Chapter 13: Doubt

Inuyasha was in trouble and he knew it. He knew that he had defeated the two brothers in the past, but at that time he'd had help. This time he was alone. The two detachments were moving with incredible speed and their teamwork was flawless. Every time Inuyasha dodged or blocked one, the other would strike. He was already bleeding from numerous wounds. It was unlikely that he would get help any time soon. Kouga and his cronies had run of as soon as the wolf had been able to, Sango and Miroku were still nursing broken bones, Kikyo was probably still too weak and Shippo was too young to do any serious damage to one of these guys. They were also doing their best to keep him where he was. So close to the village he couldn't use the wind scar safely, so they stopped him from going anywhere else.

He had managed to land a few hits himself, but nothing serious. Juroumaru was bleeding from a cut across his chest and a few other scratches and scrapes, but Kageroumaru was unscathed. "Not doing too well, are we Inuyasha," the worm creature drawled. "You're nothing without your friends, you pathetic weakling." Rage coursed through the now seriously irate hanyou and snarled. "Shut up, you piece of shit!" Swinging the Tessaiga wildly he charged. The brothers only just managed to evade the attack, surprised by his sudden speed burst.

"Ah, so the little one has some ability after all," Kageroumaru sneered, perched upon his brothers shoulder. "But it won't save you kid. Nothing can save you now." At this time Inuyasha was sorely tempted to simply use the wind scar, and to hell with the consequences. He began to feel the hauntingly familiar pulsing, the song of his youkai blood, urging him to discard of the cumbersome blade and tear into his foes with teeth and claws. Deep within his soul, the manifestation of the wild power and instinct that was and yet was not Inuyasha, stirred in its sleep. 'Gotta hold on,' Inuyasha told himself. "Who knows what might happen if I go crazy so close to the village." But already he was slipping, and every wound his attackers caused pushed him closer to the edge.

"Useless creature," Kageroumaru growled, "you would never have defeated us on your own." He charged at Inuyasha, scythes slashing, but he suddenly had to veer to the side to avoid a glowing arrow. It narrowly missed the worm creature, who settled on a tree branch to glare at the new threat. Kikyo had heard the commotion and had come to assist her friend. "Get away from him you putrid snake," she said in a loud and steady voice. "This village and its inhabitants are under my protection, and if you value your existence you will leave. Now." There was nothing subtle about the threat.

"Ah, there you are, Kikyo, correct?" Kageroumaru tilted his head at Inuyasha, who was fighting against Juroumaru. "Have you come to save your love? That's very touching" he drawled. "We weren't exactly ordered to take you down as well, but I doubt that our mistress will be too sad about your demise." Kikyo returned the glare with equal intensity. She quickly readied a second arrow and aimed it at the worm, the tip already glowing. "Do not underestimate me, filth. The likes of you cannot defeat me." Kageroumaru hissed. "You talk big, but you'll die easily enough. Not that it will be too swift. My brother and I only have limited time before we must return to the grave, but we intend to enjoy every minute of it," he leered.

Hearing the creature threaten the woman he loved was all it took to drive the struggling Inuyasha over the edge. With a savage growl he flung the Tessaiga at his hastily retreating opponent. Juroumaru dodged the sword by jumping, but he couldn't avoid the raging hanyou who followed the awkward projectile. Inuyasha slammed into him, biting and clawing like a wild animal. His eyes were blood red and two jagged, purple crests hat appeared on his face. The raging beast, that slept within all youkai, be they half or full blooded, had fought its way to the surface of Inuyasha's mind and roared out its anger and defiance for all the world to hear.

Kageroumaru cursed and rushed to assist his sibling, but was once again distracted by a glowing arrow. Hissing, he retreated into the ground. No one had ever told Kikyo of these two incarnations, so she was unsure of the snakes intentions. Readying another arrow she scanned the ground about Inuyasha, at the same time wondering how she should calm him. She knew about his youkai blood, but she had never seen him in this state. One would never have guessed it from looking at her, but the sight deeply unsettled her. She knew that Inuyasha was brash and could be violent, but this...

Firmly she banished those thoughts from her mind, concentrating on the fight and looking for the worm creature. She was taken by surprise when he burst from the ground behind her and scored a hit on her back, cutting her open. Her scream of pain and the scent of her blood distracted the beast that was and yet was not Inuyasha. He leaped away from the heavily wounded Juroumaru and rushed to Kikyo. Kageromaru quickly burrowed back underground, satisfied that the wound he had caused would be lethal.

Inuyasha landed next to Kikyo, taking her in his arms almost gently, growling quietly. Kikyo groaned in pain. Fear lanced through her as she realized that the wound would probably kill her. She opened her eyes and stared into Inuyasha's blood red eyes. "Inuyasha," she whispered. She tried to reach for his face, but already she was weakening. The hanyou whined, and nudged her face with his nose.

Behind them, Juroumaru had limped closer, his face and torso a bloody mess. One of his eyes was ruined and deep gashes marred the previously handsome features. At his feat, Kageromaru emerged from the dirt and slithered up his brothers body to sit on his shoulders, a triumphant grin on his face. "That's two, Inuyasha. Two people you swore to protect, and one has died and the other is dying." He smirked. "You really are useless." Juroumaru stopped when he heard Inuyasha growl in response.

The enraged hanyou set the woman down carefully and turned to face his opponents, the deep growl quickly turning into a feral snarl. Kageromaru laughed in his face. "She's already dead, and now it's your turn!"

"I do not think so." None of them had ever heard that voice before, but it affected all of them. Kikyo felt an almost meditative calm spread through her, brining out memories of her long lost mother, singing her to sleep. Inuyasha calmed as well, his red eyes slowly fading back to gold, the jagged stripes disappearing. The faces of three women flashed through his mind. His mother, Kikyo and Kagome, the three women that had always been able to make him feel safe. Their attacker's reaction, however, was very different. They whirled to stare at the source of the voice, immediately dropping into a fighting stance. "Oh, I do not think you wish to do that," the voice spoke again, "you cannot defeat me."

The speaker was a man, not very tall or muscular but not small either. His features were strange, with round eyes, a broad face and a bushy beard. His eyes were a warm blue, like a summer sky. He smiled at his would-be attackers. "There is no more need for violence here. If you wish to leave in peace I will not stop you." Kageromaru hissed in agitation. "Who the hell are you?" The man's smile did not waver. "Someone your mistress did not expect," was all he said. His gaze landed on Kikyo and her wound. He frowned, but somehow managed to smile while doing it.

"That will not do. Excuse me, but I will have to attend to her wounds." With that he simply strode past the brothers and Inuyasha who quickly got out of his way, and knelt down next to Kikyo. She looked at him with wide eyes, but did not show any sign of fear or distress. Even Inuyasha did not react, although a complete stranger had just walked up to the woman he loved. The man's hand touched Kikyo's wound, and she flinched. "I am sorry, child," he said apologetically, "I know that you have longed for death before, but it is not yet your time." A warm blue light surrounded his hand as he brushed it over the gash, and it quickly closed, as if it had never even been there.

Kageromaru snarled. "You bastard! Stop interfering and leave, before we kill you too." Inuyasha whirled to face them with a snarl of his own, quickly putting himself between his woman and their strange new ally, and their attackers. "Shut up you turd!" His eyes bleeding red again at the threat to his love, he attacked. Juroumaru met the attack head-on, but Kageromaru took of the left, shooting towards a small shed on the edge of the village with incredible speed. Inuyasha was just about to finish off Juroumaru as he heard a scream. He turned his head to look where the scream had come from.

A small figure slowly came out from behind the shack that Kageromaru had fled to. The worm had wrapped his long body around her neck, and held his scythes to her throat. Inuyasha heard Kikyo curse. "Dammit, he's got Rin." Tears were streaming from the terrified girls eyes. Her hands were gripping Kageromaru's body, but she wasn't strong enough to dislodge her captor. The snake whispered something in her ear and she stopped.

"Rin is sorry," she called to Inuyasha, "Rin just wanted to see what was going on." She choked as Kageromaru tightened his hold on her neck. "Shut up, girl, or I'll cut you to pieces," he hissed at her. Inuyasha growled. "Let her go, she's got nothing to do with this." Kageromaru chuckled. "I don't really care if she has or not, but if you don't get off my brother this moment, I swear I'm going to remove her little head, and I doubt that your new friend could heal her then." Slowly, Inuyasha let go of Juromaru and slowly backed away. The battered youkai got up and limped towards his brother.

"Well, Inuyasha, It seems like you've won this fight, but it isn't over yet. We've still got a few days before we die again, and we'll get you before then." A wicked light crept into his eyes as he glanced at his terrified hostage. "But maybe your brother will do the killing for us when he finds his wards decapitated corpse."

"No!" Inuyasha leapt forward to stop the snake, but he knew he would never get there in time. But before Kageromaru could follow through on his threat, a harsh croak stopped him. Several large crows had settled on the trees and buildings around them. Several were cawing at him, and even though they spoke no words Inuyasha or Kikyo could hear, Kageromaru seemed to understand them.

He scowled at the birds. "Why should I?" he answered an unheard question. "You sent us here to kill, and that's what we're doing." He sneered at the crows. "Did you think you could control us? Even Naraku couldn't and he made us." He hissed, the repulsive sound echoed by his brother who was now eying the crows warily. "I'll kill this little bitch, and then we'll get our revenge." He laughed loudly and shifted his scythes, cutting the girls skin slightly.

All of a sudden he froze, his scythes dropping and his body slackening. Juroumaru dropped to his knees, hands closed around his neck as if he had trouble breathing. "What?" the worm gasped. Rin quickly pulled the now weak youkai from her neck and threw him to the ground. Then she ran to Inuyasha as fast as she could. Without thinking the hanyou quickly pulled the girl behind him.

"What are you doing? No," Kageromaru rasped, "don't! We can still you!" Juroumaru gasped, brought his hands before his face and stared at them. They were slowly dissolving, like sand blown away in the wind. Kageromaru screamed as his body slowly disappeared. "No, no, please no!" For the very first time, the merciless creature begged for mercy. But apparently it was too late, for whatever force was pulling his body apart did not relent.

Inuyasha watched as his foes disintegrated, horror evenly matched with satisfaction. Finally, the two brothers vanished with a final scream. Inuyasha looked down at the girl that had fisted her hands into his clothes, eyes wide, staring at the spot where she had stood a few moments ago. "You ok?" the hanyou asked her gruffly. Her wide brown eyes turned up to stare at Inuyasha. She nodded. "Yes, Rin is fine, but her neck hurts a bit." Inuyasha crouched down to inspect the girls neck. "You've been cut, but it's not deep." A part of Inuyasha was wondering what he was doing, taking care of his half-brothers ward, but it seemed natural.

Brushing those thoughts away, he turned to Kikyo who was looking at him curiously. "What?" he snapped, his ears folding back on his head. Kikyo smiled. "Nothing." She turned to look at the new arrival. "So, I do not suppose you could tell us who you are and why you helped us, could you?" The man smiled at her warmly. "Of course, I will answer your questions to the best of my ability, but first I will tend to that child's wound." He smiled at Rin, and she smiled back tentatively. "Hello, my name is Rin." The man laughed quietly. "I know, child, I know." He walked over to her and knelt down in front of her. "You can call me Pilgrim."
_

Kagome sat on her throne, deep in thought. She had watched the entire encounter from beginning to end, and she was pondering her reactions the the spectacle. She had expected to feel glee and satisfaction at Inuyasha's suffering and she had, but not for long. Soon that small part of her mind that remembered the feelings she'd had for the hanyou came forward, and whispered words of forgiving in her mind. She'd refused to give in, forcibly reminding herself how Inuyasha had wronged her, how she had died because of his betrayal. It hadn't worked too well.

When he his blood had boiled over she watched in fascination as he tore into his enemies. Something deep within her had been attracted to his display of strength and ferocity. Something, a presence of some kind had practically purred when she watched him dig his claws into Juroumaru's flesh. 'I guess it's a side-effect of my transformation,' she thought to herself. When Kikyo had been wounded she had felt a quick pulse of satisfaction, quickly followed by jealousy as Inuyasha had run to her side.

She had quelled those feelings forcefully, refusing to heed them. Then that man that called himself Pilgrim had appeared. She felt like she should know him, but she couldn't place it. She had have to ask the others. When Kageromaru had taken the little girl hostage and threatened to kill her, she had intervened without thinking. When the worm disobeyed her, she reacted by sending him back to the pit.

She was pulled from her thoughts when Hakudoshi arrived, dragging the human samurai with him. 'Ah, finally something going to plan.' Hakudoshi walked up to her throne and bowed slightly. "I've brought him." Kagome smiled. 'Quick and to the point, as always.' "Well done, Hakudoshi. Once more, I find that I did right in saving you, though I think your act with those samurai was a trifle overdone." The white childe shrugged. "They wanted to stop me, I stopped them. That's all there is to it." Kagome smiled again. 'Intriguing, I was worried about that girl, but those samurai's deaths don't really touch me.'

She looked at the samurai, who had freed himself from the net and struggled to his feet. He stared at her, his hand wandering to his sword. "Don't." Kagome's voice was firm and commanding, and Hayato froze. "Why do you think you are still armed. If you could harm me, I would have told Hakudoshi to take your sword." She stared at him, and her cold eyes made him shudder. "What do you want with me." He managed to keep his voice firm, but his eyes betrayed his fear. "I don't want you so much as your skill," Kagome said matter-of-factly.

"I will pull the soul from your body, distil your skill from it and use it to create warriors to serve me. You may not have known, but you are one of the most skilled samurai of Nippon at this time." She looked away, her brow furrowing in concentration. "The one to be called the greatest of all is merely a child by now, so I had to take you." She looked back at him. "The procedure will be unpleasant, and your personality will probably be lost in the process." Her tone was conversational, despite her words.

Hayato paled, but didn't back away. "If it keeps my lord and sister safe, I will accept this fate." Kagome smiled at him. "Loyal to a fault. I like that in a man." She stood her floor length gown of white silk flowing around her. "You will be perfect for my plans, Hayato. And I assure you, your daimyo and your sister have nothing to fear from me or my servants," here she shot a glance at Hakudoshi, "I give you my word." Hayato bowed. "That is all I can ask for." Kagome looked at him thoughtfully. "I must say, it is strange that you resign yourself so readily." The samurai frowned. "I am well aware of your power. I know that I cannot defeat you, so I seek to protect those I am sworn to in any way I can."

Kagome gazed into his eyes, her blue piercing his black. "Interesting. There is youkai blood within you." Kagome was genuinely surprised. It was very hard to see, and even she had missed it at first, but his declaration had made her curious. After a very close scrutiny of his aura she found small pockets of youki almost invisible. "Dragon, by the looks of it." Kagome smiled. "Yes, you'll be fine." She turned to Hakudoshi. "Take him to the holding cells. After that you may rest. I will call for you when I have need of you." The white child nodded, bowed and left, pulling Hayato with him.

Kagome retreated to her chambers, lost in thought. She walked over to her mirror, gazing at her reflection, at the eyes, and the stripes that adorned her face. Her thoughts were on her encounter with Hayato. That damned voice within her soul spoke up, saying that he had done nothing to deserve his fate. Kagome growled, mentally silencing the voice. 'It's for the greater good,' she told herself, 'the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.' The small voice piped up one last time. It said that the road to hell was paved with good intentions.

Determined to distract herself from the unsettling thoughts, she walked to a low stone desk. Upon it lay five clear crystals, each one roughly the size of a child's fist. She stared at them thinking. "Which one to bring first," she wondered aloud. She reached out, her hand hovering above the crystals. "The saint, the monk, the priest, the crusader or the hunter. Which one should be first." She closed her eyes for a moment. Then she seemed to come to a decision. "Yes, you will be first." She closed her hand on one of the crystals and picked it up. "It is time Heinrich. Time for the crusader to return to this world."

N/A: First of all, I want to apologise for the lateness of this update. I believe I suffered from what many of you refer to as writers block. And I didn't like it. Again, I thank everyone for their supportive words. They are the only reason I can keep writing. I hope that you all will continue to like and review my work. Again, I thank all of you. *bows*