RAPTURE
A/N: Happy Friday, everyone! Thank you for waiting patiently for this next chapter. I hope you enjoy it!
Part III: Inuyasha, the Half-Demon
Kagome's tears had dried by the time they reached the castle, but the pain in her wrist had only gotten worse. As the guards lined up all the villagers, she wondered what Naraku did with injured slaves. The prisoners were filed one by one into the Naraku's throne room for inspection; if you passed, you were a slave. If you didn't... you were food. She swallowed anxiously as a shock-induced thought crossed her mind- would she taste like chicken? A nervous giggle left her lips, but no one heard it. She looked around at the throng of people that were shoved down the hall. There were many people from her village in line, but with a sigh of relief, Kagome realized that her mother, brother, and adopted son were not among them.
Her determination reborn, Kagome decided her only option was to escape before she was inspected. Easier said than done, she told herself, glancing slyly around the hall. She was getting closer to Naraku's door with each passing minute, and every entrance was guarded by demons. She wouldn't be able to just walk out.
The protection charm! As far as Kagome knew, it worked only on demons. The guard who had caught her was half-demon... his human side must have let him see through the barrier, but if she could make it past the demons, she'd be home free. Before she could weigh her options, a pale-skinned woman walked down the line, glancing purposefully at everyone she passed. Beside her stood the man who had caught her. The half-demon.
"I can sense it," the woman said, her voice emotionless. Her eyes were dark and empty, giving Kagome the chills as they landed on her. As soon as their gazes met, sparks flew, and the woman strode toward her, her ebony locks billowing behind her. "You! Who are you?"
"Who are you?" Kagome asked back, intimidated by the lack of emotion. The woman was wearing the traditional robes of a priestess, but this woman had no life in her- no light. Was she one of the Fallen Priestesses?
"I am Kikyo. A priestess, like you," she replied.
"Why are you in Naraku's castle if you're a priestess?" Kagome asked, suspicious. "Are you helping him?"
"For now... Not that it's any business of yours." Kikyo's eyes moved down to the Jewel, and Kagome got a bad feeling in her gut- one that told her to hide. "Now, tell me who you are, Keeper of the Jewel."
"...My name is Kagome."
"Bring her immediately," Kikyo said to the half-demon. "She is the one he wants."
"Sure thing." The half-demon motioned toward the hall, which led away from Naraku's door. "You're not gonna make me drag you kickin' and screamin' again, are ya?"
"No," she said, moving after the emotionless priestess without trouble. Anything to get her further away from Naraku. The half-demon gave her a fanged grin as she passed, and she felt like prey being stalked by a predator as he followed behind her. By the time she reached their destination- a small room full of books and scrolls- she felt numb. Thankfully, the lack of feeling included her wrist. The pain was reduced to a dull throb that she barely felt.
"The Jewel is a sacred Holy relic," Kikyo started, sounding extraordinarily like she was about to give one of her grandfather's lectures. "It has been passed from priestess to priestess for centuries, ever since the Great Midoriko herself created it. You have come to possess it from your grandmother, I assume?"
"Yes," Kagome replied. "My grandmother, Kaede, was-"
"My sister," Kikyo finished, interrupting her. "I was the Keeper of the Jewel before Kaede. When I died, Kaede passed it unto you, a mere infant."
"When you..." Kagome blinked. "When you died?"
"What you see before you is not my true body," Kikyo admitted. "I was brought back to life in this poor imitation of a body to serve Naraku."
"The bastard has gotten too powerful for his own good," The half-demon growled. "That's why we need your help, wench."
"My name isn't wench," Kagome snapped. "It's Kagome! Ka-go-me!"
"I don't really care what it is," he told her, a furry ear upon his head flicking back in annoyance.
"Inuyasha." Kikyo's voice settled the argument immediately, and Kagome let her hand drift up to clench the Jewel within her fist. Inuyasha... so that's his name? Why does it sound so familiar?
"What do you need me for?" She asked.
"Did you know that a single, pure wish can make the Jewel fade forever?" Kikyo turned, brushing her fingertips along a dusty tabletop. "As priestesses, it is our duty to keep the Jewel from evil hands- whether by protecting it... or destroying it. Very few things in this world are pure, Kagome. Fewer are those that can be the right wish to free Midoriko's soul."
"Then what can?"
"...True love." Kikyo pierced her with a glare. "Only a wish made out of true love, the purest emotion, can remove the Jewel from this world." Kagome's mind drifted to Sesshomaru, but she shook herself out of her reverie. Kikyo sighed and continued, "When I was alive and Keeper of the Jewel, I decided to give up my title and settle down. Inuyasha was going to wish to be human, so that we could be together. Unfortunately, before we could, Naraku tricked us. His illusions and lies tore us apart... our love was not strong enough because we did not yet trust each other."
Kagome could see the pained guilt in Inuyasha's eyes. She nodded in understanding.
"How am I supposed to use true love to make a wish? I-I don't... you know..." She blushed, but Kikyo didn't notice.
"For now, all you can do is give Naraku the Jewel."
Kagome's mouth dropped open. It was the last solution she had expected to leave the priestess' lips. "What?"
"Do you have a hearing problem, Ka-go-me?" Inuyasha scoffed. "Just give him the damn Jewel. He can't do anything with it because it's been purified."
"There has to be another way," she whispered. "I can't just give it to him! He's evil! He'll- He'll corrupt it!"
"There is nothing you can do," Kikyo told her. "You've been captured. Either you give it to him, or he will kill you and take it."
Kagome weighed those options carefully. True love could make a wish? She sighed. Sesshomaru could not be her true love. True love had to reciprocated.
"Fine," Kagome said, feeling as though she had just single-handedly destroyed the world. "I'll do it."
Cold dread shot through her veins, but her choice was made. She didn't understand why giving the Jewel to Naraku was the right choice, but Kikyo was a priestess- there was no way she could be helping Naraku. Doubt was creeping into the back of her mind, but Kikyo's words were true. If she refused, she would be killed and he would get the Jewel anyway. At least alive, she could wait for Sesshomaru to rescue her.
Is he tracking me here? Is he already on his way? Kagome followed Inuyasha and Kikyo as they led her back to Naraku, her eyes on her feet. Sesshomaru, can you hear me? I'm waiting, Sesshomaru. You've never let me down before... so I have complete faith in you. Even if it takes you days, weeks, or months. I'll wait for you. I know you'll find me.
Naraku was waiting on his throne when they arrived, his beady red eyes following her every movement as she approached him. Kagome studied the arrogance on his face, the evil in his eyes, and felt a sudden swell of hatred toward the man. This half-demon had killed her father, ruined her village, and possibly killed her family...
"Naraku."
"Is that any way to address your respected King?"
"I have no respect for a man like you," Kagome spat, "and you are no King of mine! You, who sent a hundred men, including my father, to their deaths on the Dead Sea just to make room for your pathetic demons!"
"Now, now," he replied peacefully, his arms spread wide. "No need for such hostility. Even a good King must make sacrifices to help his people. It truly is a tragedy, but sometimes you don't know what's good for you, and that's where I come in."
"What's good for me? You burned my village to the ground and slaughtered its men! You enslaved its women and children, Naraku, I know nothing good will come of that!"
"On the contrary," he said, his voice infuriatingly calm as he stood and made his way toward her, "I now have the Jewel. That is extremely beneficial, wouldn't you say?"
"You're a monster," she whispered. "The Jewel will do nothing for you."
"We won't know until we try, will we?" He plucked it roughly from the chain around her neck, twirling it between his thumb and index finger in the candlelight. "To think, such a small trinket holds such amazing power... Now, Inuyasha, take her to the slave quarters."
"Come on," Inuyasha said, tugging her back toward the door. "Let's go."
Kagome's anger brought tears to her eyes, but she said nothing as she followed Inuyasha down the maze-like hallways. He glanced back at her every now and then, but didn't say anything until they reached the room where she would be staying. She stared up at him, his golden eyes haunting her, teasing her with thoughts of Sesshomaru.
"They'll take good care of you here," he assured Kagome quietly, avoiding her gaze. "Miroku is a monk, and pretty good with people... Oi, what are you lookin' at?" He asked suddenly, irritated by her staring.
"You look like someone I know," Kagome replied sadly. "The same silver hair and golden eyes... I was just thinking about him. I miss him."
"The same hair and eyes?" He reached up with a clawed finger to delicately scratch the tip of his ear. "A demon?"
"Yes." Kagome smiled faintly. "He's a mercenary. I've known him since I was a little girl- he saved me from a group of thieves."
Inuyasha's eyes widened in surprise. "Mercenary? You can't be talking about Sesshomaru..."
Kagome lit up immediately. "Yes! Yes, that's him! Do you know him?"
"Of course I know that bastard," he growled, still shocked. "He's my brother... and he ain't no assassin- he's a prince."
A/N: Dun dun dun.... Kagome finds out the truth about Sesshomaru! I have a hard time keeping Kagome in character, because she is so emotionally unpredictable! Oh well, I like it as it is. Tell me how I did, please! Thanks so much for reading, and stayed tuned for next week's chapter: "The Monk and the Demon Slayer"