Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

A Sacred Treasure and a Hanyou	By : cukid9 Category: InuYasha > Het - Male/Female > InuYasha/Kagome Views: 18612 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
A/N:
*sigh* I have to put a warning at the beginning of this. Don't
be taken in by the sweet, warm start to this chapter. I finally
realized I would have to add the torture code. So far, I feel I
have woven a story of mild tension between two people that we all
know should be together ^_^ But, the dark thread of Naraku has
entered and we all know how evil and vile he can be. This chapter
was hard,
because I enjoy, more than anything else, writing more light-hearted
stories. It was also very difficult because I wasn't sure if I
could pull it off and, I realized as I restlessly paced my apartment,
I was trying to avoid
writing it. Something twisted when I decided to introduce Naraku
into the plot and I found myself kinda
disturbed by it. So, this is your warning. This chapter will contain
torture. It's pretty low-key (or is it? I can't really tell.
I've read worse.), but it's there nonetheless. Here's the beginning
of your drama, Naxuma...

Enjoy.

Chapter
14
The
Riddle of the New Moon and Naraku's Attentions

Inuyasha
was restless. Kagome was gone -out shopping with the other girls
that she was auditioning with- and there was nothing for him to
do. He paced back and forth, like a cage animal, constantly playing
the events that were to unfold over and over in his head. Every
once in a while, something would distract him; the television, the
sound of a boat's horn on the river, the different sounds his bare
feet made as they crossed from the linoleum of the kitchen to the
wood of the living room to the soft area rug that lay in the entrance.
He heard the elevator doors open and close occasionally, heard
the sound of voices, and he would instantly still, listening to
the voices and wondering, waiting, hoping it was her. When the
door didn't open, he would resume his meaningless prowl of the apartment.
He
should leave, go out, find something to occupy himself. Kagome
thought that they were going out tonight. Inuyasha wasn't quite
sure where she had come up with that idea. It only served to make
him feel more guilty, more anxious.
'She
will reject you, think that you are disgusting,'
a voice growled at him. He had come to recognize this voice. His
demon, youkai, whatever one wanted to call it. It was the biggest,
strongest, part of him; the part that tried to constantly rule,
judge, take control. 'And why shouldn't she? You think
the same things, your brother does, even that damned Naraku said
you were filthy. And if Kagome has been spending time with him,
who knows what ideas he has filled her head with. Who knows what
she thinks of hanyou now.'
'But
she is not like everyone else,'
a quieter part of him protested. He recognized this voice too.
Felt the demon inside of him sneer, 'human.'
'Why shouldn't she accept me as well? Why can't she fall
in love with the demon and the human?'
The
protest was quickly drowned out by the possessive snarl of the demon.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the way the river was
starting to turn an orangey-blue as the sun came closer to the horizon.
Inuyasha sank into the couch, elbows on his knees, holding his
head in his hands, trying to will the voices in him to shut the
hell up.

*
That
was how Kagome found him, looking like he had just lost his best
friend or his favorite dog. Through her concern, she felt slightly
amused at that last thought as she watched his ears flick toward
the sound of her walking across the room.
She
set her bags down beside the couch and suddenly couldn't decide
if she should sit next to him or stay standing.
�Inuyasha?�
she asked, quietly, almost timidly.
The
look in his golden eyes nearly broke her heart and sent thrills
of alarm running through her. �What's wrong?� she asked, her feet
suddenly rooted where she stood, wondering what had happened over
the past few hours that had caused him to look so depressed, so
sad.
�Tonight
is the new moon,� he whispered.
Kagome
didn't understand and her eyebrows lowered in confusion. �You mentioned
something about this before.� His expression became even sadder,
and she saw fear in his eyes. �What's going on, Inuyasha?�
He
stood abruptly, started pacing in front of the balcony doors that
were letting in the last, dying rays of sun. �I wanted to show
you before you came here, wanted to give you some time away from
me so you could really think about what you were getting yourself
into.� He stopped, facing away from her, looking out the glass
doors.
Kagome,
in her life, had witnessed many sunsets. But she would never remember
any of them as well the one she saw in London, in an apartment overlooking
the Thames, with a hanyou that she had given her heart to.
Inuyasha
turned to her, his ears twitched forward, his nose moving slightly
as he took in the scent of her nervousness, the sound of her absolute
stillness. She watched as those ears blurred before her eyes, wavered
and then disappeared altogether. The dark sky behind him seemed
to reach out inky fingers and run through his hair, starting at
the roots and crawling down to the tips until it had consumed all
the silvery-white. The pupils of his eyes seemed to widen, expand
outward, until all traces of gold disappeared. When he held his
hands up before him, looking mournfully down at them, she noticed
that, instead of dangerous claws, he had only normal fingernails.

And
the air around him seemed to move. She had been only subconsciously
aware of his aura from the very beginning. It was what defined
him, made him who he was. Now, she noticed it shifting, flaring
for a brief second before seeming to shrink around him, leaving
only a trace of itself.
Right
before her eyes, Inuyasha had suddenly, magically, become...
�Human,�
she whispered.
He
raised his head, eyes so dark they matched the black of his hair
staring at her with trepidation.
Kagome
licked her lips and took a hesitant step toward him. He just stood
there, watching her as she closed the distance between them. She
looked over his dark hair, down to his regular, human hands. She
caught the sorrowful, vulnerable gaze of dark eyes flecked with
deep purple and maroon with her own and raised a hand to his face.
Kagome
nearly cried when he flinched from her touch, as though he were
a dog expecting a blow.
�Inuyasha?�
She knew it was him, had witnessed the whole thing, but her mind
was still trying to process the information her eyes were giving
it.
He
nodded and looked away from her. �This is what happens every new
moon,� he said, softly. �I become human, worthless, weak.� He
swallowed hard. �I...I understand if you can't stand the sight
of me. Now you know why that demon called me filthy.�
Kagome
reached out, touching a lock of hair that now matched the color
of hers. When he didn't pull away, she brushed his cheek with her
fingertips. The same silky warm skin came in contact with her fingers.
�You're
beautiful,� she sighed.
Wide,
dark eyes looked at her in surprise. �What?�
Kagome
smiled at him. �Did you think I wouldn't love you anymore?� she
asked, mildly surprised herself when he nodded. A soft, gentle
laugh escaped her. �Inuyasha, why would you think that? Would
you love me any less if, once a month, I became a fire breathing
dragon?�
He
eyed her for a moment. �You already do that,� he said.
Kagome
glared at him mockingly. �But you love me despite that, right?�
He nodded, his eyes never leaving hers as he leaned his face into
her hand. �Then why would you think I would love you any less?�
�Because
I'm a half-breed, a mongrel, neither fully demon nor fully human,�
he said.
�You
are hanyou,� she said, smiling at him. �You are demon
and human. The whole of two halves.� She ran her hand down his
chest, feeling the same firm muscles there. �You are Inuyasha and
that is what I love. Not the demon, not the human. Just
you.� She paused and then frowned at him. �I do miss
the ears, however,� she said, pouting slightly.
The
room went completely silent as he stared at her. She felt the laugh
rumble in his chest beneath her fingertips before it rang through
the air. He gathered her into his arms and held her tightly to
him.
�They'll
come back,� he assured her.
Kagome
pulled away from him slightly, looking up at him. �How long does
this last?�
�Only
until sunrise.�
�'Only?'
You make it sound like its worse than being tortured.�
Inuyasha
looked down at her, raised a hand to touch her hair, to stroke the
side of her face, mimicking the way she had touched him. �I hate
being this way,� he said, finally. �I can't smell you as well,
can't see you as well. Even your skin and hair feel different.�
He sighed, pulling her back to him, resting his chin on the top
of her head. She closed her eyes, listening to the sound of his
heart. �My brother hated me the instant I was born,� he told her.
�We fought for many years until...� he trailed off and she felt
him shake his head. �We came to an uneasy understanding, but we
do not talk about this. We do not talk about weaknesses.� He sighed
again, tightened his hold on her for a brief instant before pulling
away again. He looked down at her, searching her eyes for something.
�Are you really okay with this?�
�Really
truly,� she said. She reached up and pulled his head down to her,
capturing his mouth with hers.
It
was as if something inside of him loosened. He relaxed under her
lips, letting her brush her tongue gently over them before opening
to her. She found, in her exploration, that his fangs had disappeared
to be replaced by dull canines. When she pulled away, she smiled
up at him.
�I
don't suppose you want to go out looking like this,� she said.
Inuyasha
shook his head. �Not particularly. Is that okay?�
Kagome
gave him one last hug and then reached down to take his hand. She
led him to the couch and pulled him down with her. �Just as long
as I'm with you, everything is perfect,� she said. She grabbed
the remote and started flipping through the channels, resting her
head on his shoulder. �Oh, Theater of Blood is on!�
Inuyasha
groaned. �You're lucky I love you,� he said.
Kagome
raised her head, smiling, and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek.
�Yes, I am,� she said, before snuggling her head into his chest.

She
sighed in contentment when his arms went around her, even as he
protested the movie selection.
�This
is terrible,� he said, resting his chin on the top of her head.
�It's
a classic!�
She
could practically see him rolling his eyes. �A classic piece of-�
�Shh!
This is the best part!�

*

�Kagome,
could you stay for a few more minutes?�
Kagome
halted just inside the door, turning to look over her shoulder.
Naraku lounged gracefully in a chair, watching her. She glanced
out the door, watching the others leave, a small voice inside of
her whispering to go.
�I
really can't, Naraku. I'm supposed to meet someone,� she told him,
adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder.
�It
will only take a minute,� he said.
Chewing
on her bottom lip, Kagome gave the door one last forlorn look before
nodding and walking back into the room. She stopped in the center,
making sure to keep enough distance between herself and the demon,
and dropped her bag to the floor. She watched, warily, as he rose
fluidly from his seat and started to walk toward her.
�The
way I see it,� he began, and his voice was low, with a trace of
something that Kagome couldn't quite identify. �You are the best
here and the only one I'm willing to dance with.� He smiled down
at her, raised his hands to her shoulders and turned her to face
the mirror.
Slightly
confused, and more than a little nervous, Kagome blinked at their
reflections. Naraku stood a head and a few inches taller than her.
He kept his hands on her shoulders, kept the smile on his face.
�Just
imagine how stunning we would be together,� he said, his voice still
soft.
�I'm
not sure that I'm going to stay here,� she said. �I have an audition
with my city ballet as well and I'm thinking of just staying there.�
She
watched the transformation with less awe and more fear than the
one she had witnessed the night before. Naraku's eyes grew hard,
his normally serene, cold features twisted into an angry mask.
Kagome
cried out softly when his fingers dug into her shoulders. �Naraku,
you're hurting me,� she said, trying not to whimper.
His
eyes narrowed and he gripped her shoulders harder. �I don't understand
why you are so willing to give that filthy half-breed everything,�
he hissed. He leaned down, pressing his face close to her own.
�He's all over you,� he growled. �It's disgusting.�
Anger
shot through the fear. �My personal life is none of your business,�
she snarled.
�You
are even starting to sound like him. It's a pity, really. Such
a waste.�
�What
do you mean?� Kagome asked, the anger starting to run out of fuel.
Naraku
smiled cruelly at their reflections. �You have something I want,
Kagome. Something very precious to me.�
�What
are you talking about?�
He
must have sensed that her confusion was real. He looked at her
in surprise for an instant, and then a coldly amused smile stretched
his lips.
�You
don't know? Truly?� Kagome, suddenly feeling like she was in some
surreal nightmare, started to wish fervently that she would wake
up. Naraku's soft laugh echoed in her ear. �You have it with you
always and you don't even know it. It's right here.�
As
soon as his hand started to move down her body, Kagome stiffened.
Her body reacted before her brain and she felt the point of her
elbow connect with his ribs. It most certainly didn't hurt him,
but it surprised him enough that his lungs expelled a small huff
of air and the hand on her shoulder loosened. Kagome danced away
from him, grabbing her duffel bag and sped toward the door.
The
speed of his recovery and his movements didn't really surprise her.
She had become accustomed to the way Inuyasha moved when he was
exceptionally passionate about something. So, when she suddenly
found the exit blocked, she skidded to a halt and blinked at him.
�I
will have it, Kagome,� he said.
�I
don't even know what you're talking about,� she repeated. Kagome
took one slow step away from him.
He
was fast, was all Kagome could think as she looked up at
him towering over her. When he smiled down at her, Kagome felt
her heart start to race, felt more terrified than she ever remembered.
Her mouth went dry as she saw his true form for the first time.
Ghostly outlines of bloodied bandages seem to cover his face, his
torso, as if the faint image of a mummy had been superimposed over
him.
�You,�
she breathed. �I know who you are.�
Alarms
rang in her head, deafening her, creating a dull roar in her ears.
Fingers of dread crept over her limbs, making them useless.
The
last thing she saw were two maroon eyes burning into hers from a
coldly dispassionate face.

*
Skin
broke, fine lines of red ran in lazy rivulets down pale flesh, pooled
at the shoulder before spilling down, looking like exposed veins.
Arms were tied viciously tight overhead, pulling at the shoulders
until they burned and screamed in agony. Ankles were lashed together
by an unyielding material that bit into the skin.
Damp
mustiness permeated the room, as if it were far underground. The
air was still and cool, and there was only the sound of a deep,
hushed silence, as if the place were holding its breath, waiting
with horrified anticipation.
Kagome
opened her eyes to blackness, blinked, and shook her head before
she realized she was blindfolded. Something had been stuffed into
her mouth, preventing her from screaming, making it hard for her
to swallow. She immediately panicked and started to thrash, her
fear deepening when she realized her body simply swung, when the
movement caused hard, sharp objects to bite into the flesh of her
wrists and ankles, making more warm, sticky blood flow. She could
feel it slowly dripping from her bare toes, making a soft, barely
audible splashing when it hit the floor below her, could feel it
re-trace dried paths on her arms. She felt cool air touch bare
skin and realized she was clad only in her bra and dancer's shorts.
The musty smell of the room was suddenly tinged with a metallic
tang that she could taste in the back of her throat.
The
air shifted, made space for something that she could feel
moving toward her silently, the way a small child knows
there are monsters in the dark. She gagged on a scream, trying
to wake herself up from this nightmare, wanting to find herself
curled in bed in the safe, strong arms of a loving hanyou.
�Welcome
to the White Tower, Kagome.� The voice, sounding as though it were
making plans for coffee, was familiar and repulsive all at once.
�I thought, given its history, this place was appropriate.� She
heard something metal scrape against stone, froze in fear and desperately
tried to keep the whimper from escaping her. Tears gathered along
the bottom of the blindfold, soaking into the material. �I hope
you are comfortable,� he said, and she heard him, felt him, move
closer to her.
She
felt the cloth around her head jerk, fall away. Dim light surrounded
her, hit her eyes forcefully and made her blink furiously, dislodging
tears and making them trail down her cheeks.
Naraku
watched her, a small, terrifying smile on his face. �I'll remove
the gag too, if you promise not to scream,� he told her. He leaned
forward so that she could feel breath as cold as ice brush across
her face, making her tears freeze. �Not that anyone could hear
you anyway,� he whispered, conspiratorially.
Eyes
wide in fear, Kagome nodded, knowing that the gag wasn't necessary
to keep her quite; her throat was constricted so tightly with absolute
terror she could hardly breath, could feel herself choking
on it. Her jaw ached when she was finally able to close her mouth
and she instantly ran her tongue over dry, cracked lips, turning
her head away from Naraku's burning gaze to look around.
She
was suspended in the middle of a room whose walls were made of old,
grimy grey stones. To her left, a small window showed her only
the blackness of night, giving the illusion that they were caught
in a lightless void. She could faintly make out the outline of
the door behind her captor and, turning her head to the right, saw
a small table with a black cloth spread on it that held a single
candle whose light reflected off shiny, silver objects. Blinking
to focus, Kagome realized what lay on the black material and started
to thrash again, a soft whimper escaping her. Her efforts were
rewarded with renewed pain shooting through her limbs and a soft,
cruel chuckle from Naraku.
Her
eyes truly focused on him for the first time, noticed the way black
hair spilled like ink over the white fur cloak that covered him
completely, that pooled on the floor around his feet. She recognized
the cloak in the distant way one remembers a nightmare; not so much
a thought as a feeling of unknown, unidentifiable, suffocating dread,
terror, fright.
�Hopefully,
I won't need to use these,� he said, running a hand lightly, almost
lovingly, over the wickedly gleaming instruments. He shrugged and
turned to her, smiling again. �I've never tried to extract something
from one's soul. I figure mimicking my actions physically wouldn't
hurt.� He smirked, came closer to her, ran a finger as cold as
death along her cheek. �That's not entirely true. It will hurt,
you may even die from it. Are you scared, little miko?�
Kagome
jerked away from his touch. �What do you want from me?� she whispered,
her voice raw and cracking.
�The
same thing I wanted from Kikyo,� he told her. �The Shikon no Tama.�
Kagome
stared at him, knowing suddenly how it felt to look into the face
of madness. She wondered, if she were to go mad, if she would look
so blankly serene. �But-� her voice broke and she swallowed and
tried again. �The Shikon jewel was burned with her. I don't have
it.�
�You
do have it, miko. I can feel it so strongly when I am
near you.� He paused and cocked his head slightly to one side.
�Haven't you ever wondered, little miko, why most of your friends
are demons?� When she simply stared at him, he continued. �They
can feel it too,� he told her. �Perhaps they do not know what it
is that draws them to you, but it is a palpable force that they
cannot ignore. The jewel calls to them to protect it.�
�Protect
it from what?�
Naraku's
lips pulled from his teeth in a feral smile. �From me.�
He
reached over his head and pulled the hood of the cloak up. His
face was covered in an eerie blue bamboo mask that left black voids
where his eyes should have been. Terror, and a sudden recognition
that was not hers, flooded through her. Hatred, so powerful it
surprised her, began to pierce through the fear, slowly ripping
its way through even as she felt the painful tearing of skin shoot
through her side. Kagome dropped her head, instinctively searching
for what caused the pain. She watched in horrid fascination as
her flesh parted under the sharp object in Naraku's hand, as her
blood ran out and marred the sterile looking scalpel.
�You
have a high tolerance for pain, little miko,� Naraku said. Kagome
heard faint surprise in his voice. �Not even a whimper.� She heard
a breathy sigh. �That's too bad. I would really enjoy hearing
you scream.�
Kagome
watched as he carelessly threw the scalpel on the table, muttering
to himself. Through the mask, she caught some of the words. They
sounded vaguely like Kanji, but there was an odd inflection to them.
His voice started to rise and the words started to cut through
the air, as sharp as the instrument he had just used on her flesh.
She closed her eyes when she saw his hand fall over a set of objects
that looked like talons hinged together. She felt them dig into
the flesh of her upper arms, felt fresh blood stream down to her
shoulders, across her chest, down her side to mingle with the blood
of the wound there before spilling down her legs.
In
the sudden silence, Kagome could only hear the sound of her harsh
breath, of the faint sound of metal against metal and then metal
against skin. The air around her was suddenly heavy, suffocating,
so that she couldn't even move enough to draw it into her lungs.
Naraku
leaned toward her and whispered something she couldn't understand.
The
world shattered, light, so brilliant it blinded her, piercing through
the thin flesh of her closed eyes. Excruciating pain flared up
her side, through her arms, making her hands clench convulsively,
making the sharp restraints around her wrists sink even deeper. Something
inside of her twisted, grated, like the scrape of tendon being jerked
the wrong way against bone. Her back arched and her throat opened
as an agonized scream tore its way out.
�No!�
she screamed, opening her eyes as hate that wasn't hers shot through
her, clearing her vision.
The
light in the room had turned a sickly green color, making her at
once feel nauseous. Kagome ground her teeth together, struggling
against her restraints, not caring about the amount of blood she
was loosing. The gash in her side was only felt dimly. She became
aware of cold fingers on the wound, feeling them prod at it, trying
to insert themselves into her flesh.
She
never knew what her soul felt like. As it was with all humans,
it was something that was just there, something that was
existential but never felt or seen.
Now,
though, she could feel it. A cold hand grasped at something just
above her heart, wrapping icy fingers around something that wasn't
physically there. She felt a sharp jolt of pain in her side and
felt a harsh snapping that caused her to cry out in pain.
It felt as though a piece of her flesh had been sliced off.
And
the hate building within her burned until she felt it crawl out
her eyes, her throat. A faint bluish-pink light began to glow above
her, bathing her in its billiance, pushing back the vile green that
contaminated the room, so bright it made her nearly blind again.
All
of her other senses heightened in that same instant. The metallic,
coppery tang of blood filled her nose, the smell of sweaty fear,
of burning anger. A sharp, astonished gasp reached her ears with
the sound of shoes scraping against stone as Naraku moved away from
her. And, behind him, she heard a faint pounding coming through
the thick wooden door.
Hard,
uneven stone was suddenly beneath her hands and knees. Kagome looked
up watching through vision flooded with purple as Naraku edge slowly
backwards. Faint flecks of blood stood out in sharp contrast against
the white fur of his cloak, which had been pushed over his shoulders,
the hood falling away from his head. His right hand was bloodied
and clenched in a tight fist. Through his fingers, rays of bluish-pink
light shot out when Kagome stood and took a step toward him.
�You
shall not have it!�
A
voice that was at once her own and not, rang through the room.
Her hand rose before her, seemingly on its own, and a part of her
noticed it glowed in the same light that shone from Naraku's closed
hand. Her entire form was caught in the nimbus that started to
shine brighter around her raised hand.
It
shot from her like an arrow, hitting Naraku squarely in the chest,
causing the cloak to once again fall around him, making his hood
fall forward as he doubled over in pain. His hand opened and the
small ball that was the source of the light fell to the ground.
Kagome heard the sound of precious glass against hard stone, heard
the inaudible cracking and watched as the jewel shattered.
Rage
formed itself into a violent wind that swept around her, her hair
sweeping around her in a raven colored cloud, when Naraku took a
step forward. Another bolt of light shot from Kagome's hand. She
watched in satisfaction as the cloaked figured fell back.
And
then frowned when the white fur puddled to the ground, completely
empty of its occupant. She was left looking at the baboon mask
that stared up at her mockingly.
Whatever
had been within her now left with the suddenness of an
expelled breath. Kagome fell to her knees again, feeling the floor
scrape at her skin. She felt every wound as she crawled toward
the shattered jewel that had been so violently ripped from her body.
The shards glowed still; fainter, though, than they had when it
had been whole. She gathered them in her hand, feeling the sharp
edges bite, with loving tenderness it seemed, into her palm. The
small beads of blood made the shard grow slightly brighter and they
started to meld back together as she watched in fascination. When
it was complete, it still did not shine with its former radiance,
and she turned it to find a small chunk of it still missing.
The
sharp sound of splintering wood made her look up in surprise. Twin
red suns burned through the darkness of the doorway, fading to molten
amber even as Kagome rose painfully to her feet, took stumbling
steps toward them.
She
didn't know how he had found her -she didn't care. The excruciating
pain in her body faded as relief flooded through her.
�Inuyasha,�
she croaked, her voice nearly gone.
�Kagome,
oh gods, Kagome.�
Hard,
warm, safe arms went around her in a hold so fierce it
made her whimper. He immediately loosened his grip, pulling slightly
away from her, which made her whimper again and clutch at the front
of his shirt.
�Inuyasha,�
she said again, tears suddenly choking her. �Inuyasha, take me
home.�

A/N 2: Eh, sorry, had to add this. If you would like to know what London's White Tower is the following link is a great place www.hrp.org.uk/webcode/tower_home.asp Also, Theater of Blood is a ...weird movie that I recommend seeing. It has Vincent Price in it, who is best known in this generation for his role as the inventor in Edward Scissorhands
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A Sacred Treasure and a Hanyou