Unexpected Feelings
Chapter 3: Cruel Fate
By LadyShieru
Disclaimer: Inuyasha and all characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi.
Note: I thank all those who reviewed this story! They help me write more!! 3
A loud noise erupted suddenly within the meadow. Birds took flight in panic and fear, as it echoed throughout the naked forest of winter, attempting to run from whatever had caused the sound. Snow fell off a tree to land on the cold floor as it shook with the force of the impact, some of it falling upon an equally white head with now flat ears. Inuyasha remained quiet, his bangs covering whatever his eyes were showing while he sat still against the tree trunk.
"You bastard!" the angry voice of a woman quickly followed, the owner lowering her fist as she shook with rage. "I will never forgive you for what you did to Kagome!"
She watched him for a moment, waiting for the half demon to say something. Anything to apologize for his outrageous behavior or at least to fight back in his defense but nothing happened. The huntress turned on her heel with a huff and stomped back to their camp fire, kicking snow upon it in anger and distress.
The monk and the kitsune stared at the scene with shock, unable to intervene in fear of facing Sango's anger. And she was right for being angry. It had been days since the last time they had seen Kagome. There were no traces of her anywhere and even though they had searched all over for her and they couldn't find anything that would tell them where she went or where she had been taken.
They knew she hadn't gone back home, she would have returned already at least to make sure they wouldn't worry about her. The well was also too far away for her to have gone by herself without getting lost and the dangers of the forest were too great for her to survive on her own.
"Why do I have the feeling that you have everything to do with this…?" muttered Sango, not even bothering to turn to look at the clay corpse standing at the very edge of the forest.
"Is it really that hard to comprehend that my incarnation has finally decided to live a normal life back where she belongs?" the dead miko countered, walking slowly towards where Inuyasha laid unmoving. He stood then, taking the woman's pale hand in his clawed one.
"I apologize for my rudeness but Inuyasha is not being himself either and I do believe what Sango just said." Miroku interjected, eyeing Kikyo warily. "You did something to him and to Lady Kagome as well."
"If your assumptions are correct, what can you do?"
The group looked at each other, irritation evident on their faces. Sango stepped forward "If you think we will work with you and let this slide you're poorly mistaken Kikyo."
The dead miko smiled faintly. "Fine then…how do you intend to defeat Naraku with only you two humans and two weak demons?"
They looked at each other once more to then glare at the dead woman. She had a point. Inuyasha was still their friend and they had to admit he was the strongest in the group. And the only way to bring him back was to stay close to him and Kikyo. They had to figure out a way to break whatever spell the woman had cast on him. Inuyasha was the only one who could find Kagome and save her from whoever had taken her and without his senses and his strength, the group was more or less unable to do anything for the girl.
Miroku sighed, glaring at the miko none the less "Alright…we have no choice but to cooperate with you. But know this. We will save both Lady Kagome and Inuyasha and when we do it, it will be the end of you."
The dead priestess regarded them with an unwavering smile, unfazed by the threat.
She released a small whimper as her eyes opened slowly. A blurry vision of an old woman's face looked back at her but she didn't have the strength to cower under the unnerving stare of the red eyes she possessed. Her head pounded painfully and her body felt numb and weak. She had never felt so drained in her entire life.
"…where…" she whispered hoarsely, swallowing thickly soon after.
"You are within Lord Sesshomaru's domain." responded the old demon, wrinkled clawed hands reaching down for a cup of water.
Kagome felt her head being lifted gently and then feel the cold clay surface of the cup as she drank the cool liquid. Only then did she notice how dry her throat truly was. She drank silently, memories from what happened to bring her to the state she was in flooding her mind slowly and painfully. Tears began to tease at the corner of her eyes before they slid down her face shamelessly.
"You are fortunate to be alive, girl. If it had not been for Lord Sesshomaru you would have been scavenger's food long ago." The healer told her quietly, the years weighting her voice down. She pulled the cup away to deposit it back on the floor, lowering Kagome's head gently.
The girl eyed her for a moment and let out a pained breath. "…Sesshomaru…? He…saved my life?"
The healer chuckled and her laughter reminded Kagome of a witch. "He is an honor driven ruler, he merely returned the favor."
"Where…where is he…?" the girl began to sit up, only to be pushed back down by the old woman. She whined pitifully as a jolt of pain shot through her.
"I must go inform him that you have awakened but you must remain lying here. If you move you may open your wounds once more and milord will be displeased." The woman warned her, stood up and padded her way on bare feet to the door. "I shall be back shortly."
Kagome merely stared up at the ceiling, releasing a long sigh while she thought of how pathetic she must look at the moment. Everything that happened came back to her as if a cold water bucket had been poured down on her. She had no idea for how long she had been unconscious but by the stiffness in her body and the way her stomach felt completely empty she could tell it had been for days.
She couldn't figure out why such things happened to her. It was like she was the magnet of tragedy, where all the bad things possible occurred to her. She glared up at the wooden ceiling as if she could see through it to the heavens and silently asked the gods why they were being so cruel to her. The least she had intended was to end up being picked up by the demon lord and taken to his place. Here she didn't have anyone that could protect her from his wrath if he decided to behead her on the spot. And she was too weak to produce enough purifying power to hurt him at all…which would ultimately still end up with her being beheaded anyway.
So that brought up another disturbing thought. She would try to ask for his help to go back to her friends and get Inuyasha off the chains Kikyo had tied him with, but she knew it would be useless. One of the things she would clearly remember forever of the demon lord was his hatred towards his half brother and even though he had ceased his attempts to murder him he was still not the type to show any kind of concern or brotherly intentions towards the half demon.
She let out yet another sigh, this time in frustration.
I hate it when I can't do anything!! Why am I so damn weak?!
As those thoughts left her mind, the door opened, but she was too busy berating herself to bother to check who had come into the room. She immediately recognized the old woman's footsteps but she noticed there were another set accompanying them which barely made a sound. She closed her eyes, collecting her wits to talk.
"Woman."
Yes, it was him after all.
"…My name is Kagome." she replied sternly, her voice still hoarse with disuse from those many days of being asleep.
She could already feel his glare upon her but she didn't flinch. She felt too irritated to care.
"I call you however I wish wench." was his smooth yet cold reply, an edge to his voice that told her not to defy him or she would suffer the consequences.
She swallowed, turning her head to look his way. He was sitting on the floor a small distance away from her, looking down at her as he always did whenever a weak creature crossed his path. She hated that stare, even though she had to admit the demon lord was one of the most beautiful beings she could ever encounter.
"…I know… you have questions…" she murmured weakly, hating to show this weak side of her to him. She didn't know why she even cared, but she knew he would think even less of her.
"Indeed" He confirmed, his cold stare remaining. "And you shall answer every one of them."
"I don't have a choice….so go ahead and ask." She looked away, unable to bear those eyes that degraded her so. Her annoyance from earlier melted away instantly only to be replaced by resignation. He could smell her scent and everything that came with it. Her moods shifted almost instantly but it made him feel quite pleased to know she realized she couldn't do anything against him.
He looked at the old healer. "Leave us."
The demon woman nodded curtly and bowed low before turning on her heels and padding her way out of the room once more, closing the door behind her. After the room was clear of any unwelcomed ears, he looked back down at the injured miko, his cold eyes piercing hers.
"Where was Inuyasha that night?"
He sensed it again, the shift of emotions. This time they went from resignation, to anger, and from anger to sadness. He eyed her and gave her time to formulate a reply.
"It's a long story…"
"Speak."
She sighed. "Kikyo…she and Inuyasha met that night…she used something…to enslave him." she breathed, swallowing and trying hard to contain her emotions as tears threatened to pour out of her eyes. "He wasn't there with me…because I was taken away by Kikyo's soul stealers and so they left me in the middle of the forest…far from where my friends were." she explained brokenly.
"So…the half breed let himself be tamed by the dead miko." he said distastefully. "How pathetic."
"It wasn't his fault…he was caught by surprise." she defended him, glaring weakly at Sesshomaru's amber eyes.
"Regardless. Only fools duel in memories of the dead and he was foolish enough to allow himself to lose his freedom to a corpse even before this happened." He said coldly, his eyes slightly narrowed.
Kagome remained speechless for a moment, unable to come up with a come back to the lord's words. She felt desperate now. She had to do something to go back to her friends and help the one she loved. "Sesshomaru…"
He didn't reply but she knew he was listening at her. "I know…it seems stupid of me to ask but…" She swallowed. "Can you…help me please? I need to go back to my friends and save Inuyasha..."
She waited for a long moment for his reply, knowing full well what his answer would be but the silence gave her a slight glimpse of hope.
"I will take you to your companions."
She turned her head to look at him with surprise in her eyes only to find him looking down at her with distaste. She flinched lightly.
"You will remain here until you recover and then I shall bring you back. I shall not do anything to aid the half breed however, so do not expect anything else from this Sesshomaru." he said coolly.
"…I didn't think you would…" she whispered.
"I have another question."
She looked at him in confusion but nodded.
"Your powers…they were different. Why did you not use them before?" his voice showed nothing but faint curiosity as he spoke. That eruption of purifying energy was able to nearly burn him. He had to step back to avoid being purified along with the demon that had been attached to her. It had been the first time in years that he had felt threatened by something and he didn't like it in the least.
Kagome frowned, unable to understand what he meant. It was true she couldn't remember most of what happened that night but she knew she had done something because all she could see before blacking out had been bright pink. She shook her head. "I…I don't know what you're talking about."
"You purified that demon instantly with nothing but a touch of your hand." he said, lifting his face so he could look down at her in arrogance. "I thought you were weak but now I see what you are truly capable of."
Kagome was in awe at his apparent interest in her, it was strange to be Sesshomaru's center of attention. She shook her head. "…I can't…I can't remember what I did so I really don't know what to tell you. Maybe I did it because I was being threatened."
"No" He said, his voice devoid of emotions. " You possess the power, you merely do not know how to control it." he corrected her before standing up, surprising her yet again.
"…I…"
"Follow what the healer tells you, when you are better you shall leave this place."
She merely watched, unable to utter another word as the demon lord left the room. "I already want to leave…" she whimpered, fresh tears sliding down the corner of her eyes.
Author's note:
Ok I finally updated this one. I'm currently busy with another story called Threads of Fate, I suggest you guys check it out. Thank you for reading and please review. I'd really like to read your opinions. I welcome suggestions as well.
