provide me isn't going to waste, Naraku," Waru said as they both reached the dining area. Waru sat down on one of the many chairs that surrounds the rectangular table. "I will be able to use my alternative plan. Though, the process will take longer than the first one, but I guarantee that it'll work."

A young female servant approached them and bowed respectfully. She then moved closer to Waru, waiting for his command.

"Call Himitsu, I need to have a word with her."

The servant nodded. "Hai, Waru-sama."

Naraku raised an eyebrow. "Himitsu?"

"She is a youkai capable of sorcery," Waru explained briefly. "She's powerful... and more reliable."

Soon, a figure covered in a maroon cloak hovered to the two demons. She was floating slightly above the floor, her feet untouching. From under the cloak, not a single feature was revealed as shadows concealed her face.

As soon as she stopped moving, her legs finally made contact with the ground with a faint thud. She bent down, bowing, before straightening her back and clearing her throat. For some reason, Naraku could almost feel her smile from where he was sitting.

"You have summoned me, my lord?" she asked, her voice sweet and melodious. Though, there was hidden malice.

"Yes," Waru said. "It's time I use you."

A/N: Sorry if this chapter doesn't have much stuff going on. Don't worry, next chapter will have some action, hehe.

The translation for "Himitsu"/秘密 is "secret/secrecy".

- Replies -

kookiencreme: Thank you!

meladi1: I'm glad that my story is able to make you rewatch Inuyasha! To answer your question, Sesshoumaru also plays a big part in this story. It may look like Waru has given up on Sesshoumaru, but... you'll have to see about that in the next chapter to find out.