Black pearl-sama: This is my favorite chapter. I don't know why.
Inu Yasha: Feh. I hated this chapter.
Black pearl-sama: no one asked for your opinion, Inu Yasha.
Inu Yasha: growling
Chapter 4: Beads of Subjugation
"Where are we going, Sesshomaru?" Naomi asked as the silver haired demon led her to a dark alley.
"You'll see", Sesshomaru responded.
"What gives you the idea that a dark alley would give us the location of that demon?" Koga asked.
"Would you shut up for once", Sesshomaru snapped back. They reached a small, broken down house after a couple of minutes. Sesshomaru knocked on the door and an old woman's voice answered.
"Who is it?" she asked.
"It is me, Sesshomaru", Sesshomaru answered.
The door creaked open to reveal an old woman in a kimono with her hair tied in a bun.
"Come in, come in. I haven't seen ye in a while", she replied, letting Sesshomaru, Koga and Naomi into her house.
Koga and Naomi looked around. The floor was dusty and the windows were covered so that sunlight couldn't come in. The only source of light was a tall, black candle lit on a round table with a crystal ball in the center.
"This is my brother, Koga and my mother, Naomi," Sesshomaru introduced.
"Hello", the woman greeted.
"Hello", Koga and Naomi replied. They were uneasy in her house.
"This is Kaede, the fortune teller. I've been here several times. She can tell us where the demon is", Sesshomaru said.
"Sit down", Kaede said, showing them to the chair around the round table. She sat in an armchair in front of the crystal ball. "What is this demon's name?"
"We don't know", Naomi replied.
"Do ye know how he looks at least?" Kaede asked.
"Yes. He has a crescent moon on his forehead and a purple stripe on each cheek. He has crimson eyes and dark silver hair", Sesshomaru answered.
"Kaede looked deep into her crystal ball, waving her hands around it. "Ah, yes. I see him. His name is…..Inu Yasha."
"Inu Yasha? That can't be", Koga said with surprise.
"Inu Yasha is not full demon, but a hanyou", Kaede continued. "He was changed into a demon by fairy magic."
"This is too supernatural to be true", Naomi said.
"Do ye doubt my powers?" Kaede asked threateningly.
"Sorry, please continue. We want to kill him", Sesshomaru said quickly.
"Killing is not an easy thing to perform on him. Someone or something that changed him into a demon in the first place is guiding him. With his guidance, killing Inu Yasha would be impossible", Kaede replied.
"Then, how are we to subdue him?" Sesshomaru asked.
Kaede got up and went to her cupboard and pulled out a necklace. "Use these. These are beads of subjugation. Put them around Inu Yasha's neck and upon hearing the command 'sit', Inu Yasha will be pulled to the ground by this necklace", Kaede answered.
Naomi took the necklace and said, "thank you so much."
"My payment?" Kaede asked.
Sesshomaru took out two gold coins and tossed them over to Kaede.
"Come any time", Kaede said after them as they left.
"Our problem is solved", Sesshomaru said.
Inu Yasha closed the door and went up to his rug on the kitchen floor when he heard the bell ring. Inu Yasha went up to the door and opened it. Sesshomaru walked inside and took out a necklace and immediately put it around Inu Yasha's neck.
"Is this actually a gift? I find it hard to believe you've found the joys of brotherhood", Inu Yasha said, looking at the necklace.
"Hardly", Sesshomaru replied.
"Test it", Koga said, snickering.
"Test what?" Inu Yasha asked, confused.
"Sit", Sesshomaru said simply.
Inu Yasha was glued to the floor in no time. He got up, rubbing his nose and said, "what the heck happened?"
"My dear half-brother, when you are 'misbehaving' by ruining our chance at the princess, this is what you get", Sesshomaru said.
"Why did you come to the ball?" Naomi asked sharply.
"How do you know about that?" Inu Yasha asked.
"We know everything, including the sorcerer you hired to protect you", Naomi replied.
"What sorcerer? I didn't hire anyone", Inu Yasha said defensively. 'How did they figure out about Naraku?' he asked himself.
"Don't be such a liar. We know about the fairy magic that turned you into a full demon", Koga said.
Inu Yasha's heart was beating a million miles per second.
"By the time princess Kagome gets here, we'll be sure to keep you well hidden", Sesshomaru said.
"Y-you can't do that", Inu Yasha stammered.
"Oh yes we can", Koga teased.
"Think about how poor Princess Kagome would react when she finds out her beloved a hanyou", Sesshomaru said.
"She will cry without end that she couldn't marry you", Naomi continued.
"She will have marry one of us and then live her whole life under our command", Koga said.
"She will never forgive you and will regret meeting you in the first place", Sesshomaru said.
"While all that is happening, you will be locked up in the dungeon on the basement of this castle, not knowing that the princess is in a terrible amount of misery", Naomi said.
"You won't have anything but the memories of the princess", Sesshomaru replied.
"While the princess will have memories of you which will soon fade away as she spends her lifetime happily with one of us", Koga continued.
"Stop it!" Inu Yasha cried, covering his ears and falling to his knees. He shut his eyes in an attempt to shut away their voices. It was like they were torturing him with words.
Naomi, Sesshomaru and Koga laughed at Inu Yasha's cowering figure.
Sesshomaru pulled Inu Yasha's hands behind his back and led him to a room and locked the door, leaving the hanyou inside.
"That should shut him up for a while", Koga said.
Time crawled under the door and went to Inu Yasha, who was sitting on the ground, leaning against a wall.
"Inu Yasha, you have to get out of here. Princess Kagome is going to come tomorrow", Time said.
"I can't and I won't", Inu Yasha replied.
"Why not?"
"She can't find out that I'm a hanyou. If she does, she'll be miserable", Inu Yasha replied sadly.
"Your stepmother's and stepbrother's words really got to you, didn't they?" Time asked. "Don't believe everything they say, Inu Yasha."
"But what they said was true", Inu Yasha retorted.
"Inu Yasha, you can't stop believing in yourself!" Time practically shouted at him.
Inu Yasha didn't reply, but felt downhearted when a blue light entered the room.
"Okay, so what's the big idea?" Naraku said as he appeared.
"What? I was sure that I didn't call you", Inu Yasha replied.
"Look, whenever you feel too depressed, I get dragged back here, and trust me, the ride is not cool. There is a lot of bumping, crashing and then nausea", Naraku responded with a frustrated voice.
"It's not my fault that I'm getting depressed", Inu Yasha said.
"What's the situation?" Naraku asked.
"Princess Kagome is coming here tomorrow to see me. She wants to marry me and I'm a hanyou. I am locked up in here with the beads of subjugation around my neck and sitting against a wall feeling the way any depressed man would", Inu Yasha said.
"I could get you out of her in a second", Naraku said and pointed his wand at the door to unlock it and muttered a spell but nothing happened.
"Uh-oh" Naraku said.
"What?"
A/N: Another chapter done. Wow, I'm really updating almost daily. Sorry for the cliffie though. Press the button and write a review!