A Delayed Dawn
Disclaimer: Takahashi-sensei says that she sees not end in sight for Inuyasha just as I see no ownership of it in my sight.
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 Forty-Nine Cold
The Mountain Range
Kagome wasn't sure what was going on. The eagle she was riding was doing strange mid-air maneuvers, desperate and suicidal attempts to avoid Naraku's demons as it couldn't fight with her and her children on its back. The other eagle demons were doing what they could to battle the demons that were after her to keep them from capturing their obvious target.
It was a lost cause from the beginning. There were just too many of Naraku's demons to be fought. The eagle she rode was going as fast as it could as it decided to continue on towards the harbor, but with demons showing up all around, it has hard to get any kind of traveling done. It was done on purpose, to keep them trapped here so that she couldn't reach her destination. Kagome didn't want to know how Naraku found her.
Kagome screamed when a demon came too close, breezing past them, causing the eagle to tip too far to one side. Kagome scrambled to stay on, as well as keep her children on the eagle's back. The demons were attacking from underneath, causing the eagle to lose its balance in the air. They were . . . oh no!
"Takeru!" Kagome desperately cried out as he son slipped off the eagle's back. Kagome did the only thing she could think off.
"Sorry," she whispered as she took a hold of her daughter and together, they slipped off of the eagle's back. The eagle was too involved with the demons to go after her, fearing for its own life above all else.
Kagome let gravity pull her and her daughter down as they used their increased weight to catch up with Takeru, spiraling down toward the white covered ground. Kagome reached out for her son and pulled him close as continued to fall towards the snowy mountains. She closed her eyes as she could see anything with the air resistance overpowering her.
The children knowing that their mother couldn't handle an impact into the ground like they were able too turned their bodies so that their feet dangled underneath them, like airplane landing gear, ready to take the impact. All three hoped that they landed in some very fresh powder or else it was going to be a rough landing.
Kagome grunted when they landed, rolling along the slope of the mountain a few times until coming to a stop. She scrambled up onto her hands and knees and hurried up to check on her children, mushing through the thick snow. "Takeru. Amaya," she called out, keeping her voice quiet. One it would draw attention to the demons and two, avalanches could easily be trigged by sound waves.
The children dug their way out of the deep holes they made from their landing. "Are you okay mommy?" Takeru asked as he sniffed her for any blood.
Kagome nodded, almost smiling at his concern for her. "Are you both all right?" She started to do the motherly thing and check them over for anything broken or bruised. But above all, just thankful that they were alive. That was what mattered most.
The children shook their heads. "I got no ouchies," Amaya quietly spoke as she too sniffed her mother for any injuries.
Kagome let out a huge sigh of relief. Thank the gods . . .
The next thing they had to do was to hide from the demons that were after them. Using the holes the children had created from their landing, Kagome shoveled the snow with her hands until she had one large hole.
"Climb down in there and start digging a fort," she instructed them. They would find it fun to build a snow fort like they used to do at home with Souta and Shippo when it snowed. The children climbed into the hole and Kagome followed. She patched the top part of the hole with the snow they dug out from the hole, and the snow her children were digging. If they looked closely enough, they could easily be found, but if they thought that she couldn't survive a fall like that, they might give up and leave.
Once Kagome was satisfied with their little snow fort, she had the children stop digging and pulled them close to her. All three huddled close to together. Her children could handle this, but she needed their body heat to keep her warm. She would not last as long as they would in these conditions. She figured that if they hid in here for a few hours, they could get out and do what they could to travel on towards the harbor. It was just going to take longer than forty-five minutes.
A few minutes later
Inuyasha and everyone else arrived to see the air battle going on. Pulling out Tessaiga, he stood up on the eagle's back and started to swing at the demons that were attacking. Miroku and Sango aided in the battle. The void in his hand did well at sucking the lesser non-poisonous demons into the abyss of his hand, while Hiraikotsu sliced and diced the demons that felt that they could take on her giant boomerang.
"Call your friends back," Inuyasha ordered the eagle he was riding. The eagle screeched out in its eagle youkai language. The five other eagles that were engaged in the battle rocketed toward the newly arrived reinforcements.
Kagura watched perched on her feather a good distance away from the main fighting. She cursed at the sight of Inuyasha. Naraku would not be pleased. He was expecting her to deliver Kagome and her children to him very soon. In fact, he was probably growing impatient by her tardiness.
She sighed as she watched the stupidity of the demons. The ones that were left had gathered together and decided to attack Inuyasha and his sword directly. Inuyasha smirked when he found his opportunity to really try his attack on a large mass of demons such as this. Never before had he been able to go up against this many since he found the sword at the shrine. His stupid brother for banning him from using his attacks . . .
"Kaze no Kizu!" He yelled as he threw out his attack at the demons. The massive horde of demons vaporized in a brilliant light, their screams overshadowed by the engulfing sound of the blast until nothing was left but the darkening blue sky.
Kagura turned and headed back to Naraku's compound. She was sure that he knew what had happened, he always did. She wasn't going to stick around in this cold searching for Kagome and her children's dead bodies. What use were they to him dead? She had watched as Kagome dove after her child, taking the other one with her, all three most likely falling to their deaths. No human could survive such a fall.
Once the attack had subsided, Inuyasha put Tessaiga back into its sheath. He couldn't help but smile at the satisfaction he received every time he destroyed the enemy like that. It was almost a drug, satisfying his primal urges to destroy. He sat back down on his ride, feeling smug and confident.
An eagle with what appeared to be some kind of saddle on its back approached Inuyasha, panting heavily, covered in cuts and blood from the attack. "I thank you for saving us," he said first before breaking into the bad news. "The woman, children, I . . . "
Sango gasped. Miroku placed a hand on her shoulder. Reactions needed to wait until they heard the news. Inuyasha growled. "What happened?"
"I was attacked from underneath. In order to avoid the attack, I turned to the side, and one of the children fell. The woman grabbed her other child and by her own free will dove after the fallen child." He hung his head down in shame. "I am so sorry."
All of the eagles were ashamed because they knew. They knew who Kagome was. The importance she held for all beings who wished for the war to end. She was the one that many believed would bring peace. The protectress of the Shikon no Tama, or at least, that was what Myouga had told them. They couldn't believe that she could die right now when there was still so much strife around them.
Inuyasha looked in the direction that the eagles were traveling toward. Kagome. Takeru. Amaya. Dead? Alive? Injured? He didn't know. But he had to find out. He glanced over at Sango and Miroku who were both waiting for Inuyasha to make a decision. This was his call. And he knew that. This was first and foremost about him.
"Let's go look," he instructed them. The other eagles nodded. They would help the hanyou that helped them. They would help look for the one that carried the burden of the jewel. "Where did they fall?"
The eagle that carried Kagome and the children flew on ahead with everyone else following closely behind him. Inuyasha surveyed the rocks and snow carefully, sniffing for their scents, for their blood. He didn't want to pray to the gods that had tormented him so much. This could be just one more thing in his life that they would make him suffer through.
As the eagle descended down, Inuyasha started to panic. He couldn't see anything. He couldn't hear anything; smell anything other than rocks and snow. Damn, he remembered that she was probably wearing those bracelets that hid his scent from him. It was also a good thing because Naraku wouldn't be able to sniff her out.
"Spread out here. Search everywhere," he ordered. The eagles separated and started to do a search pattern on the mountain faces. Miroku, Sango and Kirara went their own way as well, doing what they could to help out. Kirara did not want to let Kagome and her children down.
Naraku's Compound
Kagura walked up to Naraku and Kanna. Since she came alone, she didn't have to tell him that it had failed. No, she had failed. She stood there waiting for her death. There was no reason for her not to expect any mercy. Especially from Naraku were the word mercy wasn't in his vocabulary.
"She's dead," Kagura stated with a slight waver in her voice. Her confidence was growing thin as he just sat there, glaring at her. "They are all dead."
Naraku didn't move. There was no reaction from him at all. Kagura had to wonder if it was because she had failed, or because she had succeeded. If he couldn't have Kagome, then no one could and her death would ensure that she didn't fall into someone else's hands. That the jewel wouldn't end up in the hands of his enemies.
Kagura didn't know what to do. Should she just leave? Was she to remain standing there until Naraku finally decided to act? It frightened her. He frightened her because he held her life in his very hands.
Naraku was the type that didn't act on impulse. If he wanted her dead, he would find a way to do it in a manner that she least expected. Perhaps having Kanna to do the job for him. But she would stand there and wait until he said otherwise. If she tried to run, he would think that she had somehow betrayed him.
Naraku's eyes glared at Kagura. He had only one thing to say to her. He had to have Kagome, no matter what condition she was in. "Bring me her body."
Kagura gasped, and then looked away from him. She lightly nodded and left. He wanted Kagome's body. What if she couldn't find it? Inuyasha was there. She was sure that he had already begun looking for Kagome if he believed that she was down there.
As she walked down the hallway towards the exit, Kagura felt another aura nearby. She rolled her eyes when she recognized it. "What do you want?" Kagura asked as she stopped. She had her fan ready in her hands just in case.
"You won't find her body."
Kagura spun around to stare at the woman behind her. Kikyou. What did Kikyou know? "Oh?" Kagura asked. Kikyou knew something that Naraku wasn't aware of. That was something she was actually interested in.
"I made sure that if she died, no trace of her physical body would remain," Kikyou explained. Kikyou had been hiding out at Naraku's compound waiting to hear on news of Kagome. Kagome had that barrier around her shrine, and she wasn't leaving the shrine either, which made Kikyou's job of finding the remaining pieces of the jewel that much more difficult. Kikyou had conceded that Kagome was her link to the jewel.
Kagura frowned. This wasn't good for her. If she couldn't bring Kagome's body back to Naraku, she was dead. The only thing she could do was prolong her life by going back out there and looking for it. Kagura guessed that she had two weeks left to live her own life. Two weeks to do what she needed to do.
Ignoring Kikyou, Kagura continued on her way out of the compound. Would two weeks be enough time? There was only one way to find out.
Mountain Range
Hours Later
Sango shivered on Kirara's back, and Miroku wasn't able to help warm her up any because he too had the chills. They flew over to Inuyasha who rode on the tiring eagle's back. It was started to get dark out. And since they were in the mountains, the sun had already disappeared from the sky.
"Inuyasha," Sango called out as they approached the hanyou cautiously, her teeth chattering uncontrollably like a set of wind-up teeth. "Inuyasha, we need to return. It's getting dark, it's getting colder out. We're not dressed for this. Let's go back and rest and start again in the morning."
She knew it wasn't the thing to say to Inuyasha at the moment. But she had to say it because she was tired; Kirara and Miroku were both exhausted as well. The eagles weren't able to keep up as exhaustion overtook them as well. Inuyasha's determination was the only thing keeping him going.
Inuyasha sighed. He knew that he was driving them all beyond what they each were capable of. But if Sango was tired and cold, then what about Kagome and the children? They were down there, in this snow, freezing, tired and hungry. And if anyone of them were injured, this chill would only make it worse for them, especially Kagome. She was human. She had that injury from Kikyou. And Kagome had no miko abilities to use to help herself.
His children were hanyou, and they could easily survive out here longer than Kagome could. They wouldn't have any problems traveling through the mountain range to the nearest village. But they would never leave their mother just as Kagome would never abandon them.
Inuyasha didn't know what to do. He could return to the eagle youkai village and demand for assistance in the morning in finding Kagome. Because it was their mistake, they couldn't refuse. However, he couldn't risk the night. If the temperature dropped too low, it was possible for Kagome to freeze to death.
"Fine!" He yelled. "Let's head back and start early in the morning." It hurt him too much to say that. On the flight back, he kept his head bowed low, his ears lay flat against his hand, and his hands gripped onto the reins much too tightly. Sango and Miroku could see the emotional pain that he was in.
Eagle Youkai Village
Shutoushi greeted their arrival and was saddened by the news of the loss of one of their own as well as Misato. They were also deeply saddened after hearing about Kagome and her children. Shutoushi promised that they would do everything they could to bring her back, alive or dead.
Washijo showed them to their shelter huts and provided them with food as well as extra clothing for their search in the morning. She did all that she could to provide the friends of the woman of the Shikon no Tama with as much comfort as she could. She also informed them of bathing times, one time for the men and one time for the women, if they were interested in such a thing during a time like this.
Day Two, in the Mountain Range
Kagome and the children carefully dug themselves out of the in-ground igloo they had built from themselves the night before. She was amazed by the warmth that could be generated inside a hole of ice with just the three of them huddling together for their only source of warmth. And in her bag, she had food that didn't need to be prepared.
The sky was a light blue color indicating that the sun had already risen, but wasn't high enough in the sky yet to be over the mountains. But that was fine. It was light enough for them to continue on their journey.
"Which way is northwest?" Kagome asked as she looked around. She had no idea as to where she was at, but as long as she knew which direction to travel, that would be good enough for her. As long as she kept moving, that gave her some comfort that she was moving away from it all.
She felt remorse for the loss of life at her expense. Misato and the unnamed eagle he rode fell victim to the avalanche caused by Naraku's demons. And because she had fallen and disappeared, she didn't know the outcome of the others. But with the number of demons that Naraku had sent, she was sure that the outcome wasn't in favor for the eagle youkai.
Amaya and Takeru tugged on their mother's coat. "This way," they told her. Of course they would know. They were hanyou, and it was part of their biology to feel these things. She didn't know exactly how that worked for them, but she trusted them completely. If the direction they were pointing to was northwest, then that was the direction they were going to go.
Kagome glanced down and found that they were that far from the lowest dip of the two mountains. It would be better for them to walk along that valley then up at the height they were at before than ran into a cliff that they couldn't climb down.
The three of them slowly descended down the hill they were on, doing what they could to hide their tracks. Kagome would follow behind her children, dragging a blanket with her bag on top. It was still a visible track, but it hid the fact that there were three beings walking upright. This was the only thing she could do as they walked on.
One thing that gave her hope was that they were beyond the halfway point before they had been separated from the eagles. Even if she didn't know how far she was from the harbor, it couldn't be no more than a few days walking. All she had were a few more days. She would make herself survive this.
Eagle Youkai Village
Inuyasha was growing impatient with the eagle youkai. He felt that they were trying to stall him. And maybe they were. If they were trying to keep Kagome hidden from him, as well as everyone else, he wouldn't let them get away with it.
Shutoushi had gathered up all able eagle youkai to go out and search for Kagome and her children. They had eaten a good meal for the long day ahead of them. Washijo provided Sango and Miroku with extra coats and furs so that they wouldn't freeze. They wouldn't need them now, but later on in the evening they would require them, like they had last night.
It was mid-morning when they were finally ready to take flight. Miroku decided that he would ride on one of the eagle youkai so that he could help more than he could on Kirara's back with Sango. Sango would stay on Kirara's back and Inuyasha would ride the same eagle he rode yesterday.
A half hour later, they were at the area where the Kagome was attacked. Inuyasha ordered them to go to the area where Kagome had fallen and start their search there before spreading out. He found himself chuckling at her luck that she was human. She wouldn't be able to travel far. He would be able to catch up with her.
With Kagome
No one said a word as they continued on their way. The children were having fun in the snow. They would pick some up and toss it as high as they could into the air, amazed as it floated back down onto the ground. Sometimes, they would throw the snow so that it would rain down on someone else, causing fits of giggles to erupt from them.
After seeing all of the demons yesterday, she felt relieved. Her children wouldn't question her about the bad guys. The attack proved to them that they were still being chased by the bad guys. It made her feel horrible. She was a horrible person. How could she tell them that she was using Naraku as an escape from Inuyasha just so she didn't have to tell her children that Inuyasha didn't choose her?
She stomped her feet into the snow as soon as Inuyasha popped into her mind. He wasn't to blame for her current situation. Her being stranded in the mountains was all of her doing. She was the one that ran away. She was the one that was wanted by Naraku. It was her. All her. Everyone had every reason and right to blame her for this.
Kagome let out a depressing sigh. She was slowly losing her strength. Her body felt cold and tired, as did the rest of her. Her heart was growing weak, her mind was growing fuzzy. Everything around her was fading in and out. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She would make it to the harbor.
Nightfall was upon them. She had her children dig another hold for them to climb into for the night. She was surprised that the demons that attack her and the eagles hadn't come after her. It was her that they wanted, she was their prize. So why leave her out here to freeze. Maybe they wanted her dead.
Once the hole had been dug, the children climbed in and Kagome followed so that she could cover them up with the excess snow. It was another night and eating granola bars and jerky. Everything else she had packed for food required cooking or hot water. She wasn't going to be able to build a fire here. What she hadn't told the children was that there was only enough prepared food for another two days.
There were a few other things that she hadn't told her children. She had cut back on the food that she ate so that they had enough. It was something she had heard stories about, mothers starving theirselves so that their children were able to eat. It was what it meant for her to be a mother; for her children to survive.
Mountain Range
Day Three
Kagome was doing her best to hide her weakening condition from her children. She made sure that she ate a little something in front of them to keep them from getting suspicious. They had started out on their journey at the first break of dawn. It wasn't until almost lunch time when they could see the sun. Once the sun was high in the sky, Kagome could make sure they were still headed in the right direction.
She trekked along a few steps behind her children, letting them be her guide. In no way was she angered by her situation. This way, not the eagle youkai, not her guide, not anyone knew where they were at. Alone, just the three of them, the way she wanted to be.
"Mommy!" Takeru yelled out.
Kagome looked up and saw someone standing in their path. With her vision fading, she couldn't see who it was. Her children ran up to her, standing in front of her to defend her if they had to. Kagome moved toward the person. It was the last person she had expected to see out here.
"How did you . . . ?" Kagome heavily breathed out. Kagome moved her children behind her, if anyone was going to do any protecting; it was going to be her.
"Your wound."
Kagome automatically placed her hands on the side where the cut was, the one that wouldn't heal, and the one that Kikyou gave to her. Kagome was surprised to find Kikyou all the way out here.
"I'm able to track you with it," Kikyou explained noticing Kagome's hand on her side.
Kagome bent down to be eye-level with her children. "Why don't you two scout ahead? The village shouldn't be too far off. Okay?"
The children looked at each other. "Wouldn't it be good if one of us stayed?" Amaya asked. She didn't like the woman her mother was talking to and didn't want to leave her alone with Kikyou.
"You both can run fast, so it won't matter. When mommy's done talking with the nice lady, I'll catch up."
The children nodded, knowing that what their mother really wanted was to be alone with the stranger. Amaya and Takeru ran off. Kagome watched as they left, leaving her alone with Kikyou. Kagome knew that Kikyou wasn't here to hurt her.
"Are they his?" Kikyou asked as she watched Kagome's children disappear.
"They are mine," Kagome replied coldly. "He . . . he chose not to be with us." Kagome sighed. "Why are you here?"
"You're leaving?" Kikyou inquired. She had been curious to track Kagome all the way out here, wondering if maybe she had found something relating to the jewel. If that was the case, she had to be out here before Kagura came looking for the bodies. Kikyou knew that Kagome wasn't dead and only told Kagura that she would find no trace of Kagome to buy her the time she needed.
"I am. My children aren't safe here."
"I'll always know where you are, and thus I will always know where they are," Kikyou explained to the doctor.
Kagome sighed as she twisted the toe of her shoes into the snow. "When I found the truth about my children, I did as much research as I could about their demon heritage. Apparently, inu-youkai have a familial bond. Since I am only human, I do not have that kind of bond with my children. However, Inuyasha does. According to my research, when that bond is severed, the male has thirty days to re-establish that bond, or the children will die. The children depend on their parent's youki to help establish their own youki so they can be on their own."
Kagome lifted up the sleeve of her coat to show Kikyou were forearm. Tiny marks were made as a counting device. "You can see that twenty-seven days have already passed since I severed the link. Using what knowledge of magic I have, I will be able to transfer their death to myself. You won't be able to track me when I'm dead. And I can easily send my children in the opposite direction to throw you off course," Kagome kindly explained to Kikyou.
Kikyou frowned. This wasn't good news at all. Why Kagome was chosen as the guardian of the jewel, she would never know. But if Kagome were to die, she would lose any chance she had at Naraku. Kikyou was bound to the life of a human, and had a limited number of years, whereas Naraku could live for hundreds of years to obtain his goal.
"I doubt Inuyasha agreed to this."
Kagome smirked at Kikyou's statement. "Inuyasha made his choice. I gave him a chance and he . . . he didn't want it. I . . . I think he's still in love with you."
Kikyou chuckled at that idea. "But I was you. He thought I was the girl in the alleyway. I was just your copy."
"It doesn't matter. He made himself believe it was you, and so it was you that he fell in love with first. Your first love is the hardest one to let go of. Besides, we both know what kind of male Inuyasha truly is. He lives for the fight. Given the choice between a family and the war, he chose the war. I . . . I hate the war. I just . . . I just need to get my children somewhere safe before I die."
"Naraku wants your body, dead or alive."
Kagome smiled. "I'm sure he does. However, we never get what we really want. Unless you are here to kill me, I better get going. I have something to do." Kagome walked up to Kikyou, standing shoulder to shoulder with the taller, willowy woman. "My death will not taint your hands. I wish you luck in killing Naraku. The War Dogs won't be able to do it without you. They'll need a powerful miko such as you, not a weak human like me."
With that said, Kagome tromped off through the snow, leaving Kikyou standing there to watch her walk off, looking more like some kind of wild animal from the fur hides she was wearing. Kikyou couldn't believe it. Kagome was a much nobler person than she could ever be. She was willing to sacrifice herself over and over again. Not only that, but she made it so that Kikyou remained truly innocent, never once killing a human. She slowly was beginning to see why Kagome was chosen as the guardian of the jewel.
Kikyou closed her eyes. Stretching her aura out, she could sense youkai in the vicinity. In particular, she could feel Inuyasha's aura. Kagome suggested that Inuyasha didn't care about her, but his presence said otherwise.
Kikyou found herself in a difficult situation. If Kagome were to die, any hope of recovering the remaining pieces of the jewel died with her. Naraku wouldn't be able to complete the jewel, but he already had a piece of it. For him to live out his days with just that chunk in his hands, he would be able to end the war with him as the victor. If Kagome were to live, she would continue to be hunted down for her entire life. Kikyou, for once, didn't know what to do.
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