Project Puppy Love
Chapter 20: Inferno
InuYasha's body betrayed him as he stood there, unable to hide the rage quaking through his body. His eyes never left Kikyou, taking in her every movement, every blink, determined not to miss a thing. He was searching for signs of weakness—a distraction to act upon at any given second.
The woman in question found the whole situation highly amusing, showing no fear whatsoever.
"Sesshoumaru," She began, a hint of laughter present in her taunting voice, "it has been quite a long time since we last saw each other. It's nice to see you doing so well."
"This Sesshoumaru cannot return the sentiment." He returned calmly, revealing nothing of his true emotions.
The smirk upon Kikyou's face instantly disappeared as she took on a more business like demeanor.
"Aw, that's not very nice." Kikyou clicked her tongue, feigning hurt. One gun was now pointed at Sesshoumaru, the other at InuYasha.
Kagome sat straight ahead, not wanting to look at Kikyou, her eyes locked on InuYasha. If things took a turn for the worst, he was the last thing she wanted to see.
Frustrated at Kikyou's senseless babbling and the helplessness he felt at having Kagome mere feet from him and not being able to touch her, InuYasha took a tentative step forward to gauge Kikyou's reaction.
The response was swift, as she fired not one, but both weapons in her hands. This time the shots were directed upwards, aiming to scare not harm. Ceiling tiles hit the floor with a loud thud as drywall and dust rained down.
Kagome inhaled sharply, and sunk deeper into the wooden recliner.
"Come any closer and I'll kill you both." Kikyou said through clenched teeth. Her hands were shaking in what could only be assumed a combination of rage and anticipation.
InuYasha growled lowly at Kikyou's threat, wanting more than anything to tear her to shreds at that very instant. He clicked his claws together impatiently.
He couldn't react so brashly—not while Kagome and the pup were in so much obvious danger. It was difficult to force himself not charge forward, heedless of Kikyou's warnings.
Kikyou didn't seem deterred in the slightest by InuYasha's menacing snarls, emboldened by the two guns she held. Not even the dark glares Sesshoumaru sent in her direction seemed to affect her in the slightest.
"It's only fair, InuYasha," Kikyou spoke casually, as if her previous actions had not even taken place, "that since you took my love away from me, that I do the same to you. Wouldn't you agree?"
InuYasha's growls reached a level of severity that reminded Kagome of a wild dog defending his meal.
Kikyou didn't even flinch.
"'An eye for an eye,' as the saying goes. You've been an ungrateful pup after all I have done for you." She portrayed an air of self-righteousness. "You're going to watch as I take away the one woman you have become so fondly of." Kikyou laughed gleefully.
Kagome's heart was in her throat at Kikyou's speech. She had faith in both InuYasha and Sesshoumaru—that they would do what they could to try to save her, but she wasn't stupid. Neither of they could outrun a bullet. All it took was one perfectly aimed shot to the head and she was a goner.
"Naraku's still alive, Kikyou." Sesshoumaru pointed out evenly.
"You went to see him, did you?" Kikyou responded snidely, turning her attention to the older of the two males. "Yes, he is still alive. But he's the shell of the man he once was and will never again be the man I loved." Kikyou's eyes met InuYasha's. "And now you, InuYasha, are going learn what it's like to have the one you love torn away from you."
She lifted her hand, and fired the gun.
It was a moment InuYasha would never forget for the rest of his life.
Kagome…
The bullet lodged in the wall just above Kagome's head.
Kikyou laughed manically, as if she had been told the most humorous joke in the world. "Oh you guys should have seen the looks on your faces!"
She continued to laugh, her body physically shaking as her chortles overwhelmed her. InuYasha never took his eyes off the weapons she held in her hands.
Kagome had never known a person to get such delight out of the pain of others. What kind of dark human being did you have to be to get such joy out of such horrendous things? Her one free hand clutched the front of her shirt, trying to keep herself calm—a task that was thus far proving difficult.
It was one thing to face your demons head on, but another when you're strapped to a chair and unable to protect yourself or even the life growing within you.
Kagome loathed feeling so helpless.
"Cut the crap, Kikyou. I'm not playing your games any longer." InuYasha's voice thundered through Kikyou's tittering.
Her laughter stopped abruptly.
"Oh? And what makes you think you have any choice in the matter? You've already been playing into my 'games' all day and came right into my trap. I'd say you're a little too late for that."
"That's what you think, Kikyou." It was Sesshoumaru who spoke this time.
Kikyou raised an eyebrow mockingly.
"What about little miss Rin? Thanks to me, she should have more than enough information on you to send you into social suicide, and if I'm lucky maybe even get the government involved. I do plan to enjoying watching Maru Taishou's fall from greatness." She declared proudly.
"What makes you think you'll get out of here alive?" Sesshoumaru persisted, managing to take a step closer to Kikyou without a reaction from her.
"Whether I do or not doesn't matter to me. As long as the world knows what kind of monsters you and InuYasha really are."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that." It was Sesshoumaru's turn to be smug.
"Hmm." Kikyou's eyes darkened. "Did Rin fall prey to your charms?"
Sesshoumaru said nothing in response.
"One thing your breed of men seemed to be good at was seducing women into getting what you wanted. Your father was no exception—he successfully seduced his creator—and look where that got him! Dead!" Kikyou's voice began to rise by several octaves the longer she ranted. "And you two will soon follow!"
Kikyou's arrogance had gotten the best of her. She was about to make a grave mistake. Kikyou had severely miscalculated the speed and agility of the two opponents she faced. She should have known better—should have had the piece of mind to recollect the swift reaction time the two males she faced shared.
And just when InuYasha was reaching his breaking point, just when he thought he could fight his need for revenge any longer, the moment he had been waiting for finally arrived.
A sound at the front of the house distracted Kikyou for a moment—but that was all that the two brothers' needed. They charged—racing towards Kikyou at such speed that her human eyes caught only a glimpse of flashes of red and then white.
Shots were fired in rapid succession.
Kagome shrieked and trembled, trying to cover herself from harm.
And then all was silent.
Though Kikyou's aim was poor, and the shots she fired sporadic, she managed to land one good shot—though it did nothing to slow down her opponents.
Blood trailed down Sesshoumaru's injured arm, while the other clutched Kikyou by the throat, holding her a few inches off the ground.
It was eerily reminiscent of the night Naraku lost his sanity at InuYasha's hands.
The pistols she had been holding clattered to the floor, sliding several feet away.
"How does it feel to become the prey, Kikyou?" The tiniest of smirks played across Sesshoumaru's face.
Kikyou's struggled to breathe under his grip as her airway was slowly cut off. "You always were the most primal of all the creations." She responded hoarsely.
"Hn." Sesshoumaru stared deeply into Kikyou's eyes, as if relishing in this moment.
"What's the matter Sesshoumaru? Too much of a coward to finish the job?" Kikyou somehow managed to maintain some level of arrogance despite her current position.
Beside him InuYasha growled warningly. Sesshoumaru could feel something untamed smoldering deep within his brother, waiting for the opportunity to break free.
"It is not your fate to perish by my hands." Kikyou's eyes widened marginally.
With that final statement, Sesshoumaru released her and she fell to the floor in a heap, sputtering and coughing as air returned to her lungs.
"Brother?" Sesshoumaru said, stepping aside to allow him access.
InuYasha smirked, his eyes locking on Kikyou's. Without her weapons to hide behind, she was on her feet in seconds, bolting into the back of the home like the coward InuYasha knew she was.
After a few moments, InuYasha darted after the fleeing woman, leaving his brother to deal with the wound Kikyou had managed to inflict on his arm.
Shortly after Sesshoumaru and InuYasha charged after Kikyou, Kagome found herself in the presence of both Miroku and Sango.
Their timing had been perfect; arriving at just the right moment to provide the distraction the two hybrid males had needed to disarm Kikyou.
Being too frazzled to know what was going on, Kagome barely registered being freed from the chair. Sango and Miroku led her outside where she was promptly wrapped in a blanket, and given the food she desperately desired.
It was the most content she had been in several hours, but she knew she wouldn't be able to relax completely until she saw InuYasha again. Kagome was absolutely certain he'd be okay, but that didn't mean she wouldn't worry until he came back to her.
'We did it, Baby,' she thought as she waited. 'And your father will be back soon. Don't you worry.'
When InuYasha found Kikyou again, she was cowering deep within the recesses of the home. It was dark, but InuYasha's inhuman eyes had no problem adjusting to the lack of light.
InuYasha entered a doorway where Kikyou's scent was the strongest only to be charged by her.
Sometime during her attempted escape, she had acquired a new weapon—this time a knife.
InuYasha chuckled, as if she'd be able to use it against him.
For someone who studied his strength and speed for so long, she sure seemed to underestimate him quite often.
Was it arrogance her stupidity? InuYasha couldn't be sure.
In one swift movement InuYasha had both of Kikyou's hands in one of his and hand managed to snag the knife away from her.
He held the weapon, watching as the moonlight from an open window reflected off its metallic surface.
"Don't tell me you thought you'd be able to kill me with this?" InuYasha shook his head, grinning so that his fangs hung over his lips. "You of all people should have known better Kikyou! You spent the majority of my life studying my every move."
Kikyou growled when her struggles did not bring forth the efforts she desired. Out of breath, she glared at her captor who for the first time in his life was enjoying the power he was finally able to exude over his long time tormentor.
InuYasha may have desired Kikyou's demise, but that didn't mean he wanted her blood physically on his hands. He didn't know what Kagome would think of him knowing what he had just done, but he didn't want to return to her in such a disgraceful manner.
He pressed the knife deep into the sensitive skin of her neck, fully prepared to end her sorry existence when she began to laugh uncontrollably.
InuYasha didn't find a single thing funny about the situation and wondered if it was Kikyou who had lost her mind and not Naraku.
"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you? That you'd be able to come in here, slit my throat and it would all be over? You could go back to your pregnant bitch and live happily ever after? I don't think so."
"What?" InuYasha faltered in his actions, giving Kikyou the opening she had needed.
She slipped from his clutches, stumbling back onto the floor.
Kikyou didn't try to get away, choosing to instead keep to the floor, where her laughter did not cease.
She then pulled an electronic device from her pocket. It was small with a display screen, counting down from 20 seconds.
"This whole place has been rigged to explode. You're all going to die! As if I'd let you have your happy ever after!" Her insanity had increased tenfold.
InuYasha's eyes widened... This had been Kikyou's plan all along. She never intended for anyone to get out of there alive.
InuYasha watched the seconds count down, as Kagome's face flashed before his eyes. 15 seconds remained when the world came back with startling clarity. He bolted, leaving Kikyou behind, knowing he'd never make it out alive.
As for himself...
The house exploded into a burst of heat and flames…. And then there was darkness.
"InuYasha!"
Kagome stared in absolute horror at the burning enclosure before her. She was trapped in a state of utter disbelief. This couldn't be real.
She watched with tear streaked cheeks as the place burned to the ground, as the flames burst through the windows. The heat from the fire was so intense that even being 20 feet from what had once been Kikyou's secluded home, Kagome could feel it's warmth upon her face.
Sango and Miroku's hold upon her arms were the only things preventing her from running forward. She wanted to find InuYasha. She needed to know with every fiber of her being, what had happened to him.
"No…no… NO! This isn't happening!" Kagome's feet buckled under her, her knees hitting the dirt with a stinging harshness. "This isn't real! Please! Let me go!" She pulled against the hands holding her back. "I have to find him! I have to find InuYasha!"
Sesshoumaru felt guilt as he too watched the flames grow larger and larger.
"We have to leave. I'm sure someone heard that blast and has already called the police. It isn't good for us to be here when they arrive." Sesshoumaru spoke with softness no one would have believed him to possess.
"No! I'm not leaving until I know for sure that he's gone! InuYasha!" She wailed, her struggles returning with a renewed vigor.
"Kagome," it was Sango who spoke this time, "I know InuYasha is strong, but there is no way he could survive a blast like that… I'm sorry but… Sesshoumaru's right, we have to get out of here."
"No! I don't care! I'm not leaving!" With strength no one knew she possessed Kagome managed to pull her arm away from Sango's clutches.
"Think about your child… You can't stay here, Kagome. We have to go." Miroku pressed, knowing this would be the only thing to convince her.
Slumping in defeat, Kagome realized he was right. With no fight left, she allowed herself to be helped into the waiting car, but not before one final glance to the inferno Kikyou had created.
Kagome sobbed the whole trip, clinging to Sango, who tried to comfort her the best she could.
This was not supposed to happen.
This chapter about killed me…ugh. I struggled to write it for so long and I'm still unhappy with the results. Hopefully you don't feel the same as I do. There is one more chapter and then the epilogue and I promise (or at least hope) you'll love them both. I have some fun things planned!
Also, I feel like I have to make this statement that Kikyou is not going to be some evil villain in every story that I write. I don't mind her at all. I respect her for who she is as a character. I am not a complete Kikyou hater—at least that's what I like to think.
I'm so excited and honored and humbled... because I never expected this. But this fic has been nominated for a Feudal Associated award. It's up against some really amazing authors out there, most of whom I follow and enjoy reading everything they write as well. I'm simply amazed. If you're a member go vote!
Please review!