I do not own Inuyasha!
I must apologize to everyone one that was and is still reading this fic, my seven year old nephew was playing around with my laptop and accidentally deleted my story. I did not remember to log off and I suppose that's how it happened. Whew! Now I have lost all the readers who had favored and put Bent on their alert list. I have since recovered the story but now it seems that I have lost many readers.
Saying goodbye to Tora was bitter sweet, Kagome and the tiger had formed an unusual friendship, one where he was her friend, cook and hard task master, and yet she had grown very fond of him in the short amount of time that they'd spent together as teacher and student.
His kind ginger eyes looked on her with pride and if he must admit to himself longing, because he had grown extremely fond of her; but those thoughts of her were forbidden because she was his friend's woman and he could tell that Sesshomaru loved her with a burning intensity. She winked at him playfully, and then her smiled shone brightly dazzling him with sweetness, while the daiyoukai looked on in amusement as the two delayed in saying their goodbyes.
Closing the distance between them, Kagome encircled her arms around his neck which startled him briefly before he returned the embrace wholly, because they were not always friendly towards each other in the time that they had spent together.
He was given specific instructions on her training and had little time in which to get the job done, and so he'd driven her hard and at times mercilessly, and he felt regretful for that, but regardless of the harshness of his treatment towards her she was always polite and willing even when he gave her no reason to feel that way.
She was a precious specimen amongst her kind and he envied his friend, but not in a bad or deceitful way. She gave him a swift kiss on the cheek and lingering at his ear she whispered. "I am going to miss you my friend," and he nodded. Letting him go she turned towards Sesshomaru who was patiently waiting on her. Tora and Sesshomaru had conversed earlier, so both gave each other a look before the daiyoukai turned away holding onto Kagome's hand and leading her down the mountain. They had a great deal of distance to cover before reaching the fortress.
Taizo awoke frightened calling for his mother over and over whom never came or answered his calls. He curled onto his side as a weird sensation assailed him making him feel numb and desperate.
Lady Harumi heard her grandson crying for his mother and momentarily the harshness and cruelty of her personality slipped as she remembered how Sesshomaru had loved her when he was as small as this child. But she shook the maternal sentiments away by clenching her jaw and fists as she made her way to see her grandson, thus hardening her heart.
The whimpering child did not react when she entered through the door and sat on the bed beside him stroking his sweat slicked and warm forehead. "Hmph!" She grunted, then muttered. "You my child are the most effective method I have of dealing with my son, so until then I will take care of you." She then lifted the feverish child from the damp sheets and went to sit with him in her lap on the balcony in the cool afternoon breeze.
Taizo yawned, opened his eyes and stared at his grandmother then asked tiredly. "Where is my mother, and why didn't she come to me earlier?" Gazing at the sick child she responded tonelessly. "I am sorry to say Taizo but your mother has abandoned you and will never return."
"Mother?" Taizo said so weak and desperate that for a few moments her cold heart missed a couple of beats from guilt, and as he continued to stare at her with dimmed and frightened eyes, she could have easily related to him that his mother was dead but refrained from doing so; devastating the boy would only muddle her plans.
And as the child kept on looking directly into her eyes still in disbelief, she gave him a cunning smile and said. "Your purpose is of great importance, focus on that and put those childish thoughts of your mother returning aside, because you will never see her face again." The boy's eyes widened further in abject horror at his grandmother's cruel and insensitive words.
Pulling away from her arms as swiftly as he could in his sickly state he tried to stand but failed as he felt a dizzying sensation, and on top of that hearing that his mother would not be returning toppled him, he fell on his hands and knees and cried like a baby while his grandmother watched him silently. 'Soon the potion will take effect and you will crave it like you did your mother's milk when you were but a pup at her teats,' she thought encouraged, because if all else fail the boy would be her trump card in her sinister plot and subsequent victory.
Kagome gritted her teeth and took long and deep breaths as Sesshomaru orbed them to the fortress, she was ecstatic when he stopped on a balcony overlooking the sea and coastline without puking on him as she had done before. "Oh my goodness, will I ever get use to that," she remarked feeling light-headed.
Sesshomaru gave her a sympathetic look briefly and continued inside and down the stairs into a grand hall. The glass windows let in the sunlight which refracted the sea spray causing the streams of light to become ribbons of rainbows, the sight was brilliant with vivid and beautiful colors. "Wow!" she exclaimed while twirling around and catching the light in her hair.
The vision was beautiful and he watched her carefree and youthful play and was amazed at such purity and desirable qualities. For how could she maintain such virtue and childlike merits in a world filled with so much hate and cruelty?
She was very special indeed, and as he continued to watch her mesmerized while she twirled and smiled, the infectious way she had of endearing people to her captivated him, and he couldn't resist from pulling her to him and kissing her soundly on the lips until her knees quake with all the passion he poured into it.
Breathless they pulled apart and she gazed at him, how she missed and wanted him, and it was only the sadness in his eyes that prevented her from jumping on him and begging him to take her over and over.
Reluctantly she eased away from his embrace while he gazed at her longingly. "Sesshomaru please let us talk." She said urgently because as much as how she wanted him and by the looks in his eyes he wanted her as well, now was not the time for lovemaking and sex.
He sat with her in his lap and she rested her head on his shoulders waiting on him to speak, she could feel the soft tufts of air on her neck as he breathes, but when he began she could hardly believe what she was hearing. His son was abducted by his mother in the still of the night and right from under his nose, and she could see the guilt in his eyes as it failed to shine as he recounted the sad event.
The rest of the story wasn't any better as it seemed to get worse as it progressed. Kagome closed her eyes trying to hold back the tears and sadness that was threatening to consume her as Sesshomaru worried for his son, feeling helpless because he didn't know if his child was well, and what his mother and others were planning.
Tomorrow was going to be a dreaded and horrific day, she turned in his arms and clinged to him in distress for them both. None of them said another word to each other for a very long time, but then an image flashed acrossed her mind's eye. "Oh KAMi!" she blurted out and Sesshomaru held her tighter with concern.
Jumping from his arms in alarm, Kagome gave Sesshomaru a look of incredulity and spoke. "She knows…Your mother knows that you are free." And he looked at her strangely as she covered her mouth with her palms panting heavily. His brows shot up with awareness but also in wonderment because he needed to know how Kagome came to that realization.
"Explain," he said quietly, and she gazed at him sadly and responded. "The day I released you from the spell by freeing you of that ring, but only it was not a ring but a parasite, a horrendous looking worm and it tried to re-enter your body and I fought it and eventually I had to purify it…But…I" her words trailed off and she couldn't continue.
Sesshomaru became aware for the first time how truly devilish and cruel his mother had been to have implanted something like that inside his body, something that could have damaged his brain and sanity if it were to remain for a long time, but the worst of it was that he was familiar with the parasitic demon, and only when it was fed with jyaki it would have been strong enough to have impeded his memory draining it of what it was ordered to do.
The realization hit him like a painful blow to the gut. When Kagome purified the leech his mother became aware that he was whole once more, because she was connected to it by her youki. It was a daunting revelation because his mother and his enemies were always a step ahead of him, and he was playing right into their trap.
All the plans that he had strategize were all for naught, the element of surprise was no longer valid, and his son was the bait. So the burning questions remained. How were they planning to strike? And his son, what were they doing to him? The thought left him feeling enraged as his blood boiled and his fingers twitched in anxiousness from his murderous and immoral thoughts.
Kagome crawled back unto his lap when she was sure that he came to the same conclusion as she had, his body was tension filled and stiff, and he did not hold her close as his hands remained at his sides folded into angry fists. Locking her arms around his neck she breathed into his ear. "Where you go I will also go, and if we must die I will gladly follow you into the afterlife," and it was then that he held her close and said strongly. "We will not die so easily…Tomorrow we fight."