A Delayed Dawn
Disclaimer: I have no job, so please don't bother me about the money.
Warning: This story is posted in the mature section for good reasons. If ideas such as vulgar language, descriptive violence, and sexual situations such as rape disturb you, then you are warned now.
Chapter Thirty-Five Location Location
War Dogs Compound
Sesshoumaru refused to finish anything past the few words he spoke of the will he now held in his hands. It didn't seem . . . right. They were so close to not only finding her, but finding Naraku that this seemed like they were all just quitting. Sesshoumaru was never one to give up. Ever. Not when he could do something about it. Not when so many depended on him.
Inuyasha was numb, from the ends of his toes to the tips of his ears. His body shook and he wasn't even sure from which emotion was the cause of it. He felt defeated and he hadn't even started to fight yet. Was there nothing he could do? It felt horrible that all that was left to do was to sit here, let her death come, again for him, and then . . . The children. He could have to tell the children. He couldn't. He wouldn't.
Sesshoumaru tossed the will onto his desk, temporarily forgetting about it for the time being. "As I was saying," he started hoping that Inuyasha could hear him. "There might be a way to complete the spell after all."
Yes, Inuyasha was paying attention because now Sesshoumaru saw his brother looking at him, his eyes reddened and near tears, his ears perked up. Miroku was also paying attention as he now sat stiff in his chair, slightly leaning forward.
"Follow me," instructed Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha and Miroku followed Sesshoumaru out of his office and towards the living quarters. They reached Sango's apartment. She was surprised to see Sesshoumaru out of his office and at her apartment. Sango wasn't even sure if he knew where she lived.
Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha and Miroku crowded into Sango's apartment without saying much of anything. Two pairs of golden eyes and a pair of violet eyes surveyed the surroundings. Souta and Shippo were still there being tended by Sango and her brother Kohaku.
"Where are Higurashi's children?" Sesshoumaru asked bluntly, breaking the still.
"Hi . . . "Sango started to ask unsure of who or what Sesshoumaru was referring to. "Oh, right. Takeru and Amaya. Uh, they headed to the bedroom to take a nap" Sango explained, pointing in the direction of the bedroom.
Sesshoumaru walked to the bedroom, opening the door up and sniffing. He looked behind himself, staring at Sango. His stare made her feel uncomfortable as she shifted her weight back and forth several times, feeling the weight of his stare. Inuyasha hurried past Sesshoumaru into the room and also sniffed.
"Where are the kids?" Inuyasha asked, trying to keep his worry for them out of his voice..
"What?" Sango asked as she streaked into the room.
"Their scents are old," Sesshoumaru stated as he watched the demon slayer and his brother search the room.
Inuyasha pulled back the blankets to find only toys and other items stuffed underneath the blankets. Sango gasped. She had fallen for a very old trick. The children were gone and from the smell of it, they had been gone for at least an hour.
"Fuck!" Inuyasha screamed as he tossed the blanket back onto the bed. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck," he repeated as if it was his mantra. It was the only word he could find that would cover everything he was feeling. He didn't know what to do now. The children were gone. Kagome's spell wasn't going to work and she was already planning for her death. "Fuck."
Sango went over to Miroku. "What's going on?" She demanded to know. This was more than just the children missing. Why the sudden rush for the children? Why is Inuyasha lashing out at everything? Oh, scratch that. Sango knew that Inuyasha tended to overreact over everything.
Miroku sighed as he placed a hand on her shoulder, gently squeezing it as he found the words to say. "The spell isn't going to work. Apparently we needed Kagome's blood, fresh blood and, we don't have any," he explained knowing that Souta and Shippo could hear.
Sango nodded. "I see." That explained why Inuyasha had overreacted as he did. Well, he probably didn't overreacted, he just reacted. "Then, why the children?"
"Blood relations," Sesshoumaru explained as he stepped out from the bedroom to join in the conversation.
"What about me?" Souta asked. "She's my sister."
Sesshoumaru shook his head. "Either Kagome or her children. Her children share more of her blood than you do."
Miroku felt that he had to share with them the rest of the story. It was only right. They were more entitled to the information than anyone else. "Uh, Souta, Shippo, we have something else to tell you."
Inuyasha heard this. He jolted into the main room where Miroku was with the boys. He then glared at Miroku, wondering if this was the proper thing to do. Miroku looked back and Inuyasha and just shrugged his shoulders. Either way, they were going to find out. Inuyasha sighed in defeat.
"Sesshoumaru received a letter from Kagome today," Miroku started, glancing from Sango to Sesshoumaru and then back to the boys, completely ignoring Inuyasha.
"Is she all right?" Souta asked.
Miroku nodded. "It seems she is so far. But it wasn't just a letter, it was a legal document," Miroku swallowed the lump that had started growing in his throat since Kaede told him that the spell was useless without Kagome's blood. It seemed that they were running out of the good luck. "It was her last will."
Souta nodded, but no one could dismiss the tears that pooled in his wide brown eyes. Shippo's lip started to tremble at the news. The two boys looked at each other and then directed their glances downward. Nothing was going right. Kagome, the children, their own attack. They had their happy times. Was it nothing but sadness from here on out?
Inuyasha's anger boiled in his blood. He couldn't just stand here. He wouldn't. "Sango, Miroku. We're grabbing Kouga and going out there. It's only been an hour or two. They couldn't have gone far."
Sango and Miroku nodded. Sesshoumaru sighed. He left quietly heading back to his office hoping that Inuyasha might be able to figure out this mess. His brother possessed dumb luck. Now Sesshoumaru was actually counting on it to work for all of them.
"Kirara," Sango called out for her demon cat. But the cat didn't come. Sango looked for the cat, but still, nothing. Sango shrugged. It was possible Kirara had gone outside, as she liked to do.
"Coming Sango?" Miroku asked. Sango just shook her head and followed Inuyasha and Miroku out of the room.
Naraku's Compound
It was dinnertime at the Naraku compound. Tonight, Naraku took notice again of Kagome's kimono. It was black silk with tiny sakura blossoms hand stitch. A soft blue obi wrapped around her waist and a blue ribbon in her hair to keep it out of her face. Just looking at her, he was reminded of his goals. How he wanted to go back to the ways of their ancestors.
"Kagome," he started, breaking the silent tradition of their meals. He watched as she set down her bowl and chopsticks and looked in his direction, but didn't look at him. Obedient, he thought to himself. This pleased him. If she didn't hate him so much, he would have considered giving her a place by his side once he gained the power that he sought. "Progress?" He asked.
She nodded. "The miko who had the jewel during the Sengoku period broke the jewel into pieces just before her death. She hid some of the pieces around Japan and the remaining piece was burned with her corpse," Kagome told Naraku. Kagura listened intently. Knowing about the jewel helped her just as much as Naraku.
Naraku nodded. That was something. At least now he knew that he wouldn't have to go around killing miko, searching their decaying bodies for pieces of the jewel as he had done before. Then he chuckled inwardly. Like that would stop him from killing miko. They were a danger to him.
Kagome went back to her food. Something was different about Naraku. She could sense it. He wasn't exuding the same aura as he had before. His power was faint, hardly enough power to do much. Kagome's eyes went wide. She finished her food quickly. There was no time to waste now.
The Higurashi Shrine
Takeru and Amaya finished climbing the long set of stairs up to the stop of the shrine. They hurried into the house, making sure the door was closed and locked behind them. Both slouched down in front of the door, panting and sweating from their travels. It took a lot of effort to sneak out of the compound and run through the bombed streets of New Tokyo to make it to their destination.
Takeru pushed himself up to his feet. "I'm pooped," he huffed and puffed as he dragged his feet to the kitchen, fetching himself a glass of water. Amaya stood up and followed her brother into the kitchen. He handed her the glass of water with half of it still full. She took a drink of the water.
"Do you think we should have told Uncle Souta what we're doing?" Amaya asked as she handed the last of the water back to her brother.
Takeru shook his head. "They wouldn't let us do it," Takeru explained. He set the empty glass on the table. Amaya went over to the cupboards and searched for food. Takeru opened the fridge to find it mostly empty.
"I found granola bars," Amaya announced holding up a couple.
Takeru nodded. "Put those in the bag. We'll need those."
Amaya put the granola bars into the bag and anything else that looked like something they could eat. Takeru grabbed a couple bottles of water and stuffed them into his bag. "Got stuff?" He asked.
"I think we have enough," she told her brother.
The kids headed to the door, opened it and then shut it behind them. Amaya set down a bowl. "Here you go Kirara. You'll need this for the trip." The cat mewed as it drank up the water. Once finished, the cat demon transformed into its large form. Bending down the children used the fur to hoist themselves up onto the back of the cat. Once they were on and holding tightly, they felt ready.
Amaya bent down by Kirara's ear. "We're heading north Kirara, to the water," she explained. The cat roared and took off into the air, heading in the direction that her young passengers wanted.
The Next Day
Kirara, with the children headed back toward the compound after having completed a successful mission. They wanted to call it a mission. It sounded neat and something that Uncle Inu would do. As Kirara headed toward the compound, she caught a whiff of something. She diverted from her path and headed toward the smell.
"Something's coming," Kouga warned the group as they continued on their search. Inuyasha pulled out his sword, Sango was ready with her boomerang and Miroku didn't do much.
Sango spotted the shadow first. "Ah, Kirara?" She asked, hoping that she was seeing her cat demon. It landed right in front of them. "Kirara, where were you?" She asked as they all ran to the familiar cat demon.
Kirara bent down and the stunned group watched as the children climbed off the cat's back. Inuyasha pushed past the group and marched up to the children.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Inuyasha yelled. "You left without telling anyone, worrying the hell out of us."
Takeru and Amaya look at each other, just shrugging their shoulders. They didn't really care what Inuyasha had to say at the moment. Takeru turned so that his back was facing Amaya. She reached into the backpack and pulled out a spherical object that was wrapped in a cloth. Amaya carried the object over to Inuyasha, setting it down in front of him. She carefully unwrapped the object, unveiling a glowing orb.
"What is that?" Inuyasha asked, referring to the odd orb object.
"You have Tessaiga?" Amaya calmly inquired.
Inuyasha eyed the little girl. He suddenly felt intimidated by the tiny thing. Forgoing their bad behavior for the moment, Inuyasha nodded as he pulled the sword out. It transformed much to his surprise. Amaya ran back over to her brother. Kirara picked up the children with her mouth and walked behind Inuyasha, dropping the children off with Sango, Miroku and Kouga.
"Hey twerp," Kouga welcomed the kids.
Takeru laughed as he kicked Kouga in the leg. Inuyasha chuckled at the boy's greeting. It was entertainment.
"Hiya Kouga," the boy said with a toothy grin.
Inuyasha stood there with his sword in hand, not doing anything. He looked back at the children. Amaya took a step out in front of the crowd.
"Break it," she ordered him with a soft voice.
"What?" Inuyasha asked not really sure what she was getting at.
Amaya rolled her eyes at the dense hanyou. "Use Tessaiga to break the orbie thing," she told him, pointing first at the sword and then at the orb.
Inuyasha nodded his head. He turned back to face the orb, lifting Tessaiga high up in the air, he brought the sword crashing down onto the orb, its connection causing a rippling through the sword. Inuyasha and everyone else watched as the orb cracked open. Whatever had been contained inside the sword was now coiling itself around the large blade of the Tessaiga, blazing a ferocious red color.
"What the . . . "Inuyasha started to say; unsure of what was going on.
The kids look at each other and laugh. Grabbing each other hands, they start to dance around in a circle.
Once the process with the sword was over, the orb had disappeared and the Tessaiga had absorbed all it could from the object. Inuyasha placed the sword back into its sheath. He went over to the happy children.
"All right. Explain," he commanded them.
"My mommy is so cool," Takeru started. "She knows all about weapons." Inuyasha nodded. Kagome had taught him how to use his sword. "On our travels, we met this girl who owned the orb and she said that if we ever needed it, to stop by, so we did."
"What happened to my sword?" Inuyasha asked, worried that it wouldn't be as powerful as before.
"Mommy said that the orb would give the Tessaiga a new power," Amaya added.
"A new . . . power?" Inuyasha questioned. He didn't know that his sword had more abilities, the chance for more power. "What kind of power?"
Takeru jumped onto Inuyasha's back. "So, you see, we traveled and we met these cool demons in the north. Demons with wings. And . . . "Takeru stopped talking and looked at his sister who had a very annoyed look on her face. "Sorry. You tell it then," he quipped.
Amaya sighed. "They were bat demons. They are known for their barrier ability. The source of their barrier was that orb. No longer in need of the barrier, it was given to us, for your sword," Amaya explained as they watched as Inuyasha pulled out the Tessaiga. "Your sword now breaks barriers."
Inuyasha stared at the sword. With his youki, he commanded the sword to break a barrier, and he watched in awe as the red color engulfed the iron fang. Why would they . . . and then he knew. He had tried Kaze no Kizu on Naraku that night, and stood there to watch as the power of the blow danced over the barrier Naraku had erected. But now, with this, he could defeat that barrier.
"Are we still in trouble Uncle Inu?" Takeru asked with pouting lips, his eyes hidden behind his unruly bangs.
"I guess not," Inuyasha answered giving into the children for the time being.
"Inuyasha, let's get the children to the compound quickly. Now that we have found them, the spell," Miroku excitedly told Inuyasha. Their luck was changing, more so than Miroku could have imagined.
Sango and Miroku climbed onto Kirara's back. Kouga went off on his own, leaving Inuyasha to carry the two children on his back. "You two had me worried," he told them now that he didn't have an audience around to hear what he had to say.
"Sorry Uncle Inu," Takeru pouted.
"Sorry," Amaya repeated.
"You could have told me," Inuyasha said as he bounded toward the compound.
Takeru sighed. "Maybe. But they wouldn't have given the orbie to you. So we had to do it."
Amaya nodded as she snuggled closer to the warmth of Uncle Inu's back. He smirked at them. They were just like their mother. Didn't give a damn what anyone said and did what they had to do. It sounded a bit like him as well.
War Dog Compound
With the children safely back at the compound, they were ready to try the spell. Kaede was there to greet them. And Sesshoumaru had even elected to be there. Sango, Miroku and Inuyasha gathered along the wall of the large room.
In the middle was a circle that had been drawn out with chalk according to Kagome's directions. Seven miko sat around the circle. Each one had been meditating over the past week, putting their power into the circle. One miko would exchange places with another miko, trying to get as much power into the circle as they could.
Kaede looked down at Amaya. "Are ye ready child?" Amaya nodded. Inuyasha pushed himself off of the wall. He hadn't realized that she would have to physically participate into the spell itself. He just thought that they would take some of her blood and call it good.
Amaya looked over and saw Sesshoumaru standing there, watching her. His piercing gaze made her shiver. As Kaede walked the child into the circle she whispered to the old woman, "Will his eyes freeze me?"
Kaede chuckled at the child. "Of course not. Now sit down, close your eyes. Your head might hurt from this."
Amaya nodded as she did as Kaede instructed her. Kaede left the circle and let Amaya do what she needed to do. Kaede stood next to Miroku. "Because the child is the one in the circle, she will be the one to sense Naraku's location."
Miroku nodded. That was a bit unfortunate, for it might mean that they would have to take Amaya out with them to search for him. He didn't feel comfortable putting the girl in that kind of position. But he was afraid to tell her otherwise.
Inuyasha took another step toward the circle, keeping his stare on Amaya. Not knowing what was actually going to happen was killing him. He was praying that it worked. It had to work. He had to know, no, he needed, desperately needed to know Kagome's location.
Kagome's face.
Inuyasha blinked. Did he just see . . . her face? He shook his head. It was from thinking about her too much. It was driving him crazy just thinking about her. He knew he shouldn't be. She didn't like him. He was supposed to hate her. Look at the way he had treated her just because she used to remind him of someone he didn't want to be reminded of.
Her smile.
He shook his head harder, trying to physically get rid of her picture. Her laughter echoed in his head, her eyes made his heart jump, her scent calmed his nerves. Inuyasha grabbed his head hoping that the torture would stop. No. It hurt to see what he couldn't have.
I'll have the jewel.
Inuyasha's eyes jerked open. That voice. He heard that voice before. The night he saw Kagome. The man who took her away. Naraku. That was Naraku. But why, why was he hearing Naraku's voice?
Power.
It was Naraku's voice again. Faint, but clear. Inuyasha fell to his knees as Naraku's voice bombarded his mind.
Sango leaned over to Miroku and whispered. "What do you think is wrong with Inuyasha?"
Miroku shrugged his shoulders. "Probably tired. I don't think he has slept since, well, since we left Hiroshima."
Inuyasha looked up and found Amaya staring down at him. The voices had stopped. He sat up on his knees looking back at the child.
"You have five days to find her," Amaya spoke. It was clear that the spell had exhausted her tiny frame as her shoulders were slumped and her breathing was hard. "Five days and then it fades."
"What are you talking about?" Sesshoumaru demanded, stepping away from the wall to make his presence known in the light.
Amaya looked up at the demon lord. "Uncle Inu has the power to find Naraku, and my mommy."
"Inuyasha has?" Kaede questioned. That wasn't correct. He wasn't supposed to have it. The child was.
Inuyasha stood up. He was slowly growing used to having extra crap in his head. "Great," he commented with a smirk. "Let's get going then. We've got no time to waste. Sango, get Kouga. Miroku come on."
Sango turned to Kirara. "Stay here with the children. If anything happens . . . "Kirara mewed as Sango patted her cat. Kirara ran over to Amaya and curled itself around the child's leg.
Outside
Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango and Kouga and heading out at full speed towards Naraku's compound. They headed north. Inuyasha knew almost exactly where they were at. So that wasn't the problem. It was the traveling. Sango and Miroku rode on the backs of Kouga and Inuyasha at times. Until they butted heads with the terrain. The area was mountainous and rocky. It was hard to navigate quickly.
Not to mention that Naraku knew they were close, so he sent out some of his help. They wasted precious time fighting youkai that were decent fighters, but not super strong. Enough to push them back. Naraku sent army after army of easily disposable youkai. Everyone fought, and then they tired, which caused them to travel at a slower pace.
Naraku's Compound
Kagome was forced out of the library during this time to watch as Naraku sent more and more demons out to fight. She was made to watch her hope die in front of her. Days passed and then nights. Naraku allowed the group to travel, during that time, Kagome would work on the jewel. Then, when Naraku got bored, he pulled her out of the library and they watched in Kanna's mirror, the entertainment for the evening.
It is the fourth night. Kagome looked on as Inuyasha was so close, and yet, still far enough away. She knew that the spell only had five nights. Naraku made that night special. Kagome had been ordered to dress extra special for the occasion. Naraku had chosen a fitting kimono for the young woman. Kagome, Naraku, Kagura and Kanna sat around, eating the finest food, drinking the best sake, and watching as Kagome's rescuers battled their way toward the compound.
Naraku enjoyed watching Kagome. The expressions on her face were priceless. She was at first excited to see them, and then saddened. Sadness was the emotion Naraku enjoyed seeing on her face. It wasn't the usual sadness he saw in others. Kagome's was deeper. And it was painful. It caused him to smile. He loved pain.
The dawn of the fifth day arrived. Naraku had made sure that everyone stayed awake to watch as Inuyasha made it.
"Where is it Inuyasha?" Kouga asked, searching the terrain with his light blue eyes.
They looked and saw nothing. There was nothing there. Just rocks and mountain. No compound. No scents of other beings. No Kagome.
"It's here," Inuyasha breathed out, exhausted from the combination of the traveling, the lack of sleep, and the constant battles.
"Perhaps there was a problem with the spell," Miroku stated. Inuyasha wasn't the rightful recipient of the power. That alone could have caused something to go amiss.
Naraku sent out some more demons to keep their mind off of looking for the compound and on surviving. He sent out stronger demons. Inuyasha could feel Naraku's presence fade away as the power of the spell dimmed. He cursed out at the demons and Kaze no Kizu'ed them to hell as quickly as he could.
Naraku was disappointed that his stronger demons couldn't occupy his entertainment for long. He considered sending more out, but was curious as to what they were going to do next. Naraku looked over at Kagome. He walked up to her and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him.
He saw the tears in her eyes. The ones she had been holding back the entire time. "What is it about you that makes them so desperate to find you?"
He roughly let go of her chin and walked back to his cushion. Kagome turned back to look at the mirror. She had to watch. This was her last chance. The spell would be useless once the power faded. And then . . .
"Inuyasha," Miroku called out. "There's nothing here." Miroku knew he was saying things that Inuyasha wouldn't want to hear. But there as no choice in the matter. "We should head back. All we've done is fight. I doubt we could fight anymore. It's the fifth day."
Inuyasha hung his head down low, the bangs covering his face. His sword rested at his side, his grip loosened. He then nodded. Kagome gasped at this. He was . . . giving up. She watched as her freedom, her hope, walked away from her. Her plan had failed. And there were no more chances for her.
"Inuyasha!" She wailed out at the mirror. The tears she had held back for so long streamed down her face. Naraku smiled behind his sake cup as he happily drank away. Kagome was breaking down. It was such a painfully beautiful sight. He wanted her to cry more, even yell.
Inuyasha looked behind him, taking a lingering look at where he thought she would be.
Kagome could see Inuyasha's face clearly and up close. He looked . . . sad. It broke her heart to see him like that.
"Inuyasha," she whispered, the name barely escaping her mouth. She hung her head down. She stood up on her wobbly legs and left the room. She couldn't stand to watch. There was no more for her to watch. There was just no more for her. Picking up strength and speed, she ran down the hallway and found sanctuary in the library she had spent so much time in.
Inuyasha sighed. He didn't want to believe that was it. That all of that work ended up with nothing.
Inuyasha!
He stopped. It was her. Her voice. It was calling out to him. It sounded sad, defeated, and alone. He tightened his grip around his sword. Closing his eyes, he called out for help from his sword. Holding Tessaiga above his head, Inuyasha turned to face the emptiness. With all of this youki strength, he whipped the power of the Red Tessaiga out.
The others watched as Inuyasha's attack sped across the rocky ground toward nothing. Naraku chuckled at Inuyasha's futile attempt to rescue the doctor. But he dropped his sake cup as the compound rumbled around him.
Inuyasha watched as his attack tore into the power of Naraku's barrier, ripping it open and exposing the compound that he had finally located. The barrier melted down and soon everyone could see. Inuyasha didn't hesitate.
"Kaze no Kizu," he yelled as he furled another attack at the compound.
Inuyasha and the other rushed forward, heading toward the damage castle. They were stopped by a wind attack by Kagura. They looked to see Naraku floating away on one of Kagura's feathers, with Kanna in tow. They couldn't see Kagome.
Inuyasha ran to the castle-looking compound but stopped as the structure collapsed in on itself. "Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled as he leapt toward the rubble. He sniffed and search for her. He couldn't see her on the feather. She couldn't be with them. Not after all of the trouble they went through to get here.
They heard movement and Inuyasha looked toward the end of the compound. Pieces of rubble were pushed up and out of the way. A figure stood up. Inuyasha gasped. It was Kagome and she looked . . . beautiful. Dressed in a blood red kimono with a white obi wrapped around her waist. Her hair was twisted into an intricate bun. Even though dust blushed her cheeks, she was still Kagome. Beautiful Kagome.
In a flash, he was by her side. Quickly, he wrapped his arms around her tiny frame, pulling her close to his body. He looked down at her. Kagome looked up at him. Their eyes locked. Her breathing was ragged from the attack; his was quick from the adrenaline. Before words could be exchange, Kagome smiled before passing out in his arms.
Inuyasha smiled back at her. He hoisted her up bridal style in her arms and made his way down out of the rubble and toward the others. They were happy to see her safe and alive. Nothing had to be said. It was time to return Kagome to her children. They all headed back to the compound glad that luck had smiled on them this time around.
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