Interlude
By: Kurosaki Yuu
Chapter II: Tornado
Disclaimer: Inuyasha does not belong to me and I'm not affiliated with Takahashi Rumiko in any way.
"The black clouds have descended, they pull me away.
Leaving quietly, stealthily, silently.
I'm teetering on the brink of danger.
My world is already in a violent storm."
(Jay Chou – Tornado)
Shades of red were all her sapphire colored orbs could focus on. The lethal crimson that effortlessly had her entire frame shuddering in wave after wave of fear and insecurity, it was true, the young Miko did not feared the danger alerted in the Great General's amber orbs, she was far more terrified of the uncertainty that came with his every gesture. Regardless of any similarities in either physical appearance or the connotations of the situation she had found herself in, Kagome could not lie to herself; the one whose enormous hands were tightly wrapped around the ruddy colored fabric of her ribbon was not Sesshomaru or Inuyasha.
He was a stranger, an unknown demon far more powerful than any youkai the brunette had ever come across in years venturing through the Bone Eater's well; it would be foolish, verging on stupidity to ever allow her own guard down or to deposit her life in his hands willingly. Inuyasha's voice resounded through the bottom of her subconscious, the harsh tone and sarcastic comments reassuring the rightfulness of her thought line.
Although, like the two sides of a coin, the mere remembrance of her best friend's voice was enough to make Kagome's vision clouded with teardrops, reality forced into a blur as the small drops attempted to demand their way down her pale cheekbones, tainting her pride and cursing her duty.
Kagome diverted her gaze away from the lord's, a futile effort to avoid the rush of her tears, she did not want any miscommunication in between them, the great Inu could interpret her cries as a signal flam and waste more of the precious time than they already had. Time was volatile and intangible, especially when every single second they spent standing still equaled to the lessen of a heartbeat.
Scarlet tainted the ivory colored surface of his haori, glittering and overshadowing the cuts and scratches that covered his armor, at that site, her eyes widened slightly, effectively being draw back to reality by his rough movement to press her back against the wall as he made her petite frame defy gravity, holding her still over his eye level.
"Miko, you will unleash the details of your information in this exact moment, any untruthfully tale or canard reported will cost you dearly." His deep baritone pierced through the heavy setting of the atmosphere, accompanied by a low growl of authority, a silent promise of the veracity of his threat.
"I-…" Reddish lips were parted countless times in order to formulate a sentence, words being tangled in the very bottom of her throat alongside with the courage she had demonstrated so far. Kagome survived through infinity of enemies and luckless situations in the past, she refused to have it all goes to waste in the very moment Inuyasha needed her most. "I promise to share how I came across the information after we save the princess, my Lord, we do not have time to waste! You promise her you'd offer her protection, didn't you? We need to hurry."
If Takemaru successfully terminated Inuyasha's life long before he takes on his first breath, the future in which the fight against Naraku took place could become something much more horrifying, Kagome refused to abandon the young hanyou in between Death's grip again.
If she failed now, the entire point of her time traveling would cease to exist.
There wouldn't be an era to save if there was no Inuyasha to attempt to stop Naraku.
"Oyakata-sama! Oyakata-sama!" Desperation was clear in the faint sound of a very well-known voice, its source effectively landing on the crook of the taiyoukai's neck. "Oyakata-sama… Izayoi-sama… You need to help-… her." The extensive pauses in between one word and another was a convicting breathless act, and forsooth to draw the Lord's attention away from their previous argument.
The Great General brought his free hand towards his neck, smashing the small youkai against his skin in one rapidly motion, although roughly, it was obvious that the Lord of the West did not wish to cause his faithful ally any pain.
"Miyouga-san! The Lord has already lost much blood; you shouldn't be sucking any more of it!" Kagome scolded, forgetting her position for a single moment as her blue orbs glanced a familiar friendly face for the first time in what felt like years too late to her burdened heart, Miyouga looked exactly like his 200 years in the future self, and the young Miko couldn't help to feel the slight flame of hope ignite inside her once again.
If only she could distinct determination from longing.
Her face had brightened slightly, at the confused look the small flea gave her, a rosy tone coloring her cheeks as for Kagome finally realized the mistake her impulsive self, caused in that small slip of words. More questions should arise sooner or later, she was fully aware of it, but later was not supposed to fall into the present.
"Does the young lady know of me? I'd surely remember meeting such a beauty before, although, unfortunately nothing come to my mind." The flea youkai politely reply, hands resting against his chin as for he seemed to intensely search in between his memories for the exact moment of their supposed meeting.
Kagome allowed a small smile to grace her reddish lips, it was indeed quite hilarious that meeting Miyouga out of all people brought her the sense of security that only something familiar could bring.
An angry howl pierced through the air, tensing the atmosphere around the trio effectively, long before the young Miko could register what was unfolding before her eyes, the pressure on the edges of her outfit that kept her in place was loosened, although, her knees never met the ground, sharp fangs made contact with the back of her school uniform and in the very next second her petite frame was launched towards the back of an utterly large pale dog.
The brunette felt her heart clench slowly against her ribcage at the remembrance of Kirara's doing in battle and the countless amount of time that the fire neko had managed to save her life of the most disastrous fate, Kirara always held much more of an important role in the group that any of them had ever gave her enough of credit for.
Her teeth sunk deep into the flash of her reddish lips in a typical sign of regret, destiny was definitely very wicked, while most would give anything to come back to the past and change the wrong doings, Kagome wished to come back towards the future and make sure that each and every one of her friends acknowledge the important their hold in her life.
Perhaps, Sesshomaru was right; humans were the most selfish beings to ever walk on Earth.
And priestess or not, Kagome was still susceptive to the wonders of what could had been.
Delicate fingertips enveloped the ivory colored fur tightly as soon as the Taiyoukai motioned forward, an impressive velocity to even the ones of his species; Kagome did not remembered Sesshomaru having such an upbeat pace despite of his enormous size, but then again, the future Lord of the West was smaller than his sire in his true form. At least, it was what her mind could deduce out of faded memories of the beginning of her ventures in the past, Sesshomaru had been the most beautifully terrifying disaster she had ever seen at that time, though his greed and stubbornness had claimed him an arm, the young Miko had always felt bad for the taiyoukai. Especially, after they had become allies in battle.
She hadn't realize her eyes were focused on the Lord of the West's left paw while her thoughts wondered towards his son until Miyouga's voice draw her attention back towards their current situation.
"It's foolish! It's insane! Oyakata-sama didn't fully recover from his fight!"
"You shouldn't be carrying me, my Lord! Your wounds can't reopen, there will be an army prowling and waiting for your arrival." Kagome argued in Miyouga's favor, but the only response that reached her ear was a mocking scoff of the Great General.
Her eyes diverted back to the ivory fur in between her delicate fingers, his wordless response was easily interpreted as a sarcastic comment on his part, as if he was remembering her that she had been the one to claim that they didn't had time to waste. A sigh escaped her reddish lips, they indeed hadn't time for it, the Great General was not alone at this time, and Kagome would do everything in her hands to guarantee the Taiyoukai protection and survival.
For Inuyasha, for love, and for what the future represented.
"Move!" She ordered, determination overflowed her sapphire orbs and her velvety voice held a seriousness that could not begin to ever be questioned as soon as the palace's gates were visible within her sight field.
Kagome's spiritual powers weren't meant to injury humans or to act against them in either self-defense or intentionally, but the arrow lightened with a soft shade of pink could still be used to crash the woods that composed the gate, tugging the amount of guards around it that didn't obey to her warnings down with it.
Slender hands supported her weight as the young Miko left the Taiyoukai's back, arrow and bow strategically positioned in between her fingertips as a warning towards any standing soldier of the consequences they'd face if any would attempt to strike the Lord in the milliseconds that took for him to trade his real form for a humanoid one.
The ordinary arrows could aid them enough against an army of the ones of her kind, or at least, it was what Kagome hoped, for she could only rely in her aim and legs to either strike or avoid the danger of the situation. The Band of seven was the only thing that came to her mind as to facing humans, but they weren't mundane and she wasn't alone.
Somehow, the idea of being alone scarred more than any army ever could.
"You have to get to Izayoi-sama, my Lord; I will hold them back to the best of my abilities." She muttered, however, regardless of how confident Kagome sounded, she never aimed to kill only to momentary preclude the enemy's movements.
"Don't be foolish, Miko, the battle will be endless if I allow you to take hundreds on your own." His deep baritone reprimanded her posture in battle almost sarcastically, as was expected of the one named by this country and above as a Great General.
A single gesture was sufficient for Kagome to witness the true power of Tessaiga, with one hand; the lord of the West had managed the weapon better than Inuyasha ever could with both of his.
Rationality cried in upheaval against the feelings of wonder and admiration that threatened to steal away her concentration from her surroundings to focus solemnly in the Daiyoukai standing proudly behind the trail of destruction that the Kaze no Kizu left behind, she should feel in jeopardy, vulnerable, not star struck.
The peculiar resound of metal encountering metal made the tight hold onto the edges of her bow quiver slightly, it was impossible to not associate the smell of smoke and burnt flash, every single battle cry and the sight of wild hellfire circles spread uncontrolled through the courtyard with the endless battle that should still be taking place in the future.
A chuckle filled the heavy atmosphere, reverberating through her entire frame in the form of a shiver running down her spine, it was physically impossible that the man standing mere yards ahead of them could be Naraku, even in the midst of fire and smoke Kagome was sure that she could never mistake his silhouette for another.
Then why? Why is that she could still take glimpses of his youkai bone made armor that was complete after his time hiding inside Mount Hakurei, every time her opaque sapphire orbs narrowed slightly? Why that was his voice still echoed through her head even when the person speaking did not had a slightly similar tone? Why had the cries of the fallen soldiers resounded like the ones of her fallen companions during battle?
Just how in the entire world could he still haunt her centuries in the past?
"It is a lunar eclipse night, the perfect time to kill a mononoke." A familiar voice reached her ears, drawing Kagome's attention successfully away from the chaotic havoc of unknown thoughts and unidentifiable emotions inside her soul.
It was not Naraku, it was not Sengoku jidai, but it was still a voice the young Miko could not had forgotten so easily, especially when facing him disarmed while this particular lord was under the control of Sounga. Takemaru might not be as powerful as a youkai without that devilish sowrd, but that did not mean he was one to be taken lightly.
"Where's the princess?" Her voice echoed strongly, hoarse in concern for the hime and her child, it almost demonstrated full confidence in the fact she and the Daiyoukai by her side could free her from this warrior's grip.
"Oh, I'm sorry this coward bastard dragged you into this battle, Miko-sama. However, you're hours too late, I've already taken her towards a place much far away from this disgusting Mononoke's grip." He scoffed, left hand maneuvering his blade towards the newcomers in an obvious taunting manner. "He will never have the chance to taint our hime again."
Kagome forcefully pressed her nails against the palm of her hands as she curled them tightly into fists, crescent moons being printed against the pale surface of her skin in a futile attempt to cool her rising temper, threatening to fire her faster than any arrow. The low growls that resounded from the Great General by her side did so little to aid her controlling her revolt, it was more than clear that the Daiyoukai was outraged with the entire situation.
His fangs were prominent and although there was no crimson shadowing and stirring his golden orbs, the Miko ought to think it wouldn't take long for him to indeed loose himself to his feral nature. After all, she had already witness the same happening with both of his sons.
The Inu no Taisho was stronger, there was no doubt, but like any living being strolling in Earth, he was not invincible.
"Izayoi-sama! Izayoi-sama!" Her velvety voice reached at least two octaves louder as she pronounced the older hime's name repeatedly, eyes scanning the silhouette behind the clouding doors in the Shiro as her legs finally had enough of a motivation to start moving again.
The brunette was positive that she would be much more of a helper away from the battlefield, searching for the endangered princess and attempting to ensure her safety before coming back to stand by the proud lord's side. After all, there isn't much Kagome could do to alter the paths the future dwelled by standing still in that very moment.
"You won't be going anywhere, Miko-sama, I can't allow anyone to interrupt our hime's resting." Takemaru had a small smirk displayed across his lips, a wicked proud sign of what in his mind was the rightfulness of his actions.
It made her flinch, out of pure disgust for witnessing it personally, delicate hands tightening their grip around her long bow, almost to the point of making her knuckles ivory out of a interrupted blood circulation. How the man standing in front of her could claim to love the princess? Love was a sickness, Kagome had observed, but obsession couldn't even start to explain the glint of satisfaction in his eyes.
The young Miko had only realized Takemaru had moved his sword in hope for a direct hit against herself when the Inu Daiyoukai drew Tessaiga to block his attack, claiming his right arm in one precise maneuvering. There hadn't been any special exhibition of powerful youki in his attack, but the sword that had been forged with the intent of protect human beings pulsed loudly enough to be confused with the General's own heartbeat.
"Right ahead, Miko, move! I smell her blood." Deep baritone was commanding, sounding almost as a bark as he spoke against his fangs, rapidly taking a step forward to follow towards the room that seemed bathed in Izayoi's blood without a single second of wait for her to accompany him.
Kagome had never relied in her legs to cover that amount of distance in such a small time gap, her heart stubbornly beat faster and faster against her ribcage, effectively proving that the tightening of worry she felt around the organ wasn't enough to make it stop working anytime soon. Her footsteps echoed loudly against the woodened floor as she approached the room where the Daiyoukai lead her, and honestly, the scent of blood was so strong that even she could smell it.
Considering that the princess was just as much of a human as she was, it could only be a miracle to survive after losing that much blood.
A single blink was all that it took for her sapphire colored orbs to become opaque and her breathing uneven, it was said in Chaos Theory that the beating of a butterfly's wings weeks before any occurrences could alter the formation of a tornado, and Kagome's heart became heavier at the realization that she hadn't the slightest idea as to what had butterfly had changed courses this time.
Where had things gone wrong in this time? There wasn't anyone to blame but herself, the brunette carried within her the power of transcending time while maintaining the knowledge of how future generations would become, destiny and the natural course of life was deposited in her hands and she had failed to protect it.
A life had been lost, there wasn't a single symbol of wealth in the world that could ever cover its price, was it a talent of hers to live up to Murphy's laws almost literally? What was the point of trespassing the barriers of time in order to correct the future if every action would only transform it in an even worst nightmare?
Her knees hit the ground as her delicate hands reached desperately for the princess' neck, warm fingertips meet the cold, rigid, surface of her ivory skin in search for a pulse point, Kagome kept muttering prayers under her breath for the small miracle of a fainting beating of the other's heart. The miko quickly repositioned her fingers against the hime's wrist, refusing to acknowledge the death of the beauty figure besides her.
But silence was the only answer the other's body gave Kagome, and for the first time, the young girl realized just how scary the absence of sound could ever be.
"Draw Tenseiga, my Lord, please." Her voice could only be labeled as a faint whisper, slender fingertips enveloped Izayoi's hands gently, as if attempt to keep them warm for the seconds that separated the hime from her heavenly rebirth.
Kagome could only hope for life, Inuyasha deserved to know the love of both of his parents.
The sound of metal encountering wood echoed through the soundless heavy atmosphere of the room as the Daiyoukai lord held his sword in between his palms, The brunette closed her orbs almost immediately, it would destroy every bit of what made her an optimistic person if Tenseiga couldn't gift back a life that had been so violently stole from such an innocent being.
"I'm counting on you, Tenseiga." Kagome muttered softly, the seconds that followed her words dragged themselves through complete hour hands of a clock, the amount of anxiety in her body was almost palpable as they weight down her shoulders completely. Just as if the world was place upon her head.
However, there was not a single movement from the Daiyoukai, the atmosphere around them was not pierced by the elegant sword simple because there were not a single messenger of death to be slaughtered in pieces.
It was too late, time had taken its tool and there was no reason to deceive death.
Humans and Youkais alike should never trust their necessity for a God Complex.
A single teardrop traced her pale cheeks lingering, only to be followed by another and yet another more at the resound of the Daiyoukai's frustrated growl through the thin walls of this isolated room, it was pretentious of her to believe she could impose her own wills above Fate's decisions. After all, in the end of the day, everything happened for a reason, even if the motive in question was to prove a young Miko that even though she attempted she could never save all.
Life was a beautiful lie and Death a terrible truth, and just like any other derivation of honesty it hurt more than any physical threatening to her person, Kagome felt as if she had failed every single one of her friends that waited for her in the future, her family in an even further time gap and the Inu youkai family in this present. How could anything she do ever sooth the pain they must feel?
Flames imposed the room a brightening to the new reality, almost blinding the young miko for several seconds until Takemaru's words reached her ears, they planned in burning the entire castle down to ashes with not only the Inu no Taisho and herself inside, but the hime Takemaru claimed to always had loved as well.
Izayoi deserved a better treatment in death for what she had obligated gone through in life, the threatening sound that rumbled in the Great General's chest was a promise of pain to every single soul that stood on his way as he sought revenge for the mother of his youngest child. Although, Kagome couldn't pity any of them for enticing the General's rage in the first place.
"It wouldn't mind finding closure in hell, if it would mean dragging the mononoke with me." Takemaru stated, sword tightly gripped by his only hand, even though it wasn't his dominating one. It almost seemed like he knew it was a lost battle, but his stubborn pride could never allow him to react differently.
Blood crimson was the predominant color in the room, the flames high lightened the tone that tainted not only the walls and the floor, but also replaced the golden colored orbs in the Great General's orbs. Red was too the color of the fabric that fell across the floor, on top of her shoulders as the brunette unconsciously cuddle the fire rat robe, the ache of longing intensified within her heart.
Kagome was positive she could never face Inuyasha again after failing to rescue his mother.
Sapphire orbs focused their gaze upon the young princess in front of her, resisting every impulse of turning around to face the disaster of a Daiyoukai's wrath, the young Miko had witnessed unmeasurable amount of deaths in the many battles that took place in the last few weeks, the voice of the ones killed in action would never allow her peace.
Would a life be a fair exchange for another? Where the line between justice and slaughter would be blurred? Did such line even existed in the first place? A sight escaped her trembling reddish lips, a Miko's power derived solemnly in her faith and benevolence, but what could be the use of a priestess who couldn't affirm with conviction either the actions of those around her were right or wrong? Doing something because it would offer you survival wasn't an excuse to right the wrong doings.
Hell was full of good intentioned people who just wrote right in curvy tenuous lines, after all.
A faint sound that carried a horrifying amount of despair ricocheted through the air, drawing the brunette's attention back from her thought line towards the cloud of smoke that slowly but surely covered the entire room in blackness, delicate hands held the fire rat clothe against her nose and mouth as the young Miko forced her weight back onto both of her legs, and even if still quivering slightly, she followed the sound towards a small adjacent room from the left side of where they stood.
A baby's cry, a natural indicator of many different factors; hunger, longing, but the most important of them all, life. The new born had still a possibility of finding true happiness even when every ounce of it is clouded by a blurred past and scarred present, the personification of hope he would be. A great man who would accomplish even greater things in a close future, perhaps, not all was lost in yet another endless circle.
Kagome kneeled down close to the bloody fabric that loosely enveloped the new born's petite frame, clearly he hasn't been provided with the proper treatment once his skin was still tainted in crimson and his body a lot colder than what could be considered healthy, perhaps, if it had took her five more seconds to arrive there, it would have been too late for the young boy.
The small puppy ears twitched on top of his head as his cries grew louder as if he acknowledge her presence there and was still confused if either or not she represented a threat to his life, poor little thing, she mused, a single fingertip gently caressing his cheek, even this time life had been merciless with him.
"I'm here with you, Inuyasha, I promised you years too late that I'd never leave your side and I intent to keep this promise even in this era." She cooed, gently cleaning the dried blood from his skin as her slender hands wrapped the fire rat fabric around his small frame, chuckling softly in relief as the young boy cuddled closer onto it, allowing her to scoop him up in between her arms.
They said the future could not be predicted, and yet, history was known for repeating itself. It was the only chance she had to correct the chain reaction of errors in the future, Kagome would never forgive herself if she could not protect the only thing she loved the most.
Her friends and her family.
"I will get you back to your father, Inuyasha, he will raise you onto the man you always wondered if you could become if he was by your side." Kagome offered the small boy a small smile as her velvety voice was whispered soothingly. "But you should not worry, I will still be here with you to remind you of the man you were and all the adventures you had, I'm proud of the person you were, Inuyasha, and I'm looking forward for who you will be in this new life."
Her legs rapidly made their way back, wavering slightly at the hot environment and the misplaced wooden that had succumbed to the fire and the battle that still took place in the next room, and even though Inuyasha was still very young to understand what she was saying or much less recognize her, Kagome couldn't help but allow a slightly bigger smile to dance across her lips as he cuddled closer to her petite frame.
A/N: Pardon for the delay in the updates, this chapter was originally supposed to be larger though I decided to divide what I wrote in two chapters for the sake of the flow in the story, I hope that this chapter bring enjoyment for you, readers, as much as it gave to me writing it.
I want to sincerely thank all of the reviews that I've received, most of them were already individually replied, but I want to give a special thank you to all the guest reviews that I've received as well, you guys made my smile brighter.
Yuu.
