InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Under Anothers Watchful Eye ❯ Freedom In The Wind ( Chapter 24 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha and company. Soul rights belong to Rumiko TakashiNote: -*-*-*- Means we are seeing a dream. It will not be in italic.Note: 'This is how it will be written if it is thought to ones self.'

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Kagom e looked into the eyes of a prisoner. They were a cold brown, almost black. She couldn't help but feel trapped in them, as no words were spoken, nor any facial expressions given. The women just looked straight forward, getting lost into her tender chocolate pools. Kagura was searching Kagome, wondering, thinking, drawing conclusions.

"So, he finally managed to get you, did he?"

"Huh?" Kagome said, caught unaware by both the question and the sudden words.

"Naraku. He got what he wanted." She said in a lifeless tone.

"I... I... What do you...?"

"You didn't know?" Her voice held fake sympathy. "He wanted you, as a mate... as a lover..." she paused. "and now he has you."

"No..." She stammered. "I'm not his-"

"But you will be. Naraku always gets his way."

"Not this time." She spat back. Suddenly, the women was looking into Kagome's eyes, and for an instinct, she felt like she could feel her pain. It seeped through her voice.

"It will." She claimed. "You are a prisoner here, just as me..." Kagome locked there eyes. "We are trapped."

And in that instinct Kagome knew. She swallowed hard.

"InuYasha will... InuYasha..."

"He cant save you now. No one can save you now. Not Koga, InuYasha or even Sesshomaru. No one."

"InuYasha... I was with InuYasha..."

"No, you were with Naraku. He-" She quickly turned her head, then focused her eyes back on Kagome, and in a whisper said

"Guard yourself against him." And with that, she walked out into the hall, carefully closing the sliding door behind her. When she heard the shut of the door, her eyes pressed together tightly, trying her best to stop the tears. it was a pointless attempt.

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InuYa sha ran. He had no direction, nor any clue other than a hunch that he was right. The only lead that he had to follow was that of the scent of Kagomes tears. They intermixed with that of the scent of Naraku's.

He could feel a sadness in the woods which she had traveled. It was as if it had been scarred. It sang out to him to save her, and he intended to do just that. How dare Narkau take his Kagome?

The hanyou was too involved with his mission that he had not cared, denied, nor blushed at his thoughts. His Kagome. He had put no claim on her. No marking proved that she was his. No symbol showed ownership. No... His heart was speaking in rage. If Kagome was hurt... If Kagome was....

The thought of Kagome dead made his stomach churn. Never being able to hear her laugh, light and fluffy, see her smile, warm, bright and inviting. That was what he liked best about her. Her smile. On even the grimmest day, she could make anyone give the expression in return. She had that aura around he that radiated love, all which seemed to seep through her smile. Her red lips would give off a smug look in the corner of her mouth when she gave him one.

If she was no longer with him, he would go crazy. She was like chocolate. Unable to stop after one bite. He needed her. Not just for the jewel, but for his aching heart. He could begin to feel it beat faster, as he realized every passing second was one closer to her death.

He had kissed her. He remembered the taste of her. It seemed unearthly how addicting it could be. All the passion and surprise and words of sorrow he had tried to cram into that one moment. He had not intended to give her a kiss. It just happened. If he had it to do over again, he would have kissed her, but not left. He would never regret kissing her, no matter what.

Kagome had soft red lips, the color of that of a cherry. He would give anything to be able to feel them thrashing over his own again, to be able to hold her close.

His whole world had began to do a 180 degree turn from that point. It had happened hours ago, but it felt like a lifetime had passed.

InuYasha increased his speed. He would never get the chance if he didn't hurry. Kagome was endanger.

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Kagome looked at the sliding door. She feared taking her eyes off of it. Kagura had heavy steps, she could tell, and she was not even able to tell that she had been coming. Kagome now sat upright, listening with an intensity that would out win InuYashas.

Kagura had given her a warning: Gaurd your self against him.

Did that mean that Naraku was set on killing her soon? She was not ready to die, by any measures. There was so much in her life she had yet to do, yet to try... She would never get to see Shippo grow up, marry and mate. Nor Sango get married, and hopefully to that, to Miroku. She would never be able to tell InuYasha that she loves him.

But it mattered not now. Its not as if her plain words would have some sort of effect on him. He had Kikyo, and that's all that mattered.

But he had kissed her. At first, it seemed as if.... as if it was good bye, but toward the end she could feel the pain that dragged him away, slowly slicing their precious moment apart.

Kagome sat up and hugged her knees to her chest. Where was she? In Narkau's castle? How could that be possible? Naraku knows InuYasha will come for her... That means that he will come to the castle. It must be an illusion.

'This isn't real' Kagome repeated in her head. 'This isn't real. When I open my eyes, I will be safe, with InuYasha. He is going to be holding me... We are going to be laying in my sleeping bag.... We are going to be okay...'

Kagome squeezed her eyes close and held it for one second longer. Slowly she opened them, and looked around. Tears became present in her eyes. She was still in the depressing room of Narakus castle. The illusion did not end... No... The illusion is real...

She tried to calm her fears. Closing her eyes once more she envisioned the nights that's she held so dearly to her. She would be lying next to InuYasha one second, his hand creeping over her mid section, their weight supported on their sides. Her thoughts slowly slipping away as she falls asleep to the soft lullaby of his steady breathing. The last thought that she has in her mind is how much she loves this one man.

Kagome smiled, lost in her thoughts. How she loved those nights. She knew that they were something that she would never forget, never leave behind. The more she thought, she almost felt like she was going back into those moments. She began to hear the calmness of his breathing. She began to feel the steady rise and fall of his chest, Kagome even began to imagine his strong hands slip over her stomach and entwine with her own.

She did not have to feel them to know that the tears she were crying were real. She would not have cried on such a night.

The world surrounding her was something even she could not brighten. She appeared to be in some sort of cave. The walls were uneven and the air was thick and musty. The rocky, ridged walls were a dull grey, and the aura was one of sadness and depression. Kagome inhaled. She could feel the air. It was heavy. How she longed to get out. To break away from this prison she had been captured into too. It seemed like another world. She was inside of a castle, but inside of a cave.

It just was not fair. At first, her dreams began to take a toll for the worse. She would contort and cry, and she had almost... But they were more than nightmares, she knew it. Some one is invading them, or had. They seemed to have stop for a moment. A brief one. Kagome breathed out, and her body began to shake, and a tear slipped aimlessly down her cheek.

It was her dreams that started it all. All the madness. The bond that had grown deeper every night between her and InuYasha. Where was he now? Did he know that she was in pain? In need of him?

According to Kagura it was not InuYasha who had taken her here. She knew that much. Even if InuYasha was the one who had brought her to such a place... It would have been different. She would know. When ever he was near, she always felt safe. The only sense she was getting now was terror. Some thing evil lurks with in this place.

Kagura had said many things in her brief visit. Why had she come? To warn her of her future? To spite Naraku? Or to simply let it be known that she was in their dark custody.

The sourer of the wind had told her of Narkau's plans.

"Naraku. He got what he wanted." She said in a lifeless tone.

"I... I... What do you...?"

"You didn't know?" Her voice held fake sympathy. "He wanted you, as a mate... as a lover..." she paused. "and now he has you."

"No..." She stammered. "I'm not his-"

"But you will be. Naraku always gets his way."

She had seemed so sure of herself that he would.

'I will kill myself before I let that happen.' She thought inwardly. Kagome shook her head away from the thought. What did Naraku want with her? Kagura made it sound like he seriously wanted her as a mate... as a lover....

That was pure insanity for so many reasons it was hard to count. For one, she was human. No demon, half breed or not, takes on a human as a mate. They lose all their respect and self image in doing so.

On top of that, she belonged to InuYasha, and he-

'That's it!' she thought triumphantly. 'I look like Kikyo... Onigumo desired her... Kikyo belongs to InuYasha... He wants me because he is jealous...'

In a sense Kagome couldn't help but be angered. Every possible thing came back to Kikyo. She was always the winner of everything that they silently battled against. She was the prettier one. Or she had the most power. She was the darkest, and she had been the most kind and caring in her days. Her personality could out match any person...

The list was endless. Kagome brows came together. Here she was, trapped, afraid, her life in possible danger and it still came back to Kikyo. Kikyo Kikyo Kikyo! Kagome had it up to her ears with the undead prestist.

She couldn't even be held captive with out it some how being linked to her. Kagome laughed at the thought.

'I must really be losing it.' She thought.

The raven haired women brought her finger tips to her fore head, working the pads of her fingers in small circles on her temple's, easing her throbbing head ache she had just accumulated. She was alone in her solitude, and how dearly she wished to get out of it.

Kagome gave off a small laugh, a nervous one, sad and depressed. The presence of evil that surrounded her was almost sickening.

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Naraku sat down, a safe distance from the women, in one of the rooms that his ingrown castle had. This place was safe from the worlds eyes, and it was kept in utter shelter. The man with the long black hair looked into the mirror that his underling had brought for him.

Kagome had brought her fingers and rubbed at her temples, then began to give a shrill laugh. She seemed insane. Perhaps keeping her in solitary confinement was not the best of ideas. She would no use to him if she were mental. No one would take on a mate like that.

He was not respected, but well known. Every demon knew his name, and had spoken it in his or her time. Just like InuYasha. Word would spread quickly that his female was now in the hands of the great demon Naraku. In his travels he had passed many a villaige stirred with rumors about him.

"The hanyou actually travels with humans! It is sad he helps them!"

"The hanyou and the miko are in love... It is so plain, yet he wont admit it..."

"The mikos atire is scandalous! She wears clothes that do not even cover he shins!"

Naraku laughed at the "rumors", for every rumor has truth in it. Yet these were all examples of the truth.

"Love." Naraku scoffed. "What does he know of love?"

Had he been the one in wait for? No. He was too busy holding her close, protecting her, yelling, fighting. Naraku had vowed not to make the miko mad, because he had seen her wrath. But it just did not seem right.

InuYasha was a hanyou. He was a hanyou. But why did he get every thing he desired? His heart lusted for Kikyo, and with that they started a relationship. Whether or not it was a good one was an entire different matter. Then, when he realized that it was not truly Kikyo he wished for, he set his eyes upon Kagome.

Kagome had always loved him. Narkau knew this much. She probably always would. But he had to at least try. It was utterly unfair that InuYasha was handed al these things, all these wonderful gifts, and he have nothing in return.

So he had made it so it was fair.

He wanted Kikyo, he plotted to make it so.

He wanted the Shikon No Tama. He collects the shards of it.

He lusts for Kagome.

He captured her.

A smirk came to the corners of his face.

'Kagome belongs to me now.'
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Sango looked at InuYasha. He looked so angry, scared. Determined. She had never seen him in such a way. But he always tended to act this way when it came to Kagome. When she is fine, he will treat her brutally, step on her emotions, her heart that only beated for him alone, and pass by like it was no big deal.

If Koga was bestowed even a fraction of the love Kagome held for InuYasha, his heart would burst.

He was so childish when it came to her. He never acted on his emotions, yet when other men came around, Kagome was suddenly a prized possession. Like gold. She was his gold.

Yet she knew InuYasha cared for her dear friend. She just wished that he was not so stubborn.

And because of that stubbornness, Kagome has been kidnapped.

And by possibly Naraku.

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Kagura walked the dimly lit halls of the castle in which Naraku had chosen to stay. It was morbid.

So, he finally had the miko. What did he plan to do with her? Use her as bate? Would he truly consider mating with a human?

For not the first time, Kagura wondered how the demon from which she pre-exsisted was so stupid as to conjoin into Naraku. Did she not want to be free? To hold her future in her owns hands? Carry out life with out knowing some one was looking over it? Be able to leave as she pleased?

Or perhaps he had promised eternal beauty. The demons that had found their features their main weapon desired this more than any other wish.

Perhaps he had given hopeful lies of strength. Every one sought to be stronger, be it physically or emotionally.

Or maybe he had been so slick as to con them into thinking that he would share the Shikon No Tama. That was probably where most of them had come into play. The Shikon No Tama was more sought after than possession in the world. after all, it held every thing one could want. It could grant any wish of the soul or flesh.

Some one who wanted beauty would gain it. The meek could become powerful, and the cowards brave. But nothing is as simple as it appears. When you wish, it is the easy way out; cheating. Cheaters get no where. In exchange for a wish, the holder loses something in turn.

So what had Kagura's original form wanted? Power, beauty, or... was it something else?

She had asked Naraku once. He looked up at her, his cold eyes dancing with spite.

"It is non of your concern." He said with a sneer. She had walked away, her fists clenched.

She was the wind damn it! He had bestowed unlimited power upon her yet he held a chain to her throat. She could easily enough fly away into the distant land, but he could give one squeeze at her heart, and she would trail back. Betrayal was not an option.

"Damn him." She said quietly.

Kagura walked down the dirty halls. The smell of the horrible place was putrid. It was musty and damp. She looked around carefully, anger etched in her features. She let her eyes wander into the room in which Naraku had planted himself. He was absent.

With a sudden zeal she began searching her younger sister, Kanna.

She had found the girl cloaked in white, sitting, staring out into the open.

"Kanna, where is Naraku?" She asked eagerly. Perhaps he has left.

"He is not here." She simply said.

"What? Where did he go?"

"InuYasha approaches. He left to dispatch our younger sister."

"What?" She said aloud as she took off.

Kaguras steps had found their way to Kagomes room. She could hear her whimpers, her cries, feel her heart ache. It was sickening. Slowly, she opened the sliding door.

Kagome looked up in startle. She had heard the sound of the sliding door open, and Kagura slide her body into the room in which she stayed. Her eyes met Kaguras as the click of the two doors a joining took place.

"Kagura!"

She heard Kagome call her name. It was a plea.

"He is not here." She turned her head sideways.

"What?"

Kagome was more confused than ever.

"Naraku. He has left the castle." Her words came out vacantly.

"Are you.. Helping me?"

A small smile came into the corners of Kaguras face.

"Don't take it personally. I'd do anything to spite Naraku."

"Your not here by choice, are you?" Kagome said sympotheticlly.

"Now what ever gave you that idea?" She replied, her voice sarcastic, angry with such a bitter it hurt.

"How... How do I get out of here?"

"Don't tell me your that dense." She looked at her. "Out the door, he is not here."

"How can I trust you?" She said, her voice tentative.

"How can you afford not too?"

Kagura walked out the door, letting it stay open a hair.

Kagome watched as the demon walked out, just as plainly as she had come in. She got on her toes and followed behind her.

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Kikyo walked impatiently to the village that belonged to her younger sister Kaeda. As she continued onward in her journey, she could feel a shift in the air. Her stone cold face show no emotion, as her fragile figure walked onward, like a zombie, with out a purpose. Her face matched determination to any extent. Her soul collectors slivered around her shoulders and trailed behind her, keeping guard.

Kikyo had not liked the feeling she was acquiring. It felt like there was anxiety, fear, anger and hurt all mixed with in the air. It gave it a vile oder and her nose scrunched up. The more she came closer to the village, the more the oder began to strengthen.

She began to try and pick out these emotions. She knew them all well, when she did feel. She no longer felt anxiety. Nothing got her worked up, nor excited to the brink of sanity. No, she only felt the basics. Hate. It was the only thing she had felt before she passed. She brought it back to the Netherlands.

It was a rage so fierce that it had upset the Netherlands.

Kikyo walked past a tree that she felt had once been occupied by a great evil.

'Naraku was once here.' She thought. 'I can feel the power of Kagome surging her as well.'

All that was left was to collect InuYasha. Naraku had obviously taken Kagome, or at least had his chance. She continued onward with her journey, lost in her thoughts.

She had invaded Kagomes dreams, and thought that, Kagome lost her innocents. She no longer mistook the world for something that was just misunderstood. No, she now realized it to be the true, dark place it is.

These are dangerous times. One is not safe, not even in dreams.

Kikyo walked past the tree and onto the hut that belonged to Kaeda.

The village held so many memories for her, memories that she had soon wished forgotten. The towns people had looked up to her, idleized her. She was their protector, and their only link to the Gods that they prayed to when the sun set over the small, mount hills. Yet she wanted none of this. She wanted to be normal.

Women in her village had been envious of her independence. Her ability to strike out what ever phrase suited her, to shot arrows and protect her self from harm. These things an average women just did not do. They looked at her sense of freedom, and she couldn't help but think it was a prison.

Kikyo had envied them. They had normal lives. She was a product of education and scared teaching. They were women, taught in the ways of life and love. They had been married, mated, in love... Children appeared year after year as she watched her would be friends give birth. It did not seem fair that they have all this, and she have nothing in return.

She had kept him safe, had she not?

She gave them remedees to cure their ales, had she not?

Advice when it was needed?

Support when one was weak?

A watcher of their children while their hands nimbly worked the fields?

She was all these things, and she knew it.

So why was she not allowed to live a normal life back in her youth?

'Because of a jewel. The Shikon No Tama. A jewel kept me from being happy.'

Kikyo had learned long ago she was never meant to lead a happy life. She gave up all hope of one, and retreated back into the solitude of herself.

She shook the thoughts away from her head. InuYasha was awaiting her, just a few miles ahead.

When she had met InuYasha, it was different. He had taken interest in her. He had... perused her in a sort. He was the only one to pay attention to her other than for when the birth time came of a child.

Kikyo pushed the reed mat that her sister used as a for to the side. She looked at the shocked face of the elder women in years. It was old, ragged, and in surprise. She looked to her sisters right. Near her stood the small fox child that InuYasha was in companion with. Her eyes narrowed as they moved to the left.

"He is gone."

Kaeda looked up in shock. She had not planned on seeing her departed sister at this time. Were her powers dissipating so much that she could not feel him here?

Shippo held a green crayon in his hand, frozen. He had only seen Kikyo on one occasion, during which the misasma event had taken place. She had walked by so regally, that Shippo did not know whether or not to get on his hands and knees. He recognized her face and features. It was her. The women that caused Kagome so much harm, so much pain. The root of all their problems. A sudden hate coursed through him.

Kaeda couldn't help but freeze, until she heard her sister speak.

"He is gone."

"InuYasha left to find-"

"Kagome."

"How did ye know?"

Kikyo turned her head to the right, staring off vacantly.

"It is common sense."

"InuYasha left about an hour or two ago. It will take ye long to find him."

"InuYasha always goes over time when it comes to Kagome." The kitsune said to Kaeda. "Hes even faster than Koga!"

Kikyo stared at the young fox, she felt a wave of memories flush over her, she had always loved children.

"Who is Koga?" Kikyo blurted out. Unable to control he question.

"He is the leader of the wolf demon tribe who-" Shippo answered, suddenly realizing that he was feeding the enemy information.

"Hes no one." He continued, his voice cold.

Kikyo turned and left, the reed mat swinging behind her.

Kaeda looked over at Shippo, his arms still crossed.

"Shippo, please do not hate my sister. Ye must realize her position. She is alone in this world, with no one by her side."

The kitsune looked up at the old miko.

"She has no one to care for, or that cares for her. Ye must take pity."

'Pity?' Shippo thought. 'InuYasha takes enough pity for us all.'

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Kagome stepped foot onto the Earth's tender soil. The trees seemed to give off a welcome song that only she could hear. She looked up into the blue sky that held smudges of white clouds.

Kagura had lead her to the door, the exit, the way to freedom. Kagome looked at her. She was both pain stricken, and anxious to get out of the hell hole in which she had been captured into.

"Kagura... Why Don't-"

"I cant. Naraku binds me here. But you-" She stated. "You can leave."

"Why... You have never helped us before."

"When you find InuYasha..." Kagura said into the wind. "Have him free me." Her eyes suddenly met Kagomes. She understood all too well.

Kagome listened to the unreal words that this women spoke. They seemed more of a plea than a request. She nodded her head in understanding and agreement.

"You better hurry. You don't have long."

Kagome dashed out of the cave, and ran down its side.

She now stood looking into the endless forest, alone, scared, anxious, awaiting... She stood looking at the trees.

They were so beautiful, majestic in all their ways. They kept hundreds of years of secrets with in them. She wondered if they would keep hers.

The same thought kept running through her mind.

"InuYasha." She spoke meekly. "I need you here." A tear drop came sliding down her face.

Kagome inhaled the clean air as if a way to steady her. She looked out into the deep forest, the trees still singing their silent song.

She was free.

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AN: Sorry about the long time no update :( Mid terms and such, plus my there was a family emergancy. I promise I will try and update more >< I FINALLY decieded on how I am going to end this!!! :) Its gonna make you sad at first, but then your gonna go aww!! lol.

Please Review if you it the story :)


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