Chapter 10: Village of Jomon
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any related characters
I'm so sorry this chapter took so long! Thank you for all that reviewed and I hope this makes up for it! Blame school for my lack of updates; senior year is hard! Isn't it supposed to be easy? Not at my school, ha!
When he opened his eyes, he was not surprised to find that he was still stuck in darkness. With a groan that made his entire weak, beaten body shake he pushed himself up from the hard stone floor, feeling his bones crack as he did so, one by one.
There was nothing worse, he was certain, than this cell that he was confined in, this dirty place full of far too many rats to count that smelt of nothing now but his own suffering and mold. He cringed at the feeling of the dried blood on his cheek, remembering distinctly the way the blade had ripped through the thin skin to create the long but thankfully not deep gash. Compared to the other injuries marring his body, this wound was absolutely nothing.
Inuyasha, at this point, was disgusted to admit that he was growing used to his conditions, but at this point he was. He could not remember how long he had been here, or really anything outside of the darkness and his own misery. And when he did remember something, something bright that he had lost, he always thought of her, the girl who was his best friend, the woman he may never see again. His Kagome…
When he fell into fitful sleeps caused by mostly exhaustion, she was the only thing he dreamt of. She in one of her sundresses, the one she had worn that day in the spring to celebrate something called 'spring vacation'. It had been that day, with her in that yellow dress, that he had almost kissed her in front of the Sacred tree, had almost swept her away to be his forever, his mate, the only one he would ever love…And had it not been for Shippo showing up in all his naivety, he would have done just that.
In his dreams he was always with her, laughing, smiling, and being as he used to be before he was swept away to this dark prison to be tortured by beings beyond his understanding. He did not know what they were in truth; they possessed strength alien to him, a half demon, which seemed to be some form of miko energy. Dark energy, dark magic, that had his skin crawling and his stomach churning, and filled him with horrible images that he could not stop.
He had not known until the other day, when one of them had paid him a visit, that they had that power, the power to enter the mind's of others and manipulate their thoughts. He had never heard of such a thing, and so when it happened to him…
He could still see the horror that the dark man had planted inside of him, see the images as they festered inside of his mind like a parasite and affected his heart. The image of Kagome's dead body, surrounded in a pool of blood, played over and over again. The image of her dying, of the sword thrusting through her heart, would not leave but circled around and around and around until he was dizzy with despair.
But more than anything, through all the images of Kagome and his friends' mutilated bodies, one thing frightened him the most. It was not an image, but what the man had said when he brought Inuyasha back, when he was done messing with him.
"That will happen soon you know. Those images…Don't think I just made them up."
And then he had left, and Inuyasha, terrified for the safety of the woman he loved, had had no choice but to lay in the dark and think it over and over again, until he was unconscious from despair once more, hoping that he did not have to wake up and relive it. But here he was now, wide away and all ready shaking at the memories.
He lowered his body to the ground once more and lay there, still and barely breathing, listening to the silence. If someone had told him before this that silence had a sound. He would have laughed in their face. But now, after listening for it for so long, he heard that silence did have a sound. It was almost static like, a droning that filled his ears like quiet breaths, sometimes deeper, sometimes lighter, that buzzed and pulsed. Silence had a sound…
Was he losing his mind? There was no way to know for certain, but there was always the silence to listen to, the sweet breathing of it that made him feel as though he were not all alone. As long as he had silence and thoughts of Kagome, he prayed that he would survive. Make it long enough to hear something other than silence, like Kagome's sweet voice…
He did not jump like before at the sound of the heavy footsteps outside his door, and as the deep, dark voices of his captors floated to him he listened in, through the buzz of the silence.
"They're closing in fast" one of them was saying gruffly, "According to reports, they're almost at the village."
"Stupid bitch," the other one hissed, anger pulsing in his voice, "Doesn't she know when to quit? She doesn't even know if her half demon bastard is dead yet; what reason does she have to go on?"
Half demon bastard. He knew that they were talking about him, and as for the girl…He swallowed the bile in his throat. Kagome…she was coming…
"She has that demon lord with her, who's apparently the mutt's brother. Maybe he's the one that pushes her forward?"
Inuyasha felt his heart skip a beat, his breath hitch. He only had one brother, and he knew that Sesshomaru would never travel willingly with Kagome. So what had she done…?
"It does not matter anyway. We will destroy them if they dare try to enter here, and if they manage too…Then we'll just have to kill her reason for all of this, now won't we?"
"I can not wait to do that, my friend, I certainly can not wait to do that…"
"We will set a trap, and for our bait…"
"Oh yes, I know what our bait will be…"
It did not surprise Inuyasha when the door to his cell swung open, and he only remained laying there, eyes fixed on nothing, as rough hands grabbed him, all around him, and something heavy, painful, crashed into his skull.
The last thing he saw was the Kagome's face, her name on his lips, before he was swept away into an even deeper darkness. And the single tear that trailed down his bloody cheek fell unnoticed to the dirty floor…
-------------------------------
"For the last time, we're not evil!" In a voice filled on the edge of a shriek, Kagome once again assaulted the ears of Sesshomaru as she continued to yell at the guard, who was now staring wide eyed at her, blocking their path.
"I-It does not matter," the guard, who was nothing more than a young man, stumbled out, glancing anxiously back and forth between all three travelers. "No one's allowed to enter—"
"It's because we're demons, isn't it?" Ami cut in with a snarl, gesturing to both she and Sesshomaru. "Well to have you know, we do not plan on attacking your ugly little village! As Kagome said, we just want to stay the night, not slaughter everyone!"
"Y-Yes, but I don't know that!" the guard exclaimed, "I don't know if you're lying, or—"
"Boy," Sesshomaru rumbled, and the guard instantly paled, staring at him with wide eyes as Sesshomaru took a step forward.
"Stay back!" the youth yelped as Sesshomaru took another step, raising the measly spear he clutched as though it would stop the demon lord. "D-Don't come any closer!"
"You honestly think that weapon will stop me?" Sesshomaru quirked a brow at the wooden spear clutched in the boy's trembling hand. "Boy, I could break that with my thumb. We have no intention to harm you or your people, but if you give a reason for me to now I will."
"What is that supposed to mean?" the boy yelped.
"It means that if you do not let my companions and I through right now, I will waste no time in slaughtering everyone."
"Sesshomaru!" Kagome squeaked, giving the demon an incredulous look. "How could you say such a thing?! How could you—"
"You can pass!" With a shriek the boy stepped aside, lowered his spear, and stepped to the side, far away from the demon lord. "You can go, go!"
Ami chuckled as she walked by the shaking guard, pausing a moment to glare him down and make him shriek once again before entering the village. Sesshomaru, who was smirking over his victory, followed her as next to him Kagome tried to blink off her shock, a scowl pulling at her lips as she frowned up at Sesshomaru.
"Did ya have to frighten him that much?" she asked, "I mean, he was just a boy…"
"You wanted to get into the village, right? I saw no other way."
"Are threats how you get everything you want?" Kagome inquired, and without looking at her Sesshomaru answered.
"Most of the time, yes."
"I should have known," Kagome sighed, looking around her, "But at least we're in the village. Even if the villagers do look terrified…"
And indeed they did. As the three travelers walked through the single main path past hut after hut, all the villagers, seeing the approach of the strangers, took refuge in their houses with screams and gasps of horror, seeing only the demons and a girl dressed in odd clothing.
"Wow, we really know how to make an entrance," Ami commented as they stopped in the center of the village, where the main dirt path branched off into two others.
"It smells like human here," Sesshomaru grumbled, and resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the glare Kagome gave him.
"Oh shut it, humans don't smell that bad! And you're just going to have to get used to the smell, because if I don't find that cave I'm not leaving! Now, where do you think the village elder would live?" Kagome looked around at all the huts, but none of them stood out, all being the same small wooden shacks.
As Kagome looked around Sesshomaru began to walk again, going down the path to the left and leaving the girls behind. When Kagome saw that he was walking off, with a squeak she hurried after him, Ami on her trail as she caught up with him breathless and angry.
"Hey, you can't just walk off like that Sesshomaru!" she growled, and huffed when she receives the typical silence, falling into pace next to him with Ami on her other side as he led them on to the borders of the village, to where the huts and dirt path ended at a field of crimson flowers. At the sight of the deep red petals Kagome felt her anger drain from her, falling to her knees as Sesshomaru stopped at the edge of the field to run a hand over the silky petals.
"These are so beautiful…" she marveled, tracing the petal of one.
From behind her, unbeknownst to her, Sesshomaru trains his eyes on her and watches her pluck one of the flowers delicately, noticing immediately the red of the flower matches her perfectly. Almost as rosy and soft as her skin…At his own thoughts he is surprised, resisting the urge to shake his head to remove such indecent thoughts as he forces himself to look away from her, looking far out across the field of swaying crimson flowers to an area that seems dark…
"I think I see the cave." At that one statement the beauty of the field is forgotten, the flower falling from Kagome's hand as she springs to her feet, eyes wide and heart pounding wildly. Turning to Sesshomaru, who is still staring into the distance, she attempted to follow his line of sight but sees nothing.
"I see it too," Ami gasps slightly from the other side of Sesshomaru, "Out in the distance…Is that what you speak of, Lord Sesshomaru?"
Sesshomaru made no response but began to walk across the field, a breathless, urgent Kagome at his side as they make their way through the flowers. They were halfway across the field when straight ahead Kagome saw it, the dark hole in the otherwise smooth grey rock of the mountain side.
"That has to be it Sesshomaru," she quietly murmurs, "It's the only cave…"
Sesshomaru found himself unable to respond. As they approached the cave he found himself to be voiceless, a sense of trepidation filling his heart as the mouth to the cavern came into view. And he found himself wishing that he was not approaching it, not with Kagome, not the place where Inuyasha was being held…
He could not understand it, and frankly did not want to. The joy he saw on Kagome's face, the hope, sent something dark through his cold heart, something akin to envy, to anger. To see such joy over finding Inuyasha…
Kagome was too lost in hope, in anxiety, to notice the change in Sesshomaru; she was unable to see anything beyond the cave's entrance. It was a wide entrance, a big dark arch that towered over them as they approached it, Kagome falling ahead until she was jogging, getting closer and closer to it, almost touching it…
That was when a shock of blue sopped her, sent her hopes spiraling down as her body, so eager to keep going, was thrown backward, away from her destination, her love, back into the bed of flowers the color of blood. For a second, all was quiet except for her uneven breathing, her body still as from the bed of flowers she stared with wide, tear filled eyes up at the black barrier barring her way, keeping her from her ultimate goal. A black barrier that separated her, even when she was so close, from Inuyasha…
"No…" she knew that there was going o be a barrier, but as a Miko she had thought she would have been able to cross through. But as she stared at the black barrier, unlike one she had ever seen, she became aware of just how wrong she was, her fists slamming against the thick, electric barrier in vain as the crackling darkness blurred in her eyes, filled with so many tears…
"Inuyasha…Oh god no, Inuyasha…"
From the distance Sesshomaru watched her, watched as she was thrown back, saw the despair cover her face, the face he was so used to seeing smiling, or laughing, eyes that he was so used to seeing sparkling filled with tears that he resented, regretted, and absolutely hated. And yet he kept his distance, watching with what he hoped was a detached expression as she slammed her hands into the barrier over and over again, trying in vain to get through. But there was no hope…
"I can't get through…" He heard her whisper into the breeze, and had to look away, at the dark barrier, as she sank to her knees in despair in the flowers, appearing as lovely as a flower herself as she sat there, biting her lip as she tried to stop the tears.
He tried not to notice the way his heart felt as though it were being squeezed when she turned to him, some tears still bright in her eyes and a shiver wracking her slim body, and said, in the smallest voice:
"Sesshomaru, I can't get through…I can't…"
And without thinking he was stepping towards her, his normally cold eyes light and warm, and she was standing up, eyes locked on his and without thinking she was stepping towards him, until they were so close…
And with a choked sob Kagome's arms were around him, her face buried in his chest, and he stood frozen, eyes widening as he stared down at her, the crying human in his arms.
"Oh Sesshomaru, I was so close…I am so close…"
He had had her in his arms once before, and for a moment, a brief insane moment, he thought about how nice it felt all over again, to feel her tiny body, her curves, her sweet scent… It was wrong on so many levels, to fall prey to the same curse his father had, but yet with her so close…Crying on him…her scent…
They both stiffened as his arms, feeling heavy, wrapped around her waist in the lightest of holds, and for a moment he stopped breathing and she stopped crying, her tear stained face lifting slowly, ever so slowly, until her cinnamon eyes were locked on his. And everything seemed to fade away. The barrier, her despair, his fears, his icy heart…
The tears dried on her face, evaporated under his hot breath as she leaned closer to him, and the grip around her waist tightened until it seemed as though he would never let go. And brown never left gold…
"Hey!" A shout suddenly resounded across the field, and just like that the spell they had fallen into was broken, and with a gasp Kagome was freeing herself from his arms and Sesshomaru was releasing her as though she were a hot coal.
Feeling a blush spread over her cheeks, Kagome was unable to look at him as she turned to face where the shout was coming from, and saw Ami standing at the edge of the field with an old man at her side, waving excitedly.
"Hey you two, I found the village elder!" she called, gesturing towards the old man, and without looking at Sesshomaru, unable to look at Sesshomaru, she hurried back across the field, crushing flowers as she went, vaguely aware of Sesshomaru walking behind her.
She arrived, luckily without blushing, before Ami and the village elder, who was eyeing her with aged grey colored eyes darkened with wisdom. Now that she was up close Kagome could see that the man had the appearances of a wizard. His long grey beard fell to his chest, which was round and covered in a dark grey rough cloth, and his hair was a wild grey mass that reached his shoulders around his head. His cheeks were rosy and his eyes were kind as they twinkled up at her from beneath scraggy, thick eyebrows. All and all the man was the picture of benevolence, and Kagome immediately found herself smiling at him.
"Hello sir, my name is Kagome" she bowed respectfully to him, "My friends and I have sought out your village from the east, and let me say now that we mean no harm to you or any one else. We just need a place to stay and—"
As the man raised a trembling hand Kagome instantly fell silent.
"Kagome, you say your name was my dear?" he asked in a raspy voice filled with kindness, giving her a smile as she nodded. "Well Kagome, I must welcome you to the village of Jomon, welcome all of you to it." He looked pointedly behind her at the two demons in her company, and smiled at them as well. "I must apologize first off for the actions of the villagers; you see, we are not used to visitors, being in such a remote place and all of that. But just the same, I am happy you are here."
He paused for a moment to regard Sesshomaru and Ami with polite, sparkling eyes. "Forgive me my friends but may I inquire as to who you are? It's been awhile since any demons have ventured through these parts."
"I am Ami, of the Eastern Wolf Tribe" Ami stepped forward and made a slight bow, "it is a pleasure to meet you sir…?"
"You may call me Saku" he chuckled slightly, "just Saku. And now who are you?" he asked, looking directly at Sesshomaru. For a moment Kagome wondered if the demon lord, who hated humans, would bother answering him. But she was wrong.
"I am Lord Sesshomaru of the Western Lands," he stated, and to Kagome's amazed eyes he even bowed his head slightly to the elder, a small sign of respect that had her smiling.
"Lord Sesshomaru you say?" Saku raised his scraggy eyebrows before bowing low to the demon lord, his bright grey eyes dancing at Sesshomaru. "It is an honor to be in your acquaintance my lord."
"As it should be," came Sesshomaru's cold response, and Kagome shook her head, unable to feel angry at the demon for just being himself. How could she have thought that he was finally warming up to people? Her grin widened; he wouldn't be Sesshomaru if he had said anything else.
"Now that we've had our introductions shall we go to my hut? I am not one to like standing too much." Saku said, and Kagome nodded.
"That would be just fine Saku. Do you need help walking back?" she asked out of concern as the old man began to hobble away on knobby legs ahead of them.
"What?" he stopped and turned around, eyes twinkling. "Oh no, I enjoy the challenge. One can never get enough exercise, especially at my ripe age!" he laughed, waiting for Kagome and Ami to fall into step next to him before hobbling on, Sesshomaru, as usual, trailing after them.
"Now, what brings you to my village any way?" Saku inquired, giving Kagome a sidelong glance. "I saw you and Lord Sesshomaru up at the cave; I'm guessing it has something to do with that?"
"It…It has everything to do with that," Kagome sighed, her despair returning when she thought back to it. "You see, it's…It's complicated…"
"How complicated?" the old man asked.
"Yeah, how is it complicated?" Ami added, "It's just about Inuyasha being captured, isn't it?"
"Inuyasha?" Saku blinked, "Well I have never heard that name before, if that's who you're looking for…"
"No…I mean, well yes…You see…My friend, Inuyasha, was kidnapped recently by a group of bandits who we believe are taking refuge in the cave outside of your village but…But we can't get in because there's a—"
"A barrier, I know," Saku sighed, and it sounded like a gust of air. "That dark barrier has been there for weeks now, scaring the villagers and casting an ominous shadow on Jomon. I wish we could get rid of it, but there is no way to penetrate it, as far as I know at least."
"Do you know who is in the cave?" Sesshomaru spoke up from behind them, and Saku reached up to scratch his head in thought.
"Well, I don't know I think—Oh wait, here's my hut." He stopped before a single hut that seemed no different from the others around it, and with a flourish flung the bamboo curtain for a door aside and invited them in. "Come in come in, I'll make tea while we talk!"
As they filed in Kagome noticed that the interior of the hut was not at all different from that of Kaede's hut, with a fire pit in the center of the room and a small cot in the corner. The only difference between Kaede's hut and this hut had to be the ludicrous amount of books lying all around, piled high against the wall and scattered across the floor.
As Saku bustled around to the tiny cabinet where he kept the tea and grabbed the kettle, Kagome looked over to read the title on the scratched spine of a nearby book.
"Alchemy" she read aloud, and Saku paused in his work of lighting the fire to turn to her.
"Oh that's nothing my dear" he waved it off with a laugh, "Just an old book I picked up from my travels. I have a lot you can see!"
"Are you interested in alchemy?" Ami asked, reading the cover another book, "Because this too is an alchemy book."
"I once was, when I was younger you know, but the years…The years have changed me. Now I just keep them all for memories." With a spark the fire roared to life, and with a sigh Saku sat back and put the kettle on, gesturing for them to come sit. "Come now, sit next to the fire with me and leave those dusty relics alone; I really need to clean them up…"
They all sat down except for Sesshomaru, who opted to stay standing by the front door leaning against the wall.
"Now Saku, you were telling us about who lives in that cave?" Ami began, and Saku started a bit.
"Why yes I was!" he cleared his throat and checked the kettle again, adding a log to the fire. "Well, I do not know for sue who lives there; no one does, because they always come back and leave in the dead of night. The barrier indicates however that they may be dark mikos of some sort; some in this village even whisper that they are the Devil's offspring. That is just superstition though, of course."
"The Devil's offspring…Is the barrier truly that strong and threatening?" Kagome asked while wringing her hands in her lap, hating all that she was hearing.
"Well, you saw for yourself; I can sense that you possess strong miko powers, and if you can't cross through…Who can?" Saku said, "I do know for a fact that demons can not cross it; you would not believe the amount of rogue demons that come through and try only to be purified."
"Rogue demons? Why would rogue demons try to get in there?" Ami asked, and Saku shrugged his bony shoulders.
"There are myths that the dark mikos are whoever they are use the purified demon parts in their potions, but again, that's just a rumor."
"Is there anything you can tell us that is certain?" Kagome asked desperately, reaching out automatically to clutch the old man's wrinkled hand.
"Please…I need to know something—anything—that might help me get to Inuyasha. I need to save him…"
Saku stared at her hand on his for a moment, his grey eyes darkening as he let out a world weary sigh. "I'm afraid there is not much to say that I truly know of. But if they have your friend Inuyasha…Do you think that he's still alive?"
Kagome shivered, her hand clutching his tighter as with her other hand she unwrapped Inuyasha's haori from around her waist and held it up for Saku to see.
"What is this…?" he murmured as he let her hand go to touch it, his eyes widening as he saw the dark blood that stained it. "My God…"
"That's Inuyasha's haori, stained with blood," Kagome quietly murmured, grabbing Saku's hands again as he released the haori and it fluttered to the ground, close to the fire. "Please Saku, I need to find him, I need to save him. I don't know if he's still alive but I hope…I pray that he is. I just need to know…"
Saku stared into Kagome's wide dark eyes for a moment, saw the desperation in them, read the hope, and squeezed the hand that trapped his.
"My dear girl, I wish I could help, I truly wish I could, but nowadays I barely leave this hut." As Kagome's face fell and she went to pull her hand back he held on.
"Oh no, no, do not give up yet my girl, for there still may be a way to know things. You see, I may not leave my hut often, but the villagers of Jomon certainly do. If you want answers, go talk to them."
"To the people?" Kagome repeated, feeling her heart jump in her chest.
"Yes, but would they trust us?" Ami questioned, "I mean, Lord Sesshomaru and I are demons…"
"It may take some time, yes, but I have no doubt that you girls will sway the people of this village's hearts; you've already swayed mine!" Saku smiled as he released Kagome's hand to take the kettle off the fire.
"How will we earn their trust?" Kagome asked, biting her lip.
"You are a miko," Sesshomaru spoke up, and Kagome turned to find him staring at her intently with dark eyes. "You have a gift for healing; I'm sure the village may find some good use in that."
"You're right, they could!" Kagome brightened up, throwing a bright grin at Sesshomaru. "Sesshomaru, you're a genius!"
"Hn," was his answer, even though deep inside he was pleased. His heart was still racing from earlier, and the way she had just smiled at him did nothing to ease the odd feeling fluttering about within it. And he still could not understand why, for her…
"So what, we just go knocking from door to door offering Kagome's services and asking about the cave?" Ami asked, "It sounds like a bad plan to me…"
"How do you know it's bad, my girl, if you haven't tried it?" Saku smiled, chuckling as he poured the tea. "Besides, you do not have to hurry off right now; you all look like you need to rest, and the tea's just come off of the fire! Stay a little and rest; you have the rest of the day!"
Although Kagome was smiling when she took the cup of tea from him, and nodding her head to his plan, inside she was doubtful about it all. Something just did not feel right, and she knew that the longer she waited for information…
Her eyes trailed back to Inuyasha's haori, laying so close to the fire, and with her free hand she grabbed it, watching as the dark blood that stained it leapt out in the firelight.
There was little time left, if there was any time left at all…
And the tea tasted bitter in her mouth.
I'm sooo sorry again that I took so long to update! Things have just been crazy lately, and I've been so busy and tired…And I had the worst case of writer's block halfway through writing this chapter, so sorry if it seems rushed or whatever. Oh, and sorry about spelling and grammar errors too; I don't have a Beta reader, and for some reason I can not read back over what I write because then I just want to change everything, and it would take longer to post this. Well, whatever, I'm sorry again and please review!