Chapter 11: A Game of Chess
Sango's right hand gripped the wheel tightly, so tightly her skin was a deadly white. Her left arm was left useless in her lap, her shoulder a bloody mess. Her eyes were intent on the road in front of her as she wove through what little cars were still driving late at night.
"Can you go any faster?" Miroku gritted out beside her, his voice hardly sounding like his own. It was so filled with pain and the effort he was taking to control it.
"Not without risking crashing into something," she responded tensely.
Though there weren't many other vehicles on the road, there were enough that she couldn't go too fast without running into them. As it was, she was already getting honked at enough for nearly colliding with six or seven cars and even when they did get to a less populated road, the path was too rough to dare to go even more above the speed limit than Sango was already.
She chanced a quick glance at the person in her passenger seat. He held his wounded hand firmly to his chest, the quick flowing blood hardly stopping even as he held a cloth around it. The dark red substance covered both his hands and halfway up his arms, now dripping onto his chest and lap, sliding its way onto his new car's seats. His face was shining pale and she knew it had nothing to do with moonlight, especially since the moon was gone from that night. Sweat dripped down his face, rolling over closed eyelids as his face was set in grim concentration.
She snapped her head back to look at the road. That damned Naraku! His blade had gone right through Miroku's hand… and as though that wasn't bad enough, the blade had had some sort of demonic power in it. Yes, streaks on black were across his skin, starting from the wound in the center of his palm and growing further up his arm as more time passed. It crawled under his skin, snaking closer and closer to his center. She knew—she didn't know how, she just knew—if it reached his chest… his heart would stop.
"What's this? Do my eyes deceive me?" His voice was light, or at least, attempted to be light. Even through his pain he tried to joke. "I didn't know the powerful demon slayer was capable of tears."
Her eyes squeezed closed for a moment as two more tears betrayed her by sliding down her cheek. "Don't." Don't act like everything's all right when its not.
Her voice was thick and she silently cursed herself for it. But what was wrong with that? Of course she'd be upset. Miroku was her dear, dear friend. And even if she didn't want to admit it, maybe she thought of him as a little something more…
He lifted his good hand to her cheek. "None of this then." He tried to wipe away the tears, but left a trail of his own blood where her tearstains had been.
A sharp honk and a flash of bright light brought Sango back to herself as she slammed on the breaks, just in time to avoid hitting the truck in front of her. Both her and Miroku jerked forward and she heard Miroku hiss in pain as he hit the dashboard.
She winced and quickly brushed away the tears from her bleary eyes. "Sorry!"
"Not a problem," he muttered. He slowly sat back in the seat once more while Sango noticed a dark stain where his body had been slammed. "Just keep driving."
She backed up a bit before hitting the gas, zooming away further into the night and doing her best not to hit any other people. After two almost failed attempts at that, Miroku spoke up.
"Maybe I should drive…?" he suggested, but wished he hadn't after the look she threw him.
"With your luck tonight, we'd be off plunging into some body of water," she replied. "Or collide with a deer and under some freak circumstances it'll be tangled in the car. Not to mention you'd probably lose consciousness from blood loss and then—"
"I get the point," he said with a grimace.
Without looking at him, she noticed from the corner of her eye that his injured hand and arm were being thrown into small spasms. Nothing too serious yet, but she could tell that they hurt by the expression on his face that he tried so desperately to cover.
"We'll be at Kaede and Midoriko's soon," she told him quietly. "I only hope that Kagome's all right…"
And she knew very well that Kagome was not. On the one hand, the demons needed her and whatever strange powers she might have, so they wouldn't kill her. On the other… sometimes there were worse things that death. Very painful things.
How did things go so wrong?
They shouldn't have gone in the first place. They shouldn't. Midoriko and Kaede were right to try and stop them. Nothing good could have come from it. Even though Naraku had kidnapped Shippo, of course he wouldn't have brought the little kitsune along! So why did they go? To get a glimpse of this Naraku demon once and for all? Sure, he had said he wouldn't harm Shippo further than he already had, but he might have killed Shippo already and there coming or not would not change what he would do or what he had done.
The only thing that saved them for being wiped out was Kouga's quick thinking (surprising as it was) at having some of his pack coming to help them fight. And what good came out of the night? Kagome was kidnapped, Miroku had what was probably a fatal wound, and her and the rest were all injured in some way.
Kouga had taken off almost as soon as he saw Kagome being taken away. He and his two most loyal wolves had gone to follow in hopes of taking her back, but Sango knew it was in vain. With Miroku unable to do anymore fighting, Sango had helped Miroku into his car while telling the rest of Kouga's wolves the fight was a lost cause. There was just too many opposing them. They, however, had scoffed at her suggestion to run.
Miroku's new car—the other being totaled when Yukio had taken to throwing her through the windshield, not to mention when Miroku had hit him with it—had taken quite a beating as she plowed through the demons, but she didn't care. Her only thoughts were getting to Kaede and Midoriko's, and quickly at that.
She turned off the somewhat busy road onto a deserted one. It was hardly even a road, more like a beaten path made by the cars that went through it. She sped up, though was careful of the sharp turns she had to make all the while negative thoughts plagued her mind.
What kind of protection were they anyway? Despite their best efforts, Sango and Miroku were unable to be much help to Kagome. Inuyasha had done a far better job and even Kouga was a big help, but even they could not do everything. There were just too many enemies and not enough allies.
And now, because of their inability to keep her safe, look where it had landed Kagome…
It took her longer than the normal hour to reach the house since the parking lot they had fought in was further away, but when Sango arrived, she couldn't help the feeling of relief that swelled through her. She heard the familiar crunching of gravel as she drove up to the house and almost wanted to weep with happiness.
She came to a halt, though didn't turn off the car. Miroku slowly made his way out, keeping his injured hand close to him. He closed the door, but paused when he saw that Sango didn't move. She still looked straight ahead with the one hand gripping the wheel. He leaned down to look at her.
"Sango?" he asked, though there was a warning tone in his voice. No, she wasn't going to do what he thought she was going to do. "You're just as injured as I am," he reasoned.
"What, this?" She touched her hand to her bloodied shoulder to try and prove that wound was not that bad. It didn't have quite the effect she wanted when she winced slightly. "It's nothing. It looks worse than it is."
"Sango… You can't go after Kagome. Not in your condition."
She felt a flare of anger. And you just want to do nothing and leave her in his hands? She quickly cooled her temper, however, and spoke truthfully. "I'm not."
His left hand gripped the car as though if she started moving, he'd be able to stop her. "Then where are you going? This is absurd, you need to be healed. You can hardly move your left arm!"
She struggled to prove him wrong by lifting her arm a few inches and then gently putting it back the way it was. She would have sent him a smug look, but she was too busy biting her bottom lip and blinking back the tears that wanted to come.
"See? I'm okay." From his disbelieving look, she added, "really." Not that the one added word convinced him much.
She put the car into gear and he backed away reluctantly, not wanting to get his feet run over. Oh, he was sure she would have backed out of the driveway whether he was still standing there or not. Hence the "feet running over" part of his thoughts.
"Then where are you going?" he repeated.
She spared him a glance before answering. "To find Inuyasha."
She didn't know exactly when she woke up. Minutes, hours, days later?
Okay, she was pretty sure it wasn't days, but Kagome was certain it was, at the very least, a few hours later.
Her head felt groggy, a sort of fuzzy feeling dominating her mind. All she knew was she was on something cool, part of her face and her front pressed against it. The hand beside her face twitched, the fingers moving ever so slightly as a soft groan escaped her. Her eyes slowly opened, feeling like leaded weights. They almost as soon closed as she wished she would just go back to sleep.
Sleep? Was that was she had been doing?
A part of her wanted to roll over and say "yes", but another part was sending off alarm signals. Annoying alarm signals at that. They threw tiny jolts at her mind, forcing her to wake up and no longer allowing her to stay blissfully unconscious. Damn them.
"Boss, I think she's wakin' up."
Boss? She didn't know anyone named Boss.
Her eyes opened once more after a few failed attempts and she felt her heart skip a beat as she found herself looking into a stranger's odd purple eyes. She would have actually jerked in surprise had her body not been so sluggish to react to her will.
"Yup, she's def'nitely awake," the stranger said before standing up and putting his shoes into her line of view.
She tried to speak. "Unnggh." …Not quite what she had been going for.
"Want me to slap her around a bit for you, Nara—I mean, my lord," he hastily changed, though the words "my lord" didn't hold much respect in them. "I owe her a punch or two."
It wasn't the implied violence that drew her attention, nor the name the person had said. No, it was the voice that she recognized. Yes, she knew it, but who…?
"No, Yukio. What hosts would we be if we harmed our guest?" came the deep, smooth voice.
Yukio?
She felt her eyes widened as her muddled brain remembered the name and with it brought back the dreary facts that she knew about him. Yukio, one of Kouga's wolves who held no loyalty for the leader and almost kidnapped her once. Yukio, who'd beaten her friends and who had long ago promised revenge on her and Sango. A demon that held little to zero love (yeah right, less than zero. More like negative number love, if it was possible) for "the girl of the prophecy", a.k.a. her.
Kagome quickly rose to her hands and knees before plopping into a sitting position on the hard stone floor. Her eyes didn't have to search far to find the wolf demon, standing a few feet behind the other demon that was still hovering around her.
"Tch, have it your way," he said, crossing his arms. Then, as though he could feel his gaze on her, he turned to look down at Kagome, sending an unpleasant smile her way. "Rise and shine, love. I can't wait to see what lovely torture they'll use to get you to agree to help us."
He'd taken to calling her pet names, probably because he thought it annoyed her more than when he insulted her. He couldn't be more right about that. The way he said such endearing words, the tone of his voice… it made her shiver in what was most definitely not a good way.
Before she could find her voice to ask, or rather demand to know where she was and the likes, Yukio was stalking toward her. He reached down, his hand tangling in her black locks and gripping the back of her head. As if he knew what was coming he said, "No questions from you, sweet."
On the word "sweet" he tightened his grip while starting to lift upward and she could do nothing but comply by standing up. He did not seem pleased, however, by how easy she yielded to him and gave a hard tug, causing her to yelp. Only then was he somewhat satisfied.
"Yukio."
His name was said none too nicely, a commanding tone to it. Upon hearing it, Yukio spun around, Kagome with him and she was left staring at what looked like a handsome young man, though she would hardly dare believe that was what he really was. Dark eyes watched her from where he sat in a chair in the center of the room, a few steps leading up to it.
"Release her," he told Yukio plainly, yet his words held so much power.
She could feel his nails bite against her skin in annoyance, but he jerked away from her, letting her go and causing her to stumble forward. She glanced back in an attempt to throw Yukio a dirty look, but he already had his back toward her, walking toward, before exiting through, a door at the end of the room. She made a mentally note of where it was.
The man seemed to noticed this too because he laughed. "No, you won't be getting out that easy."
Kagome had no doubt that that was true. Unfortunately, there was one particularly large demon standing right by the exit. Not that she had any chance anyway. A glance around the room showed a large amount of demons in it, some looking quite human, others… not.
She didn't want to stick around much longer. Would Sango and Miroku be able to find her? Kouga? What about Inuyasha? No, he didn't even know she'd been taken… and she didn't think Sango and Miroku would be able to track her down. Did that leave Kouga as her last hope?
She turned her attention back to the "man" sitting in the chair. "Who are you?" she asked.
He smirked, though he wasn't amused. No, he looked rather disappointed in her reasoning ability. "I'm Naraku. I believe you've heard of me."
Oh. She had seen him that night, but she failed to realize that the whole baboon thing had been a costume. Silly her.
She'd heard enough about him to last her a lifetime and seeing him twice that night had been enough, but here she was, gazing at him once more, face to face. She felt anger rise in her; she could still see what he did to Miroku vividly in her mind, not to mention poor, little Shippo. Yes, there was anger there… and fear.
Her next instinct was to ask, "what do you want with me?" or "why am I here?" but she very well knew the answer to those already. Still, a few moments more of silence and she couldn't help but blurt out, "what do you want?" just to fill it.
"I should think that would be obvious." There was a tad bit of impatience in his voice.
Well of course she knew what he wanted. He wanted to use her to bring back the times of old, where demons ruled over fearful humans it seemed. Right, that much she knew. She still had no idea how. Sure, she knew now that she was able to use her powers to hurt demons… so how would that help Naraku? He must have known something that all the others didn't and she doubted he'd be inclined to share.
She rephrased her question. "What are you going to do with me?"
He didn't answer her question, no, more like he ignored her words as though she hadn't spoken. Instead, he gestured to the chair across from him. "Come, young miko."
Miko? That meant priestess, didn't it? She remembered Kaede using the word before, but surely Kagome wasn't one. Didn't a priestess have to be trained to become one? Okay, so she was being trained, but that was to control her powers, nothing else. …Right?
She eyed Naraku with suspicion and apprehension, thinking of the invitation he had just offered. Her gaze flittered across to the chair and then back to the demon. Well, what else could she do?
Trying to steady her rapidly beating heart, she held her chin up high and ascended the few stairs. Her legs tried to shake, but she controlled it by tightening her muscles, though it made her walk rather stiffly. As she felt the drumming in her ears, she sat down, hardly an arm's length away. She didn't like being so close to him, but she feared more what he would do if she didn't comply. As long as his requests were simple, she might just listen.
As she scooted backward, her back hit the back of the chair and she immediately stiffened, her eyes widening just the slightest bit. There was something attached to her back, under her jacket…
The crossbow.
Oh, how she loved Kaede at that moment! This could be very, very good. Now she just needed the perfect moment and…
But what if she did manage to hit Naraku? Would it even hinder him for a moment? If it didn't, she would be in big, big trouble. If it did and somehow managed to kill him, like if she hit him in the heart let's say… she still had many other demons loyal to Naraku around her. They'd would with no doubt attack her afterward. Either way, she was looking at lots and lots of pain. Would it be worth it to take that one shot?
He noticed her subtle movement and the change in her attitude, but said nothing of it. He made one swift gesture with his hand and in the next moment two demons were bringing over a table, placing it between Naraku and Kagome.
Kagome started when she saw it, her lips parting in disbelief. "You're kidding, right?" What kind of joke was this? This… this was crazy. They were enemies here, not sitting down to chat about the weather and make a comment like, "So how about those Knicks?". And they were certainly not going to play some game like they were friends!
He glanced down at the chessboard, the white pieces on Kagome's side, the black pieces closer to him. (Oh the irony, Kagome thought dryly). It looked brand new, not a single piece scratched or dulled in any way.
"No, I'm afraid I'm not," Naraku replied, then glanced at her. It was hard not to get upset when he was so close, looking her dead straight in the eye, especially as she felt small flames of anger rise. "You do know how to play…?"
"Yes," she told him. She tore her gaze away, instead looking down at the pieces as though that was the reason she had done it. She picked up one of the pawns and almost dropped it. It was heavier than she had thought.
Well, she did know how to play for the most part. She didn't for the life of her know the names of all the pieces (hopefully there would be no test on it at the end), but she knew how each moved. She hoped.
Then, with defiance in her voice as she gathered her courage, she asked, "why should I?"
He seemed amused. "Do you have much of a choice?"
Well, there's A, play chess, B, don't play and possibly get punished for it. Or C, make a run for it and get myself injured and/or killed in the process, Kagome reasoned in her mind. Call me crazy, but I'll go with choice number one. …Except I used letters, so A it is.
"If I win… what happens?" she asked cautiously.
The idea seemed new to him and he seemed to think about it before asking, "what do you request?"
She searched her mind, still recovering for the effects of whatever they'd drugged her with. Then she remembered the whole reason they'd come in the first place. Shippo. As she thought his name, another surge of anger went through her and then… guilt. Anger toward Naraku and guilt for having let Shippo slip her mind until now.
No matter how easy on the eyes Naraku was, he still had been the one to hurt Shippo. The one who'd put a dagger through Miroku's hand and the demon that had been hunting her. She had to remember that, even if it all seemed so surreal. She'd have to continue cautiously and be very careful what she did and said.
"That I go free," she answered, "along with Shippo."
He smirked at her words. "Oh no, I'm afraid I could never do that. Even though I'm certain I will win, I wouldn't risk losing you. But I can arrange for the kitsune to be freed." A twisted smile appeared on his face. "However, if I win…" He let it hang there, but she got the gist of what he meant. Naraku watched her think about this before asking, "your decision?"
Feeling a lump form in her throat, she swallowed and met Naraku's deceiving eyes. "Who goes first?"
She knew Inuyasha wouldn't be much use. Not when he was human on this night—Damn it, why this night of all night? The one night where they really could have used his help. But wait…? Could that have been one of the reasons for Naraku picking this particular night…? She filed the thought away for further thought.
Still, Sango tried to find the half-breed all that night. Key word being "tried". No matter where she looked, he was no where to be found. Not that she really knew where to find him in the first place. As far as she knew, he had no definite home, making finding him difficult. He always found them… or, more accurately, Kagome.
Where would a human Inuyasha go? He couldn't go jumping from roof to roof like he usually did and probably wouldn't want to be seen much at all. She even checked places opened all night and others that she'd seen him by before, but she had no luck.
She'd stopped at club Disillusion to see if Kouga was around and if he had found anything concerning the kidnapping, but the wolves said they hadn't seen him. If they had been curious of her disheveled appearance—a ruined shoulder with blood covering most of her left side, not to mention various other scratches and bruises still forming—none commented on it.
It was near sunrise when she had stopped to tend to her wounds, parking the car and getting out to sit on the hood. She got enough blood on the inside of the car as it was—though she highly doubted Miroku would be using the car again after this night. Two totaled cars in such a small amount of time. Now wasn't he just Mr. Lucky?
It was right around then that he found her. He definitely wasn't looking for her, but their paths just seemed to cross. It was not quite the person she was looking for, but it was good enough.
"That's a nasty wound, demon slayer," she heard a male voice say from behind her.
Sango didn't even take the time to glance behind her. "Guess so." She proceeded to tear off the sleeve on her good side. When she felt him lean against the hood next to her, only then did she look over at the wolf demon. "No luck finding her then?"
Kouga let out a soft growl, his arms crossing across his chest. "None." He seemed frustrated to say the least. Her scent had just stopped, which meant the damned demon was cloaking her from them. No one had ever been able to throw him off before—that is, until now. He just couldn't find Kagome, no matter how much that fact enraged him.
Sango paused to watch him for a moment or two before going back to bandaging her shoulder with the torn sleeve. Or at least, attempting to. She couldn't wrap it around herself well with just the one hand.
"Mind giving me some help?" she inquired, not expecting him to agree.
Her words seemed to snap him out of whatever brooding thoughts he was having. He didn't look too happy doing it, but surprisingly he tightly wrapped her wound. So tightly in fact that she grimaced as he tied the two loose ends in a knot.
She mumbled her thanks while he told her, "you should get a healer to look at that."
"I'll be alright for now," she informed him. "I'm looking for Inuyasha."
If he'd been a dog—or a real wolf—she was sure his lips would have curled back in distaste. As it was, his eyes hardened and his face took on an unpleasant look. "Why are you looking for that mutt?"
She eased herself off the hood of the car, while she attempted to move her left hand. It was painful, but she could move it better than she could before. Lucky for her she wasn't left-handed.
"He always seems to be able to find Kagome. No matter where she is," the demon slayer explained as an idea struck her. Kouga would definitely not like it, but maybe… "…Do you think you could find him?"
He scoffed at her. "That hanyou's stench is strong enough I could find him if he was halfway across the world."
An idea struck. "Is that so…"
It took a lot of convincing, but she managed to get him to agree to bring her to Inuyasha. Kouga clearly did not want to voluntarily go anywhere near him, but he had to agree that if there was any slight chance that he'd be able to find the missing Kagome, it was worth seeking the hanyou out.
It was then that he proceeded to pick up Sango and throw her over his shoulder.
"Can't we take the car!" Sango said, obviously flustered. The fact that she could feel her cheeks redden did nothing to help.
"I can't smell his scent as well from inside and this is much faster," he told her, impatience in his voice. As though anticipating her next question, he continued, "and you're not fast enough to keep up with me, especially with that wound. You'll get dizzy in no time."
"I'm dizzy now," she muttered. Her hair was long enough to brush against the floor, even in its ponytail. Her head felt too heavy and being upside down didn't help the feeling. "Ugnhh. I think I might throw up."
At that, he quickly changed the way he was holding her, carrying her in his arms instead. "Better?" he asked, somewhat gruffly.
How did Kagome put up with him? But in ways he was easier to deal with than Inuyasha. "Better."
Then without warning, he was running at incredible speeds. The wind picked up around them, but a sudden burst of wind was the only thing that people noticed as they passed. No wonder his other wolves hadn't been able to keep up with Kouga.
I really hope I don't throw up… was her most dominate thought.
Sango gave him a stern look. "Stay here."
He crossed his arms, most of his weight on the one foot as he practically threw the same look back at her.
"I mean it."
Kouga glanced away as he half-leaned, half-sat on the fence. "Any day without seeing Inu-trash's face is a good day for me."
With a nod, she opened the white gate and started walking up the pathway, stepping gingerly over the fallen "For Sale" sign in the middle of the path. There was nothing natural about it; it looked like it had been ripped out and thrown to where it was now.
She had a feeling that wherever Inuyasha was, he was not happy.
And that was most definitely an understatement.
The front door was against the inside wall, having been slammed open and never closed after that. She stepped in the house, glancing around at the bare rooms. Straight in front of her was a staircase and she went up there first. There were a total of four rooms upstairs, five including the bathroom, but all were entirely empty.
Sango went back downstairs and searched the other room, including one that she assumed was the kitchen (though it seemed weird with its lack of appliances), but Inuyasha was no where to be found. Had Kouga been wrong? She was sure someone had been here from the opened door and misplaced sign and it probably had been Inuyasha. But was he still here now?
Then she noticed a door slightly ajar from the corner of her eye. Opening it, she found that it was not a closet like she had originally thought, but instead led to the basement. Sango tried to switch on the light, but quickly found that the electricity hadn't been turned on.
Taking a deep breath, she descended. She was about to go into a dark basement with a potentially moody half-demon, one who didn't know or like her well. …Somehow, she wasn't too thrilled with the idea.
She spotted him off in one of the corners, sitting with his back partially against both walls. His eyes must have been closed because as she got closer, Sango suddenly saw a flash of two golden eyes. Golden? It appeared the sun had risen and so had his demon side.
She cautiously stopped a few feet away from him. She had never really trusted him in the first place, only cooperating with him because it made Kagome happy. Why should she start now? "Somehow I don't think this is your house. Unless you're going for the whole I-just-got-robbed look."
"What do you want?" he growled.
He wasn't going to make this any easier. She sighed and said, "look, I'll make this quick. Kagome—"
"Feh, why should I care about her?"
Sango gaped at him. What? This was coming from the guy who'd gone out of his way several times to save her. And now all the sudden, this indifference? "She's in trouble!" she exclaimed.
"When is she not?" Inuyasha sneered at her. "She didn't want my help before, why should I help her now?"
So that was it. He was mad that they hadn't brought him along to fight Naraku and his goons. Okay, she could understand that and yeah, that must have really hurt for them to just drive, but there were more important things going on now.
At this point, she was glad she had decided to ask Kouga to stay outside. If he heard Inuyasha talking like he was, he would have no doubt have slammed Inuyasha's head against the wall a few times, trying to knock some sense into him.
"Guess now that I'm a demon again, I'm suddenly useful," Inuyasha went on angrily, amber eyes flashing in the dark.
Sango shook her head as she took several steps forward, caution thrown away. "You don't understand—"
"No, you don't understand. She left me behind and fucking drove away," he interrupted curtly.
"Technically, Kouga did the driving—"
She didn't realize how close she had been standing to him until he stood up and was towering over her, looking down at her with a reproachful look. He said each word as though it were carefully placed. "I. Don't. Fucking. Care."
Anger suddenly surged through her. If there'd been anything around she'd have knocked it down or kicked something to get his attention. As it was, she pounded the wall with her fist near his head, hard enough for her hand to sting with protest afterward.
"Can you get over yourself for one second! It's not all about you, okay? There are more important things right now. And Kagome, she's it. She needs you, depends on you." Sango's brown eyes clashed with Inuyasha's golden ones, not backing down. "You know why she did it. She didn't want you to get hurt, not when you were so vulnerable. You know why? Because for some reason—God only knows why—she was worried about you because she cares for you. More than cares." She took another step forward, truly cornering the half-demon. "But if you still want to be angry with her for being concerned for your safety, be angry later, but not now. Not when Kagome is in trouble."
Inuyasha finally seemed to understand that shit had hit the fan. "Trouble?" he repeated.
"Why else would I come to you?" She let out a long breath and let her anger escape with it. She rubbed her forehead with her good hand (at least it had been until she banged it against the wall) where a headache was forming. Backing up, she let Inuyasha have the space he desired.
For the first time, he seemed to notice her state. "That's not just your blood on you."
Her hand went to her cheek, touching the dried blood there. "Miroku's." Was he even okay? Had Kaede and Midoriko been able to heal him before the infection spread to his heart? No, she couldn't worry about it. She would have to leave it in the back of her mind for later. Later.
"What happened to Kagome?" Inuyasha asked her urgently.
She met his eyes once again, though no longer was there anger there. "Naraku took her." Rage flashed in Inuyasha's eyes, but it had nothing to do with Sango or Kagome. "Even Kouga wasn't able to track her down—"
He interrupted. "I know where."
Kagome nibbled further on her bottom lip, her eyes flittering from one white piece to another and then another. Not that there were many of her pieces left to choose from still on the board. Nope, Naraku had seen to that. "Dominating" was not a strong enough word to describe Naraku's game playing. Hey, in Kagome's defense, she hadn't played the game in years and hardly then at that.
She moved her last Bishop very carefully diagonally across the board in what she thought was a safe spot.
Oh how wrong she was.
Naraku's hand moved into her line of view and when it was gone, she saw that his Knight had taken her Bishop, the horse's black eyes staring lifelessly at her.
Damn.
A pout automatically came to her lips, but she immediately schooled her face. Or at least, tried to. It didn't work too well.
"One by one, your pieces fall into my hands," he informed her. "And to think, it's your moves, your decisions that put them there."
They continued the game and a few moves later, one of her pawns made it all the way to Naraku's side. "Queen," she said, nodding over to previously fallen chess piece. But now she had her most powerful piece back.
At first Naraku had more fun chasing her Queen than going after her King. Unfortunately, that was no longer true as she had to sacrifice other pieces and constantly move to keep the one piece safe from him.
"Another piece gone as you try to protect your King," he stated as he snatched the White Knight off the table.
"I know what you're doing," she said after a short period of silence. Only then did she make her next move, capturing yet another one of his pawns with her Queen. She just had so much trouble taking down the more valuable pieces that he had. Too bad he had no such problem.
His gaze was fixed on her even as he easily moved his Rook forward, stopping on a square without looking down. "And what's that?"
"You're trying to relate the game to real life," she replied simply. She glanced up at him after moving her Queen once more.
"But life is a game. All you have to do is play your pieces right." He took his move without taking his eyes from her. "Checkmate."
Her eyes widened and she tore her eyes away to look down at the board. No, it couldn't be true! There had to be some move she could do… some move to escape him…
But there wasn't. She was cornered. No matter where he moved her King, either his Queen or his Rook would take her.
She had lost… and now her and Shippo were lost.
"You see, miko? No matter how many people you surround yourself with, in the end they'll all be taken away. And you'll be alone. That is your defeat."
Kagome let out one long, shaky breath. With one little flick of her finger, the White King was knocked over, defeated. But Kagome wasn't done.
"You've made one mistake though, Naraku." She said his name with more hate than she had with anything else in her entire life. That's it, miko, hate me, he thought. "I'm not the King in this scenario at all." A slight inquisitive look came on his face and she continued, "no, I'm the Queen."
An amused look was on his face, but not like he found anything funny. He rather thought her words were pathetic.
Kagome went on. "I'm the piece that everyone wants because I'm the strongest." She stood up swiftly, the chair screeching backward as she did. "I've more power than you've ever even dreamed of. And you know that, that's why you were trying to capture me. But you better believe I'll learn to control and use it and be the most powerful piece in the game." She was taking steps back and she didn't even realize it. Naraku stood quickly. "And when that day comes, there's no way I'd ever use it to help you."
On the word "you", Kagome had slipped her jacket off and before she knew what she was doing, the crossbow was in her hand. Within another second, she'd fired a shot at Naraku.
Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, what did I just do! Kagome thought frantically a fraction of a second after her finger pulled the trigger. Her eyes widened as a pure, pink light surrounded the arrow.
Her eyes had trouble following it, it moved so fast, but she watched, frozen, as the arrow tore through the air one. Then in the next second, it had imbedded itself in Naraku. He yelled as the pink light spread over his entire right arm.
She didn't get to see any more however, as a demon from behind her jerked her around. It punched her while another kicked her in the stomach, sending her sprawling to the floor. Another kick came to her stomach and she heard something crack with a gasp from her, before the beating abruptly stopped.
"That wasn't a smart move, girl," she heard Naraku say through gritted teeth.
Kagome glanced slowly up to see him stalking forward. She blinked several times, but her eyes weren't deceiving her. The arm she'd hit was completely missing from his body, sliced completely off by the sword he held in his other hand, apparently. Blood was quickly dripped down his form and a glance to where they had been sitting, Kagome saw the missing arm. She felt nauseous as she looked upon it, the skin dead and blackened while the arm itself seemed to be shriveled up. Would that have happened to all of him, had he not cut it off?
His sword pointed to her throat, but she knew it was an empty threat. He wouldn't kill her now after going to all the trouble of obtaining her. But there were other things he could do, painful things.
What he would have done, however, she would never know because there was a loud crash as one of the walls of the room burst apart. Before she could blink, Naraku was tumbling to the ground with another silver-haired demon onto of him.
…silver…?
"Inuyasha," she breathed. Her heart swelled with joy upon seeing him.
Inuyasha's claws dug into his skin, one of his hands gripping Naraku's to keep him from swinging it. Naraku then kicked Inuyasha away and both jumped to their feet, glaring at the other.
"Inuyasha," Naraku said with some surprise, not at all paying attention to the small injuries the half-demon had given him. "It's been awhile."
The half-demon growled as he took a step forward. "Not long enough."
Bad move. Naraku lounged forward and sliced at him with the sword in his left hand. Inuyasha managed to jump back, but not in time to avoid obtaining a thin line of crimson across his chest. He growled and tried to go after him again, but again had to dodge the blade by rolling across the ground.
"Inuyasha!"
Surprisingly, it wasn't Kagome who cried out the name. Inuyasha quickly glanced over his shoulder and then spun around in time to catch the sword Sango had tossed to him.
Kagome was surprised to see Sango with Kouga by entrance Inuyasha had made. Kouga immediately went to attacking the other demons in the room as they drew closer, using physical violence to take them down. Sango too was weaponless now—her hiraikotsu still in the trunk of Miroku's car—but certainly not defenseless. Kicking and punching, she made her way to Kagome's side.
"Are you alright?" she asked her friend.
Kagome slowly sat up. "Fine." She tried to stand, but her arm went quickly to hold her stomach as she winced. "I think I cracked a rib."
Sango helped her stand while at the same time grabbing the crossbow she had dropped. From the look of Naraku, it seemed the weapon had come in handy. "We have to get out of here."
Kagome was ready to agree; this day had been too long as it was. But just as she began to nod, she shook her head violently. Shippo!
Inuyasha hardly noticed when the two girls left the room, nor did he even realize Kouga was anywhere nearby; He was utterly and completely focused on the demon in front of him. He never gave Naraku a chance to speak before he attacked him with Sango's sword, but Naraku easily blocked.
He would have thought being an arm short would slow Naraku down, but it was not so. Even as blood spurted from the wound and he was forced to use his non-dominant hand, he was still able to keep up with Inuyasha. Then again, this had to be the first time Inuyasha had ever picked up a sword. As far as that thought went, he was doing pretty well for a beginner. With Inuyasha's inexperience and Naraku's new disability, they were evenly matched.
The two danced back and forth, neither managing to wound the other and only getting more tired as time went on. Naraku slashed at his opponent's stomach, but Inuyasha blocked before he could. Their blades locked, both their arms trembling with the force it took to hold.
"As much as the effort amuses me, you were never able to stand up to me before," Naraku told him with a smirk.
"That was before," Inuyasha snapped back. He knocked Naraku's blade aside. "This is now."
He went to strike at the demon, but before he could, Naraku's sword was there and slicing at him. Inuyasha yelled as he jumped back and when he looked back at Naraku with gritted teeth, there was a long, deep gash in his cheek.
Screw this, he thought as he charged forward. The blades locked again, but this time Inuyasha kicked his foot forward and knocked the sword out of Naraku's hand. Inuyasha dropped his own as well and jumped at Naraku, attacking with his claws. Three thin scratches appeared on the demon's arm and chest.
Inuyasha readied his claws, a dark gleam in his eyes. He prepared to attack again when—
"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled.
He glanced toward her voice and saw her standing with Sango, an unconscious Shippo in her arms. Kouga stood near them, still warding off the demons that came after them.
Go? He didn't want to go yet. He wanted to hack Naraku into itty, bitty pieces, then he'd be ready to leave.
Inuyasha turned back toward Naraku, taking a step forward…
"Inuyasha, let's go!" she said more urgently, worry entwined in her voice.
Hearing the concern in her voice, he winced and backed off. "We'll finish this later," he growled.
"Kagome?" Inuyasha asked hesitantly, though his voice was somewhat rough.
She didn't glance his way from where she was sitting on top of the trunk of Miroku's car. The five had hightailed it out of Naraku's hold quickly, Inuyasha carrying both Sango and Kagome holding a wounded kitsune on his back, jumping roof to roof as quickly as he dared as the sun got brighter, with Kouga following below. Upon seeing Miroku's car, he stopped there, letting both girls off to take a breather, though he warned them they couldn't stay still long. Naraku's goons were probably still looking for them.
"Kagome?" he said again, waving his hand in front of her face.
She snapped out of her thoughts and gazed up at him. "Hmm?"
"You okay?"
Was she okay? She was about to say she was, but instead abruptly shook her head. No, she really wasn't. Not yet.
She slid off the trunk and fell right into his embrace, her hands fisted in her shirt, her head rested against his chest. He tensed as she did, but slowly relaxed as to not alert her. Kagome either didn't notice or care that her face was pressed against his wound, blood smearing onto her cheek. He was very careful not to hiss in pain as she brought her face even closer.
"You're shaking," he said, startled.
Was it so surprising? First she'd been kidnapped, then she'd shot Naraku, scaring herself out of her wits to what would happen after that. If they hadn't arrived…
"I tried to pull off the biggest bluff of my life," she muttered into his torn shirt. Though maybe it wasn't entirely a bluff. She boasted about her powers, which she didn't entirely know how to use… yet she was able to make Naraku's arm look like that, all black and decayed… Of course, if she'd known that before…
Seeing the way Kagome clung to Inuyasha, Kouga tried to go toward her, but Sango grabbed his arm, stopping him from going forward. She shook her head at him, though Kouga didn't look happy when she did. Sango went on to check Kouga's scratches and bruises, keeping him occupied while Kagome and Inuyasha had their time alone.
He tentatively put his arms around her, trying to offer her comfort, but she cried out when she did and backed away. Her arm went around her bruised rib as her face contorted with pain.
"Sorry," he muttered.
She gave him a small smile. "It's alright, not your fault." She glanced at the ground and continued in a soft voice, "I'm glad you came though. You're always coming to my rescue…"
Inuyasha abruptly turned away from her, looking instead toward the cars that sped by a couple hundred yards away.
"Inuyasha?" she asked quietly.
He flinched as he heard the hurt in her voice, but he didn't turn back. He still hadn't forgiven her for leaving him behind. Just because he wasn't a demon, because he wasn't useful at the moment, she had refused to take him with her. And that… it had hurt more than he'd dared to say.
He muttered a quick goodbye and before she could reach out for him, he had jumped away, leaving a confused and hurt Kagome behind.
"I've gotta get back to the club," Kagome heard Kouga say from behind her.
Was he leaving her now, too?
It was Sango that spoke. "Kouga, wait." He gave her tired, but questioning look. She tossed him the keys to the car, which he instinctively caught. "Can you do us one last favor and drive us somewhere? The three of us need to get to our healer and I'm in no condition to drive."
He might have refused had Kagome not been involved. With her in the car, he easily complied and started up the machine. Sango sat in the passenger seat, ready to give the wolf demon directions while Kagome slid into the back where Shippo was lying. Taking the small demon into her arms, she fell into a pain-induced sleep in a matter of minutes.
"Get your damn hands off me!" Inuyasha yelled. He tried to elbow his holder in the stomach, but his reflexes were sluggish. The demon just tightened his hold and easily avoided the pathetic attack.
The two demons holding him forced him to his knees as they applied pressure to his shoulders and he complied without being able to struggle much. It was an effort just to move his body, he felt so exhausted… his eyes could hardly focus…
He almost fell forward, but one of the demons caught him, demanding roughly that he stay up. The other took hold of his face and turned it to face upward. There was something there… some sort of blob… a person, maybe?
The demon seemed to hand something to the dark blur. It was a shining gold stone, the only thing Inuyasha could see clearly in his vision.
The dark blob spoke. "amazing little stone, isn't it?" the voice he heard not too long ago said. He knew that voice… he knew he was familiar with it… but his head… so unclear… "It does not affect demons or humans, but half breeds…"
What Inuyasha could only assume was his hand closed around the stone and then he must have put it somewhere since it suddenly disappeared. Things became more clear for Inuyasha then; his body felt more solid, though heavy; his thoughts became lucid once more; his eyes focused and…
"Naraku!" he growled, trying to break free of his restraints. Surprisingly, he couldn't get out of the grasps of the two demons. What the hell was wrong with him?
And why was he back in this dump, in front of the wounded Naraku? How had they captured him? And why would Naraku want him? All these thoughts should have been going through his head… however, his mind was only focused on one word. Kill.
"The stone is still affecting your body," Naraku explained, as though knowing what Inuyasha was wondering.
Inuyasha gritted his teeth as he strained against the hands that held him both of his arms in place. "What the hell do you want from me? Why am I here?"
If Inuyasha didn't know better, he could have sworn Naraku raised an eyebrow. "Is that how you greet old friends? Or are you just rude because you have new "playmates"?"
"We were never friends," Inuyasha said each word filled with anger.
"Now how could you say that? I remember a time when you were very loyal to my cause and I. You hated those humans." He gestured to the side, showing how he included all humans in the statement. Then his face turned thoughtful. "But now it seems you are… acquainted with the girl I desire."
Inuyasha looked away. "Feh, hardly."
The demons jerked him back to look at Naraku, who looked amused by the comment "You would not go bursting through a wall for just anyone. And the way she looked at you would suggest that there is a certain fondness there."
Naraku's hand went to his chin, holding it up to make Inuyasha look at him. The grip wasn't tight and there was almost a gentleness to it. Another deception there, trying to lure a person into a false sense of security.
He had had enough. "I stopped working for you a long time ago, Naraku. Whatever you want from me, I won't do it."
"I want the girl. And I want you to get her for me."
Such simple words, as though it were nothing. Such a simple, easy request.
"It should be any easy feat, with how close the two of you are."
Inuyasha's amber eyes flashed. "No way."
Naraku's grip slid down to grasp Inuyasha's throat tightly. "What was that?"
"I… said. No. Fucking. Way!" he choked out.
He burst from Naraku's grip and the knocked the two demons away violently with a sudden show of strength that should not have been there. He backed a few feet away, though shakily as his legs wanted to give out on him. Standing in a defensive position, he got ready for the attack.
Naraku signaled for the two demons to back off and did not go after Inuyasha himself. He stood there for a long moment as he prepared to attack. The odds were certainly against him, but he wouldn't back down. Not now, not ever.
Before he could move a muscle, however, Naraku spoke. "I'd hate for something to happen to that priestess you were so fond of."
Inuyasha froze.
"What would she think, knowing that you let her die—someone who was once so important to you—for some other girl?"
What?
They had her? But.. how? Shit, what could he do now. He cared deeply for the priestess, who let him start over and get away from the life that would have certainly killed him. But Kagome… there was no way he could betray her. Not when he had promised to help her and she depended on him so much… how could he just give her up? He couldn't, there was no way.
Kagome… the trust in her eyes… She'd never even dare think ill of him. She always expected him to save her, because he always had. And he would… or at least, he thought he would.
But to leave the priestess to die… Where was his gratitude for what she'd done for him? He'd made a promise to her too…
With the priestess, they'd kill her… but Kagome, on the other hand… And if he didn't agree, his life was on the line too…
His first true friend… or his newest interest…
He looked away, completely letting his guard slip. Closing his eyes and letting out one, long breath he said the one sentence that could destroy a life.
"…I'll do it."
AN: Don't sell Inuyasha short. Do you think he meant what he said?
Thank you to everyone that reviewed! You're so sweet and I don't deserve it.