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I do not own Inuyasha, the characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. Similarly, I do not receive any financial benefit from this story, just the pleasure of knowing people enjoy it.

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Thank you thank you thank you to Neutronstarchild and Fawn-Eyed-Girl for your help with this chapter!

Chapter 22

Ryukotsusei's eyes opened, taking in the new world around him. It was the first hint of a recognizable freedom that he had known in a long long time. All he had known for centuries was darkness: an unending boredom. Time was meaningless, nothing more than a chance to plan, to plot…

To hate.

The Yokai lords had conspired against him and locked him in this prison. Any vestiges of emotion that he may have felt had long melted away, leaving only anger and hatred in their place.

Then he had felt it: a slackening of the bonds, lightning on the horizon of the darkness. A new emotion surged as he saw it…

Vengeance.

For the first time in ages, he felt a sliver of his powers surge, the feeling familiar and welcome, reminding him that he was ALIVE. The yokai lords had tried, and failed, to destroy him. And he had waited, biding his time, and now… now it was here.

A pulse of power, new, untamed, had called to him, its golden glow beating, drawing him near. He had followed that vibration: watching, waiting, learning. At the times it weakened he was able to connect with the person's… a woman's…mind, wrapping around her spirit, her energy. Time suddenly had meaning again, and he was keenly aware of its passage. He had been close, so close, to controlling her completely, even still under seal. He had invaded her dream four precious months ago, pushing her to the seals in an attempt to capture her soul in the dream, which would have opened a crucial pathway to her mind. She was there, right there, he could taste his opportunity when he heard it…

One of their voices.

The hanyou.

The embodiment of the impurity of the world he sought to preserve. Half human, half yokai, the abomination. A living breathing reminder of the weakness of lesser yokai, giving in to their base desires, tainting the sanctity of his kind.

So, they were awakened.

He had never forgotten those voices: Toga, Sesshomaru, Inuyasha… their voices fueled his rage, their words of sealing had been his only companion in his prison, the fuel to his vengeance.

If they were there, if he was there, she was important. He had to have her, to possess her.

But then he had been forced out of her mind, repelled by a golden barrier… She was protected by them. The hanyou's weak yoki had encircled her, placing a wall around her mind. As the months passed, her energy fed into the wall, taking over her protection.

Ryukotsusei had been connected to her from that first moment when her reiki had released him. So he waited, watched, searched for the moment to strike, the moment when he felt the hanyou's yoki pull away, leaving her alone, vulnerable. She was more resilient than he expected her to be, but he would not become impatient. He'd had centuries of waiting, so he could wait a bit longer, to make sure when he attacked her mind, it was perfect. She was the one thing he could feel in his void… her barriers just another seal.

Impenetrable…
Until they weren't.

Through the connection he felt the moment her walls began to weaken, the instant the cracks had spread. He had waited, watching for the secondary shield, the abomination's shield, to form…

Only it never did.

Ryukotsusei seized the moment, knowing he would likely never have this opportunity again. Her barriers, weak as they were, kept him from completely overtaking her soul, and prevented him from fully joining her dream, but he was able to influence her movements, her actions. He knew the seal was nearby; he could feel his own yoki calling to him, and he used his temporary host, unwilling as she was, to seek it out. He could feel her terror, her determination, as she fought him, but her mind was too weak, too exhausted, and he relished in his control of her. They were the first steps he had felt a body take in centuries; he would not let the mere human eject him again.

Although it was still hazy through the fog of the woman's embattled mind, he could see it, in plain sight with only a handful of paper around the door to guard it. He scoffed at how pathetic the defenses were, it was only a matter of time. He moved his pawn into the room, and he realized the simplicity of the storage place held a dark secret, a sutra barrier that nearly freed her from his grasp. The body pushed itself against a wall as it shook with fear. With a slight push he forced the girls energy outwards, then forced it to return quickly, encasing his own energy in hers.

He walked through the sutras with ease. Now nothing stood between him and the second seal, the second release of his powers. He raised the dagger that he had made her take, knowing he needed it to channel her energy. He could not handle it on his own; even with possession of her mind, her powers could purify him, setting him back when he was close… so close… to a semblance of freedom. He aimed the dagger at the sealed vessel, a gleam reflected in the possessed chocolate eyes as he watched the seal burn.

He forced a smile onto his pawn's face as a rush of power flooded through him. The sensation made him feel every inch of the body he had 'borrowed'. He felt more complete, more substantial than he had in a long, long time. It was a far cry from his full power, but it was so much more than the meaningless existence the lords had banished him to.

He felt the girl's spirit rising, trying to fight him, to push him away. Oh, that would not do. Ryukotsusei wrapped his will around her mind, forcing her protests to the side. He sneered, how dare she think she, a mere human, was a match for him. She was his pawn, and she should behave as such. He could kill her with little thought, breaking and destroying her mind, severing her soul from her body, forcing her into his unending void. This girl, however, could be useful. It was clear the yokai lords accepted and protected her.

That would be their undoing.

Because she was now his pawn, he would be able to kill his enemies before they even knew he was there. He relished his control of her, what he could do using her feeble little mind.

It was the perfect revenge.

The yokai lords destroyed by a human they protected. Slaughtered by a mere girl-he could think of no better justice for his enemy. He would begin with the abomination, the hanyou with defiled yokai blood. He dragged the girl's memories towards him, he would find his prey through her thoughts.

He snarled as the stream of information was abruptly cut off, even in her weakened state the human had the audacity to fight back. It didn't matter; he had the information he needed, the location where it would be. He had briefly glimpsed something more before he was shut out, he would explore that after he killed Inuyasha. Ryukotsusei forced the girl's body down the familiar path, taking in the surroundings, the layout of the rooms.

This would be useful.

He stood outside a lone closed door. He reached out with his senses, yes, someone was inside. The element of surprise was on his side… It wouldn't take much to rid the world of the hanyou once and for all.

A sharp pain made him cry out as the girl's body dropped towards the ground. How had she found the strength to break through his will? True, she'd been fighting back against him, but she had also been weakening in her attempts at breaking free. Now suddenly, a feeble golden glow pulsed in the center of his darkness. It took all of his focus to keep her contained, to prevent her from escaping. He felt sweat dripping down the girl's brow as the battle in her mind raged on. The golden waves of her energy strengthened, pushing him backwards.

"YASH!"

Ryukotsusei heard the female's scream echo down the hallway and narrowed his eyes. She had gained the ability to speak. His eyes narrowed, how had she managed to wrest that much control from him…

"Kagome?"

The hanyou. He was there, close enough to attack. In that instant Ryukotsusei realized the bitch had managed to drop the knife, he had not given her that command, yet his pawn no longer possessed the knife that could end the life of that abomination. He started to look up, intent on using his abilities through her body. If that killed her, he would find a new host, and it would be worth the sacrifice of her life.

A hand touched the woman's elbow and he caught a glimpse of a man… before a golden wall surged around her mind and soul, physically expelling him out and away from her mind.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO." He yelled, the sound only echoing in his mind. He had been close, so close. The wave of energy had forced him back to his void, purifying him as it expelled him, draining his energy and leaving him weak.

But he had time. The second seal was broken, so he was no longer bound to his void. He observed from the shadows, waiting to feel his strength return, and watching. The opportunity came sooner than he thought it would, humans were so weak. His new host was a male that the girl interacted with daily, a server who provided her with her beloved mocha latte. He had used that body for a few days, watching the girl… Kagome…. Waiting for a moment to strike.

The girl was never alone. If the hanyou was not with her a kitsune was near, or at night there was… another hanyou, this one a bat… The once proud line of Taigokumaru laid low with the blood of humans. Pathetic.

Ryukotsusei had not been able to infiltrate the building since that first night; there were multiple reiki users shielding the facility, barring his entrance. He had tried to enter once, only once, and had nearly been forcibly separated from his unwilling host.

Within a few days, Ryukotsusei found that his current host was no longer useful; he needed someone who could get closer to Kagome, who could get within the protection the yokai lords had placed around her. A yokai would not do, they would immediately detect his presence. It had to be a human, tools to be used for his needs. Only two humans seemed suitable pawns, however: a young woman with dark hair… Sango…, and a small human male called Jaken. Sango was the ideal candidate, a fighter with no spiritual power to repel him, with constant access to Kagome. It could not be at night; the damnable bat would detect his possession. He needed a moment where she was isolated.

He bided his time, following the girl, waiting for a chance. When it finally came, he had not been prepared for her mind to reject him. She was only a human, no reiki to speak of, yet the moment his mind had touched hers she had stumbled, a hand moving to her head, and he found himself pushed out, her mind closed behind a steel door, barricading against his entry. He hissed in displeasure, there was more to that fighting female than he could see, that much was clear.

That left one other option. The boy, Jaken.

Ryukotsusei changed his host; he needed to observe Jaken from afar, his comings and goings from the central building, his scurrying around campus, and his previous host was starting to attract Sesshomaru's notice. Ryukotsusei watched in disgust as Jaken seemed to dote on Sesshomaru, his mannerisms reminded Ryukotsusei of a kappa yokai from the past, another simpering fool who had worshiped the traitorous Lord of Ice.

Ryukotsusei had sought an alliance between himself and Sesshomaru in the past, he knew the inu youkai had no love for humans and saw them as lesser beings than yokai. Sesshomaru had rejected his offer and chose to follow his bloodline: Toga, a great daiyokai who mated with a human. It was beyond Ryukotsusei's understanding-Sesshomaru chose his despicable father and the abomination over the supremacy of demons? It made him as pathetic as his dirtied bloodline. Sesshomaru had disdain for humans, but he had not understood how important it was to keep them on a leash, to remind them that they were nothing more than food and property. That was why he chose his filthy father and half-brother, because he valued that over preserving the natural order of things. And to Ryukotsusei, those who did not join him deserved the same treatment as humans.

If Jaken was the key to access to Sesshomaru, he would be just as useful as Kagome. Ryukotsusei, in his human host, followed the young man around the university, learning his habits and his routine.

The human was never alone.

If he was not following Sesshomaru he was deep in conversation with Toga and an older human male. Ryukotsusei snarled as he watched his nemesis sauntering around, free. Once he saw Toga's head lift, the flare of his nostrils obvious even though he appeared… human. Toga had sensed him, and the notion seemed to concern the fallen daiyokai.

Six days had passed since the seal had broken, and Ryukotsusei was ready to strike. Jaken was finally alone, his defenses down. Ryukotsusei left his host, his form dissolving into mist, hidden in shadows, as he followed the trail of Jaken's energy through the building. Ryukotsusei felt his consciousness stream into the apartment to encircle the sleeping man.

It was almost too easy. The downfall of Toga and his son's… laying in front of him, defenseless and weak.

Ryukotsusei reached out with his powers to seize Jaken's mind, smothering the man's consciousness with his yoki. Ryukotsusei waited for the moment of surrender, when the other gave way to his domination.

… The human was… fighting him?

This weak, pathetic human was challenging him?

Ryukotsusei forced even more of his yoki into Jaken, determined to take possession of his prize. Ryukotsusei would NOT lose, not to the likes of this worm. A fleeting image of fire poured through his mind as he was cast out, expelled from the man's mind.

Ryukotsusei fled; he had to collect himself. The battle had sapped him, and he needed to hide to regain his strength. But it was no matter.

He understood now what he had to do. He needed to find a way to get to them: to get to her. The boy would not do, and she was too well-protected, so he would get as close to her as he could, he just needed to… find the right way in.