Mercedes was making her way towards her apartment. She had just visited Naraku to make sure he was recovering well from all his injuries. She smiled when she thought about the last few days. Between Inuyasha constantly searching for a job and Naraku trying to lure him to work with him, things were getting really hectic. Every time these two met, she will end up with a headache. Inuyasha was too proud to accept Naraku's offers and was trying to start over again. However, it was more difficult then what he had assumed. He was either rejected because of his father's interference or because he had previously damaged the company in one way or another.

She reached into her purse to get her keys, her mind still wandering over these events. She knew that eventually, Inuyasha will end up working with Naraku, however, she was unsure whether it would be a good or a bad thing. After all, Naraku's sudden change of attitude towards her lover was intriguing her. She would make sure in the future that he will not hurt her Inuyasha in anyway. She loved Naraku, that was sure, but she knew him better then he thought she did. She knew that he was hiding something.

She arrived at the bottom of the building and was about to enter when she heard a voice behind her calling her name. She looked at the source of it, trying to discern the silhouette in the dark.

"Yes?" She answered, her eyes scanning the shadow that clearly belonged to a man.

"Are you Miss Mercedes?" He asked in a deep voice.

"Yes. What do you want?" She asked, her voice trembling little as she discovered that they were more than one. She backed away a little as they moved forward.

"Could you please come with us?" The voice asked again, calm and serene. Fear creeping inside of her, she didn't answer. Instead, she turned around quickly and tried to get in before they could get nearer.

Her body jolted in panic when she felt a strong hand smack with her lips, killing any sounds that tried to escape her, while the other one wrapped around her waist, easily carrying her away from her apartment. Her eyes widened, tears forming at the corners as she trashed, trying to dislodge her from the iron grasp of the man.

"We have the girl." Another voice said as she felt someone blindfold her. She whimpered, kicking the legs of the man hoisting her to no avail.

"No, don't worry." The voice continued as she heard the sound of a car. She tensed, her struggles renewing by ten folds. The man simply grabbed her tighter, unaffected by her actions.

"No one saw us. Yes I am sure."

She felt herself being tossed inside the car. She immediately took advantage of the fact that her body was free to move again and that her voice was not restricted anymore. She was about to scream when she was forcefully grabbed by her hair. She cried out in pain, the sound immediately muffled by a tape, her wrists and ankles restricted as well. A strong push coming from her aggressors made her fall on her back on what she assumed to be the back seat of the car.

Her breaths came uneven, her respiration accelerating while her heart thundered in her chest. Her mind tried to find a logical explanation of what had happened to her while her body continued to trash in panic. Tears rolled down her cheeks and another whimper escaped her. She could not feel any presence next to her but this soon changed when the front door opened and then closed. Seconds later, the engine was started and the car accelerated, leaving a sound of breaks.

Mercedes gulped, a new kind of panic taking hold of her when she heard the sound of the breaks. Her mind searched deep within for the familiarity of the sound while the inexplicable pain that accompanied the sound burned in her arms. She whimpered again and again, the tears continuing to bath her face. What was going on? What had she done?

Her struggles renewed when the car came to a stop. Were they going to kill her? Maybe a few months ago she would not have minded dying, her mind being dark and empty, but now, now she had Inuyasha, she had him to love and to hold on to as the only light in the darkness of her heart. Her tears doubled in intensity when the door of the car was opened and two strong arms pulled her out of the car none too gently. She moaned in pain by the roughness with which the person was dragging her. She tried to move out of his reach but he held tighter, dragging her behind him. Not being able to hold anymore, darkness enveloped her and she passed out.

Inuyasha made his way inside the apartment, tired and worn out. He had been searching for a job the whole day and surprisingly he was always rejected despite the fact that he graduated with relatively high grades from college and had impressive records. He turned the lights on and looked around. It was late but he hoped that Kagome was waiting for him as she did each night. A small smile crept to his face despite his exhaustion. He was happy, simply happy. Just being with her, holding her in his arms was enough to chase the shadow of all his frustrations.

Not sensing her presence, he assumed she was sleeping. He collapsed on the nearest couch, his hand tracing circles on his forehead, a desperate try to chase the headache that was gradually building up. He knew that he was rejected because of his father's and Naraku's interference. He knew that his father wanted him to experience poverty, stressing him to leave Kagome and return to the company. It was simply out of the question. He loved her, he depended on her. Without her, he would just disappear and die. As for Naraku, well, he wanted him to work for him but he knew better than that. The older businessman uses an illegal approach in problem solving and in business dealings. He was not ready to enter a word where the stronger gets the weaker. He was not like that and he would never end up like a copy of Naraku. But the pressure the two men were exerting was keeping him out of job.

He took another huge breath. He would find a solution. He was Inuyasha Taisho, and if he was able to run his father's company, he would be able to get himself out of this.

Deciding to take his much needed rest, he quietly made his way towards the bedroom. Since he asked her to marry him, Mercedes and himself were sharing the same room, the same bed but were not physical. He wanted to wait until the marriage, to prove to her that his interest was less physical then emotional. He wanted her to trust him. He would not deny that sometimes, it was more difficult. For example, when she would wear something special just for him, or when she would cuddle with him closer than usual. His desire was building night by night but he would refrain himself. He will have her the night of their marriage and all the nights after that.

He smiled as he cracked the bedroom's door open, but his smile soon disappeared when he found no trace of her in the room. Anxiously, he searched the rest of the house and came to the clear conclusion that she was not home yet. He sat on the bed, his eyes staring at the darkness in front of him. He felt a small tug in his heart. Where was she at such a late hour? Maybe with Naraku? No, she always was there when he came back. She knew that he needed her to be there.

A small voice in his head started to assume unpleasant thoughts. Alarmed, he got up, pacing the little space of the room, feeling himself drown in the darkness. Maybe she was with someone, the voice continued, tempting him to believe. Maybe she simply got bored of this life, of this stress, this situation.

Inuyasha passed a hand in his hair, his eyes searching the confines of the room. No, he trusted her. She had showed him that she was true to him. She loved him. Why would she lie to him? She would never d that. Just because she was late doesn't mean that she was betraying him.

He regained his calm, the hurt leaving his eyes, leaving signs of relief. She loved him. He again sat on the bed, slowly removing his shoes. She loved him. The thought seemed to sooth him, sending waves of happiness towards his heart.

He looked at the clock as he lay down on the bed. It was nearly eleven. He sighed. She would be there at any minute. His eyes went from the clock to the door and to the clock again. Seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into hours, and with each second that passed, his mind whispered dark thoughts to his heart.

Kagome stirred, her mind gradually coming back from his unconsciousness. As soon as she was fully awake, her eyes shot open, her body jolting forward as memories of what happened hours ago rushed into her mind. Her throat fell tight when she noticed that she was still in the darkness and her body could not move. She took a deep breath. At least, she could move her lips freely. She tried again to move when she heard a masculine voice coming from her left.

"You're finally awake." He said a note of sarcasm in his voice. Mercedes gulped, fear of the unknown rushing through her veins. Summoning her courage, she managed to breathe out.

"Where am I?"

Her voice came hoarse and raspy, causing him to chuckle.

"My men told me that you tried really hard to liberate yourself. They said that you were quite impressive for a woman."

She heard him get up, his footsteps coming towards her. She flinched away when his hand contacted with her cheek, leaving a loving caress.

"Don't touch me!" she bit out with anger. He laughed and she could feel his breath on her face. He was wearing a rather expensive perfume, she concluded.

"Of course not. This pleasure belongs only to Taisho." He whispered, his voice making her cringe.

"What do you want?" she asked in a small voice, trying as best as she could not to provoke him. "Why did you bring me here?"

He laughed again, his hand making a slight contact with her cheek, slowly descending to her neck. She shivered, disgusted from his actions.

"Please…" she begged."Don't."

His hand caressed the exposed flesh of her nape while his other grasped her chin tightly.

"You're so beautiful." He whispered next to her ear. "I can see now why he gave up everything just to be with you. Taisho is so lucky to have you."

Mercedes moved her head away from his voice, trying as best as she could to get away from his touches. She was disgusted, repulsed and afraid.

"Let me go or else…" she warned, trying to ignore her fear. He chuckled, retreating his hands from her, making her sigh in relief.

"Tell me Mercedes." He finally asked, "How much do you love Taisho?"

"Who are you?" she yelled, trying to get free, her fear reaching a new level, her mind already worried about Inuyasha. This man seemed to hate him more than life. "Let me go! Let me go!" she shouted again in her darkness. "What does Inuyasha have to do with anything? What do you want from me? How do you know me?"

"Shut up!" The man suddenly yelled and she felt a stinging pain on her left cheek. He slapped her. She had never felt so humiliated. He slapped her, and she knew he could do worse. Her sobs immediately silenced, her body shaking with repressed tears.

"Don't you cry in my face!" he darkly warned. "Now answer my question or else…How much do you love Taisho?"

"Stay away from him." She replied, and her answer was another slap that made her cry out in pain. Her hands tried to free themselves but she could only feel pain. Her tears went down without her noticing, and the man simply wiped them gently.

"How can you look so much like her?" he whispered to himself. She didn't have time to contemplate what he just said as his words startled her.

"My boss is really angry with Taisho." He affirmed his voice calm and steady. She could practically hear him pacing around her. "You see, since you came into view, my boss has been quite unhappy."

"Y…your boss?" she repeated, fearing for Inuyasha's safety. Was he in danger? Did they hurt him? Did they kidnap him as well?"

As if sensing her distress, the man answered.

"For the moment, Taisho is still safe from my boss' anger. But I cannot guarantee his welfare for too long."

"Why?!" Kagome yelled, tears rolling down her cheeks. "What do you want from him?!"

He took a deep breath before answering.

"My boss, well, she hates Taisho, she hates him more than life itself. Let us say that she despises him and wishes that he would be crushed like the little insect he is, slowly and painfully."

Kagome shivered by the deadly tone the man has spoken with while referring to her lover.

"Please…" she begged, trembling a little, "please don't hurt him, I…I…"

She stopped talking when she felt him caress her lips. Repulsed, she tried to move away but found it impossible to move.

"Shh, don't worry, she will not hurt him, not yet. You see beautiful Mercedes; it is all in your hands. You can save him if you want. My boss is a very powerful woman. You cannot destroy her, neither can Naraku. She is more powerful and she has a personal revenge on Taisho. She doesn't like him to be happy and lately we have noticed that he has been extremely satisfied with you. We don't like it. We don't. This happiness should stop."

"Please…" she sobbed, her heart speeding in her chest. "Do whatever you want with me but leave Inuyasha alone. He's sick. He cannot stand anymore surprises. Please…"

The man laughed again, freezing her blood in her veins.

"You want Inuyasha to be safe don't you?" he finally said, moving next to her. "Don't you?"

She nodded, chocking in her tears.

"Stupid girl, I don't understand your love for this monster. But we don't care. We just care about Inuyasha. Believe me when I say that nothing can protect him from us. We will find him like we found you. We will hurt him."

His voice dropped to a low whisper.

"You can think that you can fool us but we are so powerful that you won't even know where to go. My boss is a very powerful woman and she despises Inuyasha. She had decided to kill him."

A small cry left Kagome's lips but his hands on her face made her stop.

"But I convinced her that he should not die. We should not let him get over with his misery. It will be way more fun if he suffers."

"No!" Mercedes whimpered, feeling her heart clench.

"That's when I got a splendid idea. Instead of killing Inuyaha for his audacity to survive Kagome and start a new life with you as if nothing happened, as if he didn't cause her death, it is better if you break him like he broke the sweet and innocent Kagome."

"No!" she sobbed louder. "Inuyasha has nothing to do with it! She killed herself! She killed herself!

"Shut up!" a feminine voice came from behind her. Kagome fell silent, sensing the authority and familiarity of this voice. She heard the steps of the woman as she approached her.

"Kagome didn't kill herself." The woman replied confidently. "Inuyasha Taisho poisoned her mind, leading her to suicide, destroying her."

"And why would you care!" Kagome yelled. "Leave him the hell alone!"

The woman laughed bitterly.

"I knew her family. I was a friend of her father. I will not let her die without revenge. I will not let that criminal survive her. I will hunt him down and hurt him as badly as I could. I will kill him or I will make him beg me to kill him after I'll be done with him."

Her voice was cold enough to make Mercedes believe her.

"Please, please, I'll do anything for you. Just don't kill Inuyasha. Please. Please."

The woman's voice echoed again, interrupting her pathetic sobs.

"We will not kill Inuyasha. His death is not our goal. We just wish to break him apart. But don't worry, he will remain intact. All we want you to do is to let him go."

Silence filled Mercedes' ears before she managed to murmur.

"What?"

"Tell him that you do not want a broken man like him. Tell him that you pity him and that you never cared about him. Tell him that you were after his money. Tell him that you need someone else who can afford any luxuries for you. I don't know. Be creative. Just break him. Make him feel useless. Make him feel that you hate him as much as you truly love him. Make him cry, make him beg and then refuse him. Tell him that he is a criminal, that he killed Kagome."

"No!" Kagome yelled. "No! I won't! He trusts me! I love him! I love him!"

"Then prove it." The man suddenly replied. "It is so easy to say that you love someone but so difficult to turn the words into actions. He will suffer but then he will fold it away. Or do you prefer him to be dead because God help us we will kill him. We will and no one can stop us before we do it."

Silence stretched again, interrupted by Kagome's sobs.

"He will never love me again." She whimpered. "He will hate me and if he does I will not survive it. I cannot see the hate in his eyes when I will tell him this. I cannot break him when he has begun to trust me. Please, I never knew Kagome, but I am sure that she loved him, and that she would have wished for him to be happy. Please, let us be happy. If you do not pity Inuyasha, pity me. Without him, I am nothing. I will live in the darkness I was once in. he is my life, he is the only memory that keeps me hanging. Let me be happy with him. Forget this revenge! Inuyasha is innocent, he is innocent! He loved Kagome, he still does. He is with me because I resemble her but I don't care because I love him. Don't do that! Please!"

"Your sobs as useless and pathetic." The woman's voice interrupted. "After all, it is your choice. I see that you resemble Kagome but you are nothing like her. You are her exact opposite. I don't know what Taisho thinks he's doing when he is bedding you. It may be his own sick way to relieve his conscience. I do not know and I do not care. It is your choice. Do not speak to anyone about this or else you will regret it. Remember, it is not against you that we are."

Kagome continued to silently cry as she heard them leave the room.

Once outside, the woman leaned on the wall, tears in her eyes. The young man looked away.

"You were right Hojo, she looks exactly like Kagome. How dare he, how dare he do that to the memory of my daughter? I hate him; I hate him with growing passion. Once she will leave him, he will return to his darkness. He will never be happy and I will make sure of that."

The man nodded.

"Taisho is a monster Anne. Once he feels threatened, he attacks. Look what he had done to me. He sent his men after me last month. It is a good thing that my men arrived at time or I would be dead. We should have no pity while dealing with him. This girl, she's just a photocopy of Kagome and this pisses me off."

Anne nodded.

"Don't worry, she loves him enough to sacrifice for him. We have enough power to fight against him once he is alone again. If Naraku has stopped his assault, I won't. I vowed three years ago that I will avenge my daughter's death and I was not lying. He thought, he thought he could get away with it? He thought I will let him marry another woman, have children and have a normal life while I suffer each and every day, while I mourn the death of my only daughter? Kagome was intended to you. She was your fiancée until he decided to poison her head with his charms and looks."

They were interrupted when two men wearing black came into view.

"You called for us?" They asked, looking at Anne. She nodded her eyes hardening.

"Return the girl to her apartment. But before that, take one of my sweaters and make her wear one to hide the traces on her wrists. Make her wash her face. I don't want her eyes to be all puffy and red. Let her fix her hair. It is a mess. We don't want Taisho to suspect anything odd. Give her water and food, anything to calm her. Don't worry, she will cooperate. Don't pull in front of the apartment. Stay a few buildings afar. I don't want Inuyasha to see the car. Remove the blindfold after she gets out of the car. I don't want her to see any faces. It's almost the morning. I prefer that she returns now. You may go."

The two men nodded before leaving.

"Inuyasha, could you please stop pacing around! It really makes me dizzy!" Naraku complained his face between his hands.

"Where is she?!" Inuyasha yelled his face pale. "Last night, she didn't come back home! I tried to call her, she didn't answer! Where is she? You know her better than I do! Where would she be?!"

Naraku took a deep breath.

"I told you I don't know. She left my house yesterday. I assumed she was going straight back home. What was I supposed to do? Follow her?"

The younger man passed a hand in his hair.

"I cannot stop myself. My heart is torn. A part of me is worried that she might have got kidnapped or had an accident. Dread consumes me and I feel that I cannot breathe. Just the thought of losing her again kills me. Another part whispers to me that she might be betraying me, that she might have gotten bored from me. Maybe she doesn't love me enough or maybe she felt neglected. It is that part that makes me feel like killing her. I cannot imagine her with any man else than me. I will not be responsible of my actions. I love her so much that I fear that I may have become obsessed."

Naraku watched him from the corner of his eye. He could see Inuyasha struggle to find an explanation.

"Maybe she just met a friend, a girl, and they spent the night catching up." He tried to explain. Why would anyone kidnap Mercedes? It was out of the question. And if she made an accident, they would have known from the news or received a call about it. As for betraying Inuyasha with another man, well, he was certain that Mercedes was head over heels for the young businessman.

"Then why isn't she answering my calls?! You know what, I'll go to the apartment and if I don't find her, I'll search for her. I will not repeat my mistake twice. I will never let her slip away from me again. I'd rather die."

Kagome entered her apartment. Her body was shaking, her throat felt dry and her heart was thundering in her chest. She made a few steps before collapsing on the floor in tears. She could not believe, she could not believe that her luck was so poor. She had lost her memory, and now that she had begun forming new ones, they were cruelly taken away from her. Inuyasha will hate her. The man she learned to love and to cherish will look at her in disgust. She will remain lonely. Simply lonely with no one to love because she knew, she knew that she will love no man but him. She also knew that thousands of women will try to take her place in his heart, if she had a place. She would think of it as filling the gap that Kagome has created. This is his love for her, a shadow of Kagome's love. She has heard him at night, whispering Kagome's name in his sleep. She has heard him and her heart ached but she learned to accept it because she loved him. She didn't mind it as long as he stayed with her.

Her heart clenched in her chest as she slowly got up and wiped away her tears. Now it was all over. Her happiness, her love for him was so short, so temporary like everything in her life. Maybe she has done something wrong to deserve such punishment. Maybe this was her fate, to live as an unknown even for herself.

She knew that Inuyasha will soon forget her and move on, but she will never do it. She will never forget their nights together, his caresses, his touches, his promises, and his body against her own, moving with a rhythm only they knew. Her throat tightened with unshed tears. Every time she saw him, she felt as if he was a part of her past, a part she ached to take and to cherish like the most intimate thing in the world. Love. She never believed in love until she met him, and now, the same love she mocked years ago was burning her veins, tearing her apart from the inside.

Would she forget? Would she be able to move on?

"Where were you last night?"

His angry voice startled her and she quickly hid the remaining tears, blinking them away. How could she have missed his arrival, his odor that filled her with his masculine scent, his presence that sent shivers down her spin that made her burn with desire for him, for his touch, only his, always his.

"Answer me!" he continued, grabbing her by the shoulders, spinning her so that she could face him. She saw the anger boil in his eyes, the same eyes she loved so deeply. Oh his eyes. The first time she saw them, she felt like melting away, as if time stopped and allow her to look at the golden orbs that shown with determination, fire and passion. Her knees weakened under her and he could barely support her weight. She loved him with every fiber in her being and with very fiber that loved him she will try to make him hate her. His life was more precious. He was innocent; he never killed Kagome nor caused her death. He was innocent and she was ready to proclaim his innocence on the roofs and in front of all the judges of this world and the afterworld.

"Why won't you answer me!" he impatiently yelled, shaking her a little. She didn't want to answer. What would she say? That she hated him? She wanted to stare at his eyes for a few more instants, to see the love that shone behind his anger. Maybe he did love her, not as Kagome but as Mercedes. Maybe if they had the chance to stay together, he would have learned to love her, like she had learned to love him.

"Do you know how worried I was? I waited all night for you to come! And you didn't!"

He sounded frustrated. How she loved that man.

"And then I tried calling you but you didn't answer your phone! Why didn't you answer your phone? I bet if you open it you will find a hundred missed calls. Maybe even more! You better have a reasonable explanation for this!"

She closed her eyes, her decision long made. He may hate her but she would know that he would be safe. He will not pay for what Kagome did, she would. She would pay for what happened three years ago.

"I have nothing to explain to you." She answered, her voice surprising her with its coldness. Her heart broke but she kept her face stoic.

"What do you mean?" Inuyasha asked his anger dissipating. "Mercedes what's wrong?"

She suddenly opened her eyes, revealing a coldness he dreaded so much. She was looking at him the same way she used to when they began to work with each other. He could face anything, anything except the coldness of those beautiful blue eyes he loved so much.

"What's wrong you ask?" she answered, her voice ironic, dripping with venom. He took a few steps back, his hands leaving her shoulders. She instantly missed his warmth. How she wanted to reach for him and hug, to forget all her problems, the entire world. "I'll tell you what's wrong. I am sick of you Inuyasha. You hear me? I am sick of you."

His eyes widened, the words dying in his throat.