Wow!! I owe everyone a huge apology. I am sincerely sorry that this chapter took many months to get out. Basically what happened was a combination of school, home life, and my fictionpress works that I've been working on. Hopefully I will not let this happen again.

Without further delay, here's chapter twelve. I hope everyone enjoys it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I will not now, nor will I ever be able to claim that right. Damn. I also don't own "Who You'd Be Today" by Kenny Chesney.

Chapter Twelve

Healing

There was running, fighting, swimming, gymnastics, and even horseback riding.

Amaya would have preferred any of these to being stuck in that fucking bed.

She had just finished reading her fourth book, and had subsequently thrown it against the wall, when she looked over at the door.

She hadn't seen hide nor hair of that monstrous creature since that night almost three weeks ago, and she was thankful every day for that. The same could be said for Naraku. If she hadn't known from the start that this was his residence, she would never have known that he was here at all.

The only ones that she did see were the three of Kagura, Kanna, and Hakudoshi. Every day, twice a day, Kagura would bring food while Kanna and Hakudoshi would come later to get the dishes. Amaya sighed to herself, and reached over to grab yet another book. After awhile, they all began to sound alike. The redundancy of her life was starting to get to her.

"I'm so fucking bored," she said aloud.

"No you're not," she also replied out loud.

"Yes, I am," she said back, lifting a brow at her own childishness.

"Yes you are, I can tell. I am you, after all."

"Yes, and I am childish, apparently."

"Hey, tell me about it."

"And I'm going insane on top of things. Great."

"You can say that again, kid," she heard from the doorway. Kagura stood with a bowl of what looked to be fish and rice. Amaya took the bowl from her hand and took a bite.

"Thanks," she said, setting the dish aside. "I'll eat in a minute. I'm not hungry now."

"Do whatever you want. It is no concern of mine." She turned to leave.

"Hey," Amaya called out, waiting until the demoness turned. "What are you to Naraku? The children tried to explain it to me, but I'm still not sure . . . ."

"Trust me, those 'children' wouldn't hesitate to kill you."

"Yeah . . . yeah I got that part," she said, looking up. "But who are all of you?'

"We came from Naraku. In case you hadn't noticed, he is made up of many demons. We are the ones that he had chosen to do his bidding. It's a life of shameful servitude, and one day I will break free!" she said with such conviction that Amaya's eyes widened.

"If I can ever help . . . ."

"Save your breath," Kagura hissed out, slashing at the air with her hand. "As if you, a mortal, could ever help me." She turned back to the door, sneering.

"Yeah," she replied slowly. "Because that's been working so well for you. It seems to me that you need all the help you can get, lady."

Kagura turned back, her red eyes flashing. "I need no one," she whispered harshly, and then she left the room abruptly, as though there were hellhounds at her heels.

Amaya bit out a curse into the quiet room.

This was just turning into one shitty situation, and she didn't like it one bit.

Her fingers flew over the strings of the guitar, the bitter twang of them reaching deep within her soul. Her voice carried the words boldly.

"Sunny days seem to hurt the most,

Wear the pain like a heavy coat . . . ."

Tears slipped past her eyes. Her voice wavered, but she caught herself in time for the chorus.

"It ain't fair you died too young,

Like a story that had just begun,

But death tore the pages all away . . . ."

Memories flashed behind Amaya's closed eyes. Her fingers tightened on the neck of the guitar, and the music halted.

"Dammit," she whispered as a sob tore from her throat.

"You were singing," she heard. Amaya looked up, and the little white-haired demoness was staring at her with indecipherable black eyes. "It was loud."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, swiping her fingers under her eyes. "I got lost in the music."

"How do you get lost in music?" the girl asked, and Amaya stopped.

"Well . . . . When you feel the music in your soul," she said, pushing the hair off of her forehead. "When you feel it, you want to keep singing because without it, you feel empty."

The girl stared down at Amaya, who was seated on the floor of the room, and something flickered in her eyes.

"Would you like to hear more music, Kanna?" Amaya asked, lifting the guitar up.

"No," she said slowly.

"It doesn't have to be that song," Amaya persisted. "Or we could watch a movie?"

"I don't want to hear more," the girl said monotonously. "And I do not know what a movie is."

"I can show you," she said, digging into her bag and pulling out a DVD. "Come here," she said, motioning for the girl to sit.

Amaya took the movie—"Beauty and the Beast"—out of the box and held the disk in her hands. Slowly, red light enveloped the small item, and it levitated several inches off of her hands and began to rotate slowly. With quickening speed, a pinpoint formed on the shiny surface. A radiant of red light came up and a three foot by three foot translucent screen lit upon the opposite wall.

"This is a fun trick that I picked up awhile back when I discovered that my Grandmother's television was busted," Amaya said, smiling at the memory. It was also the reason that her electric guitar had worked flawlessly—one of her many powers was the ability to mimic the effects that an amplifier would have without actually needing one.

The movie started soon, and Amaya knew that Kanna tried to ignore the flashing movie in front of her, but she was, after all, still a child. After a few minutes, she was fully engrossed in her own stoic way. Amaya watched the girl as her eyes widened ever-so-slightly at the sight of the bright characters and the sounds that echoed through the room. The large, translucent screen became a solitary focus for her, and the girl drew her knees up to her chest while her small hands stayed folded loosely atop her knees.

It was fifteen minutes later that Hakudoshi burst into the room with his scythe drawn. He took one look at Kanna, who was sitting the corner mesmerized, and Amaya, who had limped to the middle of the room, where she was now sitting with the disk winging around in her hand with the light ascending so that the movie could be viewed.

"What is going on here?" he asked, still keeping the weapon ready for use.

"We're watching a movie," Amaya said, smiling. "Would you like to join us?"

"No," he said stiffly. "Naraku requests your presence, Kanna. You have kept him waiting for far too long." His harsh rebuke was not lost on the girl, who stood promptly and walked out of the room without a word.

Amaya sighed and let the movie stop, and then she carefully placed it back in the DVD box. When she turned again, Hakudoshi was gone.

His hands shot out from the dark of the room and found her shoulders. She was pulled into his embrace and her breath gasped out from her body. The tender look in his eyes was almost immediately quenched by fiery lust as he stared down at her soft, waiting mouth. His hands then came up and fisted gently in her midnight hair as his mouth descended to her fragrant throat, scraping his teeth along her tendons and eliciting a shivery sigh from between her lips . . . .

The door burst open just as she was reading the middle of the steamy sex scene.

The wind outside whipped and whistled and the sound made her shudder even though a fire was roaring in the middle of the room and her coverings were warm. The book in her hands was a vampire romance novel that had somehow managed to keep her enthralled even after the boring books that she had been reading before. She stretched out her leg and wiggled her toes, figuring that she would be up and out in a few days.

She looked up as Naraku stalked toward her and crouched down so that he was at her level.

"Kanna will no longer be allowed in your presence without Hakudoshi at her side. You are not to play music in this manor again."

"You're not the boss of me," she muttered. "I can do whatever the fuck I want to, and if you want me out then fine, because the way I see it, you wouldn't have me here if you didn't need something from me."

He smirked and shook his head. "You are daring. I could kill you in an instant, and you are foolish enough to try my patience."

"What can I say—I'm a cheeky bitch, and I don't mind telling you what's on my mind. And, well, let's face it, you're pretty transparent."

"You will obey me, one way or the other. Never have a doubt that I will kill you if you continue to contravene my orders." His voice went soft, but the steel behind his words was not lost on Amaya as she glanced up at him.

"Fair enough," she said, placing the bended book down on her lap. "Until I'm physically able to walk out of here, I won't play any more music on my guitar."

He nodded, seemingly satisfied with her answer. Naraku stood, but continued to gaze down at her. She felt as though she were under scrutiny and that any movement she made would be held against her. His devil eyes were powerful in and of themselves, and he hardly needed words to convey his perceived dominance over her.

"What?" she asked, picking up the book again, keeping a finger at the place that she had been reading.

"Of all of the minions that I control and all of the power that I have obtained, never have a met a person who is as undaunted by me as you."

"Good," she said, turning up the book and dismissing him with a smirk. "Then my evil plan is working."

He laughed with that creepy laugh of his and she shuddered as she tried her best to ignore him. Turning a page in her book, she didn't comprehend the words, except for one. Trees. Damn it. How she missed trees!

"Will I be allowed outside when I'm fully able?" she asked, looking up at him. "I've been in this fucking room for three weeks, and a change of scenery will probably prevent me from slitting my own wrists."

He inclined his head toward her, and she frowned.

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes. You will, however, be accompanied by Kanna and Hakudoshi, and you are to never leave their sight."

"Good," Amaya said, smiling for the first time in weeks. "I'm looking forward to it."

With another nod, he walked out of the room, leaving Amaya to her books and loneliness.

It never ceased to amaze her how simple things—things that most people took for granted—held with them the most glorious feeling that could ever be imagined.

Six days after her moonlight visit from Naraku, Amaya walked out of her room without even a limp. She walked down a long hallway, not quite sure where she was going, but she couldn't stay in that goddamn room any longer. With her bag slung over her shoulder, she walked on until she saw a peak of sunlight from under a door, and she gently slid it open.

Warmth hit her, and she closed her eyes to adjust to sudden light against the weeks of darkness that she had had to endure. The cool breeze fell along her skin and her T-shirt fluttered while she tilted her head back.

"Waiting for us?" the boy said, his voice stony and clearly resentful that he would be lowered to a position of playing keeper for her. Kanna followed behind him.

"Of course," Amaya said, turning to smirk down at him. "Wouldn't dream of leaving you two behind."

Taking her first step into the courtyard, she was pleased to see a few cherry trees adorning a middle garden and a coy pond. Her heart leapt when she saw grass and a shady tree to sit under.

Walking over, she sat beneath it and made herself comfortable. She leaned her head back against the tree and closed her eyes as the sun swathed her in golden warmth.

"I never thought I would miss sitting under a tree and letting the sun warm me," she said, reaching over for her bag. "How about some music?"

She didn't miss the flash that came into Kanna's eyes at the mention of music, but Hakudoshi immediately protested.

"Naraku has ordered that you are not to create music."

"In his manor," she finished, waving a pointed finger at him. "This is outside the manor."

He scoffed at her logic, but remained silent as she tuned the strings and gave them a test strum. The guitar began to glow a pale red as she applied her powers to amplify the sound.

When she was through singing a song, she looked up and noted the confused look on the boy's face. Kanna was standing by her side, and she took the opportunity to sit next to her. Amaya smiled down at the girl, knowing intuitively that though this girl was vacant and devoid of personality, she was a child inside, and that brightness was just waiting to burst free.

The boy, however, was a tough one. He would refuse to allow his inner child to run free, not when his life was to be dutiful and loyal to Naraku. She glanced over at him, carefully noting the disapproving look as his eyes watched Kanna.

Suddenly she felt as though she was being watched, the stare heated and curious. Turning her eyes toward the door that they had just come out of, the deep glow of red eyes, burning like fire, caught hers from across the garden. Unable to gage their intent, she stiffened under the onslaught of their power, and she had to force her muscles to unravel and relax. Setting her guitar aside, she looked down at the girl next to her.

"I think we're done for the day," she said. "You two are way to exciting for me. I can barely keep up." At the strange gazes that the children sent her way, she stood and walked to the manor. The children walked ahead of her, their duties waiting for their return.

As she neared the door, she realized that the one who had been watching her was Kagura, her usual red gaze as sharp as ever and her arms crossed over her chest, indicative of her fiery temper and persistent defiance of her master. Amaya caught and held the gaze, finding a spark from the demoness that she hadn't seen before . . . a spark of what could only be hope . . . a hope that Amaya wished that she herself could find.

"I need to speak with you, human," Kagura said, her voice that of a women who needn't waste her time with one such as Amaya.

"I'm a little tired," she said, stretching and expelling a yawn for emphasis. Then she flashed her trademark smirk. "You can talk, but that doesn't mean I'll listen."

Amaya saw the anger rise in the demon, yet she held herself in check. The effort was obvious, yet instead of her usual outburst, she clenched her jaw and drew her fingers together in twin fists, channeling her fury from it normal release.

Waiting until they had entered Amaya's room, Kagura shut the door firmly and turned, her robes swaying around her, light as air despite the many layers that surrounded her body.

"You will listen to me. I need your help." The plea for help was said with such fervor and certainty that the young woman paused and turned, a smirk tugging at the corners of her lips.

"You . . . need my help? You, who needs the help of no one?"

"My arrogance has been the very thing that has kept me prisoner. The means to attaining my freedom can only come with your help."

"I can't say I'm not surprised. You've been nothing but a stone cold bitch to me since they day I arrived here." Walking deeper into the room, Amaya leaned back against a wall, stuffing her hands in her pockets as she did so. "I thought I would be the last person that you would turn to for help. After all, I'm beneath you, right?"

"You are the only one who can help me. You have no allegiance to Naraku . . . his influence is lost on you. You defy his orders without fear of consequence. He has my heart, and without it, I can never break free from him."

Taking a short breath, as though she had begun to speak and then stopped herself, Amaya pursed her lips thoughtfully. "When you say that he has your heart . . . ."

"My physical heart. When Naraku created us, he kept our hearts as a means to control us."

With a sigh of understanding, Amaya tossed the hair over her shoulder in an act of pure arrogance, an homage to the woman who stood before her. She saw Kagura's eyes harden, but her usual cutting response remained unsaid. "I take it, then, that you need me to retrieve this heart for you?"

"Yes," she said. For the first time, Amaya heard humility in her voice. She had thought at first that it was that tone which swayed her ultimate decision, but later, much later, she would realize that it was something else, something simplistic and carnal that resided deep within her: the need for self-destruction.

She would also realize, much later, that aiding Kagura in attaining her freedom was the very act that would lead her to attaining her own destiny.

Fate really is a bitch.

Well, there you have it, and again, I apologize for the extreme lateness of this chapter. I hope everyone enjoyed it. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed for this story so far!

Tears