Threads of Love
I do not own Inuyasha.
So far...
Sesshoumaru has forced Sango to go with him after finding out about her recklessness. Inuyasha remains adamant about her banishment while Kagome and Miroku try to change his mind. Sango still hopes to find Naraku as soon as possible.
11
XxX
Sango knew the instant that she agreed to go with him, that her life would be a living hell. All she wanted to do was continue her search; alone. She fought with Sesshoumaru left and right about every little thing. Jaken even got his staff shoved down his throat for a demeaning comment that he threw her way. The only one that she got along with was Rin. It had only been three days and already she was wishing that she hadn't agreed to go with him.
I just need to bide my time. I can strike out on my own soon enough, when Sesshoumaru seems secure that I am staying. Then, Naraku, you had better start praying.
However, she had to admit that Sesshoumaru was pretty giving about stopping. Any time she needed to rest, he stopped without a single word. Of course, he seemed pissed off if they lingered too long but that was starting to stop. The taiji-ya began to notice small things about the Daiyoukai. She could practically paint his emotions on a blank canvas, even when he looked stoic and expressionless. Some portion of her mind continually told her that it was because of the bond.
"We are stopping here for the night." That was all he said before he left them to sit in a small clearing. Sango looked up, noticing that there was a canopy of trees with hardly any view of the sky. She told Kirara to take her up so that she could clear away some of the branches.
"Sango-san, why are you cutting branches?" Rin was a curious girl, always looking for answers to any question that popped into her head. Sango looked over and smiled.
"Well, if I don't make a hole, there will be no place for the smoke to go. This forest is dense with a lot of canopy. That, and I wanted to watch the stars tonight. I think it should be a clear night." The taiji-ya looked at the hole in success. "Just like the roof of a house."
"I see! Sango-san, you are so smart!" The little girl cheered brightly. "And so pretty! You remind me of a princess." Sango flushed as she commanded Kirara to go back to the ground. Rin told Ah-Un to do the same. "Sesshoumaru-sama saved you once, didn't he?"
"Hm?" Rin frowned slightly.
"That time when you thought something was wrong with your baby." Suddenly, the taiji-ya recalled the incident. "I hope your baby is strong."
"It will be." Sango knew it was strong. She didn't have any doubts.
XxX
"Sesshoumaru, we have to stop!" The Daiyoukai was very stubborn when it came to her demands. He continued walking as though he hadn't heard her. "Sesshoumaru!" Sango was getting pissed off. Extremely pissed off. The taiji-ya then gathered her weapons and began to storm away, in the direction of the swell of youki.
"Taiji-ya." He was suddenly in front of her. "Where do you believe you are going?" Glaring at him defiantly, she turned to the side. However, his speed was greater than hers as he was always in front of her.
"There is youki in the area and you know what that means. A village isn't too far from here!" He continued to stare at her with his even expression. "I am a taiji-ya, dammit! I have to protect them!" She yelled at him, clenching her fists. "How can you just continue walking like it means nothing?"
"Taiji-ya, I have no time to play with lesser youkai. We have lingered here enough." His voice was tinged with irritability.
"Well, you can keep going without me. Maybe I'll catch up when I'm finished." She snapped, moving away from him and walking in the direction of the youki.
"Why must you fight with me about such trivial things? I told you that we have no time!" Halting in her tracks, Sango looked back at him with an icy glare.
"No, you have no time for innocent lives. I have a duty to protect them, even at the risk of my own life." They continued to fight about it until the youki disappeared. "What in the..." Kirara had left without their knowledge and defeated the lesser youkai without a problem. Sango beamed at her neko and rushed over with words of praise falling from her lips. "Good job, Kirara!" The neko rumbled a proud response. She just wanted things to move along.
Needless to say, however, the fight had forced the Daiyoukai and the taiji-ya into a silent treatment contest. Whoever spoke first lost. Sango could already feel Hell's flames licking at her skin.
XxX
The silence was ebbing away at the patience of the young miko. Kagome was so upset at Inuyasha for allowing Sango to slip through their fingers. She didn't know any way to take her anger out other than the cold shoulder. In all actuality, she was being rather merciful. She could have 'sat' the hanyou into oblivion.
"Kagome-san, do you happen to know where our hanyou friend is leading us?" Miroku's quiet words reached her ears, causing her to look over in curiosity. "Is this not the direction that will lead us back to the first dead end path?"
Now that he mentions it... Inuyasha isn't even paying any attention to where we're going, otherwise he would've turned us around by now. Something must be on his mind. I wonder if he could be guilty for his harsh actions...?
The thought that she was being just a bit too hopeful crossed her mind. She was over-estimating Inuyasha's human side. It must have been just as cruel as its opposite.
"I don't know where he thinks he's going. I wasn't even paying attention." She looked to Shippou, who was perched on Miroku's shoulder with a small frown on his face. "I wish we could just go find Sango and get her back ourselves. This is going way too far."
"I agree. I miss her so..." The forlorn houshi looked rather pathetic with his eyes downcast, sporting a sad glare. "He must reconsider."
"Doubt it." Shippou muttered, tears beginning to shine in his bright emerald eyes. "He's too stubborn." Kagome bit her lip thoughtfully as she looked ahead at the sulking hanyou.
Perhaps with some persuasion...
Later on in the evening, Kagome was cooking ramen for their tiny group. She was still thoughtful on the subject of getting Inuyasha to agree to her terms.
"What's with the stupid look on your face?" The comment was met with a forceful glare. "Stop daydreaming and cook the damn ramen!"
"I am cooking it, stupid!" Her temper flared almost instantly at him, which wasn't a good sign for them. "If you weren't so pig-headed, you might be able to see that!"
"Bitch. I didn't ask for you to fucking impair my hearing!"
"Shut up and stop using that language around Shippou!"
"Make me!" The childish fight continued until the furious miko announced that the ramen was done. As the hanyou's punishment, he had to wait until everyone had theirs before he was allowed any. "Stupid harpy." He cursed her under his breath as he stalked off to eat by himself.
"That went well." Miroku stated, sarcasm surfacing in his voice. Kagome frowned and looked away, still angry at their hanyou friend.
"He pisses me off so easily anymore. I don't know what's going on in his head half the time anymore. This just makes me want to go home." She couldn't even use that against Inuyasha anymore. He'd just tell her to go ahead and leave. "But I have to figure out a way to get him to take Sango back. We've tried explaining what happened but he doesn't listen to that anymore."
"All will be well, Kagome-san. Just try and be patient." Telling her to be patient was rather pointless. He couldn't even be patient anymore.
Her thoughts kept her up all night. The next morning, she wanted nothing more than to cry. They were getting nowhere on both of their missions. Miroku looked haggard and weary, bags beginning to form beneath his usually bright violet eyes. Kagome was tempted to ask him what was wrong but thought better of it.
"We going or what?" It was only sunrise and the day was looking like shit. It looked cloudy, like it was going to rain. Not to mention that everyone was on pins and needles, bad moods all around. Hardly anything was said until they were forced into shelter by pouring rain and lightning. That was around noon; according to Kagome's watch.
I really want to go back home. On a day like this I would've stayed in bed and then relaxed in my pajamas until I got into a nice hot bath. Instead, I'm stuck out here in the cold, damp woods with these idiots as companions.
Inuyasha was as moody as a teenager with PMS. One minute he would bite their heads off for saying one word and the next he would storm off silently, sulking. Kagome nearly laughed at her thoughts but she resisted, figuring that it would only make things worse.
"Kagome-san, do you not have a game for days like this in your time?" Miroku's quiet voice forced the miko back into consciousness. For half a second, she stood there, feeling stupid until she snapped her fingers and pulled out a pen and one of her notebooks.
"This may seem stupid but me and my friends used to do this during class." She taught him the basics of hangman and tic-tac-toe and the like. Luckily, they were sitting beneath a tree and they had her umbrella propped open to catch stray raindrops.
Hours dragged as they played the games, hoping the rain would stop enough so that they could continue.
"I'm bored!" Shippou was whining every five seconds. That was, until Inuyasha hit him on the head and cursed the kitsune out for being loud and annoying. Then Kagome unleashed the word and made the entire group go silent.
"This is getting out of control! Inuyasha, it's time that you come to terms with what you really did." The hanyou lifted himself from the damp ground, curses sealed behind his tight frown.
"I don't want to talk about it. How many times are you going to harp at me before you get the point?" He looked down at his clothes. "Fuck!" He continued muttering for several minutes before he began to stalk off in a different direction. "I'm going to find a river."
"Inuyasha." Miroku's voice was quiet, yet loud enough to cause the angry hanyou to look back. "If you do not consider our current problem then I will be forced to excuse myself from this group." Inuyasha merely snorted and continued on his way.
So what? They want to leave, I'm not gonna stop them. Bunch of fucking traitors, if you ask me.
XxX
Sango brushed her fingers through Rin's short black hair. The little girl was fast asleep, as it was nearing midnight. The fire had died low but Sango remained awake. The taiji-ya couldn't sleep. Her troubled mind was far from sleep.
Will my baby be like this? I wonder what my child will look like? Will he or she be like Inuyasha? No, I won't ever let mistrust go that far.
She would protect her baby forever. Her eyes trailed the invisible path to where Sesshoumaru rested at the base of a tree. Their fighting had briefly subsided, which made her think about the relationship they had. Neither really had any feelings for the other. She wasn't in love with the Daiyoukai. Sometimes, she could feel that she liked him but that was as far as her feelings stretched. He didn't even believe in love so it wasn't hard to figure out how he felt.
Sometimes I feel like I can love him. But...he keeps me so far away. It's like I'm not even his mate...
Truth be told, he was being less violent toward her ever since he had forced her to travel with him. He was always stoic and expressionless, yet it seemed less intense. Rin even acted out less. It was as though the girl could sense the change in her father figure.
"Why are you still awake?" Sango jumped and looked over, watching as he shifted. "You have to rise early." She moved slowly away from Rin.
"I can't sleep." Walking closer, she paused only once in her steps. He watched her silently as she sat next to him.
"Is it the child?" He couldn't detect any stressing from the baby so he didn't know why she couldn't sleep. He felt her rest her head on his shoulder.
"No." Sesshoumaru was confused by her antics. She fought with him constantly, hardly talked to him, and she even pulled away from him when he had tried to calm the child.
Why is she seeking my touch now? Humans are such odd creatures.
"I just...couldn't get to sleep. It's like my mind does not want to ease." Sango felt bold. If he was going to open up to her, it would be when they were alone. If she was going to get anywhere with him, they had to be alone. She climbed into his lap and stared him in the face. It was pretty dark but, for some reason, she could see him just fine. Perhaps it was his coloring. "You don't need sleep?"
"No." He stared down at her, perplexed that she was being so mild and tame. "I only need it when I am exhausted or wounded." Her eyes were studying him, memorizing his face and markings.
"Were you born with these?" She traced his crescent. "Or did you earn your stripes?" Her lips pulled back into a smirk.
"I earned them." He proceeded to tell her what she asked, to certain limitations. She felt wonderful that he was actually talking to her. Pehaps if she spent time with him like that more often, then he would be better with her all the time. One thing that she really didn't mind was falling asleep with her head on his shoulder, her breath probably tickling his neck.
XxX
Kagome bit her lip as she sought after the hanyou. He had been gone for hours and the rain had even let up. The miko was concerned for him. All they had been doing was yelling at him, starting fights with him, and putting him down. She felt bad for him but, in a way, he kind of deserved it. Sango did nothing wrong yet he wouldn't even let her explain herself.
"Inuyasha!" She called, hoping that her call wouldn't drive him away. "Inuyasha, where are you?" The miko felt stupid. She was probably drawing attention to herself in the worst way.
"Stupid, what are you doing?" The hanyou startled her by landing right behind her, a scowl present on his face. "Calling out for me isn't such a smart idea." She ducked her head and flushed, not really used to being so close to him. "What'd you want, anyway?"
"The rain stopped. I figured that you would want to go on before dark. Maybe we can find a village." Inuyasha didn't look pleased but he didn't looked pissed, either. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha. About all that's happened." He looked away from her and almost started walking away. "But...it really wasn't her decision at all. You shouldn't have shoved her away like that. At least not before you heard what happened."
"Why? Obviously, they're mated. That only happens at the height-"
"She told me that! She said that he used almost all of his youki because he didn't do it that way. He wasn't even at his height." She reached out and grasped his haori. "She didn't want to betray you. She was so afraid that you would hate her. But she was going to die, Inuyasha. Sesshoumaru was actually selfless. He bonded himself to her because there was no other way."
"That doesn't make any sense. Sesshoumaru is an asshole that doesn't care about anyone but himself! Why the hell would he save her?" The hanyou couldn't believe it because it didn't sound like something his brother would do. "I just can't accept that he did something for someone else."
"Sango wouldn't lie to me." Kagome silently pleaded with him to listen to her and believe her. "Why would she still care about you if she meant to harm you? Why would she still protect us?" He snorted.
"She's still a damn taiji-ya." He looked back at her. "And she's eager to close in on Naraku."
"Speaking of Naraku, why are we going this way? Weren't we already here?" Inuyasha growled at her.
"Don't you think I've been paying attention to where we're going? Something tells me..." He looked forward, in the direction that he had been going. "He is such a bastard. Every time we get this fucking close to him, he runs. The fucking coward runs." Kagome tightened her grip on him and bit her lip.
"Inuyasha..." He shrugged her hold off.
"Come on. We've got a lot of road to travel." The miko watched him walk away. It seemed like that was all she ever saw. His back. With a soft sigh, she followed him back to where Miroku and Shippou were waiting.
Later on in the evening, Inuyasha stopped walking, his nose in the air. His expression turned feral and he began cursing so much that Shippou had to cover his ears and hide in Miroku's arms.
"What is it-" A jewel shard approaching at high speed answered her question. Kouga. "Oh..." Before she could voice another word, someone had her hands and was pulling her closer.
"Kagome! It pained me to be away from you so long but I have a reason." The wolf looked positively proud. "One of my search parties found out where Naraku's been hiding." Inuyasha grabbed Kouga by the topknot and pulled him backwards.
"Where is he?" The two then began to brawl.
"I'm not gonna tell you, fleabag!"
"Asshole!"
"Cocky bastard!"
"Stinking-"
"Cut it out, you two!" Kagome was growing furious and impatient with the both of them. Inuyasha growled at her and opened his mouth to unleash an insult. "Sit!" Both wolf and dog ate dirt. "Now, Kouga, would you mind sharing your information?" Kouga got up and grinned.
"Well, I've had search parties out ever since we got close last time. They're all over the place so, when and if Naraku moves in, I'll know exactly where he is." They had to admit that it was a smart idea. "They found him way down in the southern territories. But I guess he's been sending golems out ever since, to try and screw everyone up. Phantom castles, youkai guards, the works. Everywhere."
"That means that..."
"We've been going in the wrong direction." Miroku looked thoughtfully at Kouga. "But you are certain that the Naraku in the southern territories is not a golem?"
"Positive. In fact, a couple of my scouts went missing. Only two out of five returned to their post. The others that were around the golems reported that they were fine." Kagome bit her lip and looked toward Inuyasha.
"This turns the tables, then. Maybe we can somehow surprise him."
"Yeah right." Inuyasha snorted. "The most we could do is fight him. We can't take that bastard with surprises."
"The idiot's right. We can't." Kouga sighed. "I would suggest working together with you. After the last battles we've had, we obviously can't do it alone."
"You mean you can't do it alone." The hanyou stood up and looked toward the south. Was his feeling leading him toward a golem? If the idiot wolf was right, then his senses were being put off by a mere puppet. "If you can swear that you'll be of help, then I guess you can show us where he is."
"Deal, mutt."
Kagome slept on Inuyasha's back while they traveled through the night. Miroku stayed just behind Inuyasha and Kouga was just ahead.
"We've got a lot of miles to cover but we should make it if we keep pace." The hanyou nodded at the youkai's words. He was right.
XxX
Sango opened her eyes and squinted. Rin and Jaken were still sleeping so she knew it was still early. However, she was no longer with Sesshoumaru. He was nowhere to be seen. She got up and fixed her kimono over her swollen stomach and then she fixed her hair, pulling it back away from her face. Her breath suddenly caught in her throat. Unfamiliar youki was approaching fast. Her eyes went to Rin, relief flooding through her when she saw Kirara and Jaken protecting the sleeping girl.
"Shit..." She gathered her weapons and prepared herself as fast as she could. "Sesshoumaru, where are you?" She was hit from the side with the hilt of a blade. Falling hard, she let go of Hiraikotsu in favor of her wakizashi. Surrounding the clearing were twenty youkai.
XxX
Kouga skidded to a halt, the other two doing the same.
"You feel that?" They were surrounded. "It's gotta be Naraku. That-" The wolf jumped back just as a golem landed in front of them. "What the hell?" It seemed like there were at least fifteen golems and around the same amount of youkai. "That bastard! Was he-"
"He had to have known that you knew where he was!" Inuyasha yelled as he pulled out Tessaiga. Kagome woke up from all of the yelling and dropped easily from his back.
"Inuyasha, I'm still out of arrows!"
"Shit, you didn't remember to get any!?" She shook her head but took out her bow anyway. As long as she could channel her spiritual powers into the bow, then she would have a weapon.
"I'll be fine, though. Just hurry and finish this battle so that we can get at Naraku before he moves!" Kouga picked up the miko and looked back at Inuyasha.
"I should take her away from here. There's a village ahead where she can get arrows. Then I'll be back, okay?" Inuyasha was hesitant to let them go. "I'll be faster on my feet. Don't you try to argue with me."
"Inuyasha..." Kagome looked at the hanyou with wide eyes.
"Take her to safety. The houshi and I can handle this. Shippou! Go with them!" As soon as Shippou was in her arms, Kouga took off.
"Inuyasha!" She yelled back, not wanting to look at how bad the battle looked. At that point, the miko put her hands together and prayed. She prayed for her friends. She prayed for their safety. But, most of all, she prayed for the defeat of the monster that was causing all of it to happen.
XxX
Hey, all! Was that another great chapter or what?
Even I'm at the edge of my seat...and I'm the one writing it! This is by far my favorite SessSan fic of mine. I hope you all like it just as much!
Thank you all for your support up to this point. You've been so wonderful to me. I have no doubt that this will probably surpass Shikon. Thank you!
-Angel
