InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The King's Mistress ❯ Whispers of Darkness ( Chapter 7 )

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Author's Notes: Okay, so I know that technically my other story, `Impossible Dreams', was slated to be updated next, but I couldn't help it this time…the inspiration was there, and like any good author I could not ignore it! So here's a surprising treat for all of you!

Several of you have asked if Naraku will be involved in this story, and that's part of the reason why I'm so excited to publish this chapter…and that probably just gave it away, didn't it? Oh well. Anyway, I just want to assure you all again that this will involve Naraku, eventually, and that there will start to be some hints of what exactly happened to Kikyou three years ago that caused her to turn so bitter towards Kagome…and the world in general. My goal is by the end of this story to have changed everyone's opinion of her, though I won't say how at this point, that would give too much away. So I'll just leave it at that.

Not much else to say, except that there is officially ten more days before I'll be posting all three edited, revamped stories in my `Confessions Trilogy'. Can you tell I'm excited about this? It's just been so much fun going back through the vaults, so to speak, and seeing what all I did before. I love it! So be sure to stay tuned for that!

Thanks as always for the reviews; I love all of them. And as one final side note, if anyone would like to hear me singing, I officially have my FIRST DRAFT recording of me singing `summertime'…just in case anyone's interested, although I ask that you keep in mind I only got to do one take of the song, so it's not exactly perfect (that's the type A personality in me speaking). That's merely an announcement for those of you who've wanted to know what I sound like as a singer, and if you don't care, that's fine too! Just let me know! Enjoy!

 

MrsInuyasha69: Miroku, Sango, and Hojo were off doing their own thing. It was basically just Kagome and Kouga at that point. And as for the rumors, well, it was just a given in the courts of that era that rumors would spread. They didn't have television and the like to keep them occupied, so talking about each other was the best game in town! Thanks for the review!

 

ShadowsintheDark: I would absolutely be thrilled if you drew up some pictures of my stories and used them for a project. I'm grateful my stuff can help you. Just let me know when you post the pictures at the website, and I'll put a link and a credit to you on my bio page (and the website that I will eventually finish…some day). I really appreciate you taking the time to ask me, and know that in the future it's just fine to draw pictures from any of my stories…just let me know that you're doing so, and if you're posting it anywhere, so I can give credit where credit is due on my bio page. Also, I think the next story I'll work on will be `The Edge of the Abyss'. It will certainly be a darker story then the ones I've been doing so far, but I am deeply connected to World War II for personal reasons, so I feel it's something I want and need to do. Thanks so much for the review, and for future reference, my email address is: dolphingirl0113@aol.com

 

Silver: Never fear, I think you'll find that the ball starts rolling to get the main juices of the plot flowing here in this chapter! Yes, it's true there will be more character interaction then action itself in this particular story simply because of its nature, but I hope that doesn't discourage you from continuing to read it. Thanks for the review!

 

Jav-chan: I went back and looked at the memoir section of the chapter, and I see your point. I'll watch for stuff like that in the future. Thanks for the review!

 

Katty-kat: Honestly? I'm obsessed with history, especially medieval history, and the times of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. Ask any of my friends, I read any novel/biography I can on that time period, and am a walking well of information for anyone with questions. I know…pretty sad. But anyway, to answer your question, I was just inspired one day to write a story based in those times involving the Inuyasha characters. From there, the idea really took shape, and I'm hoping to use this story as a stepping stone to an actual historical fiction novel some day. Thanks so much for the review!

 

Earthqueen11492: That review was so cool! Thanks so much! I love knowing that I'm appreciated, because seriously it keeps me from being too overly critical of myself (type A personality that I am). Thanks so much!

 

Trunksgirl85: You know, I think about that a lot. It's so funny how back then when it was considered scandalous for women to appear in their underwear, they were still wearing more than most girls wear to school these days! It's just a funny thought. And yet, ironically enough, they were actually more open about sexual deviancy, such as men having mistresses and women sleeping around before they were married, then we are today. Interesting, no? Thanks for the review!

 

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Title: The King's Mistress

 

Author: dolphingirl0113

 

Chapter Six: Whispers of Darkness

 

Rating: PG-13 (for language and, at times, implied sexual situations)

 

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

 

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I was fast coming to love my life at court, something I never would have predicted in a million years. The high level of energy was addicting, along with the dancing, laughing, and feasting that took place almost every night. I reveled in all the attention I received from the other members of the court, not because I was wanton and in need of love, but because it was a new experience entirely to be the center of so many people's focus.

 

The King and I rarely spoke to one another after that day by the lake, almost like we both had silently agreed to avoid any more conflict. It helped me, as well, in dealing with my engagement to Kouga, because I frequently found that when I was in the presence of both he and Inuyasha, I couldn't think clearly as my mind would be clouded with visions of silver hair and amber eyes, whereas when I was alone, I could focus more on my duty, to both myself and my family.

 

Kikyou remained as stoic as ever, refusing to talk to me, and only ever acknowledging my presence when I did something that could reflect badly on her. It cut me deeply…more than any knife, and sharper, too. But a time would soon come, I would learn, when I would long for those days of ignorance and isolation from one another…when I would desire nothing more then to be Kouga's fiancée with not a care in the world, because the alternative would nearly drive me mad…

 

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Kagome closed her eyes in pure bliss, listening to the soothing sound of the monks as they slowly chanted their unison hymns in deep, masculine voices. Keeping her hands folded before her, she bowed her head in pious respect as the service continued, feeling the smooth wooden floor through her skirts beneath her where she knelt on her knees.

 

It was Sunday, and the day when all members of the court attended church along with the King and his future Queen, who were currently kneeling at the head of the chapel, side by side, their subjects lined in rows behind them.

 

The church itself was large and picturesque, with polished marble floors and magnificent stained glass windows depicting images of the Virgin Mother, the angels, and the baby Jesus. The windows colored the sunlight streaming into the large, open space, so that the air seemed to glow, and it was easy to relax in such a setting.

 

Unlike most of the other young women her age, Kagome rather enjoyed the services…she loved the chanting of the monks and listening to the stories of the bible, along with the lessons the sermons preached. So while the other girls were subtly turning their heads to admire the young men around them dressed in their best Sunday attire, Kagome reverently bowed her head, for all intensive purposes appearing to be an angel from where the light trickled through the stained glass windows onto her head. And that didn't go unnoticed, by Kouga, or any of the other men, including the King, who would occasionally glance behind him when his boredom was too much to bear.

 

He had never been a man inclined toward religion; perhaps it was the fact that he'd known such a hard life growing up. Either way, he found it hard to believe that any supreme being would allow an innocent child to be treated the way he'd been growing up. Or at the very least, he did believe, but was inclined to be bitter with his God for marking him as a hanyou…something despicable in the eyes of men. Either way, he hated the services, with their dull, incense-filled sermons.

 

And yet he still came every Sunday, bowing his head and trying not to roll his eyes or growl with impatience, wishing the entire time that he were elsewhere.

 

Of course, as the King he could do whatever he wanted and no one could tell him otherwise. In fact, he could do what his fellow ruler, Henry VIII was trying to do in England, breaking from the Church entirely and living his own life. That would certainly narrow his personal issues by a large margin.

 

Unfortunately, his mother had known every hymn and psalm of the bible by heart, and Inuyasha felt that if he were to break away from this particular tradition, he would also be breaking away from her. And, unlike Henry VIII, he would receive no benefits from breaking ties with the church; all it would do would anger his people beyond reason and force them to possibly turn to Sesshoumaru for support…something that was not even an option for Inuyasha. He had a duty to his throne and his kingdom, as much as he hated it, and he would never have it said that he ruled with his desires and not with his mind. All he had to do was think of the rumors swirling around Henry's court that the man was breaking ties with the church simply to marry his mistress, Anne Boleyn, and Inuyasha was convinced that he was choosing the right path.

 

But it was boring, nonetheless…

 

Finally, after nearly three hours, they were dismissed, and as the King rose to get out of the sanctuary and into the fresh air of the outdoors as soon as possible, Kagome made her usual stop in the monastery's large library, which contained volumes which ranged from fifty to four-hundred years old. She loved the smell of old paper, and thrilled at the prospect that she was touching something that had possibly been held by a woman like her long ago.

 

She had just pulled out a particularly yellowed book, the aged spine brown and crinkled, when the sound of a male voice behind her nearly caused her to drop the ancient artifact on the ground. “Good afternoon, Lady Kagome.”

 

“Kouga!” Kagome smiled, despite her surprise, and hastily put the volume back on the shelf so as not to risk causing it any more damage. She would never forgive herself if she were to be the reason for destroying something so precious to the monks of the monastery. “Is there something you wanted?”

 

He shrugged, dressed, as usual, in black pants and a white shirt with no over coat, which always made him stand out next to the other men who came from the east and west. “I just wanted to talk to you.”

 

“Oh,” she smiled kindly again and nodded, wanting him to know he was welcome to stay and moving over to sit in one of the window seats that gave a view of the main courtyard of the palace, along with the road leading to the city beyond, and beyond that…the great Tower where prisoners were sent. Kagome shuddered at the thought, unable to bear the idea of being locked away.

 

Sitting across from her, bringing one of his feet up to rest on the windowsill, his left arm lazily hanging on his knee, Kouga sighed and gazed out the window as well. “It's a beautiful day, isn't it?”

 

“Indeed,” Kagome nodded, happy to be right where she was at that moment. Kouga sighed again, and she looked at him with a curious expression. “Is something wrong, my lord?”

 

“What?” He shook his head as though waking from some sort of trance. “Oh, not really, just that, well…there are several prisoners being freed today, and the villagers and members of the court are very anxious.”

 

“Being let free?” Kagome glanced once more at the tower, which was intimidating in every sense of the word, its very shadow seeming to cast an atmosphere of doom. “You mean they're being pardoned? Why?”

 

“Because they have served their sentences, I suppose,” Kouga shrugged his shoulders as though that weren't a very good answer. “I heard the future Queen begging the King to reconsider last night, asking him to keep the prisoners locked up and saying that they would be just as much criminals when released as they were when they were convicted.”

 

“Kikyou said that?” Kagome shuddered. “How cruel.”

 

Kouga chuckled. “Yes, but then I suppose she has her own reasons for fearing their release.”

 

“What?” Kagome was again looking puzzled, and set her gaze directly on Kouga. “What do you mean by that? Does she know someone in the Tower?” She had a hard time believing her sister would ever have anything to do with such lowly people.

 

And yet her question had Kouga suddenly, for the first time in her presence, looked very uncomfortable as he shifted slightly where he sat, running his fingers absentmindedly through his ponytail. “No…of course not…” He said it so quickly Kagome was sure he was lying. “I just meant that, well, she seems so snobbish that of course she would say something like that.”

 

Kagome cocked an eyebrow and gave her fiancé a long, hard stare, one which seemed to make him extremely uncomfortable…even more so then he had seemed before. “You're a horrible liar, Kouga. Is there something you're not telling me?”

 

“No…I mean…I assumed you knew, Lady Kagome…after all, she is your sister.” He was fidgeting with his hands now, which told her something was definitely wrong. Kouga never fidgeted, or looked remotely as nervous as he did at that moment.

 

“Knew what?” She wasn't going to drop the matter now that the door had been opened, her curiosity was too great.

 

“It's nothing, Kagome, so just forget it.”

 

“Kouga…” Her voice had a warning in it, and so he finally sighed in defeat and looked out the window again.

 

“Do you really not have a clue what I'm talking about?”

 

“No, I don't, but I gather it involves my sister?”

 

He nodded. “Yes, it happened shortly after she came to court for the first time. I was new myself, having come down with my father to meet the King who I would one day serve as a fellow ruler. That was when Inuyasha's father was still on the throne.” He stopped, clearly thinking about something, and Kagome touched his arm, wanting to hear more.

 

“And?” She hoped her voice was kind as she pressured him for more information. “What happened, Kouga?”

 

He swallowed before speaking. “There was a man at court then, a nobleman by the name of Onigumo. He was, well, what you would call a ladies man, Kagome, if you understand my meaning.” Kagome blushed, knowing full well the term that referred to a man who slept around. Kouga continued once she nodded that she understood. “When your sister came to court at the age of thirteen, he fell in love with her instantly…or, at the very least, became rather obsessed. At first, Kikyou resisted, pushing him, and his advances, away. But somehow or another, he managed to seduce her, because by the time she was fifteen and he about twenty, well…” He trailed off, and Kagome's eyes widened so they were nearly too large for her head.

 

“No…” She gasped. “You're not saying that my sister…that Kikyou…”

 

“I don't know if that's what happened, Kagome, I don't know your sister on an intimate basis. All I can tell you is what the rumors were.”

 

Kagome nodded, feeling like many things were starting to make sense, including her sister's sudden loss of interest in her, and in writing letters and visiting home every so often…not to mention her sudden return home when she was fifteen, staying for six months before returning to court once more a changed woman. “Go on.”

 

Kouga shrugged. “From there, I'm not really sure what happened. All I know is that somehow, someway, Onigumo got himself into trouble, and wound up in the Tower, leaving Kikyou on the outside in the middle of a horrific scandal.”

 

“Scandal…” Kagome breathed the word as though it were painful to say. Was that why her sister had suddenly turned so cold…so heartless? Is that why she insisted that the old, naïve Kikyou was gone? Because she had been cruelly broken in to the harsh realities of the world too young thanks to a horrible man who had preyed on her innocence? “Do you, um, know what the scandal was about, Kouga?” Kagome swallowed. Did she even want to know?

 

To her surprised relief, he shook his head. “No, no one really knew for sure…only that Kikyou was thought to never be able to find a husband who would want her after that. Oh Kagome, there were such horrible rumors,” Kouga blushed at the memory. “They said she and Onigumo had been lovers, that they'd have little trounces at all times of the day. Some even went so far as to say she'd had his bastard child in secret…though that was obviously a lie since she was always in the public eye, and never showed a sign of being pregnant. That's why, even after all the ugly rumors, she shocked the world when she became the fiancée to the King.”

 

“Indeed,” Kagome nodded, wondering how that had come about. But then, Kikyou was a beautiful, intelligent woman, so maybe it wasn't so hard to believe that she had been able to seduce a King, no matter how dirty rumors made her out to be. Shaking her head to clear it of such desolate thoughts, at least for the moment, Kagome put a semi-genuine smile back onto her face. “Are you going to watch the King pardon the men, then?”

 

“Who, me?” Kouga pointed at himself comically, and she couldn't help but chuckle slightly.

 

“Who else would I be talking to? Your invisible friend?”

 

Kouga laughed, his blue eyes twinkling. “Hey, you never know.” His face turned serious again. “And to answer your question, yeah, I probably will. Would you like me to escort you?”

 

“No,” Kagome adamantly shook her head. “I have no interest in seeing a group of desolate men who have not seen the sun for several years. I don't think I could bear to look into their eyes and see their pain.”

 

Kouga obtained a soft look on his face, and touched Kagome's hand lightly. His skin was warm, and she did nothing to push him away. “That's always how you are…thinking of others and never of yourself.”

 

“But I am thinking of myself,” Kagome replied seriously. “I know that I would be unhappy if I saw them, so I'm not going.”

 

Kouga rose to his feet. “I guess that means we shall have to part ways for now then, my lady.” He bent over and gave her a chaste kiss on her forehead…more like the kind Souta gave when he was in a loving brother mode, and not the kiss of a possible future husband and lover. Kagome appreciated that. He really didn't make her feel pressured, or like she had to do anything.

 

“Farewell for now, my lord,” she replied, her voice slightly tight from the feather-like feel of his lips. She watched as he left before bringing her knees to her chest on the windowsill, ignoring her skirts, which still covered even her feet, and leaned against the wall, staring out at the blue sky.

 

Thinking about what Kouga had told her, her eyes inevitably drifted to the dark shadow of the Tower, built of stone, nearly fifteen stories high and holding hundreds of prisoners at a time. Even when she had lived in the country she had heard horrific tales of men who went in to the Tower and never came out, and that those who were lucky enough to survive their sentences looked more like the walking dead.

 

Shivering at the thought, Kagome was glad when several birds took off from a nearby rooftop as a bell rang the hour, providing her with a distraction, however temporary.

 

She was so enraptured by the flock of birds that she didn't even hear the approaching footsteps, and was once more startled by a male voice, although this time it was unfamiliar…at least as a friend.

 

“You come here often,” it stated, and Kagome turned to see the priest who always gave the sermons, dressed in his brown monkish robes, a gentle smile on his face. “I see you come through the door after every Sunday service.”

 

Kagome blushed. “Forgive me, father, but it helps to calm me.”

 

He nodded, as though he understood. “I know…the words of our ancestors bring me a sense of peace as well.” He motioned toward the many shelves of books, indicating one row in particular. “My favorites are the scrolls of the old scribes, who documented the lives of the royal families who came before.”

 

Kagome nodded absentmindedly, recalling how she'd read several of those herself, when then her eyes flew open as an idea occurred to her, linked to her previous conversation with Kouga. “Father, would the scrolls be available yet from Inutaisho's reign?”

 

The priest looked slightly surprised by her excited tone, but then again acquired his look of patient understanding and shook his head, folding his arms across his chest. “I'm afraid not, my dear. The scrolls have to be compiled, and that takes many years…Inutaisho's reign only ended a little over a year ago.”

 

“I see,” Kagome felt slightly disappointed, having hoped to find out more information about what had happened between her sister and the man Onigumo.

 

“Was there something in particular you were looking for?”

 

“What? Oh,” Kagome blushed, but nodded, “Yes, I was hoping to find out some more information on an event my…fiancé...told me about.”

 

“Which event would that be?” He smiled kindly. “I've served as the head of the monastery for close to twenty years now, so perhaps I can help.”

 

“A, um, a trial, father,” She looked away, feeling slightly embarrassed to be talking about violence and justice in front of a man of God. But he just continued to smile, and nodded.

 

“I see…so you must be the sister of Kikyou, the King's future Queen.”

 

Kagome blinked. “How did you know that?”

 

“You look like her. I often wondered when I would see you in the crowd during my sermons, after looking at Kikyou's face. You two could almost be twins.”

 

“Yes…I know,” Kagome ground out, somewhat bitterly, having heard that many times, and having had many heartbreaking experiences for that very reason.

 

“It's nothing to be ashamed of,” the priest consoled.

 

“I know, father, except that, well, it's brought me more pain then joy.”

 

“I see.” He went silent for a minute before looking at her again. “So, you wanted to know about the trial that surrounded your sister's scandal, am I right?”

 

He spoke with such certainty and calm that Kagome began to relax slightly in his presence. “Yes. She and I, well, sort of grew apart suddenly around the time she turned fifteen, and ever since we've done nothing but hurt each other. And, well, up until today I didn't have any idea why.”

 

“And now you want answers?”

 

“Yes.”

 

The priest sighed and dropped his head for an instant, as though thinking something over in his mind, before speaking once more. “What's your name, child?”

 

“Kagome.”

 

“Kagome, let me tell you something: when I watch you in the chapel, I see innocence itself. Your sister, on the other hand, carries darkness on her shoulders like a burdensome mantel.” He touched her shoulder gently, and she met his kind brown eyes. “Don't delve into matters that will only hurt you in the end. What's done is done, we cannot change it. All we can do is continue living, as is destiny's will and desire.”

 

Kagome was lost in his gaze for several minutes, just like she always got lost when he gave his sermons. His voice was calm and soothing, just like the monks when they sang, and he managed to push back her curiosity…at least enough that she didn't need to ask any more questions at that moment.

 

“I understand, father,” she finally acknowledged, looking away and bowing her head slightly in respect. He smiled and touched her head before turning to leave.

 

“Never change, Kagome.” He took a book from one of the shelves and continued to walk toward the door. “You are one of the few people who give the rest of us hope…the kind of woman a soldier would fight for…and the kind of woman that makes a priest remember why he gives a sermon every Sunday.”

 

Kagome sighed as she watched him leave, feeling tears in the corners of her eyes. Only her father had ever said something so kind to her before, and Kagome couldn't stop his face, kind and handsome, from rearing up in her mind. And even then, years after his death, she wept, wishing yet again that she had his wise words and kind face at her side like he used to be.

 

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It was the first time Kikyou had not taken a chance to appear before the public on her royal throne, which told Inuyasha volumes about the turmoil currently roiling around in her heart and mind. For once, he actually felt somewhat sorry for her, knowing how distraught she was at the prospect that Onigumo would be released that day, and pardoned for his crimes, allowing him to once more resume his life, although now he would be stripped of his noble titles and be forced to start over.

 

They'd had a heated argument the night before, with her begging him to reconsider pardoning Onigumo, saying she would not be able to sleep comfortably knowing he was once more free and roaming about the world, but Inuyasha had adamantly replied that he couldn't possibly keep the man in the Tower while freeing the other five men. So then she had asked him something even more impossible: to not free any of them, to which he had snapped, yelling at her to stop being so selfish as to punish men she didn't even know because of her past mistakes.

 

That in of itself had been a mistake, because she had stormed out and he hadn't seen her since. Not that he minded, but then, it didn't exactly look good when the royal couple were clearly having an argument…the gossip was always the worst at those times.

 

The audience was quickly growing in the reception hall, noblemen and women from all families gathering on either side of the large aisle that led from the door to his throne, hoping to catch a glimpse of such an exciting event.

 

Inuyasha noticed Kouga enter from a side door, and growled slightly as he was joined by his friends, Sango, Miroku, and Hojo. Even Shippou jumped onto Miroku's shoulder, and once more the King was envious that he could not just be simple and have friends like that…wondering why he had to be the man stuck on the damn chair that isolated him from the rest of the world.

 

But it wasn't until the doors shut and no more people were permitted inside that Inuyasha realized one person was missing…and she was the only person, besides Kikyou, who he would really be aware if she wasn't present. Where was Kagome?

 

Glancing over at Kouga to verify that she wasn't with him, he scrunched his face into a puzzled frown, trying to discern why she wouldn't be there to watch such a historic event. After all, prisoners were only pardoned every decade or so.

 

He'd watched her in church again that morning, and she had looked just as pious as ever, her head bowed, her long, graceful fingers, which he'd seen her use to stroke a violin with her bow, folded in prayer, her head bowed, her ebony hair falling over her shoulders and framing her heart-shaped face. Her eyes had been closed, and her long dark lashes, nearly identical to Kikyou's, had been touching her delicate cheeks lightly, like miniature feathers. How he had wanted, for some reason, at that moment to brush a finger over her face…to feel her skin, to touch her rosy lips. And in that moment he had never felt more ashamed.

 

Not only was he in a house of God, where fidelity was sacred, but he was also kneeling before a priest with his future wife at his side, for all intensive purposes looking just as devoted as Kagome. But to his eyes, Kikyou didn't look even remotely like her sister. She had dressed elegantly, in a golden robe that looked like wheat on a summer's day, a white ruff around her neck and wrists, and large jewels around her neck and on her fingers. She looked beautiful. But Kagome looked elegant. She looked elegant in her simple white gown, outlined in sky blue velvet, with those long, draped sleeves that taunted his mind and memory whenever he saw them.

 

Shaking his head to clear it of such thoughts, Inuyasha once again cursed the fact that they had come to court at all in the first place. He was already regretting his choice of wife, but then she had come into his life and flaunted before his eyes everything he could have had if he'd not been so hasty…so desperate to be loved.

 

“Where is your bride, Inuyasha?” Kouga mocked from where he had come to stand beside the throne, Mirou and Sango following, leaving Shippou and Hojo among the rest of the crowd. Inuyasha just growled in response.

 

“She didn't feel like coming. Besides,” he smirked, “I don't see your woman anywhere nearby either.”

 

Kouga lifted his head haughtily. “My Kagome couldn't bear to see others suffering, and so decided to remain in the library over at the monastery. I can hardly blame her.”

 

“Then why the hell are you here?” Inuyasha snapped, hating the fact that Kagome was being so damn perfect all the time.

 

“Because I am, alas, not nearly as kind and gracious as she is. She feels the pain of others, as though it were her own.” He sighed, clearly thinking about her with longing, which only irritated the hanyou King even more. “We should all aspire to be like her…and every man should be so lucky as to have a wife like her.”

 

“Just shut it,” Inuyasha snapped back, “You're making me sick with all this love talk.”

 

“Who says I'm in love with her?”

 

“I wouldn't believe you if you said you weren't.”

 

“True, but then Kagome is not yet in love with me, so these things take time.” Inuyasha felt, for some reason, relieved to hear that. He knew Kouga meant it, or else he wouldn't have said it in the first place.

 

Thankfully, he was saved from having to talk to his rival any more when trumpets sounded and the entire crowd turned as one to face the door, which was slowly opened by two servants to reveal a line of six men in chains, dressed in the traditional black pants and black shirt of prisoners.

 

To be blunt, they looked miserable. As Inuyasha moved his eyes down the row, he only understood more and more why Kagome hadn't wanted to come, because even he was having a hard time fighting off not only disgust, but also pity, even if they were criminals who deserved their fate. Each of their faces was as white as a ghost, clearly not having been exposed to the sun for years, and their eyes were empty; devoid of any and all emotion.

 

Guards halted the prisoners just as the final man had stepped through the doorway, and all of them stood perfectly still, their eyes on the ground. The first man was separated from the main chain that bound him to the others, though his wrists and ankles were still held together, and he slowly made his way toward the throne, where Inuyasha waited, trying to look formidable, as his father had always done. It seemed to work, because the man, who had long, stringy black hair, fell to his knees in submission, his hands in his lap.

 

“State your name,” Inuyasha commanded, surprised and pleased at how strong his voice was at that particular moment.

 

“Michael, Your Highness,” the man replied, still not looking up.

 

“How long have you been in prison?”

 

“Eight years, Your Highness.”

 

“And what was your crime?”

 

The man took a deep breath, clearly wishing he didn't have to remember that part of his life. “Robbing the printing shop of an elderly couple, and as a result burning it to the ground, unintentionally killing the wife.”

 

Inuyasha nodded. “And has your eight years in the Tower brought you remorse, so that you are willing to start again?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Very well,” Inuyasha motioned for the guard to help the man to his feet. “You are free once more, Michael.” The guard placed a key in the lock on the chains, and soon they were clattering to the floor, amidst the sounds of applause and praise for the people's `merciful' King, Inuyasha.

 

And so it went on, each man approaching and kneeling, reciting his name, how long he had been in prison, and his crime. Each man was different. One had been in for nearly fifteen years, another only three. Some were robbers, other unintentional murders, but they were all the same in that they wanted their freedom back. It made Inuyasha wonder…just how horrible was the Tower, anyway, to turn criminals into law-abiding citizens once more?

 

The last man to approach was different from the other five, something Inuyasha noticed immediately. His skin was as pale as the others, but unlike them, he had a fire in his eyes that burned with so much intensity that even Inuyasha had a hard time holding his gaze for very long. A wealth of dark brown hair, tinted slightly red in the light of the hall, spilled over his back in curls, and he was, surprisingly, clean shaven, his eyes deep red, almost purple, and somewhat frightening.

 

Somehow, Inuyasha knew this was the man Kikyou had been so adamant in avoiding, and suddenly he understood why. He didn't know the history between the two…or at least not all the details since Kikyou refused to talk about it…but he did know that love had been thrown into the mix, along with lust and desire.

 

Narrowing his eyes, the hanyou King refused to back down from the other man's stare. “What is your name?”

 

“Naraku.” His voice was dark and cold, but confident at the same time, and Inuyasha felt his eyebrow twitch without his permission in surprise. So, the man had decided to go by a different name?

 

“How long were you in the tower?”

 

Unlike the others, Naraku didn't seem at all affected by the memories of the prison, because he just smirked as he replied. “Three years.”

 

“And what was your crime?”

 

At that the man chuckled, surprising everyone and causing Inuyasha to narrow his eyes. “Loving a woman.”

 

“That is not a crime,” Inuyasha retorted. “Or was it your love that perhaps prompted you to do something else?”

 

“You asked me my crime, and I told you. I was foolish enough to love a woman.”

 

It was absolutely silent in the hall as the two men stared at one another, until finally Inuyasha nodded and raised his hand, motioning for the guard to come over. It went against his better judgment to free him, but at the same time the hanyou knew he couldn't very well free the others and not the last, all because of his involvement with Kikyou, and because he gave him a `bad' feeling.

 

“You are free once more, Naraku,” Inuyasha said, the words feeling like molasses in his mouth, and once again the sound of chains hitting the floor filled the room, followed by cheers as the final former prisoner was led away, his long hair billowing out behind him.

 

“Now that was an odd character,” Miroku commented, leaning against the throne in a way that only he could get away with. “Very odd.”

 

“Indeed,” Inuyasha had put a hand under his chin thoughtfully, still staring at where the man had come from in the first place, remembering vividly the look in his eyes, and the sound of his voice. There was malice in his tone, and despite himself the hanyou shuddered. “I just hope I haven't made a mistake, Miroku.”