Dying to Live
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.
"FUCK!" Sesshomaru cursed as on every side of him the villagers pushed. Packed in close with them like sticks of incense tightly packed together in a canister, there was nowhere to go. Tsukiko cried uncontrollably as she got flattened against Sesshomaru's side. Her plain, moonlike face was barely visible in the crowd due to her height; the boy, her brother Kei, was too short - he had been drowned in the ensuing mayhem.
The former Lord of the West's eyes burned and watered from the billowing smoke. At last, he could see that they approached the gap in the wall where the horses had busted through what felt like an eon ago at this point. The dumb gits behind Sesshomaru pushed harder still, so that they neared the exit faster. He could hear shouting now, and recognized the voices of the kitsune and the slayer. His nasal passages and throat stung with irritation, and he almost couldn't keep his eyes open. Thankfully, cool air whispered on his face that he would soon cross the threshold to escape the building.
Impatient, Sesshomaru gave a snarl, and the ex-demon elbowed an old man who tried to cut front of him. Stepping from the building on his own, he gained some space to reach around. He turned and thrust Tsukiko followed by her little brother into the arms of the glamorized kitsune, who stood with his arms reached out beside the building to offer help. Pathetic, Sesshomaru thought to himself as the village girl literally collapsed into Shippou.
"Sesshomaru!" the kitsune said stepping back with the senselessly weeping Tsukiko still bundled up in front of him. Kei cowered at her side, face hidden in his sister's skirt. "Sesshomaru, what's happened inside? These people are practically out of their minds with fear, we can't figure out what's burning now."
"What wouldn't be burning, you fool!?" Sesshomaru thundered. Still taller than Shippou by a foot, the former demon lord leaned his face down into the kitsune's. "Some idiot took down the torch from the wall and threw it in the hay. The wood of the structure is surely catching now – didn't you see the smoke!?" he asked, spit flying from his mouth causing the youkai to cringe.
"Yes, that would explain it. Maybe if we can get everyone out in a minute, we can try to save the building," Shippou replied letting Tsukiko down to the ground like a limp noodle, so he could go back to help others.
"Wait," Sesshomaru clutched the fox's haori sleeve. "Where is Rin?"
Shippou started to answer, "What do you mean? She wasn't by you inside? She should've come out by n-"
"You mean she might not be out yet?" Sesshomaru shouted, dragging Shippou to him despite the difference in their inherent strengths at this point. Shippou's eyes widened at Sesshomaru's still impressive grip.
"I don't know!" Shippou answered frantically. The tip of Sesshomaru's pointed nose was almost touching his own.
"Hn! BAKA!" the former demon spat. "We have to find her!"
Spinning on the crowd emerging from the building, Sesshomaru roared: "GET OUT OF MY WAY!" He jammed his hands into the group to shove them aside.
"You crazy! Aho! Let us out!" An old man shoulder checked him with the force of two other villagers pushing him from behind. Sesshomaru stumbled backward and awkwardly landed with a thud on his backside in a very un-Sesshomaru-like way, before quickly pushing back up to stand with a growl.
"Sesshomaru, it's no use – there can't be many more people inside now. Help me pull them out, and we should see Rin come through soon!" Shippou called to his irate companion. The fox had returned to help people out while others glared at the enraged young man with the slate-grey hair.
The former demon lord didn't have a choice: the kitsune was right. Glowering, Sesshomaru stormed up beside Shippou. Roughly, with both hands, he yanked a man out by the front of his collar before instantly reaching in to angrily grab another woman by her sleeve.
:
Rin had never sweated like this before. Her clothes clung to her body like another skin as she lay flattened to the dirt floor, which had turned hot like baking clay. She had tripped, as the people around her began to rush after the far side of the village hall crashed in. Several people stepped hard on her hands and feet, unable to see her downed in the crowd. The villagers packed so close together in their panic, there was no room for Rin to get up. She cried out in pain and fear, but no one could hear her over all the screaming.
She found herself pushed back into the smoke thickening at the back of the hall. Tears slid down Rin's cheeks, as smoke encircled and choked her like a thick cloud. It had been a quite a while since she could see clearly. The increasing heat and diminishing number of villagers told her that she was not getting closer to the exit though she tried to crawl around. Fright threatened to freeze her, but the girl tried to keep moving in case she might find her way out, when suddenly her foot knocked against something soft.
Flesh.
Rin gasped at the touch of it against her ankle. Was it a person or one of the animals? Dead or alive?
A fit of coughing overcame her, and she accidentally inhaled smoke. Despite wheezing, she managed to crane her body around to see what she had touched. Was someone else still trapped inside with her?
But it was no use – her eyes flooded with burning tears. The fire flared brightly, while the smoke overwhelmed her senses.
She couldn't see as the ash-blackened hand darted forth.
Rin shrieked in terror, and the fingers closed instantly in a crushing, iron grasp around her ankle. Her mind reeled, as her leg ached under the grip though she shook the limb hoping to be unhanded. She clawed at the ground under her and dragged her assailant with her. Crushing her watering eyes against her sleeve, she fought for another look.
In the hot, orange, flickering light, soot smeared arms emerged followed by a crooked gaping smile.
Am I hallucinating this? Rin's thoughts spun. Who would be laughing in a situation like this?
The smoke drifted and played with the visibility. The dirty, sweat-stained visage of the highway trader's daughter emerged from the dark veil of smoke. Though the look in her eyes remained dull despite the way she stared directly into Rin's terrified face, the girl's lips remained curled into a mad smile that froze Rin on the spot.
With horror, Rin's heart hammered against her chest, as she fought to shake the girl's grip away again. She felt ill and faint, as she failed to free herself. The blaze heightened, and the air seemed to glow and grow thin.
Coherent thought blurred in Rin's mind. The rasping chant barely registered, as by relief, unconsciousness claimed her.
"Burn. Burn. Burn."
::
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN NONE OF YOU HAVE SEEN HER YET?!" Sesshomaru raged outside the hole in the wall of the village hall. "All the people are out here, aren't they? Where is she?"
They had just pulled the last visible villager from the building when Sesshomaru had reached across and yanked Shippou viciously toward him again, shaking the youth senseless.
"I-I d-don't know!" Shippou answered as quickly as he could. The jostling chattered his canines together distractingly between words. It was a first for the kitsune to see this vastly more emotive side of the human Sesshomaru, and so far it reminded him distinctly of an angrier than normal Inuyasha...
Several of the villagers backed away from where Sesshomaru harangued their handsome though battleworn and bedraggled young hero. They released a collective of scared gasps when, with a magic poof, Shippou's fluffy tail popped into sight while the rest of his glamour remained. Kohaku immediately rushed over from where he had just finished assisting a faint, older woman to the ground.
"Hey! What's going on here?" Kohaku interjected, roughly pushing Sesshomaru off his friend.
"It's Rin-" Shippou breathed, adjusting his collar and relieved to be released.
"He said he didn't see her come out!" Sesshomaru snapped then railed in Shippou's direction again.
"What – she didn't come out with you?" Kohaku replied in shock to Sesshomaru.
"NO!" Sesshomaru shouted bitterly, drawing confused looks from Kohaku and Shippou. Why he would not look after his long time companion was beyond them. In fact it was starting to annoy Kohaku now. Rin had only been sweet and nice since he had begun getting to know her, and this guy's behavior honestly... He's such a jerk.
Collecting himself, Kohaku stepped forward carefully, hands out and palms down in a gesture for calmness. "Okay, it seems like she did not come out. There could be other people trapped inside with her." Kohaku gestured to a pair of young boys standing not far away: "Oi! You two, go to the villagers forming the bucket brigade from the village well, and bring me two buckets of water – go quickly, run!", he shouted, and the boys took off at a sprint.
"Shippou, give me one of your handkerchiefs from your sleeve please," Kohaku turned to his friend, who quickly handed him a red and yellow polka-dotted square of fabric.
"What about Rin?" Sesshomaru questioned angrily once again, watching as the young demon slayer tied two corners of the fabric behind his neck. Kohaku noticed out of the corner of his eye as the boys were already approaching at a careful trot with the two buckets.
"She could still be in there. One of us needs to go in immediately and look for any more survivors before the integrity of the building worsens at all," Kohaku replied as evenly as possible. Though he was scared, the plan was coming together in his mind, and he knew exactly what he needed to do.
"Damn you to hell!" Sesshomaru cursed and gestured pointedly at Shippou. "This is what I wanted to do before, and this one told me to wait!
"Forget it, I will go in-" the former demon lord pronounced angrily. He started to push aside Kohaku, who had just stepped purposely into the long-haired man's way.
"No. You will not," Kohaku replied firmly and blocked Sesshomaru's way, a difficult task since the other man was also broader and nearly half a foot taller than Kohaku.
Sesshomaru looked ready to explode: "You dare to stop m-?"
The former lord's imperious question died instantly, as Kohaku stepped into Sesshomaru's immediate space and grasped him deftly by the shoulder. In a flash, a rapid sucker punch to the larger man's gut doubled him over.
Though it was not at all an appropriate time to gloat, Kohaku's eyebrows peaked, as he watched his pompous companion drop to his knees and reflexively wretch. Sesshomaru's face had to be practically in the dirt he was so low to the ground. Kohaku knew it was a hard punch for sure, and he had captured the element of surprise. It would take a few moments even for a man like Sesshomaru to recover from that. Shippou moved toward Sesshomaru. The gesture was a bit half-hearted though, considering how Inuyasha's brother had just treated the the kitsune.
"Shippou, stay with him – don't let him enter the building for anything. Call Ginta and Hakkaku to help you restrain him, if you must," Kohaku said, as he threw the two buckets of cold water over himself, drenching his body, hair, and demon slayer's armor. He hoped the thick layers of demonic blood, sweat and water were enough to drench the pine sap repellant mixture that he'd applied to himself hours before.
"Kohaku! Wait, let me go in! I'm not human – I will be ok-," Shippou argued, seeing what his friend was about to do.
"No, Shippou, stay here with Sesshomaru," Kokaku commanded calmly. He did not know what it was, yet watching his brother-in-law's behavior with the man told him it would not be wise to let Sesshomaru out of their sight at a time like this. Not to mention, the slayer knew all too well that the ex-demon had great potential for suicidal behavior. No, time was of the essence, and the slayer felt that if anyone could save Rin, it would be himself.
"And you can help sense if the possessed wolves come back," Kohaku added. Understanding, Shippou nodded determinedly. Sesshomaru remained on the ground. His thick slate-hewed hair curtained his face, blocking his expression, though Kohaku imagined he was furious. He would surely make his displeasure known later.
No more time to think though – Rin needs help, Kohaku told himself. Pulling Shippou's dampened handkerchief over his hair and fastening his demon slayer's poison filtration face mask over his nose and mouth, Kohaku dashed bravely into the dark smoke of the burning village hall.
:::
Note: Oh, the lack of control over the situation is not wearing well on the nerves of our poor, impatient Sesshomaru. But Kohaku's definitely getting to show his stuff! Having some fun playing with this new dynamic between them, if you can't tell.
Dupa Lipa - Thanks for the reviews! Glad that my OC Tsukiko is bringing out some strong feelings! Whatever readers feel about her, agreed, she has unfortunately been physically in the way.
Yuri-Ishtar – I appreciate such a nice review as well – hadn't considered AO3 before! Glad you are liking the little bits of Japanese. I like when writers include some of the characters' native language in literature. Hopefully, it's fun to learn something new together or makes a treat for those who already know some of the language.
Thanks for those of you who have followed/fav'd too! You all are the best, readers!
Peace and Happy Thanksgiving to those of you in the States! Origamikungfu.