Sorry! It has been too long I know! But here is the next chapter. I'm going to try and write more since my college classes clear up some of my time but I also have work and places to go but I will try for the people.
All the reviews so far for this story have been so nice and helpful and I'm honestly surprised that I haven't got some flame. Every critique and idea are welcome. I know I can't please everybody but I would like to think that I may at least attempt to try. (;
I'm thankful for all the support but I do realize that it has been a long time and I understand if you are angry, but now that my life is a bit more balanced out and my college comp class give me the chance to write, I will strive to update my stories more often. I'm trying to make this a long story but we'll just see where this takes us. Maybe we won't see it coming. (:
Shout outs to Veraozao, Angel Winx, and negativity for reviewing the last chapter. And here's what's coming next:
Italics- thoughts
Bold/Italic- Beast
Bold- Tenseiga
~^~Kagome POV~^~
Once I made it back to the past, I was quite sullen and distracted by the information I was given and wasn't quite sure where to go from here. Sesshoumaru seemed to be pouting but he was stoic and monotonous as ever.
"Were you able to find the information you were looking for?" Sesshoumaru said from right next to me. I jumped slightly, having not noticed when he made his way over to me.
"Huh? Oh, I don't know yet, everyone seems to be giving me riddles with no real answers." I say frustrated with how my life is turning out, or has turned out. Nothing was ever easy and for once I wanted something easy to do. A slight look of confusion seemed to cross his face.
"Riddles?" was his one-word response.
"Uh, yeah. Like my mom says that she didn't give birth to me but she didn't adopt me either. Like, what does that even mean? Then she goes on to say that I was born here in the past and that my dad wasn't human. So I'm thinking that, that means that maybe he was a Yokai? But she tells me not to ask because she says that I'll meet him soon and he'll tell me who I am. But if he is Yokai, then does that make me a Hanyo? But then again, that begs the question of who the hell is my real mother and where is she? And then it goes on to Midiroku and how she tells me that some curse is to be lifted or is lifted or is soon to be lifted. Like why can't anyone give me a straight answer on these things?" I'm huffing at the end of my little rant, having apparently attempted to say it all in one breath, and had paced back and forth waving my hands around in vague gestures as I talked. I'm pretty sure at this point I'm on the verge of a panic attack.
I came to a stop and took a deep breath, trying to steady myself, my eyes closed. "Okay. I'm sorry. Time to attempt to think this through rationally. I need to tr-" I'm suddenly cut off by a small scream. I turn and see Shippo running this way, but he looks frantic.
"Shippo? What's wrong?" I ask once he's skidded to a stop next to me.
"Kagome, you can't be here! They've been looking for you! You have to leave! Sesshoumaru, take her away from here!" Shippo's speaking in frantic tone, making no sense.
"Shippo, calm down. Tell me what's-" I'm cut off again when the earth beneath our feet shake, making me stumble and try to regain my balance. Suddenly there's canisters being thrown into the clearing, some kind of smoky substance coming from them. I reach my hand out and grasp onto Shippo's arm. "Get out of here Shippo!" but as I say this, my words are being slurred and my vision blurring. Shippo wobbles under my hand and collapses onto the ground unconscious. I fall to one knee, my hands braced on the ground.
I look up when I feel Sesshoumaru's hand on my arm, he shakes me slightly, but I'm distracted by the shadowy figure coming up behind Sesshoumaru. He looks over his shoulder just in time to be knocked unconscious by a very strong blow to his head. The figure stalks closer, but when he gets close enough to where I might actually make out what they look like, it was my turn to pass out before I could figure it out.
I gasp as I'm forced awake by being splashed with very cold water. I sputter at the water soaking me and shake my head of the water. I go to lift my hands only to find them bound, I pull at them more only to be stopped cold by the chilling voice.
"Struggling only makes it more fun for me." The male voice chills me to my bones. I look up and I struggle even harder to get at this man's throat.
"You!" I scream at him. The man from my vision. The man that will kill Sesshoumaru.
A look of confusion crosses the man's face. "I'm sorry to say that I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you, and yet somehow you know me enough to want to kill me." I glare at the man, opting to say nothing; it would do no good at all to tip him off to my vision.
"Where are my manners. My name is Yuu, but maybe you already knew that, maybe not. Not many who meet me live to tell about me." I scoff at his name, 'Superior?', he's definitely has the attitude to match.
"Where are Shippo and Sesshoumaru?" I ask him as I lean back in my chair as if I wanted to be there and was relaxed about being bound and soaking wet. I wouldn't give this man any satisfaction.
"Who? Those two male demons we found you with? Oh they're fine, just here for insurance. All this here is about you. Apparently someone wants you dead, or at least handed over to them bloody."
"So, what, you're a mercenary? Sorry to disappoint, but I think you have the wrong girl. I only just got back, not long enough to make any enemies. So if you just let us go, maybe we can work something out." I say to the man, deliberately being vague about where I had been. The man didn't seem to like my negotiation tactics, though, because he was suddenly no longer leaning on the wall with his arms crossed, now he was pushing my chair back slightly his hands on either side of my head. His face was inches from mine.
"Oh no, I think we have the right girl. You see, my employer was very detailed on who to find, and I'm very certain that this is the face I'm looking for." He says this as he strokes my face, his eyes following the movement of his hand. It takes all my self-control not to pull away from his hand in disgust.
"You know, this is no way to treat a hostage, let alone a lady." He chuckles at this, nodding his head as he steps back, my chair returning to it's up-right position.
"You're right, this isn't how you treat a hostage." A smile creeps onto his face a moment before he strikes me hard with his demonic speed, causing me to cry out.
A cry that travels down the corridor outside the door…
~^~Sesshoumaru POV~^~
I woke abruptly from my unconsciousness from an echoed scream. I look around my surroundings, my mind still blurry. I can feel the strong demon suppression spell pulsing in the air around me and I want to growl, but my musing is cut short by another scream that breaks through down the corridor that is sure to be out beyond the door of my cell. 'Kagome'. I do growl this time when I hear another of her screams echo to my ears. My beast rages in my mind, and I would have gladly would have let him loose but this dampening spell is even stronger than I anticipated. I let loose a primeval roar when I hear a rather blood-curdling scream echo to me, but the spell knocks me out again in response to my burst of demonic energy.
~^~Kagome POV~^~
When I look back on this moment, I don't really know what happened or what came over me when I hear Sesshoumaru's roar. Yuu strikes me once again, but I don't cry out this time, a calm has settled over me, I don't even feel like I'm me anymore.
Ever so slowly, I turn my head back into his direction, my head down, my eyes looking at him through my blood-caked bangs. A very wicked, evil, mischievous smile breaks across my face and I laugh. But it's not my laugh, but an inhuman one. No, not demonic, but like there were multiple dark voices laughing with me through my throat.
I tilt my head up just enough to see the look of confusion cross this man's face. I laugh that laugh again, tilting my head as I look down at my shadow that was cast on the floor, then flick my easy back up at him. I 'tch' my tongue at him and look back down at the shadow. They seemed to grow darker and writhe like snakes. I looked back at him to see that he was watching the shadow with horror in his eyes and he took a step back. "Ah-ah-ah, my turn." I say in that dark multi-voice. He looks back up at me with terror in his eyes. The shadow creeps across the floor and covers the walls and ceiling, creeping ever closer to the man. "What's wrong Yuu, afraid of the dark? You should be, you don't know what lurks within." I say as I smile again, the shadows slowly engulfing him. He tries to scream but it's too late. The shadows recede quickly, having taken Yuu away from here. I sit up straight in my chair and pull the shadows over to me, shrouding the chair in them until it's just a black mass and I'm able to stand and walk to the door, swinging it open.
But as soon as I open the door I stumble as the possession-like haze leaves me. I shake my head, deciding to think on it later, deciding that in that moment she needed to work on getting Shippo and Sesshoumaru out of here. I peek out the door way and look either way, the coast clear. I focus on trying to sense either Shippo and Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru was usually easy to find with his immense power, but it seemed weaker, but he was closer than Shippo.
The turned right and headed in his direction, constantly checking behind me and listening for footsteps, I was out-in-the-open in the corridor, nowhere to hide. I get to the door with Sesshoumaru behind it and crouch down, putting my ear to the door. Hearing nothing I go to open the door, once inside I see Sesshoumaru unconscious. I also feel the demonic dampening spell, a strong one considering it's keeping Sesshoumaru contained. I close the door and walk over to him, lifting his head from its slumped position, I tap on his cheek lightly calling to him, not caring that I could get bitten from waking an unconscious Sesshoumaru.
He groans and lifts his head from my hands, opening his eyes and squinting at me, clearly not fully there. "Kagome...?"
"Yes, Sesshoumaru, it's me, but we have to go, quietly, but first I need you to sit still so that I can remove the spell. Okay?" I say as I attempt to try and undo the shackles he's in. He nods and I place my hands over the shackles around his wrist, crouching between his slightly spread legs. I close my eyes and focus my energy on the spell cast upon them. It's a strong spell so it takes longer than I had hoped to unravel it, hearing and feeling Sesshoumaru hiss and tense under my pure Miko energy, trying not to pull away from it.
The spell brakes and Sesshoumaru is able to break free from his bonds and catch me around the waist to keep me from falling back from exhaustion. I shake my head clear as I steady myself on him. "I'm okay. I'm good. I'm good. Let's go get Shippo and our stuff." I say as I straighten up and manage to stand on my own, Sesshoumaru releasing his hold on me. I try to sense where Shippo is from here, but the spell took more out of me than I had anticipated.
"I-I can't find him, I'm too weakened. Can you find him?" I ask him, a look of concentration on my face, wobbling slightly. He simply nods his head and goes to the door, looking out to see the coast is clear. I follow him out, checking behind us and listening for footsteps.
'Kagome!' I hear in my head as we pass by a door.
"Tenseiga?" I say out loud and in my head, halting Sesshoumaru in front of me and looking back at me. I look to him, "Go, get Shippo and meet me back here, I won't be much help anyway. I'll get our things." He nods and continues down the path.
I turn back to the door and crouch down and open the door, quickly closing it behind me. "Tenseiga?" I call out again quietly, looking around at the racks of weapons and belongings.
'Over here Kagome. In the back.' I head in the indicated direction and find Tenseiga and my weapons once I'm closer, my bag sitting below them on the ground. I dig into my bag and pull out a kimono, putting it on over my warrior garb, quickly shouldering my bag and grabbing the weapons.
'Do you know where we are Tenseiga? Who are these people?' I ask as I crouch behind some weapons wracks and wait for Sesshoumaru and Shippo to show up.
'I have no clue Kagome.'
'The only clue I got was this guy Yuu who decided to torture me.' I tell the sword as I start to become fidgety. 'They're taking too long.'
'Kagome… something's wrong.' That was all the encouragement that I needed. I stood and headed for the door and opened it. I didn't bother to check to see if it was clear, I just went.
'Tenseiga, lead me to them…' and lead he did; led me to a door that opened up outside, to a cliff-face. There I found my torturer and few other goons. Yuu stood near the cliff-face, holding the back of Shippo's neck, holding him off the ground. The rest were managing to keep Sesshoumaru restrained; by the way he seemed to sway, I would have to guess with some kind of vertigo spell.
'Well, I did not see this coming'
WC: 2,358
I hope you enjoyed this installment of my story. I always appreciate the reviews. Love you all! 3