Incomplete
- Chapter Forty-Two -
Kagome's head was the first to pop up over the splintered rim of the Bone Eater's Well. With a soft grunt of effort she pulled herself out of the cavernous darkness and safely to the other side. A large yellow backpack, stuffed well beyond capacity, followed her and landed with a pronounced thud atop the grass next to her feet. Sesshomaru came next, exiting the well in a single graceful leap.
"Show off," she chided, playfully scowling at him. He brushed her comment off and quickly surveyed their surroundings looking rather too pleased with himself for her liking.
While he was busy searching out potential threats to her safety, she took some time to absorb the beautiful day they'd found themselves in. It'd been raining in Tokyo, a grey grizzly sort of day, but here the weather was clear and filled with warm sunshine.
Pulling in a deep breath, she took in the view of the snow capped mountains in the distance and slowly let it out again.
I'm home.
She hadn't been sure before, but she was certain of it now. For the first time in her life, she knew that she was exactly where she belonged. Her place was here, in the feudal era, with Sesshomaru and the others. While neither of them was prepared to test the well again so soon, if it came down to it and the Bone Eater's Well was now closed to her forever, it was an ending they could both live with. She'd said her "Goodbyes" to her family knowing that they might be her last and hadn't looked back. Returning with Sesshomaru was the only thing that'd felt right and she knew in her heart that she'd never regret her decision.
Sighing airily, she bent to gather her knapsack for the short trek to Kaede's village and noticed that somehow in the brief moments since emerging from the well, it'd managed to go missing. It hadn't gone far though. Hanging loosely from the deadly claws of a certain taiyoukai was her trusty yellow knapsack. Righting herself she eyed him with a dubious expression, finding herself torn between shock and surprise.
"Shall we go?" he questioned dryly.
He was already a few paces ahead of her before she had enough sense to catch up. He kept his eyes on the horizon line but something about his look said that he was enjoying her momentary bout of speechlessness far more than he should.
Deciding that it wasn't worth arguing about since it was really rather irrelevant and he'd kindly volunteered to burden himself with her ultra-heavy school bag, she fell in step beside him and focused on the soft shuffle of their feet atop the hard-packed dirt road.
It'd been a trying couple of weeks for them both, but in the end there'd been acceptance and forgiveness. They'd survived assassination, abduction, attempted murder, a miscarriage and self-sabotage. Despite of all of that, their relationship had thrived and grown stronger. She felt closer to him now than ever before and hoped that the feeling was mutual. He seemed more attentive now, and the way he'd handled her family, particularly Gramps's persistent attempts to purify him, had been nothing short of heroic. Some of the violence had left him, but his strength was still there humming just beneath the surface. It was present in every movement and every carefully thought out word that left his lips. He would never truly know how much comfort that strength had brought her when she'd needed it most.
As they crested the last hill, the rooftops of Kaede's small village came into view. Here her feet stopped. Sesshomaru stopped as well and turned back, his concern apparent in the furrow of his brow.
"What is it?"
Until this moment she'd forgotten what coming back to this place meant. With the amount of emotion and energy she'd put into her recovery and mending her relationship with her mate, she'd been able to block the memories out of her mind. They were back now in full force and she found she could hardly breathe, let alone take another step toward the village. He would be waiting there for her, the evil thing that wore the face of the friend she loved like family.
"Inuyasha..."
His name unintentionally left her lips and she covered her mouth as though she could force it back in. Sesshomaru's reaction was immediate. He had no intentions of forgiving his brother for what he'd done to her. If he saw him, he would kill him, and she wasn't sure how she felt about that. The Inuyasha that'd raped her and taunted her daily was not the friend she'd fallen in love with. Something inside of her clung to the earnest belief that the old Inuyasha, herInuyasha, was still there. She didn't want to give up hope on him but maybe it was already too late. Sesshomaru certainly seemed to think so.
She eyed his claws clenched around her bag in a death grip and noted the dark look that'd settled into his eyes. If she let them cross paths now it wouldn't be pretty. She was far from ready to forgive Inuyasha for what he'd done, but that didn't mean she was willing to have his blood on her hands either.
Swallowing the metallic taste in the back of her throat, she squared her shoulders and continued down the road toward the village. Sesshomaru fell in step beside her, looking less than pleased with her decision.
"Just give me a few minutes to talk to him, please?"
He snorted derisively and maintained a tacit silence. It was clear what he thought of her plan but she couldn't let him stop her. They both needed closure and this was the only way she was going to get hers.
She had no memory of traversing the distance from the hill to Kaede's door, but suddenly it was in front of her and her heart was in her throat. Her eyes met Sesshomaru's, searching out some small bit of comfort.
"He's not inside," he said plainly, and the breath left her lungs in a 'whoosh' of relief.
"I won't be long," she promised, wearing a tentative smile, and then ducked inside the home of her old mentor and friend.
oOo
For the moment, at least, the old miko's village was quiet.
Little had changed in their absence with the exception of the half breed's foul stench. It was faint on the air and barely detectable beneath the scents of freshly turned earth, spring blossoms and incense. If the mutt was still alive it'd been weeks since he'd been to this place.
He saw little cause to mention that to her though. This foolish plan of hers to speak with Inuyasha was just that - foolish. A sharp aroma of fear had rolled off her since their first steps away from the well. She wasn't ready to face him and maybe she never would be. As her mate, it was his duty to protect her no matter the enemy. He'd failed to do that once and it'd nearly cost him her life. He may have promised that he wouldn't kill Inuyasha before she had the chance to speak with him, but he felt little remorse in breaking that promise if an opportunity presented itself.
The wind stirred, blowing a billowing cloud of dust down the empty road. It passed by and quickly dissipated, but the scent left in its wake captured his attention. He wondered if it was good karma or fate that brought the half breed's tell-tale scent to him now. Pushing away from the wall of the old miko's hut, he followed his nose into the rice fields with his claws eagerly dripping in expectation. Inuyasha wasn't far, and there was nowhere he could run where he couldn't find him. One way or another, this was going to end today.
As if on cue, Inuyasha stepped out from the forest and into the field with a large sack of chopped wood on his back. He looked small and harmless. There was no weapon at his side or anything vaguely hanyou about him. This creature that bore the scent of his ill-fated half-brother was nothing more than human. Scoffing in disgust, he paused and waited for Inuyasha to notice his presence. He was well rewarded for his patience. The boy looked up, caught sight of him and stopped dead in his tracks. Terror twisted his features and left his mouth hanging open, though no sound emerged.
The demon inside of him smiled victoriously, That's right, little brother. Be afraid.
His body moved of its own volition, closing the distance between them in seconds. There was no stopping the sudden explosion of emotion that crashed through him - months of suffering, pain, anger, loss, betrayal, fear and hopelessness culminated into a single burst of energy. It came roaring out of him in the form of a right hook, aimed squarely at Inuyasha's jaw. The blow landed, as he knew it would, and the boy's head snapped sharply to the side with a satisfying crack. His frail human body flailed backwards under the force of the blow and careened hard into the dirt. The wood he'd been carrying tumbled from the sack that'd been strapped across his back and scattered across the ground.
Kicking a wayward log to the side, Sesshomaru stood next to his half-brother's head and stared him down. The sight of his pained grimace and already swelling jaw did little to instil mercy in his heart. In fact, the longer he stared at the weak, pathetic creature that wore his brother's face, the less magnanimous he felt. This thinghad dared to touch his mate against her will. This pathetic creaturehad tormented her - and for what?
A dangerous snarl slipped past his lips and acted as the only warning he gave before Inuyasha's neck was between his claws. The sound of the boy's choking gasps, along with his fruitless grappling, brought a frighteningly genuine smile to his lips. He was truly enjoying this. His entire life Inuyasha had been a bother, a nuisance that caused far more trouble than he was worth. He could practically taste his blood already and his claws itched for permission as they pricked at the delicate flesh of his neck.
Closing his eyes Sesshomaru took in a deep, cleansing breath and concentrated on restraining the voice in his head that taunted him with the knowledge that it could all be over if he just held on long enough. Already the human's struggles had begun to lessen and his face as a pleasant shade of plum. Opening his golden eyes slowly, he held Inuyasha's gaze and seriously considered telling Kagome it'd been an "accident".
Unfortunately, he never got the chance. Frantic, indignant shouts suddenly assaulted his ears from the vicinity of the old miko's residence announcing that play time was over. As she neared, her legs pumping hard to carry her across the field, Kagome's shouts became loud enough for even Inuyasha's ears to make them out:
"Sesshomaru! Inuyasha! Stop right now!"
They turned simultaneously to look at her. The sudden wave of panic that emanated from the mutt as she drew closer was certainly intriguing. Apparently confronting Kagome was a far fitter punishment than anything he could have delivered. Opening his claws, he dropped Inuyasha into a coughing, gasping, red-faced heap on the ground and delicately stepped away.
"You should be thankful to her for saving you yet again, little brother."
Inuyasha glared at the comment and made to reply but Kagome cut him off when she thrust herself between them. With her arms outstretched she turned to Sesshomaru, an angry frown marring her features. Realizing that he wasn't going to attack again, she dropped her hands to her hips and fixed him with an unimpressed glare.
"Was that really necessary?" she demanded, sounding like a mother scolding a disobedient child.
"Completely," he responded evenly.
Sensing that perhaps it was best to leave the two of them alone (anything to ensure Inuyasha suffered as much as possible), he purposefully stalked away in the direction of the forest. He wouldn't be far in case she needed him. There was no knowing what the mutt my try to do once they were alone. Somehow he doubted that would be a problem though. Behind him, the scent of the mutt's panic increased tenfold and a malevolent smile turned the corners of his mouth.
By her hand or his own, Inuyasha would get what was coming to him and that was news worth smiling about.
