Chapter Nine
Inuyasha groaned. His head felt like a squashed bug, and for some reason that escaped him now, he couldn't move. His golden eyes fluttered open slowly, only to reveal total darkness. 'Great. Where the hell am I?'
He shifted uncomfortably, blinking the dust from his eyes and taking a moment to process his situation. The last thing he remembered he was dodging all those strange, mechanical creatures … and then, he'd heard a scream …
"Kagome!" Inuyasha gasped as the moment returned to him fully. With a sudden burst of adrenaline, the hanyou broke through his confines and sat up straight. He immediately wished he hadn't done that when a wave of nausea hit him full force, causing his vision to swim. He shook his head roughly in an attempt to clear his head and began to pull himself free of the rubble that had held him captive. After several moments and some degree of difficulty, the hanyou staggered to his feet, sheathing his blade once he'd gained his balance.
"Kagome!" He called, scanning his surroundings for the girl he'd sworn to protect. "Kagome!"
"Well, what do we have here?"
Inuyasha spun at the unfamiliar voice to come face to face with his audience. He was a large man, almost jolly looking, in a strange blue uniform that Inuyasha did not recognize. His gaze drifted over the half demon and settled at his side.
Inuyasha tensed. 'Uh oh …'
The man shouted out with laughter, startling the hanyou. "Hey Nori," he called. "Get a load of this guy. He thinks he's some kind of samurai!"
"What!" Inuyasha fumed as the second man approached. If anything, they should be intimidated by Tetsusaiga, not amused. "Listen here, pal —"
"Now take it easy," the second man, who Inuyasha could only assume was this Nori character, placated. "Let's not get upset. My partner here is just a bit taken aback by your sword there. We'd like to ask you a few questions. Why don't you come with us?"
"Feh," Inuyasha snorted rather rudely. "I ain't got time for a bunch a stupid questions." He turned to sprint away, then, intent on getting back to Kagome and the others, but a heavy hand dropped on his shoulder stopped him dead in his tracks.
"What?" Inuyasha snapped impatiently.
"I'm trying to make this easy on you," the second man said, his tone laced with annoyance. "Let's not add resisting arrest to the list of charges against you, alright."
Inuyasha was dumbfounded. What the hell was this idiot talking about? "Back off, asshole," the hanyou growled. "I didn't do nothin'."
"And I'm the pope," the first officer remarked. He was holding out a pair of odd, metal shackles, and Inuyasha's eyes widened in surprise. They weren't going to put those on him, were they?
"You're smack in the middle of a crime scene, kid. Carrying a deadly weapon, no less; what are we supposed to think here?" Nori asked rhetorically.
"I don't really give a shit what you think," Inuyasha snarled. He was getting angry now; the fat one kept easing toward him with those restraints, and the tall one wouldn't let go of his shoulder. 'Stupid humans,' he thought. It was time to get rid of these idiots and get back down to business.
He jerked away quickly, but before he could get a good running start, Nori swept his legs out from under him, sending the half demon crashing to the ground. They both tackled him, then, the fat one doing his best to secure handcuffs to Inuyasha's continually moving wrists.
"Would you two dumb fucks get off me!" Inuyasha yelled. This was beginning to get ridiculous. Someone's foot was pushing against his face, and he had someone else in a headlock, though, at the moment, he couldn't see who. All in all, they were a writhing, struggling dog-pile of fists and invectives.
"Not … until … you … come with us … peacefully."
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes; apparently, they just weren't going to give up on this. He sighed. He hadn't wanted to hurt them, but it looked like he wasn't going to have much of a choice. Without warning, he released his grip on the fat one's head and flung him into a stack of nearby broken crates.
"Holy shit," Nori said, his eyes bulging in surprise. His partner easily weighed 250 pounds, that shouldn't have been that easy. He froze as the hanyou grabbed him by the collar of his uniform and suspended him from the ground.
"Now," Inuyasha began, his tone venomous. "Are you gonna let me get outta here, or am I gonna have to get rough?" The officer shook his head vigorously, and Inuyasha smirked. "That's what I thought," the hanyou said triumphantly and set the man on his feet.
Thinking he'd won, the half demon turned to make his exit. Nori refused to give up so easily though, and as he made to leave, the officer launched himself onto Inuyasha's back, hanging on for dear life as the half demon cursed and jerked, trying to dislodge the persistent policeman.
"Osamu!" He cried, wondering if this had been a wise decision. "Osamu, get up!"
The fat one sat up slowly and groaned. He blinked his vision back into place and then gasped at what he saw. "What the … what should I do?"
"What do you mean 'what should I do?'" His partner shouted, still hanging on as Inuyasha began to spin violently. "Call for backup, dumbass!"
"R-right! Backup, right," he replied as he fumbled with his radio.
Inuyasha, meanwhile, was thoroughly pissed off, and he decided that no matter what the outcome with the jewel, he had to find some way home. The demons he could deal with, but the people in this time were just plain crazy.
"Alright, Nori! They're coming," the fat one called. "Just hang on!"
And they did, too. In a matter of seconds, ten more men in strange blue suits spilled into the area. They were all shouting and drawing weapons, and Inuyasha was growing increasingly annoyed with the situation. He had his hands full trying to peel the one leaching off his back as it was. The little shit was stuck on like ugly on a wild boar's ass. Every time the hanyou would almost shake him, the bastard would find some other way to cling to him. With this new threat, Inuyasha did not have the time to mess around anymore.
"Fine, punk," the hanyou snapped. "You asked for it!" He threw himself back against the concrete wall of a nearby building, and though he'd really only used a fraction of his strength, he effectively squashed the officer attached to his back. Once … twice … three times, before he felt the man's grip slacken. Damn, but he was persistent.
"Ugh," the officer groaned, though he still hadn't dropped to the ground. "I think I'm going to be sick."
Inuyasha froze. "You bastard — you better not!"
It was all the opportunity they needed. Before he could blink, the newcomers swarmed him. Inuyasha swore colorfully; they were everywhere! He had one on each arm and leg, and Gods only knew how many on his back. They were cursing and throwing as many punches as he was, yet, he refused to go down. He dragged himself, and them, toward the ledge, hoping to pitch at least a couple of them into the water. Maybe then, he could gain some leverage and make a break for it.
Apparently, it wasn't going to work that way. Inuyasha cried out as he felt the one on his left leg bite down. Hard.
"You son of a bitch!" He yelled, shaking his leg as violently as possible, though the effort was thwarted with the extra weight of so many clinging to his form. This really was getting ridiculous, now, he thought. Everyone within a mile must have been tagging along for the ride.
However, he was wrong. The fat one had smartly chosen to stand back until the most opportune moment. And given the current distraction, he couldn't help but think that moment was right now.
And so, Osamu took his chance. When the hanyou stopped, he darted toward them and cracked Inuyasha sharply over the head with his nightstick. To his utter horror, the half demon did not so much as flinch, but his nightstick ... well, that was another story. Osamu's eyes doubled in size when the virtually indestructible material promptly broke in half and fell clattering to the pavement.
Inuyasha turned his head to face him ever so slowly, his golden eyes gleaming with barely contained rage. "That's it!" The hanyou exploded, charging the offending party with a new surge of strength.
Osamu went pale and scuttled backward clumsily as Inuyasha took a swing at him, completely ignoring the unwelcome passengers on his back and limbs.
Gods, he knew that was a mistake!
The hanyou swung again, and Osamu pilfered around in his pockets hurriedly, desperately searching for his one last resort. Finally, he freed the small, black tube from his shirt, tripping over his own feet in his panic and landing squarely on his ass.
Inuyasha advanced, entirely ready to knock the living daylights out of his aggressor, only to be sprayed full force in the face by what felt like liquid fire. The half demon howled in agony and dropped to the ground as though he were struck by lightning, bringing everyone down with him in a clumsy, swearing heap. He coughed and gagged as he fought to bring air into his lungs, blinded and rendered virtually helpless by the susceptibility of his own senses.
Osamu sat back wide-eyed and breathing hard, complete surprise written in his features, though mostly he was just glad to be alive. Slowly, the others were picking themselves off the ground, equally stunned at the writhing hanyou on the asphalt. For a moment, no one said a word.
Finally, the officer who'd bitten found his voice. "Gods!" He shouted. "You mean after all of that, he goes down with one puny, little squirt of government-issued pepper spray?" He threw his arms up, frustrated and mumbling to himself as he stomped over to snatch his hat from the ground.
The others groaned; no one was certain if it was good fortune or dumb luck. "Alright, boys," Nori breathed from his spot on the ground. "Let's load him up."
Her lungs were screaming for air by the time she finally resurfaced, and Kagome choked and sputtered as she desperately fought to keep her head above the waves. Every stroke she made was agony as the saltwater bit into her open wounds, and her muscles were beginning to quake with exertion as she dragged the unconscious detective by the collar of his shirt. 'Come on,' she thought. 'Just a little further Kagome … don't quit now … just a little bit further …'
The waves surged, and once again Kagome found herself struggling to break the surface. It was getting harder every time, but still she pressed on with determination. No way was she going to let either of them die out there, especially not when Yusuke had gone to all the trouble of saving her life. He wouldn't even be out here right now if it wasn't for her.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Kagome felt her feet skim across solid ground, and the priestess nearly laughed out loud. She doubled her efforts, struggling to gain steady footing in the sand. She turned to grab Yusuke under the arms when she was halfway out of the water, and with renewed strength, dragged the detective up onto the bank, his feet still drifting in the sea.
Kagome collapsed there beside him in the wet sand, panting heavily from her efforts as she pushed the sopping mass of raven hair from her eyes and focused her vision. It was then that she got her first real look at Yusuke's face, and the priestess gasped in shock. The detective looked as though he'd lost a fight with a Mack truck; his whole face was bruised and swollen, he was sporting a nasty gash above his right eye, and Kagome thought he might have had a broken nose, though she couldn't say for certain with all of the swelling.
"Yusuke? Yusuke, wake up." Her voice was raw and broken, and she shook him gently. It occurred to her, then, just how pale he looked. In fact, his lips were almost blue. She stopped quite suddenly. "Oh, Gods …"
He wasn't breathing.
Her natural reaction was, at first, to panic, and it took all the control she had to choke back her fears and let reason take over long enough to administer CPR. She tilted his head back, giving a silent apology when she pinched his nose shut in the event that it was broken, and pressed her lips to his, hoping to breathe life into his chest.
Alternating between pumping his chest rhythmically and breathing air into his lungs, her actions were steady and solid. However, her thoughts weren't nearly as confident, and Kagome began to feel a cold dread settle in the pit of her stomach. After nearly a full minute, it seemed that she was getting nowhere.
'Come on, Yusuke … come on! Please don't die … please don't die' … she thought, her motions getting more and more frantic with each passing second. 'Damn it, Yusuke! Don't you die on me!' Finally, at the brink of her sanity, she brought her fist crashing down upon his chest in rage and frustration.
And that's when she heard it: a labored gurgling sound in his throat. She still had a chance! "That's it, Yusuke," she breathed as she pumped his chest. "You can do it; just breathe." Once more she leaned in, whispering life into his body.
His eyes fluttered open, and just as she came back up, he coughed. Warm seawater spilled from his mouth and nose, and he gasped as his lungs seized, desperately seeking precious air.
Kagome nearly cried her relief was so great, and before he could even sit up and fully regain control of his breath, she captured him in a fierce hug. "Oh Gods, I was so scared!" She cried, pulling back to look him in the eyes. "Are you alright?"
He offered her a genuine smile of gratitude, relief he'd never actually express written in his deep, chestnut eyes. "Ya know, if you wanted a little lip action all ya had to do was ask," he rasped.
Kagome turned a rather vivid shade of red, and she opened and closed her mouth soundlessly, apparently flustered beyond coherent speech. He snickered helplessly; despite the pain it caused him. He couldn't help it, really. The look on her face was priceless.
"Uh … but … I mean … I wasn't …" She stuttered, her mouth still dangling like a fish.
"Careful, now," he said. "You'll start trapping flies."
The priestess snapped her mouth shut and gave a very unladylike snort, crossing her arms with a huff. If he hadn't looked like death warmed over, she would have smacked him stupid. "Maybe next time I'll just let you drown," she muttered, heatedly.
He only laughed harder, much to her chagrin, though he seemed content to leave it at that. He eased back to the sand, wincing with discomfort as he did. "So, does it look as bad as it feels?"
Her expression softened. "Worse," she said, brushing the hair back from his eyes to better inspect the gash on his forehead.
"Don't go pulling any punches, now," he grumbled sarcastically. "Tell me what you really think."
She smiled broadly. "Hey, you asked." She took a gentle hold of his chin, tilting his head back and forth, and she hissed in sympathy. "He got you pretty good. This one might need stitches."
"Stitches? Nah, I'll just get Grandma to…" the detective trailed off and sat up quickly enough to nearly make himself vomit as he met Kagome's worried expression with one of his own. Simultaneously, they made the connection.
"Genkai!"
"Inuyasha!"
Kagome cried out as she stood up, her injured leg and muscles screaming in protest. She dropped, only to be intercepted by Yusuke as he was on his knees preparing to stand. "Whoa, easy now," he said, steadying her in his arms.
And in just in that fraction of a second, for reasons entirely unknown to her, Kagome could not help but notice just exactly how close they were. For the second time that day, she found herself blushing, though this instance was not nearly as obvious as the first. He was staring back at her, bruises and all, his expression one of innocent concern, and he spoke to her.
"Can you stand?"
It was enough to bring her back to reality, and just as quickly as it had come, the feeling left her. Kagome was thankful for it. They had enough to worry about, for the moment.
"Y-yes, I think so."
"Come on," he said as they struggled to help each other to their feet. He grabbed her arm and slung it over his shoulder, draping his arm in the same fashion behind her neck, and situating himself to support her weight, and she, his. "We won't get anywhere hobbling around like a couple of gimps. It'll be faster like this. Which way?"
"That way," she nodded. "We couldn't have drifted too far, I don't think."
They trudged along the water's edge in total silence. Kagome tried not to focus on Yusuke's proximity and how unusually natural it felt to lean on him like this. Instead, she opted for more important matters, like what might be ahead of them. She hoped the others were alright; she knew that Inuyasha could take care of himself, but that didn't stop her stomach from wrenching into knots or the vise she felt tighten around her heart. She'd never forgive herself if he came to serious harm because of her. She had to know if he'd come out of that building all right, and the longer it took, the more anxious she became. Given their condition, they were making excellent time, but Kagome still feared that they would be too late to be of help. The Gods only knew just how far away they actually were.
"Thanks, by the way."
Kagome started, surprised at the break in their companionable silence. She smiled, knowing that he probably didn't express gratitude that often. "Yeah, you too."
He grinned, and they continued on without any further discussion. Finally, after several long minutes, she could see the pier in the distance.
Suddenly, Yusuke stopped and frowned.
"What's wrong?" Kagome asked, confused.
"What's with the flashing lights?" He answered with a question.
"Well, it's not a parade, I can tell you that," a voice sounded. They both snapped their attention to the speaker, and Kagome sighed in relief. There, on a great slope of giant boulders separating the city from the sea, sat Genkai.
"Genkai, oh thank goodness," Kagome breathed. She dropped her arm from Yusuke's neck then, and hobbled over to the psychic on her own. Aside from the bloody remains of the shirt sleeve bunched in her hand and the open cut across her right cheek she was holding it to, the older woman looked relatively unscathed. However, Kagome could tell by the way she was hunched up that the psychic might be harboring some internal injuries.
"Are you all right? Have you seen Inuyasha?"
"Yeah, Grandma," Yusuke said, his voice still gravelly as he made his way over slowly. "What happened?"
Genkai looked up to regard them both soberly, and Kagome tensed at the look in her eyes.
"We've got a problem."
"Maybe we should wait. He's been acting strangely, far worse than usual. I think he suspects something."
"If he suspects something then that's all the more reason to go on as planned, tomorrow. He only patrols the Southern border once a month — it has to be now. I don't think the pack can handle another month like this."
"I'm scared," she whispered softly.
"I won't let him hurt you, Sakae. I swear it."
"And what about you? Even if you could protect me, could you protect yourself?" She was nervous, pacing. "He'll kill you, if he finds out, Shippou."
A bitter smile. "He'll kill me, anyway."
"It doesn't have to be this way!" She shouted, her voice cracking as she spun to face him. Her eyes were filled with a desperate entreaty, and not for the first time, he felt a sad longing stir in his chest.
"Yes it does," he spoke softly, and just by the way she held herself, he realized that she knew he was right.
"Please," she begged weakly, tears of defeat already welling in her eyes. "Just come with us. I … we … we need you."
He sighed, brushing a stray lock of wavy, black hair behind her ear. Her resemblance to the priestess was superficial, but Shippou could understand what had captured the wolf prince's attention so. The thought pained him more than he let on. He would have never wanted her to be what she wasn't. He would have never shut her away inside that mountain.
But she wasn't his. And she never would be.
"I've secured passage for you and the cubs into the living world. He won't be able to follow you there."
"What of the tribe?" She asked, her voice thick.
"Hakkaku will lead them into the Northern lands. They'll find protection, there. Ayame will not turn them away." It was the only way, he knew. However tolerant the wolves of the East had been, they were an exception to the rule. No other clan would accept a mortal refugee.
"So, that's it?" She asked, her tears falling freely, now. "You're just going to send us all away, and wait here to die?"
"You'll need time to get away."
"Why are you doing this?" She whispered.
He looked away, unable to face her, and swallowed hard. "Do you really need to ask?"
And then her lips were on his, trembling and careless as she made a memory of him. He closed his eyes, his heart crumbling in his chest as he committed the sweet taste of her to remembrance.
But it wasn't sweet at all. He frowned as her warmth turned to something cold and bitter, and he gagged when suddenly it was her blood in his throat. She was there on the ground, her children huddled at her breast, pale and bloodied and terrified even in the stillness of death.
"Gods, Kouga." He breathed, falling to his knees. "What have you done?"
The wolf prince stared back at him, completely remorseless, even with the blood at his mouth and her heart in his hand.
"It was you, who did this, Shippou."
His cold, accusing eyes turned green, and suddenly, Shippou found he was looking back at himself, awash in their blood. He clenched his eyes tightly, weeping in his shame, and when he opened them again, he'd drifted back 500 years in a single breath. It was Kagome lying there, looking back at him with those same unforgiving, sightless eyes — her skin still warm as the heart in his fist.
Shippou sat up suddenly, choking on the scream still hung in his throat. His heart hammered like thunder in his chest, and he fought the urge to be sick on the ground. It was the same image burned into his mind every time he closed his eyes.
"Is everything alright?"
Memories, nightmares ... it didn't really matter; too often, Shippou couldn't tell the difference, anyway.
"Shippou?"
He drew a quivering breath and seemed to come back to himself, then. "Huh?"
The monk was watching him from the fireside, concern etched in his face. "I said, is everything alright?"
The fox looked nonplussed, as though he didn't really know the answer to that particular question. "Uh, yeah I'm just …" he stammered at first, then paused to assert himself. "Yes, I'm fine."
Miroku did not look convinced, but the tone of his voice told the monk he probably shouldn't pry. He smiled, dismissively. "Well, now that you're awake, why don't you join me?"
He seemed to consider the offer a moment before he actually took a seat by the fire. He looked to the mouth of the cave and frowned. "It's still raining," the fox observed.
"Yes," Miroku replied a bit distracted. "I have to wonder if it's a bad omen. Botan said it almost never rains in the spirit world."
Shippou didn't know much about omens one way or another, but he couldn't help but think that any omen on this journey would not be good. He kept these thoughts to himself, opting to let the soothing sound of rainfall and distant thunder fill the gap between them.
Several minutes passed in awkward silence, and Shippou couldn't help but notice how the monk seemed to be preoccupied with the object he was fiddling with. "What have you got there?" He asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
"I don't really know," the monk replied, turning the disc over in the firelight once more before tossing it to him. "Kirara had it when they found us. I had forgotten about it until this morning."
Shippou turned the talisman over in his fingers, slowly feeling the edges and reading the inscription. "It looks familiar," he noted.
"I thought so, too," Miroku replied. "I just can't seem to place it."
Shippou hadn't made it a habit to learn much of holy trinkets or charms, but illusionary tricks and spells were his life. So, he knew precisely what he was talking about when he said, "This spell is unfinished."
Miroku's eyebrows shot up in question. "Unfinished?"
"Well, incomplete. Look at this." He scooted closer to give the monk a better vantage point. "The phrasing is awkward; there's a definitive end, but the beginning is vague, at best. And the invocation doesn't make sense. I've never seen a spell draw upon earthly elements without also calling upon Divine Light. Admittedly, it would work as a simple cloaking hex, but there are much more effective and concise ways to go about it."
"Perhaps it was forged by an amateur?"
The fox looked thoughtful. "I don't think so. Just about anyone can cast a spell, but to bind one to a tangible object, much less forge a magical artifact, takes a great deal of skill. It's not likely that anyone with the ability to do so would slap it together with a half-assed spell. And then there's this," he turned the amulet up on it's edge, letting the fire illuminate four tiny grooves, equidistant along the perimeter. "These are too precise to be inconsequential."
"You think it fits into something else?" Miroku asked, furrowing his brow as he put the pieces together in his mind.
He handed the object in question over to the monk and leaned back against the cave wall, arms propped up behind is head. "I think it's entirely possible," he sighed. "Have you shown this to anyone else?"
"Not yet," he said, tucking the amulet back into the safety of his robes.
"You should show it to Botan in the morning, she might have an idea of where it came from."
The monk's eyes sparkled mischievously. "An excellent idea! Shippou, you are quite the wise man, indeed."
The fox rolled his eyes but couldn't stop the grin from spreading across his face. "You know, you'd probably get a lot further if you would just keep your hands to yourself," he suggested, his voice full of mirth.
Miroku dramatically brought his reprobate hand to rest at his heart, feigning shock. "My intentions are entirely pure, I can assure you. It's this damned cursed hand that dictates —"
Shippou laughed out loud. "You can feed that bullshit to the ladies all you want, but you and I both know better."
The monk smiled outright, dropping his façade. "What can I say? I have a reputation to uphold."
"A reputation? Really?" Shippou chuckled. "And all this time I thought you were just a pervert."
Miroku did not dispute the fact. How could he? Instead he laughed, studying the kitsune from the corner of his eye as he did. He was glad to have the opportunity to spend time with the fox he'd known as a kit. He was different than the monk might have expected; a quiet seriousness hung about him, a hard glint in his eyes. Not for the first time, he wondered just what Shippou's life had been like without them. Inuyasha had mentioned that the kitsune smelled of wolves, and Miroku knew without having to be told that the only wolf tribe that would've possibly taken Shippou in was Kouga's. To be honest, Miroku hadn't particularly liked the wolf prince. However, as he spoke with Shippou in earnest for the first time since their reunion, and as he looked upon the laughing fox now, he couldn't help but think that Kouga — however foolish and stubborn — must have done something right.
"You've grown well, Shippou," he said, suddenly serious. The fox stopped laughing and looked slightly taken aback, though the smile never left his face. "What was it like? Living with the wolves, I mean."
Shippou's expression did not change, though the joy left his eyes. If Miroku noticed, he never said, because at just that moment Kuwabara shot straight to his feet out of a dead sleep and summoned his spirit sword before either of them could even blink.
Startled, they were on their feet in an instant, weapons at the ready. Botan sat up, surprised at the commotion. "What's going on?"
"Something's coming," Kuwabara said, tightening his grip.
Thunder exploded all around them, and the wind began to howl, creeping in through the entrance and extinguishing the fire to leave them in total darkness.
The ground began to quake …