Secret Possession by SakuraAngel1

Escape

Chapter 4: Escape

~*~*~

“What are you doing here?” Kagome asked as she finally pulled away from the embrace to wipe the tears from her eyes.

Sango offered another sad smile and shrugged.

“I was told to serve you. Although, I had no idea that it would be you that I was serving,” Sango explained.

Kagome nodded before she studied the cuts and bruises on her best friend’s cheek; Sango flinched as Kagome reached out to gently touch one.

“Who did this to you?” Kagome whispered incredulously as she felt an anger rise from the depths of her soul.

It was one thing to hurt her, but another to hurt her friends.

Sango grabbed Kagome’s hand and tenderly pat it.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll be fine Kagome. What I want to know is, what happened to you,” Sango dodged.

Kagome softly pulled her hand away from Sango; trying to find the voice to say what had occurred to her, but instead, her eyes began to fill with tears and a sob threatened to escape from her.

Instead, Kagome chose to pull at the collar of her yukata to show Sango the mating mark she had refused to look at.

Sango’s eyes widened before they narrowed as she stared at decent sized blue crescent moon on her shoulder.

The mark looked so familiar, but for some reason, Sango failed to recall where she had seen it before. Instead, her own anger seemed to override everything else at that moment.

“You were…” Sango started as she couldn’t bring herself to say the word.

Kagome nodded sadly before Sango quickly reached out to embrace her in a tight hug.

“Oh, Kagome! I’m so sorry! I should’ve been there. I should’ve gone with you that night, then maybe…” Sango trailed as hot tears leaked from her eyes and onto the shoulder of her friend.

Kagome held onto Sango tightly as her own tears finally fell in relief for having someone she knew hold her lovingly.

“It’s okay, I’m pretty sure that you would’ve been in danger if you went with me. I’m just glad that you’re alright,” Kagome swallowed as she held back a sob.

Sango slowly pulled away from her friend and placed steady hands on Kagome’s shoulders as she looked at the younger girl straight into her eyes.

“What the servants say…is it…true?” Sango asked vaguely.

At first, Kagome had no idea what Sango was talking about, but then when her friend glanced down at her stomach, she knew.

Kagome slowly nodded as she placed a gentle hand over her flat stomach.

“Yeah…twins,” Kagome said in a hushed voiced.

Sango stood up quickly and began to pace the large sleeping room in anger.

“That bastard got you pregnant too?!” Sango spat as she continued to pace furiously.

Kagome crawled to the edge of the large futon and grabbed Sango’s wrist as she paced by her again.

“Sango, have you met him? The one who did this to me?” Kagome asked curiously as she pulled Sango down to come sit by her on the bed.

Sango simply shook her head.

“No, I have no idea who did this to you, but I swear that I’ll make him pay for this, Kagome,” Sango threatened as she clutched the fabric of the elegant kimono that covered her lap.

Kagome nodded sadly before she exhaustedly rested her head on the older girl’s shoulder. Sango relaxed a little when Kagome did this and she chose to stroke the younger girl’s hair soothingly; trying to calm her own anger.

Sango needed to be strong for the both of them now. Although Kagome was putting up a pretty good front, she could tell that her best friend was hurting deeply inside.

“How did you get here?” Kagome asked quietly after some moments had passed in between them.

“I don’t know… I just remember us fighting off a couple of demons before one of them knocked me out. When I woke up, we were in the servant’s quarters of this castle and I had this kimono on. The servants told us that we were here to serve the Lady of this castle, but when Miroku and I resisted, well…” Sango stopped to point at the large bruise on her cheek.

Kagome sat up at the news of her other friend being here.

“Miroku is here? Then is Inuyasha here too?” Kagome asked as a spark of hope shone in her large, blue-gray eyes.

“Miroku, Shippo and Kirara are here, but Inuyasha wasn’t with us when we were fighting,” Sango explained as she chose to focus her attention on the wooden floor.

“Then we could still try to escape out of here,” Kagome said quietly as she rose gracefully to look outside of the window.

“Kagome…” Sango started as she looked over at her best friend.

“If we could make it out of here and back to the well, then we’ll be safe,” Kagome explained as she stared at the moonlit garden that was outside of the window.

“Kagome, getting out of here is going to be a lot more complicated than you think. Even with the four of us with you. For starters, they’re keeping us separated. They have Kirara chained up somewhere, I don’t even know where Shippo is anymore and Miroku could be working anywhere in the castle,” Sango explained in defeat.

She didn’t want to destroy Kagome’s hope, but neither did she want to encourage it in such a dangerous situation.

Kagome’s shoulders slumped forward sadly as Sango stood up to wrap her arms around her in comfort, before she led the younger girl back to the futon.

“I know you want to get out of here, but there’s too much at risk now and it’s going to be tricky,” Sango said as she pulled back the covers for Kagome.

“What do you mean? We’ve always managed to get out of tricky situations when we’re together,” Kagome said as she slowly crawled back into bed.

“I know, but now you have a mating mark, which makes it easier for one mate to track another and also, you’re…” Sango trailed as she eyed the younger girl’s stomach, before tucking Kagome in with the covers.

“That’s why I want to do this sooner, than later. He’s after Naraku and while I’m still capable of moving around, we might as well take the chance while he’s away. There’s no telling what could happen when he gets back,” Kagome explained softly as she reached out for Sango’s hand.

Sango took a hold of Kagome’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“I’ll tell you what. If I think that there’s a possibility for us to escape, then we’ll take that chance immediately, but you have to be ready to go at all times. I don’t even know where we are, but if we can get out of here safely, then that part won’t matter,” Sango promised.

“Really?” Kagome said with a small smile.

“Really. Now, get some rest. You’re going to need your strength, just in case.” Sango affirmed as she squeezed Kagome’s hand again.

As Sango rose up to leave Kagome’s side, Kagome caught Sango by the wrist again. Her eyes were shining with newly formed tears as Sango knelt beside her.

“Please stay with me. I don’t think I could stand being so alone anymore. The nightmares…they keep me up at night and I’m afraid that…” Kagome trailed as a sob finally escaped her lips.

Sango leaned across Kagome to give her friend a reassuring hug.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be with you. I’ll stay here and look after you as long as you want me to,” Sango whispered lovingly as she embraced the younger girl before she gently pulled away.

“I’ll be waiting right here, in this spot, until you wake up, okay?” Sango said as she patted the floor beside her to confirm that she wasn’t leaving.

Kagome nodded in relief as she wiped her tears away before she closed her eyes to try and get some rest.

After a couple of quiet moments, Kagome finally went to sleep and when Sango realized that, she had dropped her guard and allowed her own guilty tears to flow freely from her eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Kagome. I should’ve been there for you…” She whispered into the darkness.

~*~*~

It was mid-morning when Kagome had waked up again and when she did, she glanced around the room, trying to locate Sango.

Before Kagome could even pull back the covers to go investigate, the giant sliding doors in front of her opened.

Sango smiled kindly as she entered the room with a tray of hot, delicious food before she walked around the futon to set it down onto Kagome’s lap.

“Sorry, the servants wanted me to bring you some food and it took a bit longer than expected,” Sango said apologetically as she offer Kagome a pair of beautifully crafted chopsticks.

“It’s okay,” Kagome said as she sat up carefully in better position before she took the pair of eating utensils.

It was a hot bowl of okayu again, but this time it was served with black sesame seeds and grilled sea bream.

“The healer wants you to take it easy. So she’s been recommending that you’d eat porridge since it’s easier on your stomach. At least, until your appetite comes back,” Sango explained as she watched Kagome eye the food.

It wasn’t that it tasted bad; it was because she would rather have something else to eat.

For some reason, she was beginning to crave actual meat.

“Um, Sango? Do you think I could have beef instead?” Kagome asked timidly.

She felt bad for using Sango as an actual servant, but she was the only person around to bring her food.

Sango smiled as pat Kagome’s back reassuringly.

“Feeling better?” Sango asked.

“I think so. I definitely slept better last night, but I have you to thank for that,” Kagome said.

Sango grabbed the tray of food and stood up to leave for the kitchen.

“That’s good to hear. Just stay right there and I’ll be back, okay?” Sango smiled before she left out of the room.

Kagome watched through the open sleeping room door as Sango crossed the other large room to head for the kitchen.

She released a long sigh as she fell back onto the soft pillow below her.

When Sango appeared last night, it had sparked a sense of hope within Kagome as she had finally thought she had found her way to freedom. However, when Sango had pointed out the complications of escaping this castle, the little light of hope she had inside of her was extinguished.

Kagome sighed again as she gently ran her hand across her stomach; thinking about the possibility of freedom.

As she ran her delicate fingers across her belly, she froze in place as her hand ran across a spot that piqued her interest.

A watery smile spread across Kagome’s face as she held back more tears while she felt the small bulge that had managed to formed in her belly.

Suddenly, her pregnancy felt very real to her.

~*~*~

As Sango entered into the busy kitchen, she was greeted by unwelcomed stares and glares from the other servants before they turned back again to focus on their work.

“What do you think the twins will be?” A female badger servant asked another as they ignored the human servant that walked past them.

“I don’t know! Maybe the Lady will have a boy and a girl! You know what they all say about twin youkai…” A female kitsune smirked.

“Maybe the new heir will look like our Lord-” A deer demoness swooned.

“Don’t be silly! Of course he’s going to look like him! Can you imagine if she had twin sons?! The girls in this castle will go crazy before the young masters grow old enough to mate…” A bear servant grinned.

“She might have twin girls! I’d imagine that our Lord might have a hard time allowing any other male around them,” Another deer demoness giggled.

Sango mentally shook her head as she walked past the gossiping group of youkai and sat down the tray of food on the table.

“What’s the matter, girl?” Atsuko asked as she eyed Sango warily.

“Kago- I mean, Lady Kagome wishes to eat beef instead. Her appetite has seemed to return, so she has sent this back,” Sango explained as the older youkai stared at the human woman warily.

Atsuko wasn’t sure about having a human woman as a one of the Ladies in Waiting; however, it was Lord Sesshoumaru’s direct order to allow the human to serve alongside her as a way to make their Lady feel comfortable.

It was Atsuko who had to put the pair of humans, which had recently arrived, in their rightful place as they tried to fight against them and the other servants that were in the dungeons.

Atsuko had to practically drag a bruised and beaten Sango into the Lady’s bedroom, before the human woman had stopped her struggling when she had saw who the Lady actually was.

The only upside to Sango being here, was that the Lady was actually eating and sleeping well.

“Then we shall give the Lady beef,” Atsuko said sternly as she motioned for the cooks to make something else.

As Sango began to walk away to go wait nearby away from the other youkai, Atsuko grabbed her shoulder firmly.

“You will do your best to ensure that the Lady’s needs are met. Don’t try anything stupid or I will see to it personally that you will receive the proper punishment. Those twins are worth more than thousands of your worthless, pathetic human life. Do not forget it,” Atsuko warned lowly as she glared at Sango.

She didn’t trust the two women together, but it was essential that their Lady felt right at home. It wasn’t that Atsuko hated humans; she just didn’t necessarily deal with them.

Of course, Lady Kagome would always be the exception.

Although, their Lady wasn’t just an ordinary human; she was a powerful miko and now she was carrying the two heirs that would later rule the Western Lands.

~*~*~

Kagome blinked out of her reverie as she heard the bedroom door snap shut and stared up at Sango as she brought the tray of food back to Kagome.

Kagome smiled as she began to indulge in the plate of yakiniku before her; hungrily eating at the grilled pieces of beef as Sango simply watched her.

When Kagome had nearly finished the meat off, she paused as she saw how undercooked the last couple of pieces looked.

When Sango saw her friend staring at the bloody pieces of meat, she reached out to grab the plate from her.

However, Kagome stopped her.

“No, I think I want it,” Kagome stated as she grabbed a piece in between her chopsticks before she ate it.

Suddenly, Kagome’s eyes lit up as though it was the tastiest thing she had ever eaten. Before she could even stop herself, Kagome had managed to quickly finish off the rest of the raw meat and as a result, she even began to lick the plate clean of the blood that was left behind.

Sango watched her friend nervously as she hungrily ate the raw meat and blood from the plate. When Kagome glanced up at her, Sango was taken aback when she had briefly saw her friend’s eyes flash from a glowing red to a soft blue again.

“Kagome…” Sango whispered worriedly. She had never been involved nor seen a demon-human pregnancy before, so she had no idea what to expect from Kagome’s.

“Huh? What is it, Sango?” Kagome asked curiously as she stared back at her friend.

Sango shook her head and waved her hand; dismissing the sight she had just witnessed.

“It’s nothing…but I do have something else to tell you,” Sango said as she dropped her voice into a murmur.

Kagome’s heartbeat sped up as she realized that there could only be one place where this conversation was leading.

“We can get out of here?” Kagome guessed as Sango nodded slightly.

“You should probably take a bath,” Sango suggested heavily while silently signaling to Kagome that this was not the place to talk about it.

It was something they often did whenever they wanted to talk to each other in private; away from the boys.

Kagome nodded as Sango took away the tray and moved it off to the side, before assisting her to the bathing room.

Once they were inside of the other room, Kagome noticed that the rushing of the water seemed to have drowned out the sound of anything that wasn’t close them.

It was when Kagome was immersed in water, that Sango started to talk again; using the washcloth provided by the other servants to help wash her friend.

“There seems to be a lack of guards by a wall outside. I had passed the wall several times already during different times of the day and it still remains unguarded,” Sango said into Kagome’s ear as she washed the younger girl’s shoulders from her position on the stone floor.

Kagome nodded for Sango to continue.

“I don’t know how long it’s going to be like that, but if we leave tonight, do you think you have the strength to travel?” Sango asked.

“Yeah, I think so, but what about Miroku, Shippo and Kirara? How are we going to get them out?” Kagome voiced.

“We can come back for them, once we find Inuyasha. I’m sure that while they’ll be focused on finding you, they’ll forget about them for a little while. From what I see, they really seem to fear this Lord more than other servants we’ve encountered. I don’t like the idea of leaving them behind either, but this is the only chance we seem to have,” Sango said evenly.

“But how am I going to get out of this room? There’s a barrier here to trap me inside,” Kagome pointed out as she turned around to look at Sango.

Sango shook her head as Kagome tilted her head in confusion.

“For some reason they think that you can’t climb. In the garden, outside of the bedroom…if we can climb to the rooftop, it’ll be easier for us to reach the wall. From there, all we have to do is climb down and get to the other side,” Sango continued.

The plan sounded so simple that even Kagome had to question whether it was too good to be true.

“It sounds so simple…” Kagome started skeptically.

“I know what you’re thinking, but if you think about it; the servants only think that you’re confined to the bedroom and the garden. There’s no barrier above the ground-level from what I sense. And you haven’t been very active since you’ve gotten here, so they’ve been checking on you a lot less than they should,” Sango clarified.

Now Kagome was beginning to see the logic of Sango’s plan.

“And it would have to be tonight, right?” Kagome confirmed.

Sango nodded before she turned Kagome around to continue washing her.

“Alright, let’s give it a try, but if it gets too dangerous or if there’s a chance we might get caught, then we’re going to have to stop and try again another day, deal?” Kagome proposed.

“Deal. We’ll leave when the moon is high above the sky, so be ready then,” Sango agreed.

Kagome nodded again as she silently pray for this plan to work. She didn’t want to leave her other friends behind, but she didn’t think that any harm would come to them, since they haven’t been in contact with her yet.

However, her main concern was Sango.

What would they do to her best friend if they were caught?

~*~*~

The moon was almost in position in the sky as Kagome stared anxiously out of the window from her place on the futon.

The rest of the day went by uneventfully as Kagome and Sango tried to keep minimal contact with each other to avoid suspicion.

Today, Kagome and the rest of the Ladies in Waiting had sat around the larger part of the bedroom together hand sewing small kimonos for the unborn twins.

When Kagome had emerged from her bedroom fully dressed in another beautiful kimono, she was greeted with the sight of colorful rolls of fabric lined up neatly along the tatami mat floor.

Atsuko explained that it was a tradition of the household for the Lady to sew her own children’s kimono in order to anticipate for the arrival of a new heir.

When Kagome had carefully viewed each roll of luxurious fabric, her heart settled on two beautiful patterns.

Both had a white base as the kimono’s solid color, but one had a silver-gray pattern of curving clouds alongside one shoulder, while the other had soft blue, beautiful circular patterns of waves embroidered on the same shoulder.

Something about the patterns spoke to her about freedom and that was the reason why she had chosen them.

Kagome screwed her eyes shut and evened-out her breathing as she heard the sliding door to the room open. It was only when she had felt a hand on her back that she had opened her eyes; Sango stood beside her and gave Kagome a slight nod.

As Kagome quietly crawled out of the futon, she held up her index finger for Sango to wait a moment.

Sango stood in confusion as Kagome grabbed both pillows from the bed and placed them where she was previously sleeping, before covering the pillows up with the covers.

Kagome gave Sango a sly smile as the older girl realized what Kagome had just cleverly done, before they silently left the sleeping room.

Sango and Kagome carefully tiptoed down the two stairs that led from the platform and approach the left wall filled with more sliding screen doors.

Before Kagome could reach out and touch one, Sango motioned for Kagome to stand back and let her open it instead.

As Sango stepped out into the garden, she signaled for Kagome to wait inside as she inspected the surroundings outside.

While Kagome was waiting, her anxiety seemed to rise as she glanced around the room for any signs of life; placing a nervous hand on the tiny bulge of her stomach.

When Sango had emerged into view, she signaled for Kagome to come with her and when they were in the middle of the garden, surrounded by other parts of the castle, Sango pointed to a nearby tree; one of the branches of the large tree seemed to extend far enough to reach a rooftop.

When they approached the tree, Sango had to jump up a couple of times before she could grab a hold onto the branch; using her upper body strength to pull herself up onto the tree.

Sango leaned forward with an extended hand; motioning for Kagome to jump up and grab it.

It took more tries than Sango for her to grab onto the older girl’s hand, but when she finally did, Sango held on tightly with both hands to pull Kagome up.

With a little more assistance, Kagome managed to straddle the large branch behind Sango and watched as the older girl carefully cross the branch like a tightrope before stealthily launching herself onto the rooftop with minimal noise.

Kagome swallowed nervously and placed a reassuring hand on her belly when she realized that it was her turn to jump.

Instead of crossing the branch like a tightrope, Kagome simply scooted across the branch before she stood up to balance herself; preparing to jump.

She glanced at Sango, who nodded at her confidently with extended arms, before she made the large leap.

Kagome landed into Sango a little harder than anticipated and both of them landed on the rooftop with a very loud ‘thud’.

Both of them exchanged worried looks as they stood to their feet, however, no one seemed to have noticed the noise.

Sango quietly pulled Kagome along the roof as she headed for the direction of the large, unguarded wall she had seen earlier.

At their pace, it didn’t take them long for them to spot the wall Sango was talking about, but the only thing that stood in the way was the distance between the rooftop and the slightly lower wall.

Beyond the wall, all they could see was forest; freedom and it was just one large leap away.

“It was up here!” They heard someone shout before they could spot dark figures arriving on the roof where they had once fallen.

Kagome swallowed nervously as she looked at Sango, before the older girl grabbed Kagome by the hand again; bringing them closer to the edge of the roof where they would need to jump to get to the wall.

“Over there!” Another voice shouted as the dark, armored figures started to run towards them.

Sango pulled at Kagome once again and switched places with her; moving behind the younger girl instead, preparing for a fight with the guards.

Before Kagome could turn around to see what Sango was doing, the older girl gave Kagome a huge push.

“Go! GO!” Sango ordered.

The momentum of the push was barely enough to get Kagome across and onto the large wall, that she had struggled to hang on to the clay tiled roof top; slowly sliding off of it.

When Kagome had managed to strengthen her grip, she pulled herself onto her feet and turned around to find Sango.

When Kagome had spotted where she was pushed, she gasped as she saw Sango being brutally attacked by the demon guards.

“Sango!” Kagome shouted.

However, nothing could prepare her for what was about to happen next.

The instant Kagome had shouted out Sango’s name, she had lost her own footing on the intricately designed clay tile and felt her heart drop into her stomach as the sensation of falling registered in her brain.

“Kagome!” She heard Sango shriek in horror before everything in Kagome’s world went black.

~*~*~

Sesshoumaru waited anxiously as he leaned against a large tree within a forest. To anyone else, he looked like his normal, stoic self; portraying no emotion as he stood motionlessly while a gentle breeze lightly swayed the strands of his silver hair.

However, internally, he was emotionally overwhelmed.

It was nearly an hour ago when he had sensed it; Kagome’s connection to his mating mark had disappeared abruptly with only the emotion of fear lingering before it had slowly faded from his mind.

He had stopped walking suddenly and tried to focus on mentally finding the connection that was once there.

It was only a few moments ago when he had sensed the connection’s return, but there was a significant difference about it; this time it was much weaker than what it was supposed to be.

This meant that his mate had been physically harmed…seriously.

Now, he was angrily and anxiously waiting on the arrival of a messenger.

Sesshoumaru wasn’t surprised by the timeliness of his messenger, however what did surprise him was that it was not his usual messenger.

Sesshoumaru watched as a large hawk youkai landed gracefully in front of him before it had transformed into Atsuko.

The muscle in Sesshoumaru jaw tensed as his eyes narrowed at the older woman, who had helped raise him as a pup, bowed lowly and apologetically before him.

“What happened?” He managed to ground out.

Atsuko kept her eyes lowered as she started to speak to her Lord.

“My Lord…there has been an unfortunate incident back at the castle,” Atsuko informed, although she knew that her Lord had probably felt it, judging from his appearance.

“Well?” Sesshoumaru angrily pressed as he glared at Atsuko.

“The Lady…she tried to escape with the new human servant. They were on the rooftops when Lady Kagome…fell,” Atsuko finished with a hushed voice.

Sesshoumaru unconsciously balled his claws into fists as he willed himself to not lose control; the claws digging so far into his flesh that droplets of his blood began to spill onto the grass below him.

“And?” Sesshoumaru growled as he felt his vision begin to develop a red haze.

“The Lady…she’s suffered a few broken bones, but she’s expected to recover in a few days since she is a miko. As for the human servant, she is being detained in the dungeons until your further instructions. However…the pups……the Lady is devastated and feels guilty……….” Atsuko trailed before her voice began to tremble.

Sesshoumaru raised a delicate eyebrow as he claws dug deeper into his hands.

“My pups…?” He could feel himself slipping further and further from his control as he eyed the older youkai in contempt.

“I fully take responsibility for tonight’s incident and I humbly ask that you spare my beloved daughter and mate as they had nothing to do with this,” Atsuko begged as she fell to her knees and bowed on the ground for forgiveness.

“What about my pups?” Sesshoumaru snarled.

Atsuko hesitated as she released a shaky breath; preparing for her demise. She could only hope that Sesshoumaru won’t take his anger out on the rest of her family after she died.

“My Lord…one of the pups…didn’t survive the fall and the other has been greatly injured,” Atsuko said in a shaky voice.

It took him less than two seconds to reach across and grab Atsuko before he struck out to impale the woman’s chest with his lethal claws.

As Atsuko’s body slumped forward, she reached up weakly to lovingly stroke his cheek before the light in her eyes started to disappear.

“I’m sorry…that I…failed you…my Lord,” Atsuko breathed before Sesshoumaru dropped her unceremoniously to the ground; slowly transforming into the gigantic, full-blooded dog demon formed he had been repressing.

It was the night that all beings of Japan heard an angry and heartbreaking howl cut through the warm, summer night.