Crimson and Gold

Cute and Fluffy

Standard Disclaimer:

ロ I do not own Inu Yasha or any of the characters contained therein. This story is not for profit. The plot and any original characters I may create, however, are my own.

ロ This story is rated T for violence and language. The rating may be increased as the story progresses.

Prologue

"It's the end, Naraku!" yelled Kagome as her arrow sped towards the hanyou, leaving a luminescent trail in its wake. Kagome's arrow and Inu Yasha's Kaze no Kizu struck him at the same time, once and for all ending his unholy exsistence. Sesshoumaru held back the urge to sigh as Naraku's body disintegrated into ash. It was finally over. His muscles trembled from exhaustion, although he managed to conceal it with practiced ease, as he clutched Toukijin in a death grip. With weary eyes he surveyed the battlefield before sliding Toukijin back into its sheath. It had played it's role for the time being.

Although they had ended Naraku's threat, they were not without casualties themselves. Kouga was severely wounded, and if Inu Yasha acted like his normal idiot self, he would be following Kikyou to Hell sooner than he realized. Sesshoumaru could already hear the Kagome's sobbing pleas to stay with her. Disgraceful…

He moved to the edge of the clearing where the ground wasn't as gory, his mind drifting off to the moment he had gotten involved in this mess. He remembered it clearly; the young miko had pleaded with him on her knees to help them. He had turned to leave when he had heard the tiniest sniffle. His sharp eyes picked out Rin hiding in the bushes, tears welling up in her eyes. With an unfamiliar pang in his heart he realized what would happen if he didn't help them. His stupid half-brother would fail and Naraku would be allowed the Shikon no Tama. Then how many more children would be orphaned? How many more Rins would have to suffer because of Naraku? Not that he really cared of course, but for her sake he would do what he could to prevent that.

A pained gasp shook him out of his reverie. His hand shot back to Tokijin before noticing Kagura lying broken and bloodied by the wood line. The wind youkai had one hand stretched out towards the woods, her fan torn and lying forgotten on the ground behind her and he realized suddenly that she was crawling away to die. Unsure why he was bothering, he marched over to her, forcing a grimace off his face at the smell. She reeked of death.

--

Kagura watched as a pair of feet entered her vision and forced herself to look up despite the pain to see who was standing before her. Her eyes trailed up and met Sesshoumaru's impassive face. She noticed with a slight smirk that even the great taiyoukai hadn't escaped unscathed. While he looked like he had just spent hours crawling through a brier and was bleeding heavily from a deep wound in his side she had no doubts he would be better than ever by the end of the week. Her wounds, on the other hand, were definitely fatal. As agony wracked her body, she couldn't help recalling the events that had brought her to this battlefield.

She had never lost her determination to escape Naraku, but as time passed and the fight against Inu Yasha and his miko had dragged on, her efforts had become increasingly desperate. Finally, driven to the point of despair, she had made one last desperate attempt to steal her heart away from him, willing to sacrifice her life for the sake of her freedom. And against all odds she had somehow succeeded.

She should have realized that her theft had been too easy, but she had been so caught up in the ecstasy of her triumph that she never saw the trap until the moment it's jaws closed around her. Naraku had simply grown tired of his rebellious incarnation and had been toying with her the way a cat toys with a trapped mouse before it devours it. What Naraku hadn't planned on was the ever docile Kanna's interference. Kanna had attacked Naraku, sacrificing her life for her sister incarnation, by allowing Kagura the time she needed to get away. But even as Kagura ran, tears blurring her vision, she could hear Kanna's screams of agony following her as Naraku took out his fury at Kagura's escape on Kanna's frail body. As the wind witch finally collapsed, unable to run any farther and with Kanna's cries still echoing in her ears, Kagura swore vengeance for Kanna's death.

She had immediately sought out Inu Yasha and his pack, knowing that outside of Inu Yasha's arrogant half-brother who had already refused her requests for help once before, they were her best chance of avenging her sister. They had reacted to her presence much the way she had suspected, with violence and a great deal of yelling on the hanyou's part. Fortunately, she had managed to stay alive long enough to convince them that she was there as an ally instead of one of Naraku's slaves. Still, things had been tense between her and the humans, and downright hostile between her and Inu Yasha, until the day the actual battle arrived. Much to her surprise, the young miko had actually managed to convince Sesshoumaru to lend his assistance to their cause and when she had seen their forces arrayed against Naraku she had known that Kanna's spirit was about to be able to rest in peace.

During the battle, however, she had seen Kouga being absorbed into Naraku's body. The idiot wolf had gotten too close to the hanyou and thus had fallen into one of the oldest tricks in the bastard's book. Thinking only of the debt she owed Kouga and his clan she had attacked Naraku in a desperate attempt to save the wolf. She had managed to save his life, thus repaying her debt to him, but not before Naraku had left her with a number of lethal wounds to remember him by. Wounds that pulsed sharply with each shuddered breath, bringing her back to the present.

Unsure of the taiyoukai's intentions and merely wanting to be left alone to die in peace, she lowered her head slowly until she was once more staring at Sesshoumaru's feet. "I'm finally free," she whispered through blood covered lips. "Free of Naraku, free of my debt to Kouga." She met his eyes once more. "Leave me alone, Sesshoumaru. I'd like to die with my freedom and dignity intact." She gasped again as another wave of pain wracked her body. With each breath she could feel her self slipping further away and knew it was just a matter of time until Death came to claim her.

Suddenly she started painfully as she felt a slight pressure in her palm. Sesshoumaru had picked up her discarded fan and was gently pressing her fan into her hand. With a small gasp at the uncharacteristic act of compassion by the stoic taiyoukai she realized that she really wasn't ready to die. What she had told Sesshoumaru was true; she really was free. With no small amount of despair, she realized that she had finally achieved her dream only to have it ripped away from her before she had the chance to truly enjoy it. Tears came unbidden to her eyes, and despite her futile attempts to hide her weakness from the elder taiyoukai, sobs began to shake her dying body.

Again, the taiyoukai surprised her, crouching down in the blood and gore and dirt that covered the field to offer her what little solace he could give her with his presence in her final moments. At the very least, she wouldn't have to die alone.

"I don't want to die," she murmured as she felt death's icy grip tighten on her soul. Everything began to fade away until all she could see was a pair of brilliant golden eyes. And then it all fell away.

--

She could feel herself floating and opened her to eyes to see that she was still in the same clearing where she had died. She watched as Sesshoumaru gently closed the sightless eyes of her body. With a bitter sigh, she resigned herself to the fact that she was dead and began looking for whatever door or portal or other otherwordly creation would take her to the great beyond. After all, surely there had to be more to death than standing around ogling the living.

Still, she might as well take advantage of a good ogle while she had the chance. After all, she had no idea when she would be able to see a specimen as amazing looking as Sesshoumaru again. A wicked grin crossed her face as she shamelessly drank him, knowing that there was no way he could see her. Suddenly she screamed as someone spoke behind her, "Admiring the view, sister?…" Kagura whirled around only to be shocked speechless as she saw Kanna standing beside her, watching her silently with her odd eyes.

"Kanna..."

"Hello Kagura," She said dryly, "Did you really think that I wouldn't come to meet you?"

Kagura seemed to wake up at that and threw her arms around the smaller girl. "But Kanna… I let you die. Why aren't you mad at me?"

"Kagura, It was my choice to die. Not yours. Why would I be mad about that." She gave her sister the smallest of grins, "And really, being dead isn't all that bad. It's amazing how it changes your outlook on things."

Kagura stared at Kanna, unsure if she was joking or not. She shrugged, "I guess I don't really have to take your word for it, do I?"

"Fortunately, you do." Kanna interrupted Kagura's question before she even opened her mouth. "This isn't actually death. This is just somewhere in between; you're not allowed pass on until you finally go there to stay." Kanna laughed quietly at the confused look on Kagura's face. "Your time's not up yet." She turned and pointed at something behind Kagura. She turned back around to see Sesshoumaru standing over her body, drawing Tenseiga with his one good arm.

Kanna spoke up once again, her voice dead serious, "You've killed Naraku and avenged me Kagura, but you aren't free yet. You owe him your life now, a debt that you're going to have to repay." All of the sudden, Kagura felt an agonizing yank on her soul. She struggled to resist its pull, but felt her control slip as it yanked as second time, her vision beginning to fade. Just as the darkness claimed her she saw her sister give her the tiniest of waves...

--

Sesshoumaru had begun readying Tenseiga for a third swing when Kagura sat up with a gasp. Stepping back to give the resurrected youkai some air and allowing himself a small, satisfied smirk, he slid Tenseiga back into its sheath with an air of finality. He began to give the witch a once over to make sure that her wounds had been sufficiently healed but found himself watching through veiled eyes as Kagura's chest rose and fell beneath a torn kimono instead, providing him with tantalizing glimpses of the newly restored flesh beneath. He could feel a familiar warmth began to pool inside of him at the sight. Crimson eyes, disoriented as they were, stared disconcertingly at him and had he been a lesser youkai he had no doubt that he would have broken beneath her gaze. With a mental grimace, he forced away the unfamiliar feeling with years of practice and an iron will.

Finally, as she still hadn't looked away, Sesshoumaru began outright glaring at her. Her gaze sharpened as she immediately answered the silent challenge with one of her own. The two demons stared daggers at the other, neither crimson nor gold willing to admit defeat. Finally Kagura looked away and muttered a curt, "Thank you." She was silent for a moment. "I suppose you have some ridiculous task you want me to do in order to repay you."

Sesshoumaru found himself confused, not something that happened often with the taiyoukai. With a mental start he realized that she probably thought that he wanted something from her in return for bringing her back. He almost laughed, the idea that she could give him something that he couldn't provide himself was almost as preposterous as Inu Yasha's fighting style. "This Sesshoumaru desires nothing from you. Do not worry about some imagined debt."

Kagura stood up suddenly, eyes flaming, and Sesshoumaru realized that he had touched a nerve. "I have never accepted charity from anyone, and I won't accept it, not even from you Sesshoumaru!" She spat out his name like it was something distasteful. "I will pay you back!" She glared.

"If you insist on doing so, you may try," he returned evenly. He watched under hooded eyes as she suddenly began to sway back and forth on her heels. He stepped forward just as her legs collapsed beneath her, and of its own accord his arm shot out and caught her around the waist. Her momentum carried her forward into his chest and without thinking he pulled her the remaining few inches until she was flush against him. When he realized with an inward groan what he had done, he began contemplating removing that arm as well. He could feel the heat of her, burning against his skin, awakening something inside him. His body, disused to the feel of holding another after so long, began reacting to her presence against his will and it took all the control he had developed over centuries of life to keep from groaning as she shifted against him, her breasts rubbing tantalizingly against his chest. Their eyes met and he watched with a strange mixture of unease and male pride as she unconsciously ran her tongue along her lips, nearly undoing his self-control.

It was the smell of her arousal that brought him back to the present. Disconcerted at how easily she was affecting him, though he took care not to let it show, he pushed her away. Disappointment flashed briefly through her eyes as a deep blush rose to her face, but then her customary fire returned and with a disdainful "hmph!" she turned on her heel and marched off, tucking her fan back into her ruined sash. He smiled slightly despite himself, amused by her sudden exit. Until he noticed the sway of her hips as she walked and the long shapely legs that peeked out through tears in her kimono…

He should have known that he'd regret saving her…

Quick notes for this chapter:

1. I know that Kanna is somewhat out of character, but I just can't help but feel sorry for the poor girl. She always get's such a bad rap. Since this is the only time she's appearing in this story, I figured giving her a bit of emotion couldn't hurt.

2. Originally this story was posted as "Neither Crimson nor Gold" to save "Crimson and Gold" for the original one. I have decided to return to "Crimson and Gold" for the title of this story and changed the original one to "Heart's Thief".

3. For anybody who cares, you can find a short explanation for my reasons behind abandoning the original Crimson and Gold on my homepage. I would be very grateful to anyone willing to go there and take a look. I've uploaded the drafts for several possible stories and any input that you can provide would be appreciated.

ロ If any of ya'll have any other thoughts on the story, please let me know. This story is as much for your entertainment as it is my edification. Your input is greatly appreciated and will be given the consideration it deserves.

Published on: 9.28.08 (12:31 am)

Updated on: 10.06.08 (1:22 pm)

Date of Original Posting: 1.22.06

Jak

ジャック (Jyakku)