DISCLAIMER: All Inuyasha characters are the creation of, and © to Rumiko Takahashi, and subsequent parties. Full Circle is the creation of my demented mind, and © to Shun'u Hanashiro 2000-2001.
Author's Notes: Italicized text (or //) can indicate private/unvoiced thoughts – or – flashback sequences. Colons [::] indicate insinuated thoughts by another character into one's subconscious. Be forewarned that all of the events prior to tankouban 14 of the manga are up for grabs in this story.
Thanks to everyone's encouraging comments! I love reading your reviews. If any of you ever feel like using AIM, you can contact me that way. Just identify yourself as being an author on ff.net (otherwise I might ignore you ^^;;).
July 2001
F U L L
An Inuyasha Fanfiction
"Sesshoumaru-san! Stop it."
Kagome scrambled to get between youkai and priest. Sesshoumaru ignored Kagome's command and sidestepped to the right to pass her by. With every move he made, Kagome blocked him. She was neither aware of the fact that she was protecting a practical stranger nor of the reasons behind her actions. It was almost instinctive on her part: this defense of the underdog.
As if he had heard her thoughts, Kyosuke complained, "Hey."
"Get out of the way, girl," Sesshoumaru ordered.
Kagome followed his every step as he circled around her to get to the fallen priest. "No way, Sesshoumaru-san. We need him to guide us around this place. Couldn't you please try to get along with him?"
"Kagome-sama-" Kyosuke began only to be rudely cut off.
"I don't need his help," Sesshoumaru stated.
Kagome asked, "Do you even know where we are?"
Kyosuke waved his arms in the air to get their attention.
Sesshoumaru ignored him as per usual. He glared down at Kagome and stubbornly remained silent. He refused to respond to her question.
"See?" Kagome took his silence as agreement with her. She practically glowed with the air of someone who'd just won an argument. She said, "We need him."
Those three words made Kyosuke all warm and fuzzy inside. However, that feeling was dampened by the fact that she was still shielding him as if he were incapable of defending himself against Sesshoumaru. Besides that, he was truly upset at how thoroughly the pair was ignoring him. True, Kagome hadn't given any indication that he was anything more than a traveling companion, but nevertheless it still smarted to be overshadowed by another male. It was a matter of pride. Since he couldn't bring himself to be upset at Kagome, the houshi settled for glaring at Sesshoumaru.
A fact that the youkai immediately picked up on – and the fighting began anew.
Kagome sighed and rubbed her temples. Things would never change…
Part 6: Creepy,
Crawly, Slimy Things
At the very heart of the world in which Sesshoumaru and Kagome had landed, there stood a dilapidated castle constructed of charcoal-gray wood and dark stone. Overrun by untrimmed shrubbery and thick vines, it was obvious at first glance that this place was not maintained with the usual care given to grand estates – for although it was large, the castle gave the appearance of being a haunted place.
Deep within the opaque darkness its walls created, there was an elderly woman with brittle iron-gray hair and wrinkled skin that fell in folds about her round face. Her back was hunched, as if a great weight were constantly upon it. Yet, despite these signs of advanced age, her shriveled claw-like hands were steady as she stirred a brew within an iron pot, and her hazel eyes were bright with intelligence. The brew itself was indistinguishable in its vessel. All that could be seen was the vapor that drifted from its steaming surface in swirls that dissipated into chilly morning air.
The woman was alone as she gazed deep into the pot.
Naraku-sama, why is this girl so important to you? She
watched as Kagome traveled with her companions over ever-changing land,
steadily drawing closer to her castle. And if my old eyes do not deceive me,
that is Lord Sesshoumaru with her… and that Houshi whose family you cursed.
What gods have you angered, Naraku-sama?
Gathering her gray robes, the old woman stood on creaking limbs and made halting progress to a hanging scroll within the room. Pushing the scroll aside revealed a niche within the wall that contained a small lacquered box of black and gold. Steady fingers deftly flicked the lock open and pulled out a rose colored stone vial. The old woman held the ends of the vial between index finger and thumb, tipping it both ways before up righting it again and pulling the red stopper out. Contained within the vial was an amber liquid that glowed with its own light. She sniffed at it, briefly catching the sweet scent of the poison before she sealed the vial again.
I will do your bidding, Naraku-sama. She closed tired eyes. But I do not think that you will come away unscathed this time.
She murmured into the quiet morning. "Some battles are better left unsought."
**********
"The Gray Witch is an old wise woman who lives at the heart of this world," Kyosuke was explaining to Kagome. "She is said to have some sort of witch or priestess power, and is supposedly the oldest living being in this world. If anyone, she would be the one to seek for answers…"
Sesshoumaru half listened to the Houshi's voice drone on. They had been traveling together for nearly a week now, and only recently did Kyosuke remember about the old witch – a fact that Sesshoumaru made a mental note to *discuss* with Kyosuke at a later time. When they were alone. Ever since that first night's violence they had reluctantly declared a truce at Kagome's behest. She had made a sound argument. They all wanted to escape this world, and it would be to their mutual benefit to work together instead of allowing personality conflicts to slow their progress. Of course both Kyosuke and Sesshoumaru wanted nothing more than to kill each other, but they had reluctantly agreed to disagree: Kyosuke agreed not to make untoward advances on Kagome, and Sesshoumaru agreed not to kill him. Not even accidentally. Which was a great compromise on his part.
As a result, their progress was much swifter as they made their way across the land. However, the strain was beginning to wear on all of them since neither Kyosuke nor Sesshoumaru would speak to each other directly; Kagome had to act as messenger between them even when it was obvious that they could hear each other fine. This resulted in Kagome's temper wearing thin to the point where she wished aloud that she had prayer beads for the both of them. Sesshoumaru had to admire the fact that she was so composed in the face of his own mercurial temper. And although it did not change his low opinion of the human species in the least, it did make his estimation of Kagome rise in proportion to the amount of time he spent in her company.
**********
"Are you sure this is going to work, Miroku?" The dubious expression on Inuyasha's face made it clear that he did not think so.
"Of course, Inuyasha," Miroku cheerfully slapped the hanyou on his back and grinned confidently. "You should have more faith in me."
Inuyasha snorted. He was still doubtful, but Miroku seemed so sure, and there weren't any other options available to them. Besides, Kikyou wouldn't have given this scroll to us without a reason…
::Maybe the reason is to send you to your death.::
"Shut up, Naraku."
::What makes you think that Kikyou would want to *help* you?::
Of course, Naraku's interference cinched his decision. Inuyasha might have been a hot-tempered violent hanyou, but he was not by any means stupid.
"You only say that because you know that this is the answer to saving Kagome, Naraku." He smirked and stated confidently, "You don't want me to go."
Even across the incorporeal distance, he could smell his enemy's displeasure. Inuyasha gave Miroku his answer. "Let's do it, Miroku. Use the Air Rip to send me into this other dimension."
**********
"Damn you, Kikyou." Naraku released a scream of frustration as he threw a harmless vase into the wall, sending it to the netherworld of porcelain, wherever that might have been. "If you hadn't given them that scroll…"
Shoving himself to his feet, Naraku paced the confines of his lavish, over-decorated chamber. His plans were falling apart. Little by little, the unexpected interferences of various people were ruining his careful plotting. His play was so carefully thought out. But the actors weren't keeping to their roles. First Sesshoumaru, then Inuyasha and Kikyou. And that damned Houshi! Naraku paced faster. I have to calm down. Breathe, Naraku, breathe. He slowed his pacing. He still had one surprise left.
**********
What is this? The old woman started as she watched Naraku's image appear to her.
"Obaba," Naraku called her.
She stifled her irritation at the insulting name he had cursed her with even as a young woman. "Yes, Naraku-sama?"
"There has been a change in plans."
The old woman known in the Gray Dimension as The Gray Witch kept her head bowed as she rolled her eyes heavenward. "What is it that you wish for me to do, Naraku-sama?"
**********
Shippou watched Inuyasha and Miroku as they cleared a large area in front of the forest free of people and farm animals. Behind him villagers were gathered and talking amongst themselves. He heard snippets of conversations, all of them excited, but more than he expected were very respectful of Inuyasha. Kagome's name was mentioned often.
He still couldn't believe it. Naraku's deception was expected, but the fact that he was able to pull off what he had… Shippou felt angry and helpless, useless. It didn't matter that he was younger, or smaller, or less powerful than the others. He still should have been able to do *something* to help Kagome. Anything but sit around and wait for something to happen. It made him feel like that time he had fought with the Lightning Brothers: powerless.
**********
"Inuyasha."
"What is it, Kaede-baba?"
"Do you think this is a wise decision?"
Inuyasha looked down from his favorite branch, where he had been gathering his thoughts before going to Miroku, who could in all possibility be sending him to his death. Hell no, he wasn't sure of anything. "Course not." He jumped to the ground and started towards where Miroku was waiting. Kaede followed. "But it's our best chance to save Kagome."
"And your brother." She was an old woman who had lived long by human standards, and seen much. It was apparent that Inuyasha had unresolved business with his older brother. There were more skeletons in *that* particular closet than Kikyou and Kagome had together. But then, Inuyasha had always had a great capacity for denial.
The hanyou snorted. "Sesshoumaru has always been able to take care of himself. He needs help from no one."
Was it just her old mind playing tricks on her, or was there grudging respect in Inuyasha's tone? She decided to ask, "Do you suppose that your brother saved Kagome?"
A slight stiffening of the neck and pause mid-step indicated that Inuyasha did not like her question. "Feh, who knows what that cold-blooded bastard would have done?"
"But do you think that he would have helped her?"
"If he felt like it." Inuyasha looked at her over his shoulder. Fleeting sadness flashed in his golden eyes. "You're asking the wrong person, Kaede-baba. I've never been able to understand Sesshoumaru's motives."
Kaede listened to his fading footsteps until he was no longer visible. She leaned heavily on her cane, having felt more and more of her advanced years in these last few days, as she returned to her humble home. Like Shippou, all she could do was wait. Only the passage of time would tell whether or not Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha were to ever resolve past differences. She hoped that Kagome-chan was safe.
**********
"Um, who do you think should go in first?" Kagome asked.
They had finally arrived at the castle that was said to be the abode of The Gray Witch. Like her name, the castle was also gray. Every stone, every tile, even down to the wood that formed the castle's structure, everything was gray. It gave Kagome the creeps. Nothing good could live in such drab and colorless conditions.
Kyosuke decided that this was the perfect time for him to show her how courageous he was. Besides that, he didn't want her to go in first, as there was no telling what kind of creature this witch could be. He might have heard of her, but he had certainly never met her in person before. "I will, Kagome-sama."
"Kagome, tell this fallen monk that we wouldn't want to ruin our chances with the witch because of his offensive behavior." Sesshoumaru was in one of his difficult moods.
"Care to say that to my face, pretty-boy?"
"Stop it, you two." Kagome wasn't really paying attention to them. She had a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was as if someone were watching from the shadows… And that someone reeked of Naraku.
"Do you sense it too?" Sesshoumaru asked her. It never failed to amaze him: her power of perception. He had already felt the dark energy well before reaching their destination, but had refrained from saying anything, as it would not have helped matters for them to worry ahead of time. Apparently his efforts were for nothing.
It was Kyosuke who said what they were all thinking. "Naraku's taint."
"No," Kagome said, "not really Naraku."
"Then what is it?" The houshi asked.
"One of his children," she said.
**********
Miroku was having misgivings. It was easy enough to say that sending Inuyasha into another dimension to save Kagome could be done. Truth was he could very well be sending Inuyasha to his death. And though they had their differences and could by no means be called best of friends, still, they were friends. There was mutual respect and shared battles between them – not to mention Kagome. Miroku didn't want to think of her reaction if she were to ever return and find out about the gamble they had taken to save her. After all these months he understood her well enough to know that she would not have wanted them to endanger themselves for her sake.
And so it was with a heavy heart that Miroku prepared to send his friend into the Air Rip.
**********
"Ready?" Inuyasha asked.
Miroku nodded and straightened from his leaning position against a tree. "Sure. Whenever you are."
Shippou looked from one solemn face to the next. "You're both crazy."
Inuyasha tweaked his tail. "Go back to the village, Shippou. And tell everyone else to stay away too." Ears flat against his head, Shippou did as he was told. "You can come out now, Kikyou."
"Why did you wait until now to call me out, Inuyasha?"
Red and white robes were bright against a backdrop of blue sky and green trees.
"I didn't want Shippou to get caught in the crossfire."
"Do you care about him so much?" Kikyou stopped short of Miroku and Inuyasha. Too far away to be a threat, but close enough to hold their attention: to make them wary. Inuyasha didn't bother to answer her rhetorical question. She already knew the answer anyhow. Kikyou smiled. "You've changed, Inuyasha. I don't know if I should thank my reincarnation, or curse her."
Miroku shifted. "What is it that you came here for, Priestess?" Being around Kikyou made him edgy. She reeked of death.
Kikyou continued to stare at Inuyasha. "You need to be careful in the void, Inuyasha. It can drive you insane with its negative energy. Protect yourself."
"How?"
"You need to shield your mind."
"How?"
This surprised Kikyou. "Do you mean to say that you don't know how to shield yourself from mental attacks?"
Inuyasha was frustrated by her roundabout speech. "Kikyou!"
"Fine." She frowned. It was the first change in her expression since she had revealed herself to them, as that smile had only been the barest twitch of her lips. "Since you don't know how, I will explain it to you. There are certain aspects to each living creature: body, mind, most importantly spirit. Your body you can nourish and protect by eating and taking care of it. Your spirit is an incorporeal essence and it cannot be harmed under normal conditions. Even if your body were destroyed, your spirit would continue to exist outside of the body and in many cases can be reborn into another body. As for your mind, it is like your spirit because it is intangible, but unlike your spirit, it *can* be harmed. Insane people have had their minds shattered or twisted. They were unable to protect themselves mentally. To do this, you need to believe in yourself, Inuyasha. Take that spiritual power and wrap it around yourself, let it shield your mind while in the void."
While Inuyasha was busy absorbing what she had divulged, Kikyou moved to leave. Inuyasha's softly spoken question did not make her turn around, but she did answer him. "Like I said before, Inuyasha. I will be the one who kills you. I can't have you dying by accident in the void, now, can I?"
Miroku was more than a little perturbed. "Love is a mysterious thing, isn't it Inuyasha?"
"Don't be an idiot. She hates me, Miroku."
"Could have fooled me." The houshi couldn't resist poking Inuyasha a little. "Although, I can't blame you for being scared of the way she shows her affection."
"Shut-up, Houshi. We have work to do."
"Yeah, yeah." The lighthearted words had worked to ease their tension, and with Kikyou's timely warning, Miroku was less worried about Inuyasha's journey into the Air Rip. He removed the sealing prayer beads from his cursed right hand. "Ready?"
"Sure." Inuyasha hoped that he sounded confident.
It was too late to turn back.
The Air Rip felt like it was named. First there was nothing but an unnatural stillness. Then gusts of wind gathered strength with at a terrifying speed until they ravaged and tore at his clothes, twisting them about him. His long, white hair whipped into his face with enough force to sting his eyes before he had opportunity to close them. Experiencing this, it made him angry all over again that Kagome had had to face this alone.
Or not.
He remembered that last glimpse he had of his brother; Sesshoumaru had been caught by surprise, but he had remained calm and sheltered Kagome with a gentleness that Inuyasha had not thought him capable of. Thinking on this as he was sucked into possible death, Inuyasha faced the fact that Sesshoumaru was not all that he appeared to be. It was a bitter pill to swallow. He did not want to let go of the anger that had made him strong. Letting that go would mean that he was wrong all of that time, and that he had ostracized his only family.
**********
"The thought of Naraku with children is very unpalatable, Kagome-sama."
For once, Sesshoumaru had to agree with the houshi, though he loathed doing so.
Kagome said, "Naraku creates these youkai and controls them. I'm not quite sure how he does so, but we've already faced quite a few of them and they're formidable."
"Are they absolutely loyal to Naraku?"
"…I'm not sure…"
"No," Sesshoumaru said. Kagome looked at him. It was eerie how she didn't even have to ask her question before he knew what it was. That worried him. "In order for them to be effective tools, they must be able to think on their own, to be able to make decisions when a situation gets out of hand. It goes to follow that Naraku does not control them completely."
"Then we have an opportunity," Kyosuke surmised. He forgot about their silent war in his contemplation of the problem at hand.
"Aa."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Kagome asked.
"I'll go ahead," Kyosuke offered. "Kagome-sama, you stay between us. That way if there's danger, you'll be protected."
Kagome was miffed. It wasn't like she was helpless. She still had her bow and quiver, and she had improved a lot over the past few months. The descent of Sesshoumaru's hand on her shoulder broke through her escalating frustration.
"It is best this way. You have a long-range weapon that is better used in open spaces. We will be enclosed in the castle where you'll be at a disadvantage."
"I suppose," she grudgingly admitted. "But I still don't have to like it."
He nudged her forward before saying, "I didn't expect you would."
It took a moment for the connotations of his statement to process through her mind.
"Mou! Sesshoumaru-san!"
**********
Sparse.
Functional.
The castle was devoid of anything even remotely pleasing to the eye. It was like someone had sucked all vitality and color out of the compound, leaving only a gray and lifeless skeleton. Sesshoumaru detested the place on sight. Contrary to Kagome's opinion, he enjoyed beauty and was fully capable of appreciating it. It was just that his sense of aesthetics differed from the norm; he didn't need something to be gilded in gold for him to value it. One look at Tenseiga made that clear. Its hilt bound in weather-beaten leather, and saya a muted crimson; there was nothing notable about the katana except for its razor sharp edge and power to bring back the dead. Then there was also Tetsusaiga.
They were beautiful; this castle was not.
Sesshoumaru found himself avoiding touch with anything within the castle. Dark energy practically crawled its walls. Little tendrils of it reached out to brush his sleeve. He glared at them. And discovered that they withdrew before contact… which meant that they were sentient at least on a basic level. He didn't want to, but he had to warn Kyosuke if for no other reason than to protect Kagome.
"Houshi."
"What is it, pretty-boy? Can't you tell that I'm busy?"
Busy at what? Sesshoumaru scowled at the monk's back. "Stop flirting and do something useful." It hadn't escaped him that Kyosuke was closer to Kagome than absolutely necessary.
Kyosuke was arrested by his tone. Sesshoumaru actually sounded concerned. He looked back at the youkai lord and asked seriously, "What's the matter?"
"Don't touch anything you don't have to. There's a miasma all over the walls."
"So I noticed." Kyosuke showed him a stack of wards in his left hand. "I haven't been dropping these things all over the place for no reason, you know."
Kagome forestalled a potential argument. "It isn't like Naraku's miasma, is it," she said rhetorically. "This is almost alive."
"Yeah," Kyosuke agreed. "And it really likes *you*, Kagome-sama."
"What?"
"It's her power," Sesshoumaru said. "She's attracting it."
Kagome shuddered. "That's so disgusting!"
It hadn't occurred to her that whatever was causing the creepy tingling between her shoulder blades *liked* her. Now all she could think about was oily fingers touching her skin. Horror movies and anime with tentacle bearing monsters flashed through her mind. She had always had a secret fear of slimy wriggly things, but had never been faced with them in real life before other than little worms and the occasional slug. Lost in her worst nightmare come true, Kagome missed what was happening between her companions.
Sesshoumaru and Kyosuke shared a look – more of a glare, but still a look. Kagome didn't even notice their little battle for male dominance; she was very busy trembling and swiping at imagined fingers.
"Why don't you keep leading the way, Houshi?"
"Certainly, pretty-boy." Kyosuke was way too agreeable. "You'll watch our backs, won't you? I'll just lead Kagome-sama ahead."
"It would be better if she stays behind you. That way your little wards will be well in place before she has to pass through."
"Yes, I'm sure these wards will work better at dispelling the miasma than you can. Which is why she should stay with me."
"You can't even see it, can you? What use would the wards be if you could only sense a vague danger, and not know precisely where the danger is coming from?"
"I see what you mean. However, if she were with you, then we wouldn't know which is the danger, the castle or you, would we?"
Lines were drawn, and the argument would have degenerated from there, if it weren't for Kagome's scream and subsequent actions. While they had been busy bickering, Kagome's panic had grown by leaps and bounds. What caused her to shriek was the sensation of a hand sliding from the nape of her neck down her spine.
"Get it off of me, get it off!" she cried. "This place is *so* gross."
Kyosuke didn't know how it happened. One moment Kagome was hopping up and down and screaming, the next she was hugging onto the youkai lord with enough force that Sesshoumaru looked like he was about to topple over. And to make it all worse he, Kyosuke, had been nearer to her at the time.
Suddenly he couldn't wait to get going. "I'll lead. Watch for any stray miasma." He didn't wait to see how Sesshoumaru was calming Kagome down.
"For intruders, you are very noisy."
Kyosuke froze.
[End Chapter 6]
Author's Notes:
Sorry to everyone who wanted to know how the sleeping arrangements would be settled. This way you can imagine whatever resolution your hearts desire. ^_~
Hope that there was more action in this chapter than the last. I
really don't like writing chapters with little progress in the storyline, but
the last was necessary for Kyosuke. Although I'm not a great supporter of
inserting original characters into fanfics to play major roles, I like to put
them in when they support the original cast without affecting the existing
relationships (or those created by me ^^) too greatly.
Definitions:
… I'm getting lazy about definitions. There weren't too many in this section (I'm trying to avoid them) and anything used in here should have already been explained in earlier chapters.