Love's Consequences
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha nor do I make any profit from this story.
Warning: Spoiler alerts! Just make sure you've seen the whole series, Final Act and Movies included, for I touch upon pretty much everything at one point or another.
Warning: There will be lemons in this story later on. Full versions will be posted on Adult fanfiction under the same story name (Author's name Sylean). Summarized (a.k.a. butchered) versions of the lemons will be posted here.
Previously:
"The spider demons are only in the one place my father dare not go," Kiseki grinned back at Sesshomaru, seeing just how far she could push him. "The one place protected by a demon he fears." She paused, the smirk that spread clear across her face was indication enough that she couldn't hold back even if she wanted to. "The spider matriarch's lair, is in the Western lands."
Chapter 52: Mine to Take
"You speak falsely," Sesshomaru accused. He knew his lands; there was no way they could be there.
"Do you know where the village of Shiaki is?" Kiseki ignored his accusation, she was not surprised that he doubted her. He was very prideful, after all.
'Shiaki?' his brows creased in thought. He did indeed know that name, far too well. It was a small, demon village in the far south quadrant of his territory. A series of missives had arrived at his castle over the last few weeks requesting aid. Supposedly, demons had been vanishing from their midst without a trace to be found. A scout was sent to determine the seriousness of the issue; for all he knew, the individuals in question could have simply left of their own accord. That scout had not returned. A small party of delegates were dispatched only days before he ran into Kiseki; he had not been home lately to know if they found success either. And now, Kiseki was asking about that same village, "For what purpose do you inquire about Shiaki?"
"Their lair is directly Southeast of there," Kiseki stated evenly.
"We shall see if you speak the truth," Sesshomaru stated and began leading the way once again. She had just given him much to think on. Not only did she reveal that an enemy lurked in his own domain, but that they used him as a shield against her father. That meant her father, whoever he was, feared him. "If your father is as powerful as you say, then why does he hide from this Sesshomaru?"
"He doesn't hide for his sake; he hides to keep his family safe," Kiseki responded easily. If Naraku did not have anyone to protect, he would surely still be a thorn in the dog demon's side, for no other reason than to pass the time. She understood that well enough; Sesshomaru was just too fun to play with. She couldn't recall the last time she had this much amusement, this much of a challenge.
"It would be more prudent to eliminate a threat; hiding is a temporary solution," Sesshomaru delved into the hypothetical situation. It was not like anyone would be eliminating him, but her father's logic to hide was flawed.
"It may be temporary, but it has lasted so far," Kiseki countered his argument. "You don't even know his name, let alone where we dwell."
"Hn," he could not deny that.
"I've heard stories," Kiseki continued to elaborate on her family's situation, "of a demon who fell in love with a priestess." She paused to recall more details, "Hoshiyomi, and Tsukiyomi, if I recall correctly. They opted to fight everyone who opposed their choice, and it did not turn out well. A demonic blade, KenKon something, possessed him and she sealed him away, dying in the process…" It was such a tragic tale.
"I recall the event," Sesshomaru spoke up. His father had been allies with Hoshi, before he changed his name to Hoshiyomi. InuTaisho had always voiced curiosity about how a demon could fall in love with a human after that, only to fall for one himself a few centuries later.
"So perhaps hiding is not so foolish after all," Kiseki posed. Fighting had not ended well, but hiding, had.
"Hn," again she was right.
"My parents told me," she chattered on, "about how they were hunted at one point, before they went into hiding. A demon tried to take my mother away, against her will." Kouga, the leader of the wolf tribe, granted, he was possessed by the jewel. "Obviously, my father was having none of that. Then there was another that wanted nothing more that to see my father dead." She glanced out the corner of her eye and caught sight of flowing white silk; if only he knew whom she was referring to in this exact moment. "Both threats were neutralized," even if it wasn't by death, "but that was only the beginning, so he hid us away. I suppose you probably see me as sheltered, huh? Growing up behind a barrier, without a real threat in sight."
"You are knowledgeable in ways most will never comprehend," the words escaped, causing Kiseki's eyes to go wide at the compliment she had never expected. He hadn't meant to voice his innermost thoughts, but he had, and there was no retracting the comment. Instead, he opted to ignore her astonishment and pass it off as intentional; yet another example of her getting into his head without even trying.
Kiseki took in every ounce of detail she could from the moment they crossed over into the Western Lands. At first there wasn't much difference from the forests beyond, but she was soon shown just how his territory differed. There were far more demons living here than she had ever seen before. Sure, she had visited the entire wolf tribe, or the lynx clan, but the demons here were of almost every species she could think of and living in dwellings that compared to the modern humans, rather than caves and natural structures. Walking down the boisterous streets of Shiaki, Kiseki found herself studying the inhabitants, and they in turn, where casting sidelong glances at the half-demon in their midsts. Being in Lord Sesshomaru's company was probably the only reason she was not confronted to begin with. She could feel it; these demons did not want her here.
"The lair is southeast of here," Kiseki reminded, "why are we exploring the settlement?"
"I wish to determine the fate of those sent to deal with unknown disappearances in this area. I suspect these spiders are the cause," he answered easily, finding her input of increasing value.
"I wouldn't be surprised," Kiseki commented casually. "This town is laced with webs." Sesshomaru halted in his steps and scanned the area. "Something wrong?"
His eyes narrowed in his sweeping perusal; he could not see these webs she referred to. He wanted to accuse her of spinning a falsehood, but she had stuck to her word thus far. It was hard to swallow, but it was a possibility that she could see things he could not, "Show me."
"They are well hidden," she turned down a dark alley, "but there's no missing the presence." She stooped and lifted a strand. His searching eyes were all she needed to discern that he still couldn't see it in the shadows. Gathering up a handful of dust from the ground, she blew it over the sticky silk and revealed the form in her hand. "These webs are only meant to catch small prey, like rodents," she explained. "A trap probably laid by a young spider. But where there is one, there will be many." He nodded to her and directed them back out into the sun, he still needed to speak with the village head.
"My Lord," an aging crane demon folded himself before Sesshomaru. Kiseki noted with mild amusement how the demon was tall, in his youth, possibly even taller than Sesshomaru, but contained no bulk to his frame. Hunched over at the shoulders, he showed just how withered he had become. "I am honored by your esteemed presence in this time of distress."
"What has occurred here?" Sesshomaru cut straight to the point as Kiseki's attention wandered about the courtyard. The webs were here too. The infestation must be massive for the hunting grounds to have spread within the village. She vaguely caught the demon's worries; something about daily disappearances. There was also something about a missing hunting party. What she was focused on, however, was dissecting the webs in the vicinity. Most were simple traps, but one was far more elaborate.
"My own grandchild was abducted from this very courtyard," the elderly demon exclaimed, frantic for the child's safety. "Something must be don- Hey! Where are you going?" Kiseki ignored his subtle insult and approached the larger web, gingerly touching the strands with her highly sensitive fingers; there was movement on the other side.
"Hime?" Sesshomaru addressed as she leapt up to the roof, casting her gaze out in that direction.
There, off in the distance, her information was verified, "I can see the lair, Lord Sesshomaru." The forest was blanketed in silk, translucent and invisible; she could approximate where the core of the lair rested. It would be quite the trek to reach.
"What are you talking about?" the crane demon flapped up onto the roof as well, shedding ragged feathers in his wake and searching with keen eyes for any sign of this "lair." "I don't see anything."
"I'm not surprised," Kiseki shrugged off his disbelief. "Only fellow spiders can see them. Priestesses can too." She jumped back down.
"Spiders? That is what has been kidnapping our people?" the crane demon perked up at finally being given a culprit.
"Kidnapping? I'm afraid not," she felt kind of bad for the old demon, but he needed to know the truth. "Spiders don't kidnap; those missing demons are long dead by now."
"Why should I believe you?!" he lashed out in his turmoil. "You are a spider too, just like one of them!"
"Yes, I am a spider," Kiseki verified. "However there is one vital difference; I am also half human."
"What does the weakness in your blood have to do with anything?" the crane demon shot discredit.
Seeing he was not to be swayed, she went a different route, "Trust me or not, I don't really care, but I hold no love for the likes of them. Besides, I'm your only hope; only a spider, can track down a spider's nest."
"Stop!" Kiseki exclaimed as they drew closer to the lair in the web strewn forest. "There, a spider web," she pointed to the space right in front of Sesshomaru. "One more step and they'd have gone into hiding; I'm not sure if I can find them if they do." These spiders were very good at hiding, obviously, since Sesshomaru had yet to hunt them down in his own domain. "If you want to catch them, your choices are either ambush or I could announce our approach as non-aggressive." Anything else, and they would know that death was knocking down their door.
On one hand, she knew far more about their habits and abilities than he did, but on the other, he was not fond of her taking control, "Could we not just fly?" She had claimed to be able to see the lair from above; if they could drop down right at it…
"Wouldn't work," she announced, shaking her head.
Her instant refusal irked him, "Explain."
"If you were ever to find them, their fate would be sealed. They know this," she began her explanation. "Even if you didn't kill them, say they somehow managed to defeat you-"
"Impossible," Sesshomaru scoffed.
"I know, I'm talking hypotheticals; stick with me here," she drew his attention back to her story. "If by some freak accident they did, then you would no longer be around to act as a shield against my father. He would come in and decimate them instead."
"State your point," Sesshomaru's patience thinned.
"Their very existence is hinged upon being invisible to you; no one else, just you," she let her words linger in the air for a moment before gesturing to the forest around them. "To ensure that, these webs have been set up with the sole purpose of detecting your presence; all of your abilities and habits have been thoroughly accounted for." Her eyes scanned over the shimmering silk. "It's a masterpiece, I have to give them credit for that."
After a lengthy pause, digesting the theory she just posed, Sesshomaru had to admit, it made sense, "What do you suggest?"
"You need to go against your instincts and training," Kiseki summarized. Predicability was how they managed to set this up to begin with. "If you touch a web, they will know you are here. Well, unless you can stop your heart, that is."
"I cannot," he acknowledged, but that caused a thought to dawn on him, "That is how you locate me?" He knew she had some sort of sense he lacked, but only now gained a glimpse of what it might be. It also explained why she was so preoccupied with his heart rate before.
"Correct," she nodded, scanning the vicinity with her eyes. "The stronger the heart, the easier it is to identify. Unfortunately, that makes it very difficult for you to avoid detection." He had the strongest heart she had ever felt. "So, which approach are we taking?"
"I will not falsify my intentions; they will die," Sesshomaru declared with cold indifference.
"Ambush it is!" she clapped her hands together and grinned widely, rocking back and forth on her toes and heels. "I was hoping you'd say that; I still owe the matriarch for her attempt on my life when I was a child."
Upon hearing the offense, he amended his decision. This 'matriarch' would not just die; she would suffer, then die. No one threatened Kiseki's life; he had already decided, 'Kiseki's life is mine to take.'
(A/N: That phrase, "mine to take" will be clarified later; it is important.
Shi = city, Aki = autumn, Shi aki = task; so make of it what you will.
Shoot, I've caught up to what I've written ahead of time again. It's been one of those "when it rains, it pours" kind of months. I'll do my best to find the time to write; the lack of time to do so is killing me just as much as it would you guys if I didn't post on time. *Crosses fingers*)
