Sorry for not updating yesterday, my mom likes to ground me for things that even Sesshomaru would raise an eyebrow at. So, here we go… Something cool happens tomorrow! I get to go on a field trip! To a nature preserve full of prairie grass and woodlands too. Rainbow Unicorn Skittle Girl gets to go on the same day as I do! ^_^
Review replies will be at the bottom, and my stupid stories that I like to type up will be as well. Guess we should get started with this crap then:
This Chapter is dedicated to tkplover for liking this twisted reality of mine ;) (Your profile picture is awesome!)
Additional: Jun, meaning obedience
Chapter 7: Reunions
*Elsewhere*
In a dark, damp cave a bandaged man stared at the ceiling. He'd been badly injured and the hunched figure was tending to him very carefully.
"Tell me, dark priestess," he rasped, "has Kagura found the Shikon jewel yet?" The woman looking after him blinked, and then sat back against the cave wall. "She hasn't sent any reports," she pushed back a lock of midnight black hair and stood, "perhaps I should check on her progress?" The woman wouldn't mind rubbing the fact that she was taking care of master in the wind demoness's face.
"No, send Kanna." Her master said, his eyes glinting as treacherous ideas formed in his head, he would be very busy these next few days.
The dark priestess nodded, and then walked quickly out of the cave.
"Kanna of the void, come, master has a job for you," she didn't have to wait long; soon a girl appeared. Her skin was pale, her hair white and adorned with two small flowers and her kimono the color of fresh snow. In fact, the only thing not pale and washed out about the child were her dark, emotionless eyes. Those eyes stared ahead at the priestess as her hands, which were cradling a mirror, shifted slightly as she spoke, "I understand. I will not fail you, Tsubaki."
*Rin*
Gatenmaru looked the human over, smiling inwardly; this wasn't considered a challenge to him. Though the girl would need to pay for killing Jun, one of his most trusted swordsmen. He took careful, measured steps, his eyes flickering from red to black, and back again. Then, as he finally stood mere feet away from his target, his eyes completely glazed over in red, his Youkai was ready to kill. Rin held herself still, doubt beginning to creep up on her, had this really been such a good idea? There were at least 50 men, plus their leader, so the odds were definitely not stacked in her favor.
"Impressive," Rin kept her face impassive, not daring to say anything in reply. He was the cat and she the mouse; more often then not, cats preferred to play with their food before devouring it. Rin was determined to not let that happen to her, or anyone else in the near future.
'Come just a little closer,' she measured the steps he took with her eyes, holding her breathe-'Now!' Rin leapt forward, aiming one sword at Gatenmaru's throat and the other for his stomach. She was rewarded with a thin line of blood that oozed over his eyes nearly matching their color; she'd managed to just nick his forehead. The demon snarled and lashed out with a wing, blowing her backwards and causing one of her blades to fall out of reach to have a man pick it up, wielding it like it were his own.
"Attack," Gatenmaru sneered as several men rushed forwards, swinging deadly weapons.
"You dirty COWARD!" Rin yelled, barley avoiding a blow to her head. She recognized what Gatenmaru was trying to do know, tire her out with his army and then deal the final wound. 'I can't keep this up forever…'
Rin kept dodging fists and swords alike. A dagger sliced her upper lip open while yet another pierced her ankle and stuck there. She forced herself not to cry out, trying instead to keep her family at the front of her mind. Rin tore the dagger from her foot, not even glancing at the torrent of blood, and sent it flying at an enemy. It was only when someone drove their sword through her shoulder did she stop. Her back met dirt and the hordes of men looked expectantly at their leader. Gatenmaru smirked and strode forward, taking short strides again. "Your death will be slow…your blood will stain this earth and be a reminder to whoever sent you, I cannot be beaten!"
Rin's mind was foggy, the loss of so much blood making her weak and dizzy. She tried to move her shoulder off of the ground and something poked her wrist from under the kimono's sleeve. Rin's eyes widened, she still had a chance! Her free hand reached for the concealed knife, nearly grabbing it before Gatenmaru's heavy boot nearly crushed her wrist.
'This is it, I'm going to die. Momma, Papa, brothers…I'm so sorry…"
Rin closed her eyes and waited for fangs to tear out her throat; claws to rip her to pieces, the last strike; the blow that would kill, but it never came.
*Sesshomaru*
Sesshomaru was so very close now; the Ningen was just up ahead. He recalled the conversation he'd overheard earlier:
"…I have to go after Rin!"
"No, ye must let her come back…"
Was Rin a runaway? Maybe she was on a mission, doing a village errand, or taking news to a neighboring village, the possibilities were endless. Sesshomaru was jolted out of his thoughts by the not entirely unpleasant and familiar smell of fresh blood. His eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared as he recognized the scent; he knew who it belonged to.
He doubled, no tripled his speed, half focused on Rin, and half focused on rage. Why would she be bleeding? It could've been that time of month, but this smelled different. Another scent flooded his nose, stinky, unwashed men and then – a moth? Sesshomaru was even more confused now but as he burst into the clearing, everything snapped into place. The men he'd smelled were spread out in a loose circle around a scene that made his blood turn to ice, and the burn white-hot with anger. Pinned to the ground was Rin, who was soaked in her own blood and half-dead. The one pinning her was the moth Sesshomaru had smelt, and he was posed to take her life, and by the looks of it the moth was aiming for a painful death. This was just a bit irritating. Sesshomaru dashed, to quickly for any human eyes to follow, and wrapped his mokomoko firmly around Rin's waist, pulling her securely to his back. There she'd be sheltered from most attacks. He pulled out Bakusaiga, and when for the moth's heart. The lesser Youkai blocked with a sword so weak that it broke under Bakusaiga's tremendous power. He faced his men and ordered, "Attack the girl!" and was met with a chorus of, 'Hai Gatenmaru-sama!' before Sesshomaru forced him to go on the defensive again.
*Rin*
Something furry snaked around Rin's waist and pulled her into a hard metal plate. She could hardly see because of the silver strands of hair that hung in her face, 'hair?' she wondered. Now she was definitely weirded out. The clash of blades snapped her out of her trance, and if not for the fluffy thing wrapped around her, Rin would've fallen to the ground as whatever she was secured to moved forward.
"Attack the girl!" Gatenmaru's men agreed hastily and then her fluffy bindings kept her from falling yet again as who or whatever went in another direction.
'Why is death so loud?' Rin thought, trying to block out war cries. Suddenly, a sneering man was charging right at her, closing in fast. Terrified, Rin kicked out her feet at the last moment and watched in satisfaction as the bandit crumpled. 'More are going to come after me if I don't get out of here.' She blew hair – both her own and the silver strands – out of her face and tried to concentrate. Rin let her arms dangle uselessly as she worked her legs upwards, praying to Kami that her idea would work. With a jolt, she pushed herself up and out and landed –thankfully- her uninjured ankle. As she turned to face Gatenmaru, she froze in her tracks; because not five feet away from her, was him.
*Inuyasha*
Kagome had left to change into clothes better fit for traveling and Sango had gone to help.
'Why do they have to take so long?' Inuyasha wanted to go after them to tell them to hurry it up, but he would more then likely earn himself a Hirakotsu to the face, even if he didn't glimpse anything.
"Wow Kagome, red's really your color!" Inuyasha looked at Shippo, who was animatedly complimenting Kagome. And boy, did Kagome deserve those compliments! She was dressed in a beautiful red kimono, and golden flowers and vines wove around the fabric. The gold obi was tied perfectly, and Inuyasha was a bit smug over the fact that it was the same shade of gold as his eyes. He also couldn't help but notice the way it draped over her figure…Shippo let out another loud sound and blabbed about his own clothes he'd gotten as well; traditional pants like Inuyasha's, but a deep navy blue, a green and white shirt and a furry vest. Kagome had also tied his wild red hair back into a bun with a green bow. He was barefoot, Inuyasha noticed, though those were some strange feet he had, they looked just like a true kitsune's would.
Inuyasha was just about to announce it was time to keep going when Kagome approached him. "I found this, and I thought maybe you'd like to have it." As she spoke, she fastened some sort of necklace around made of purple beads and some slimmer white beads around his neck. "There!" Inuyasha nodded dumbly at Kagome, inspecting the beads. "Okay, I'm going to go sit-" A huge crash interrupted her as Inuyasha's body slammed into the ground, "by Sango and Miroku…" Kagome stared at him, and he immediately popped up. "GET THESE THINGS OFF OF ME!"
Miroku leaned over to Sango and whispered, "Beads of subnegation…" And Sango barely resisted the urge to laugh at the priceless look on Inuyasha's face.
"WHAT DID YOU DO!" Inuyasha continued ranting and howling. "Inuyasha, I didn't mean to, I swear!" Kagome attempted to calm him and when that didn't work; she scooped up Shippo and watched the Hanyou rage from a slightly safer distance.
"THIS HAD TO HAPPEN AGAIN!" Inuyasha yanked hard on the beads, but only succeeded in nearly choking himself. "That's right…Kikyo and Kaede used them nearly 15 years ago, remember Miroku?" Sango asked.
"They had a different purpose…" Miroku trailed off as Inuyasha came to a sudden stop. "I smell blood," he said, resisting the urge to gag, "from there, and there." He pointed in two different directions, still sniffing. The sound of swords meeting echoed from one direction, so the five looked at each other, nodded, and ran in the other direction.
*Kanna*
"Kagura," Kanna's voice was flat and quiet, "Kagura, we must recover the Shikon no Tama." Kagura finally stepped out of the shadows and snapped out her fan. "Why not let a lesser Youkai get it first? Then we can wait in the wings while it gets it's hands dirty." Kagura smiled, waiting for her sibling's response. "Tsubaki has need of it now. We cannot wait sister." Kanna turned and Kagura regretfully followed after, fuming. 'I will get the sacred jewel, I will be the one to wake master and earn my reward.' Kagura's smile grew wider behind her fan, but it was there nonetheless.
And done! Ugh, my hands are cramped. That had to be the longest chapter yet. I know my story says Inuyasha/Kagome, but really, it focuses on many different people. On to the thanks and reviews!
Thanks to Dylan B and Alex S who are in my homeroom! They helped me choose the colors for Kagome's kimono, and I have to say, red would be a decent color for her.
Reviews:
Stigmafan123: I want to say Rin getting all cuddled in Sesshomaru's mokomoko was inspired by your review! ^_^ Ah, maybe it wasn't meant as a suggestion, but I used it anyway, hope you don't mind. Are you kidding me? You totally deserved the dedication for making me squeal like a fangirl as well! XD Kagura and mascara wands/post-it notes? I nearly peed myself when I read that, and I got to entertain my brain with it all week, so thanks!
Kate: If you want another chappie, that means you like it right? *hopeful face*
Inu-'SIT'-lovekag: ears and tails indeed my friend, ears and tails indeed.
Tkplover: Thanks! I am a very twisted person…I hope you enjoy more of my twistingness of canon!
Story: I've been sick with strep since Sunday, so ouch. But it (somehow) encourages me to write, so thank you strep?
Uh, I did mentos and Diet Coke, and now my backyard is a mess…My parents will so kill me for that. So…nothing really interesting lately…Oh! One of my friends, Emily G, (we call her Gibby) watched all 167 episodes of Inuyasha in about four days. O_o I am speechless Gibby, speechless.
So, review or I will somehow transfer the pain of cramped fingers and a sore throat to you! ^_^ evil…