Chapter 9: Tricks of the Trade

Kagome mewled happily as she lounged naked on the shikibuton, Naraku nipping lightly at her neck and rubbing her stomach.

"Mmm..." she moaned softly as Naraku's fingers moved between her legs.

"How has your interrogation come?"

"Nowhere," Kagome pouted as moved out of range of Naraku's fingers, gathering the clothes that had been carelessly tossed around the room. "He won't even yell for me..." She dressed as she continued to tell him of the things she had done to Miroku.

"What do you plan to do then, my Kagome?" Naraku pulled at the edge of her kimono, trying to pull her back into the bed.

Kagome paused, enjoying the sound of "my" in front of her name. She thought quietly as Naraku stood up and slipped his hand inside her kimono and began tracing circles around her belly button and into the soft pink-purple hair between her legs. She gasped softly at his intrusion, but continued to think as he dragged her back down to the shikibuton and covered her with the blanket, urging her to get some sleep. She felt Naraku curling her back to his front. It was then she came up with a great idea.

"What do you plan to do, love?" Naraku whispered, his voice deeper with the thought of sleep.

"Maybe.. some mental torture might work."

"Maybe." He pulled her closer and tightened his arm around her waist. "Then he might also give you the location of the one who cursed you."

Kagome swore under her breath. She was having so much fun in her new form, she had nearly forgotten she had once been human.

"True," Kagome mumbled as Naraku kissed her shoulder, willing her into a deep sleep.

^_^

Miroku shivered in the bamboo cage. It was quite cold in the room and Kagome had left him nearly naked in the bamboo cage. He leaned against the bars as best as possible without pushing on the welts and bruises of his back and tried to fall asleep. It also didn't help much that his hands had been tied behind his back in a measure to keep him from trying to pick the lock on the cage and escaping.

When the sound of soft footsteps alerted him to someone's presence in the room, he woke instantly from his light sleep. It was hard to see due to the fact that his eyes were nearly swollen shut, but when the figure moved from under the cage, he could tell it was a female. Her form-fitting clothes kept his eyes attached to her butt for a moment. The dim light in the room wasn't helping much, but Miroku could tell it wasn't one of the house servants. She crept along like she was an intruder.

He kept deathly silent as he watched her sneak around the room, seemingly looking for something. Miroku watched as she dug in Kagome's hide satchel and pulled out a glass bottle with three jewel shards in it.

Working her way to the middle of the room once more, she poked on the bottom of the cage. Miroku didn't respond as the woman found and followed the rope holding the cage up. She followed it to the wall when she untied it, carefully lowering it to the floor, trying to make as little noise as possible.

As the figure got closer, Miroku opened his eyes as much as possible, but failed to see the woman's face. She reached down and gently felt for the pulse in his neck. As she did, he leaned into her hand, not really caring if it was Kagome or someone else. It was nice to be touched gently instead of the harsh hateful manner he had been handled lately.

"Are you alive?" A familiar voice said softly, her dulcet tones showing extreme concern.

Miroku coughed harshly, trying to move closer to her. "Sango," he rasped out as he rubbed his cheek against her hand as best he could, glad to see her. "How did you get here?"

She flustered for a moment before speaking softly. "I followed your trail."

Miroku looked at her confusingly. It wasn't like her to give such a vague answer, but he didn't care. She was her and she had found him before Kagome could inflict more damage to his body.

"What happened to you, Miroku?" She asked hastily, trying to unlock the cage.

"Kagome happened." He tried to smile, happy to have heard Sango say his real name for once, but he failed miserably.

Sango managed to open the lock and stepped in the cage. Careful of the injures on his back, Sango pulled him forward slightly and cut the rope bindings on his hands. She pulled him to his feet. "I'll get you home soon enough." They headed for the exit and Sango placed him on his feet against the door frame. "I'll go find your clothes. It's cold outside."

She disappeared quickly, leaving Miroku time to think. "Please hurry, Sango." he whispered. "I'm anxious to get out of here."

"And where do you think you are going?" Kagome's voice sneered as she stepped out of the shadows.

"I'm leaving." Miroku pulled up his own weight defiantly. He held himself up, barely, using the door frame as leverage.

Kagome broke out in laughter. "Leave? You can barely stand up on your own!" She stepped closer to Miroku, causing him to flinch noticeably. "You're scared, as you should be." She reached out and tugged on his arm, sending him crashing to the floor lace first. "You can't walk worth a damn. How did you expect to leave? Floating on air?" She threw him back into the cage, causing Miroku to hit his head on the cage wall hard enough to make him dizzy.

"No, Kagome," Miroku whispered. He noticed Sango had returned, poking her head around the door to check if it was clear. "I'll tell you a secret. Come closer."

Kagome's ears perked up as she moved closer. Sango crept up on Kagome as Miroku distracted her. "You want to tell me you'll be dead soon? Because I already know that."

"No," Miroku paused as Sango lifted her Hirakotsu, "but you may be." As he finished the sentence Sango brought the Hirakotsu down upon her head. Kagome quickly turned and caught the weapon, turning it on Sango and hitting her in the stomach. She fell to the ground in pain.

"Did you think I couldn't tell you were there?" Kagome looked at the fallen Sango with a pensive face. "You may think you are quiet, sneaking around like that, but you may as well have been an elephant. I have very sensitive hearing. I heard you coming a mile away."

With that, she threw Sango in the cage with Miroku and locked it again. Hoisting it up in the air she tied it off and exited the room with a grin plastered on her face.

"Sango," Miroku coughed out. "Why did you come after me?"

Sango's face turned gentle. "You know better than to ask a question like that."

"I know," he admitted, "especially after that sunset. That was the night I finally told you how I felt." He reminised for a moment before half-mumbling to himself, "I can't believe I waited so long to tell you."

Sango's demeaner changed drastically a moment later. She sat up in the cage, her back ramrod straight, and she looked Miroku in the eye. "Miroku, its been so long since we talked about whta happened with Kagome. What do you remember about the night she appeared at this castle?"

"Well," Miroku started before yawning. "She had been reading Shippou that book from the future when we had gone to get food. When we came back, Inuyasha and Shippou were sleeping on the ground and Kagome was missing."

"Hmm..." Sango mumbled.

"Then when we had gone to find her and found Naraku had already changed her." Miroku sighed. "It's all Naraku's fault she's like this."

Sango's face turned angry for a moment before yawning herself. "We should get some sleep." She closed her eyes and fell asleep almost immediately. Miroku pondered her sleeping face for a while before closing his eyes and falling asleep as well.

^_^

Kagome stormed out of Miroku's room, extremely frustrated and angry. How could he see through my illusion enough to lie? She kicked over a stray water jug, sending it flying into the yard and breaking. He will pay for lying to me.

END OF CHAPTER NINE...