InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Naraku's Prisoner ❯ A Dinner for Three ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: Once again I must admit to the world that I do not own Inu-Yasha or Inu-Yasha characters/stories. I own my own mind and that's about all I can claim.

 

Naraku's Prisoner

Chapter 4: A Dinner for Three

By Ethril Dragon

 

Kagome shuffled through her bag for her bathing supplies. She figured when Naraku meant Kagura and Kanna would come to help her clean up, he meant it. She started to pull out a spare pair of clothes, until she felt the silk of a robe drop around her shivering shoulders.

Kagome jumped like a startled and cornered rabbit and looked over her shoulder where she had crouched, at Kagura. She didn't say anything, just continued to shiver and look around with wide panicky eyes.

Kagura looked down at the young priestess with some sympathy. She had known what Naraku had down to the girl, and she didn't know why he had done so to begin with. He had only demanded that they bring the girl here along with her son so that he could watch her closely and separate the group that banded together to destroy him. Over the years, Naraku had seemed slightly kinder towards herself and her siblings, but Kagura paid this no heed. “We are to show you to the bathing room,” she stated coldly as she turned and walked back towards the door where the young looking Kanna stood. Her once cold, dead eyes had a little more color to them for some odd reason, but no one seemed to have noticed yet.

Kagome pulled the robe around her and gulped softly. She couldn't stop shivering, although she wasn't cold. She stood, with her cleaning supplies in her arms. She took a hesitant step forward, scared that maybe Naraku was standing just outside the door to leer at her or to…Kagome closed her mind off from those thoughts and took another step forward. She looked up into Kagura's eyes and to her surprise she found sympathy there. This warmed her more then anything could have and the next step she took was a little lighter.

Kagura nodded, silently approving of the young priestess's growing courage. She turned and marched into the hall, Kanna floating/walking behind her. Kagura glanced back at the following Kagome and sighed mentally.

Kagome followed the two siblings, her eyes downcast so that her gaze was on the floor. She listened to the soft padded steps of herself and the others as they continued on. Every corner they turned she half expected to run into Naraku. She could almost imagine he was watching her every second and her skin crawled with the thought. She looked up at Kagura and asked on simple thing, “Where is my son, Shippo?”

Kagura turned one final corner and reached out towards a door. She was silent for a moment, almost as silent as Kanna. Finally as she pushed the door open, she told her. “He is safe with Kohaku.” She turned and walked through the door, followed closely by Kanna.

Kagome hesitated just outside the door. She couldn't be sure that Naraku wasn't in there, waiting for her. She sucked in her breath and quickly stepped into the rather large bathing chambers. She gasped and looked about her in surprise and awe. Inside the very room, were hot springs of various sizes. She turned her head this way and that, momentarily forgetting her fear of Naraku. She felt a smile tug at the corner of her lips, but suppressed it with extreme will.

Like Kagome had suspected, Naraku had been watching her, but from a room on the other side of the castle. He continued to watch as she entered the bathing chambers. He smiled slightly at her surprised expression and he chuckled softly, which sounded a little evil even to his ears.

Naraku sat back against the wall as he watched from his study. He was perverse first and for most and he would not give up the chance to watch the beautiful miko remove her clothing and slip into the steaming waters of his baths. He growled softly with possessiveness as he watched her start to clean her smooth body. His mind reeled as he imagined that it was his own hands moving across that smooth tender skin instead of her own. He moaned softly as his hands twitched and the sound of splashing water brought him out of his thoughts.

He looked back into the mirror that allowed him to see anywhere and watched as his Kagome stepped out of the water and started to dry herself off. Kanna moved forward and handed her a drying clothe as Kagome tried to cover herself modestly. `So beautiful,' Naraku thought as he trailed his claws gently over the surface of the mirror. He growled softly as he saw the girl wince in pain as she dried her legs and between her legs. `I will not apologize for what I have done. It was a lesson she had to learn.'

 

Kagome didn't spend much time cleaning or enjoying the wonderful hot water. The sense that someone was watching her was still too strong and she didn't like the idea of someone watching her as she washed. She dried swiftly, but when she reached down to dry between her legs she hissed softly in pain. The pain was to be expected she knew that. Not only had it been her first time, but Naraku had also raped her. She carefully took the inner kimono Kagura was handing her.

Kagome quietly admired the kimono Kagura had helped her put on. It was long and soft, softer then any silk she had ever felt. The kimono was an elegant purple with lighter shades of purple making swirling patterns across it. `Reminds me of Naraku's clothing,' she thought with a shiver. There was a light pink obi to go with it and she wrapped it around her waist. To be honest she liked how the kimono looked, it wasn't to elaborate and it felt good against her skin. She smiled softly, wondering if it had been Naraku who had chosen it or if Kagura had picked it out for her. `Probably Kagura, I just can't see Naraku taking time to choose a kimono for me to wear,' she thought as she smoothed her hands down the sides. Once again Kagura and Kanna were leading the way to who knew where.

Naraku watched as his miko admired the kimono he had chosen for her. At first he was going to send her a blue kimono, or perhaps a green one, but once he had seen the purple one he knew she would look lovely in it. He sighed softly to himself as he waved a hand over the mirror to wipe it clean. “Kohaku, bring Shippo to the dinning room,” he said softly to the air around him. He knew the demon slayer would hear him and obey. Everyone, with the exception of Kagura on occasion, obeyed him. He wasn't horrible to his servants, with the exception of Kagura who was always trying to rebel against him. In one graceful movement he stood and took long elegant strides to the door that lead to the hall. His palace was large, not as large as the Western Lands palace, but he prided himself on his palace. He had worked long and hard to make sure it was powerful and yet beautiful at the same time.

Kagome blinked suddenly, the feeling of being watched was gone and she felt a weight lift from her shoulders. `So I was being watched…' she thought as she looked around her. They were still walking down a long hallway; passing doors that Kagome itched to open and see where they went. It was a good thing Kagura and Kanna were leading her, Kagome was sure she would have been lost in no time at all if she had been told to go find the dinning room on her own. She sighed and followed silently. It wasn't long until the small group arrived to a large set of doors.

Kagome stood there, still in pain as Kagura and Kanna pushed the dinning room doors open. She gasped softly at the sight of all the food that was spread out over the large table. There were only 3 seats, so when she entered Kanna and Kagura closed the doors behind her. She spun around like a frightened animal and stood there in shock. Kanna and Kagura had been distantly kind to her during the day and now she didn't want to be left alone.

“Won't you come and sit down?” a silky cold voice asked from the table.

“Yeah mama, come sit down!” Shippo said with happiness and a little fear. Nothing bad had happened to him, and while they had been waiting Naraku had been trying to talk to him about little things. Naraku had been trying to talk to him little things. It had surprised and shocked him at first, but he had slowly opened up. Naraku had been talking to him quietly, asking simple questions about his likes and dislikes.

Kagome slowly turned around to see Naraku and Shippo sitting at the table. Shippo, in his innocence, wasn't as afraid of Naraku as he should have been. Kagome slowly walked to the table and then awkwardly sat down in the chair. She was still in pain from what Naraku had done to her earlier.

“Please, eat what you would like.” Said Naraku pleasantly, waiting for his, forced, guests to start eating. He wasn't particularly hungry, but he knew the miko and her adopted son would be. “It's not poisonous,” he said as Kagome hesitated. Shippo had no problems digging into the food that was set before them, having already scented the food for any possible poisons. He happily munched on what looked like very rare steaks.

Kagome served bits and pieces of different foods. The food definitely looked different then what she was used too.

“I have the best chefs from all over Japan to make the finest cuisine,” Naraku said as he carefully lifted a strange looking dumpling onto his plate.

Kagome bit into what had looked like to be a meat bun and her eyes widened in surprise. Not only was it delicious, but the flavor was better then anything she had tasted in her present and the past. She took another bite and another of everything around her. Why was Naraku giving them such wonderful food?

Naraku smiled contently as Kagome and Shippo dined on the food his chefs had made for the night. Personally, he never ate much and was glad that all the food would not go to waste. No matter how it had been prepared, food had lost it's uniqueness to him a long time ago. He only really ate food now to keep his body healthy. He watched Shippo, who was trying to eat with manners but giving into his demon side slowly, who was eating as fast as he could. He then turned to Kagome, who was eating gracefully with enjoyment written clearly on her face. His smile widened inwardly and for once, the food he ate tasted a little better then before. Just watching her eat carefully made him enjoy the meal. She had manners, that was for sure.

`This is right,' he thought and Onigumo silently agreed with him as the three individuals ate in silence.

After many helpings, Shippo leaned back with satisfaction. That had been the best meal of his life. “Thank you,” Shippo said as he smiled at Naraku, surprising his mother. Kagome had always tried to teach Shippo manners, but the way he thanked Naraku surprised her to no end. She supposed Naraku didn't have to give them such good food, or provide her with such a nice kimono.

“Yes, thank you Naraku,” Kagome said softly, her eyes away from him. She didn't want to thank him, but her own manners dictated that she had too even though he had just raped her that very day. She set her chopsticks down and kept her gaze on her lap.

Naraku himself was very surprised by the fact that not only Shippo the young kitsune had thanked him, but also the miko he hadn't treated overly well. He nodded, accepting the thanks. “It was my honor,” he said as he stood slowly. “If you both would like to follow me, I will show you to your room,” he said with a soft low voice.

Kagome looked at him in surprise. That room they had been in, it wasn't theirs? Or maybe he was simply taking them back to that room. She stood and picked up Shippo, who had been tugging at her kimono. She turned and blushed suddenly when she caught Naraku looking at her. She looked away and held Shippo tight.

“Follow me,” Naraku said softly as he headed towards a door on the opposite side of the room. He had been watching the miko, and was once again surprised when she had looked away blushing. `How odd,' he thought as he lead the way to a separate room near his own. `Who would have known I, Naraku, could make the miko Kagome blush,' he glanced back over his shoulder to look at the still blushing Kagome. `Probably embarrassed and still upset with what happened. Or maybe it's rage that makes her flush so?' Shippo on the other hand was looking around excitedly at all the decorations that lined the hall. “Everything you see in my home was either privately commissioned or was brought here after extensive searching,” he told the young kitsune.

Kagome looked up at him in surprise. Naraku was trying to talk to them? Why would their capturer try to talk to them? She would have to ask him in private away from Shippo. “Everything? Can I explore your palace tomorrow Naraku-sama?” Shippo asked softly. He knew who Naraku was and that he should be frightened while in his presence. Naraku had done many horrible things to Shippo's friends, and Naraku had attacked them numerous times. But Shippo just couldn't hold back his excitement about being in a place this huge and with so many places to explore!

“I don't see why you can't, as long as it is alright with your mother. If she agrees I will have Kohaku join you in your explorations,” Naraku said as he stood next to an open doorway. His personal room might not be extravagantly furnished, but he had taken every effort to make Kagome and Shippo's room as comfortable as possible. There was art, the most comfortable futons, a writing desk, several scrolls for Kagome to enjoy reading, and a couple of toys he had had Kagura buy from the local village under his protection. If they needed anything, all they had to do was ask.

Kagome gasped as she entered the room. It was greatly different then the one she had first awoken in. Shippo squealed softly at the sight of the toys to one side of the room. “If you need anything, just ask Kagura, Kanna, or Kohaku,” Kagome heard Naraku say. She looked over her shoulder to ask him why he was doing all this, but he was already gone.

Sighing, Kagome set Shippo down to let him play with the toys. She spotted her bag in one corner and made a quick exploration of the room. She discovered a small closet, with children's clothes in it for shippo. The clothes were cute and varied from play clothes to formal kimonos and hakamas. She found another closet and gasped at the sight that met her eyes. Kimonos of every color and style were there, including a few miko uniforms. She fingered the silk and decided she would ask Kagura what kind of silk the clothes were made of.

She yawned suddenly and changed out of her kimono and into her spaghetti strap nightgown that she rarely wore while in the Feudal times. She crawled into the futon and felt Shippo crawl in with her. “Good night Shippo,” She whispered as her eyes closed.

“Good night mommy,” Shippo murmured.

 

Naraku looked through his mirror and folded his hands under his chin. The miko and her son were already fast asleep in the room he had provided for them. He looked through the mirror contemplatively. He would have to make his next steps very carefully if he wanted to win the miko over.

 

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A/N:

Ok, I have finally finished this chapter. I can tell you it gave me no ends of grief to finish. I just had way too many writers blocks with this chapter. Well, I want a minimum of 12 reviews before I post the next chapter. I will try to write the next one as fast as possible. I'm on winter break right now so, I'm going to be doing a lot of writing.

 

Preview of next chapter:

 

Kagome frowned as Naraku lead her through the beautiful garden that was just outside his palace. “Why…”

“Why what miko?” Naraku asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Why are you doing this Naraku? Giving toys to Shippo, being kind to me? What is it you want?” She asked, her temper rising to the surface. “You have my pieces of the Shikon Jewel. What more can you take?” In her mind she also added the fact that he had taken her virginity from her.

Naraku looked at her contemplatively. He couldn't tell her the truth, not until he knew she would believe him and he knew she could trust him. “There is more to me then meets the eye Kagome,” he said as he turned away to look at the splashing fountain they had stopped at. Large koi fish swam in circles as he watched.