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.
Thank you to everyone who has been encouraging me to write this story. It has been long delayed due to recent major changes in my life, of which include moving to Japan. ^_^ You guys are great!
December 2001
F U L L • C I R C L E
An Inuyasha Fanfiction
By Shun'u Hanashiro
Have you ever experienced déjà vu?
Say you wake up one morning and go about your daily routine. There's nothing really different about it except for those little incidences that separate one day from the next – events that you don't normally notice on a conscious level. Maybe the toothpaste tastes wrong because you accidentally bought the wrong brand, or maybe the eggs aren't done quite right. Whatever it is, *something* is different. Then comes afternoon, and suddenly you're struck with the absolute, unshakable knowledge that everything you've done has been completed before.
No, it isn't just about brushing your teeth in the morning, or eating the same breakfast and lunch. It's about the feeling that every exchange of courtesies, every encounter with another person, every incident that makes one day unique from the other 364 and keeps it from blending in with the rest, has been done before and in the exact same way.
As if time were frozen and set to rewind with each stroke of midnight so that you would be cursed to repeat a single day over and over again.
F U L L • C I R C L E
An Inuyasha Fanfiction
By Shun'u Hanashiro
Part 9: Family Reunions Are a Necessary Evil
Inuyasha was having one of those days.
From the moment Miroku sent him tumbling through the Air Rip into the tedious hours of searching that followed, Inuyasha ran across one too many familiar creatures. It felt as though he was seeing ghosts. Phantoms of old enemies that had demonic faces, bestial faces, ugly, pretty, commonplace faces. None of which would have mattered one whit to him except for the inconvenient fact that they were alive.
That is to say that most of them were alive. He couldn't discount the bodies. Whole or partial, newly dead or already well beyond rigor mortis and decomposing, they littered the grayish realm he had been cast into and singed the air with their stench – rotting or otherwise. After all, demons weren't exactly reputed for their hygiene. With only a few rare exceptions, Inuyasha couldn't think of many who cleaned their bodies on a regular basis.
He would have been happier if they were all in some atrophic state or another. As it were, progress was severely hindered by frequent scuffles with minor demons that just couldn't seem to understand that he was in a hurry; and no, he didn't care about them or their grudges. The little buggers were constantly hounding him with their petty revenge. Damn it, but he had a girl to rescue. What did it take to get that point across?
Which brought to mind another worry. Had Kagome been forced to fight off these demons too? Treading close on the heels of that thought, he wondered if Sesshoumaru had allowed her to be hurt. If memory served right, more than a healthy dose of those bodies had been victim to his brother's poisonous claws. Shredded flesh incongruously dusted with the light floral scent of Sesshoumaru's distinctive poison had been more or less a signature, leaving an easy trail for Inuyasha to follow. The arrogance of Sesshoumaru never failed to amaze him.
Inuyasha growled and stepped up his already high-velocity sprint across blurring terrain. Breath coming in even puffs, a second wind refreshing limbs tired from a night's worth of constant travel and a week's worth of worry, Inuyasha separated mind from body as he opened a long neglected doorway and plunged headlong into the unsolved puzzle his half-brother posed. For as far back as Inuyasha could remember the inner workings of Sesshoumaru's mind had been a mystery to him. How many times in the past had he attempted to unravel those tangled skeins? Gaining for his trouble nothing but skull-splitting headaches that left him out of sorts and snapping at innocent people without provocation.
Many a time the violent rampages of his youth had been caused by that very frustration. Then again, anything even remotely related to Sesshoumaru never failed to have an adverse affect on his temper. It seemed that they were fated to rub each other the wrong way. Maybe one of them had been a cat in a previous life while the other a dog, and ever since then their karmas were trapped in a never-ending cycle of hostility, set to rewind with each new lifetime.
Inuyasha ran beneath the jagged shade cast by a copse of trees. Speckled across the murky dimension were spots that had sharper definition than the rest. Only in these areas was Inuyasha able to find the flora and fauna that proved life and death truly did exist in this place; other than that, he was immersed in a melting world. How anyone could make heads or tails of it, he didn't know.
He came to a dust kicking halt on the outskirts of yet another plot of semi-habitable land after having followed the trail of bloody bodies. His spine tingled and he cautiously sniffed. There were four distinct scents. Three of them were familiar. Disturbingly commingled were the scents of midnight and sandalwood, and sunlight and wildflowers. In the periphery of those combined fragrances was the musk of a human he did not know. He had been following those three all night. Then, immediately within that area, there was Naraku's offspring.
Inuyasha grimaced in distaste. Of course Naraku's offspring would be around; he should have known. Away from Naraku's poisonous interference and alone with his thoughts, Inuyasha had no choice but to acknowledge the patent evidence presented to him. At this point where gray castle stood crumbling amidst knotted green limbs of vegetation, Inuyasha admitted that he had been manipulated into a clever trap by his nemesis. For that was the truth of the matter – Kagome had not been frightened of Sesshoumaru on that day, and for once his brother had not been seeking a fight. He had only retaliated in kind when provoked, much to Inuyasha's belated chagrin.
Which left Inuyasha to brood over the how comes and whatnots of recent events. Last he recalled Kagome had not been chummy with Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha knew without a doubting bone in his body that Kagome had been more wary about his blood relative than any other enemy they had ever encountered. Including Naraku. Which said a lot about her apprehension of Sesshoumaru.
So why? Kagome was impetuous, but never to the point of risking her life, and absolutely never the lives of her friends and family; she was kind and compassionate, but she was not foolhardy.
So… What had he missed? And when?
**********
Inuyasha eyed the looming monstrosity with something akin to revulsion, and weighed his options with care. He could sneak in; which was the wiser, but ultimately inefficient course without firsthand knowledge of the castle's floor plan. He could always barge in with claws at the ready. This second option was definitely his style, but he decided that it would more likely get him decapitated than not once he recalled that he didn't have Tetsusaiga in hand as an added defense. Or – and this was not something that he really considered to be a choice – he could patiently wait for Sesshoumaru to seek him out.
If there was one characteristic that they shared, it was the love of a good, muscle bruising, bone shattering, and no holds barred brawl... Inuyasha's higher cerebral faculties, overstrained from too little rest in too long of time, came to a sputtering halt.
Now where had that little piece of enlightenment come from?
It was a good thing that Inuyasha was immediately absorbed in this newfound puzzle. Had he been in the right frame of mind, Inuyasha would have noticed that the sounds his brain was making sounded a lot like Jaken at his blubbering worst. And *that* might just have been enough to make Inuyasha cry.
**********
Kyosuke swatted at hovering Saimyoushou in great annoyance. The winged critters that had tormented him in many a battle against Naraku were buzzing loudly and acting as if an electrical current were running through their ranks. Agitated? What an understatement. He crushed a particularly annoying one that was presumptuous enough to land on his shoulder. With the re-emergence of the swarming Saimyoushou Kyosuke knew that Naraku was nearby. It was only a matter of time before the hanyou would make his appearance. Time, place and opportunity – Naraku would be sure to take advantage of whatever situation came up.
It was barely morning. The golden sun had not yet fully woken from his daily slumber to crest the ubiquitous flat horizon. There was a palpable energy in the moist air that hinted at something big. Today, something nearly apocalyptic in immensity would happen. And what, might one ask, was a hedonistic creature such as Kyosuke doing awake and watchful in the wee hours of dawn? Why, waiting of course.
Destiny did not wait for the slothful. Revenge was long overdue.
**********
It was going to be a stormy day back in the village protected by the magical aura of Inuyasha's forest. Unrest was in the air; lightning crashed and wreaked havoc in the darkening skies as thunder rumbled its displeasure. Suspicious villagers congregated in the larger homes, seeking comfort and refuge amongst each other. Cooking more than customary. Drinking more than wise. It made little difference if a person didn't have the ability to sense magic or powers beyond their ken. No one could miss the rolling thunder and what it foretold.
Kaede's humble abode was no different. Only within its four walls there were three people instead of fifteen. Shippou sat by the fire with a fresh cup of tea carefully spiced with herbs that would help to soothe his nerves. Miroku sat next to him with legs crossed, his monk's staff leaning against one shoulder and supported by folded arms. His eyes were distant, and she didn't know if his thoughts were with Inuyasha and Kagome, or on Sango who was still absent and probably in the storm unless she had managed to find shelter. The elderly priestess busied herself with cooking shiro-miso soup and fluffing up the steamed rice so that it cooked evenly. Puttering about her home, Kaede was content to wait. One of the benefits of a long life was that she had learned not to stress over things that were beyond her control. Fate would play itself out. And in the meantime she would pray that her friends would come out safe.
They had not heard word from Inuyasha, but that meant little – none of them expected to so soon after his departure. If they were lucky, Inuyasha would return with Kagome within the week. If they were not, their friends might end up dying in the alternate realm beyond the Air Rip. If such an event were to happen, it would be disastrous – for quite possibly, Inuyasha and Kagome were the only two people in the world capable of restoring the Shikon no Tama to its original form and purity.
**********
Kikyou paced from wooden wall to paper screen, counting nine even steps each way then turning back again to repeat her linear path. At the center of the room sat Naraku on an embroidered square pillow of wine red shot with gold thread. He was quiet, too quiet.
"What are you plotting Naraku?"
"Plotting?" he asked.
Naraku ran his fingers across the jewel in his left palm. Although it resembled a pearl in color and luminescence, it lacked the sandpapery coarseness of one, and whereas a pearl warmed through contact and handling, the Shikon no Tama was silky and cool no matter what temperature it was exposed to. Through his handling it was almost clammy, all of its potential warmth chased away by his presence.
He said, "What makes you think that I'm plotting something?"
"Don't be coy," Kikyou said flatly. "You do not trust this offspring of yours. Which means that you have another plan in mind to deal with Kagome."
Naraku slid his treasure into a hidden pocket deep in the folds of his dark violet kimono. He glanced across the room to the woman who had helped to create him through an odd mix of circumstances. She was still the same as when she had tended him as the weak minded Onigumo, still beautiful, still untouchable. What was it about Kikyou that had drawn him and Inuyasha along with countless other demons flocking to her? Was it because she was a pure priestess, or was it because she stood on that fine line between human and monster? He wondered what it would take to tip that scale, what it would take to make her turn into a monster. Or had that line already been crossed long ago?
Kikyou shifted. She felt the weight of Naraku's gaze and felt unaccountably exposed. He was still watching her with those darkened, soulless eyes. It was disturbing. Eyes were supposed to reflect one's soul. If Naraku's eyes were soulless as she stared into them, did that mean that he lacked a soul, or was it she who had none to reflect? She broke contact and busied herself with staring at her weapon, the bow, which she held in a white knuckled grasp. The question returned to her: why was she still feeling so much?
"What are you plotting?" She asked again for no reason other than to break the silence that hung between them. She forced her hand to relax.
"I believe it's time to see Inuyasha."
"See Inuyasha?"
"Yes," Naraku rose to his feet and beckoned to her. "Would you like to see your love once more before he dies?"
The fine cords of muscle in Kikyou's slender neck tightened. "We already agreed that Inuyasha is mine to deal with as I will. I don't care what you do to the others, or with the jewel, but whatever you plan, do not lay a hand on Inuyasha's head."
Naraku didn't answer. Kikyou stared after him. There was no doubt in her mind that Naraku had more in store for Inuyasha than he was revealing. The question was whether or not his plans suited her objectives.
**********
Sesshoumaru watched Inuyasha from his position on the castle's rooftop. He had woken up early that morning upon sensing his brother's distinctive presence nearby. Leaving Kagome still sound asleep, he had decided that watching Inuyasha stumble blindly about would be an amusing pastime. What surprised him was the fact that Inuyasha was not behaving impulsively as usual, but seemed to be thinking things through before acting. Perhaps he had underestimated his brother. Or maybe, just maybe, the truth had finally dawned on the little mutt that he was not at fault for their present situation.
At the moment Inuyasha was sniffing his way about the castle grounds. Head to the ground and on all fours in his rat-fur kimono, he really did resemble a great red dog with white ears. Sesshoumaru recalled the day that Inuyasha's late mother had proudly shown his father the hand sewn outfit – to this day he could not bring himself to call that human bitch his stepmother – Inuyasha had only been four or five at the time. Of course the boy had had no inkling that rat-fur was priceless because the breed of demon it came from was nearly extinct. He had only known that the carefully cleaned and cured fur still reeked of blood and had reacted accordingly, causing his human mother to weep from his outburst.
That was the one and only time that father had shown any displeasure towards his second son. It was also the only time that Sesshoumaru had spoken up in Inuyasha's defense. He hadn't been able to stand the smell any more than Inuyasha could. If memory served correctly, they had both been exiled from their father's presence for the rest of that night: the night of the new moon. It had been interesting to say the least. Sesshoumaru had never been around long enough to witness Inuyasha's monthly transformation into full humanity. Watching his little brother's change, he had expected to feel animosity or disgust. He had felt neither. Instead, the urge to protect Inuyasha's vulnerable state had been most prevalent.
**********
The bitch was crying again. Very noisily, Sesshoumaru thought in distaste. All he had returned for this time was to exchange a few of the scrolls that he had borrowed for new ones from his father's ever-growing collection. He hadn't even intended to come near his father's second wife, hadn't actually wanted to be seen by anyone in the household, as a matter of fact. But all of his intentions had flown out the window when the woman's wailing broke into his consciousness.
She was in her appointed rooms with Inuyasha, clutching red cloth to her chest and weeping while the little boy pinched his little nose and tried to breathe as little as possible. Their father was standing between the two with a displeased look across his normally sanguine features. Sesshoumaru took a closer look at Inuyasha, immediately sensing that his father was not happy with his second son, and saw how the little boy breathed through his mouth in little puffs of air that were just barely sufficient to keep him upright. It wasn't hard to figure out why.
Fire-rat youkai had been a slowly disappearing species since nearly a thousand years before, when the Buddhist monks first came to Nippon with their pictographic writing system and philosophical teachings. Now they were extremely difficult to find although their fur was much sought after. His father must have caught and trapped a red fire-rat on one of his many sojourns through the western lands, for in his stepmother's hands was a stretch of cured red fire-rat fur carefully sewn into a man's kimono. The kimono was well made and carefully designed for an active person to wear comfortably. The problem was that newly treated fur stank. Something that a human would barely smell easily burned the sensitive nasal tracts of demons, especially dog demons, with its stench. That was why it was supposed to be left to aerate outside for at least a month, then soaked in perfumed water, and then left to aerate once again before using it in any form. Apparently the woman hadn't known any better than to bring it indoors so soon after the kill. The smell of copper was strong in the confines of the room.
"Sesshoumaru," his father said tightly. The smell must have been killing his father as well. "Take your brother outside for a moment."
Sesshoumaru blinked ever so slowly. It was strange. He hadn't taken orders from anyone in a long time, least of all from his father with whom he hadn't truly conversed for years. The last person he had taken an order from was his mother, and that was because it had been her dying wish. Remembering that, something in him rebelled at being told what to do by a man who had forgotten his first wife so soon after her death to marry another.
"What happened?" Sesshoumaru asked. He didn't move an inch to follow his father's order.
"Sesshoumaru." There was warning in the demon lord's voice, a soft growl that ran beneath his words. Sesshoumaru was familiar with the trick. It was how dog demons let each other know that they were toeing the line that separated civil and uncivil behavior. Like his mother before him, Sesshoumaru only followed the rules of civilization when it suited him.
"Maru-niichan!" Inuyasha ran to his older brother and clung to the tall youkai's leg, little hands clenched tight on the white silk of Sesshoumaru's kimono.
"Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru picked the boy up and tucked Inuyasha into his side, at his left hip. Normally he didn't show the brat much affection, but for some reason everyone else's disapproval of the boy adversely made him want to defend Inuyasha. Had he known better, Sesshoumaru would have recognized that he was displaying the sibling double standard that seemed to exist in all cultures: he could pick on his half-brother, but no one else was allowed to.
With his fingers still clamped over the bridge of his nose, Inuyasha's whisper was slightly whiny due to his obstructed nasal airway, "It stinks, Maru-niichan. I don't wanna wear it."
"You don't have to yet, Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru pointed out. The kimono was cut to the size of an adult. Inuyasha wouldn't be wearing it for at least another ten years, assuming that his adolescent growth spurts followed along the pattern of normal youkai development. "You'll wear that when you're old enough."
"But it stinks!" The child insisted in a theatrical whisper. "It smells like dead things, Maru-niichan." He needed someone to understand his dilemma.
"Inuyasha!" Their father rebuked with flashing eyes of gold. "You will apologize to your mother this instant."
"Why should he?" Sesshoumaru deliberately fueled the slow burning fire. "He's right. The fur is rank. She should have known better than to bring it inside this soon."
"Get out." When no one moved immediately, the western lord roared, "Get out, now!"
Both of his sons left, one with a defiant glare and the other trembling from his raised voice. He hadn't meant to lose his temper. It was hard enough raising a hanyou son, trying to teach him the discipline a demon had to have in order for him to control his baser instincts, while at the same time giving him the emotional support that he needed as a human being. But top that off with a grown son who had a mind of his own and openly defied him at every possible turn; a son who reminded the youkai lord so much of his first love when her hackles were riled. When pride and his contrary, stubborn nature showed through that wintry, indifferent façade, Sesshoumaru was every inch his mother's son.
**********
Sesshoumaru shook himself out of his reverie when he caught Kagome's scent in a passing ribbon of air. Inuyasha was upwind of him and had not caught onto Kagome's presence yet, which suited Sesshoumaru fine. He wanted to confront Inuyasha before his brother saw Kagome. You don't want there to be misunderstandings; you don't want her to be hurt in the crossfire. The youkai lord shook his head ruefully. In the short days of his acquaintance and subsequent friendship with Kagome, he had changed. Whether it was for better or for worse was still up for debate. He conjured a cloud of energy to assist his descent.
The little devil inside Sesshoumaru, who had been dormant for an inordinately long time, wouldn't let him say a simple good morning.
"You've come at last, Inuyasha. What took so long? Couldn't follow the obvious trail I left for you? And here I thought that you had outgrown your bumbling idiot stage."
Inuyasha heard the dark voice and a roaring sound rushed to his ears, effectively drowning out half of Sesshoumaru's words. He pivoted around to face his half-brother, furry ears flattened against his head, and an angry tirade on the verge of falling from his lips out of sheer habit. Arguing had somehow become a knee-jerk reaction between them, something that they had to do the same way other people had to breathe. However, the sight of Sesshoumaru in clothing more suited to Kagome's time than his own arrested Inuyasha. He knew that it wasn't truly important what Sesshoumaru wore. No, that wasn't why Inuyasha was so flustered. It was just that after his travails of the past week, this was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.
"What the hell happened to you?!"
Sesshoumaru's lips thinned into frown. Inuyasha almost thought that his brother would ignore him, or worse, attack him.
But all Sesshoumaru did was murmur, "…Still as rude as ever. Is that any way to greet a person?"
Inuyasha was startled by his brother's almost cordial tone. During the night he had already prepared himself for meeting a different Sesshoumaru, but… looking at him… seeing the tall youkai lord lean casually against a smooth, white bark tree peppered with whorls of burnt sienna, with his dark attire at stark contrast against the waterfall of brilliant moon-white hair, Inuyasha had to think that nothing had prepared him for this even-tempered person. It was at once a pleasant change and a disturbing one.
Suspicions clouding Inuyasha's clear golden eyes, he said, "All right, who are you and tell me what you've done with my brother."
"There's no reason to be belligerent." His brother sounded so cross when he spoke that it made Inuyasha feel better. Maybe he wasn't the only one having a difficult time adjusting to this new and improved Sesshoumaru. It was nice to know that even his unflappable brother was confused by the changes in him. Inuyasha relaxed a little.
He asked, "Where's Kagome, Sesshoumaru?"
"In the castle…" She woke up five minutes ago. "How did you get here?"
"Miroku." Inuyasha's tone was sharp. He hadn't missed the little drift of Sesshoumaru's attention when he mentioned Kagome. His brother's focus never drifted. Never before, that is.
"I see… that cursed hand…" Sesshoumaru shook his head. "You realize that Naraku will in all likelihood make an appearance."
"Of course." What does he think I am, an idiot? Inuyasha crossed his arms and decided to put aside pointless arguing to ask the most important question of the moment. "Whose side will you be on when he comes, Sesshoumaru?"
The youkai lord narrowed amber eyes at him. "Don't be insulting, Inuyasha. There has never been a time when I've allied myself to that disgusting hanyou."
Inuyasha involuntarily flinched at the derisive tone his brother took when he said half-breed. It reminded him too much of the verbal barbs and emotional bloodlettings he had suffered at the uncaring hands of humans and youkai alike, his brother included.
"Well, don't let this disgusting hanyou hold you back from leaving then," Inuyasha snapped back. "I'll take care of things from here."
"Are you so sure of that, Inuyasha?" Sesshoumaru's tone was sharp. "You would risk Kagome's life for your pride?" Silence stretched. He let Inuyasha absorb the significance of his question before his own mind took a leap and he said in a softer voice, "What do you think I think of you, Inuyasha?"
The non sequitur threw Inuyasha off center. He stared at his brother. "What?"
Sesshoumaru made a cutting gesture with the knife-edge of his hand. "Do you think that I would class you along with other demons, you, the son of our father? No matter what people may say about you, your heritage is that of a demon lord and human princess from a noble line. Even if I hated that bitch, there is nothing to be ashamed of in your ancestry." Sesshoumaru came to an abrupt stop. He was a little shocked at his honesty but even more so by what he left unsaid: I only used your weaknesses to make you fight harder. To make you stronger...
Inuyasha's jaw nearly dropped. He stared at his brother as if Sesshoumaru had become some sort of alien creature. What the hell brought that on? He shook his head in wonder. Their father had been a sensitive, and therefore taboo, subject never to be mentioned between them ever since the demon lord's death. Even when fighting over Tetsusaiga… For Sesshoumaru to bring up the subject out of the blue…
This was the most Sesshoumaru had ever said to him outside of taunts and insults since their father had been alive. Inuyasha struggled between learned distrust and a sudden burgeoning of the most confounding of human concepts: hope.
"Why are you saying this now, Sesshoumaru?" he finally asked wearily.
"It is the appropriate time," he said.
"You killed him." Inuyasha whispered in remembered pain. Just like Hahaue said you one day would. Hadn't he said that also, back then?
Things were moving too quickly. Something instinct inside Inuyasha said that Sesshoumaru was sincere, that this was the true Sesshoumaru emerging from behind a cleverly constructed mask. But how did one forget past hurts? Kagome might have been able to; her heart was big enough to encompass a lifetime of pain and still forgive the transgressions committed against her. He could not. He could only overcome the hurt. But that took time.
"I didn't kill him." Sesshoumaru spoke so softly that, even with a dog-demon's superior hearing, Inuyasha almost missed the words altogether.
"I could smell Chichiue's blood on you," Inuyasha forced through a tight throat. Again, that sense of déjà vu – he had said these words a lifetime ago. "That was your poison in his body." These were the facts, as he knew them. "He was dead in your arms."
Sesshoumaru remembered well what had happened. His cursed memory refused to let him forget how he had been too wrapped up in his own grief to consider the affect their father's death would have on his much younger half-brother. How he had conveniently forgotten about his promise to his father until fifty years too late, and Inuyasha had already been pinned to the Old God Tree to sleep an eternal sleep. He hadn't learned of his ability to comfort until recently. Still, that did not necessarily mean that he was at ease with offering consolation. For all of his skill in semantics, it was surprisingly difficult to express those thoughts closest to his heart.
"There is more that you do not know," Sesshoumaru said.
Inuyasha saw for the first time how ancient his brother's eyes were. The two dark, burnished-gold orbs were set in a porcelain face of ageless beauty. That beauty would not wither away with time, like with so many of the lesser races. Sesshoumaru would retain his unique, untouchable aura until the day he died. Curiosity aroused, Inuyasha wanted to hear what Sesshoumaru had to say. They had gone fifteen minutes in each other's company without breaking into a fight. That had to be a record in someone's book.
"What else, Sesshoumaru? What do I need to know?"
Deciding that it was nigh time for explanations to be made, Sesshoumaru sat on the cleanest looking stone he could find and settled in for a long story. Inuyasha mirrored his actions, but chose to sit on one of the lower tree branches. "Are you ready to listen now, Inuyasha?"
"I'm here, aren't I?" Inuyasha sighed. He hadn't intended to sound rude. Sometimes he just said what he honestly thought without considering how his words sounded to others. He rephrased with, "I'm ready to listen."
**********
Kagome emerged from the castle with a great sense of foreboding. The day was beautiful but there was dark energy gathering. She could feel it pressing against her skin, causing goose bumps and the tiny hairs on her arms to stand at attention. She rubbed her arms vigorously in a vain attempt to dispel the eerie sensation. In an ideal world it would have worked. Then again, in an ideal world she wouldn't be stuck in an alternate dimension waiting for her enemies to find her. Nor would she have enemies.
The snap of a twig made Kagome jump.
"Who's there?" she called out while scanning the trees near where the sound had come from.
"It is I, Kikyou."
Great, as if Naraku weren't enough, here's another person I don't want to see. The priestess came into view and Kagome marveled at how she could have missed the bright red and white of Kikyou's priestess clothing.
"You are peculiarly quiet, reincarnation."
For some reason Kagome didn't feel the usual trepidation and sense of insignificance from being near Kikyou. There was a rush of irritation instead, something that was unexpected and made her pause to speculate on where the newfound confidence had come from.
"I have a name," Kagome heard herself say, "and it's Kagome."
Kikyou couldn't disguise her surprise at Kagome's bold words. This was unlike the uncertain girl-child that she had confronted on past occasions. Standing before her now was a young woman who knew her mind and had the willpower to enforce her beliefs. You've grown, my reincarnation. I wonder… She stepped closer to gauge whether or not the girl had also grown in spiritual power. There was something there. Something else was different about Kagome. If she could only pinpoint what it was…
"So the little girl has grown up at last." Kikyou still couldn't tell what it was about Kagome that made her aura glow so brilliantly, but she processed the data available to her and made a wild guess. "Was it that youkai who helped you attain your maturity, Kagome?"
Ignoring the sly innuendo, Kagome sidestepped the question as well as Kikyou's attempt to reach her. "How did you get here, Kikyou? Are you working with Naraku again?"
Anger flickered in the depths of Kikyou's dark gray gaze. "Don't play games with me, little girl. I want answers."
"So do I," Kagome mumbled.
She stubbornly stood her ground even as her heart picked up its steady pace. I'm no match for Kikyou. She knew that she was out-powered and out-skilled. Kikyou was experienced with tapping into and using her priestess powers; she had battled youkai for years as the protector of the Shikon no Tama. Who was Kagome, but an average teenager without any skills beyond that which she learned by trial and error. She had been forced to discover her abilities by circumstances outside of her control. That did not necessarily mean that she had any control of them. Whenever her mysterious power bothered to manifest itself, it was from duress and not conscious thought. How in the world would that help her against someone like Kikyou? But she'd be damned if she would let Kikyou outwit her this time.
"Do you think that you can avoid my questions for long? What makes you think that I cannot extract all of the information I want from that pretty head of yours?"
Kagome's spine stiffened. Again, she didn't know where it was coming from, but daring words spilled from her before she could tamp down the rush. Too much stress had had its toll; she was tired. Tired of the condescension from Kikyou. Tired of Inuyasha's demands on her time and his constant hedging whenever Kikyou was within sight or on his mind. Tired of missing her family and friends from her time. Tired of spreading herself out too thin to please everyone in her life, leaving so little for herself in the end that sometimes she just felt like screaming in frustration.
"If you had the ability, you would have done it already instead of standing there and spouting lies," said Kagome. Then she stared at Kikyou with her chin firm and slate-blue eyes glittering in direct challenge.
Kikyou was not used to being opposed by anyone, least of all by Kagome. "You'll regret your words, little girl. You forget that you exist because of me. Without me, you would never have existed in the first place."
Kagome could almost hear Sesshoumaru in her head…
"You're nothing like her."
"I look almost exactly like Kikyou."
"No, there are many differences… Your resemblance to that priestess is only superficial."
"Everyone keeps telling me that I'm her reincarnation… Was it only through coincidence and circumstance that I was the one to free Inuyasha from Kikyou's spell?"
"Maybe not. That would be fate playing its course. But I know that you aren't the same person as she was or is. Eyes, hair, height, and voice are all different… Your scent, too."
"That- that's nice to know."
He had said that she was different, that she wasn't just a reincarnation… Maybe it was time to believe. Her voice soft, less than a whisper in its gentleness, she refuted Kikyou's words.
"No." Kagome gained conviction and momentum. "No, I don't exist because of you." Glaring at her almost twin image, she finally understood that it was the "almost" that was all-important. "You exist because of me."
**********
"Father had been battling with a tiger-demon earlier that day. Blood relative to the one I had killed a couple of years before. He was out to avenge his cousin's death. But where the other demon had been old and overconfident because of it, this one was young and ruthless. He fought with the skill of an experienced hunter. Even so, Father would have fared well against him were it not for the poison in the tiger-demon's claws."
**********
Kyosuke witnessed the entire confrontation between Kagome and the priestess. He had been woolgathering in the woods when the hatred of a disquiet spirit alerted him to the presence of a stranger and possible enemy on the castle grounds. Following his sixth sense had led him to the eerily similar women facing off in the open. It had taken him aback to see the priestess. Her resemblance to Kagome was striking. Still as stone and nearly as expressionless, it was as if a sculptor had taken Kagome's image and carved it from marble.
Moreover, the priestess…
Kyosuke repressed a telltale shiver. The disquiet spirit that he had sensed was she. That such dark emotion existed in a priestess was almost blasphemous; they were supposed to be the protectors, the guardians of everything good and pure in the world. This creature was not out to protect anyone. Kyosuke felt the dark energy surrounding her and knew that she had the power to cause immense damage should she have the desire to, but more than that Kyosuke was aware that she was not living.
This one is dead. Her spirit clings to the mortal realm by a thin thread that unravels little by little, breath by breath. An unraveling that she fights; a thread that she reweaves and bolsters with stolen souls of the innocent.
His Buddhist teachings and training might have been rusty, but they were not rusty enough that he did not recognize death when he saw it staring out of winter's gray eyes. And where there was death, hell was not far behind. They came hand in hand.
Naraku was out there somewhere waiting like the parasitic leach that he was. Long years of battling the slippery coward had taught Kyosuke that the hanyou's method of operation was a pattern that he followed religiously. First confusion, then misunderstanding, then once all of his enemies were busy going at each other's throats, he would make his appearance and take advantage of everyone's weakened states. By then it would be too late for everyone to escape unscathed.
This time things would be different. This time, Kyosuke was determined to catch the hanyou before he could wreak havoc on his friends.
**********
"I came home too late. By the time I found him, Father was already dying. His bloodstream was already infected with the poison and he was being eaten from inside out. It was like an acid had been injected into his veins. Acid from another powerful demon is not easy to negate. Had I saved his life, he would have been infirm and crippled for the remainder of his life. I didn't want that for him. He didn't want that."
**********
"Baba."
She wanted very dearly to kill the bastard who had created her, then thrown her away like such unwanted refuse. She wanted to torture him a little for the lonely life she had had to lead in the Gray Dimension. In fact, she wanted to skin him, and then keep him alive with the power of magic so that he could suffer the excruciating pain of infection for as long as she desired. Somehow the Gray Witch managed to keep her animosity in check and shuffled forward to meet her maker in a properly humble manner.
"Naraku-sama."
Naraku knew precisely what his offspring thought of him, what indeed most of them thought of him in the long run. None of it mattered. Soon this one would be dead and he would be less one encumbrance. In the meantime, he had some use for the old hag.
"I have come for Inuyasha and that girl, Kagome…" Naraku carefully watched the old hag for any sign of treasonous thoughts. "There are complications, however. Hide in the shadows and be my eyes and ears. If any of them makes a move against me, I want you to interfere."
"And Sesshoumaru-sama?"
Naraku did not care for her hesitant, respectful tone of the youkai lord. He said sharply, "He, too, is my enemy. Kill him if he so much as blinks."
The Gray Witch doubted very much that killing a person such as Sesshoumaru would be possible without dire consequences. After all, he was not called the destroyer of life for no reason.
She said simply, "As you wish, Naraku-sama."
**********
Sesshoumaru paused to take a deep breath. His noticed that his hands were clenched into tight fists and that his sharp claws had bitten into them to draw five points of blood on each palmar surface. He hadn't consciously thought of that day in a long time.
"I did the only thing that I could. I used my own poison to numb his nerves so that he would not feel pain in the last moments of his life."
**********
Kikyou didn't bother to hide her fury at Kagome's proclamation. She had been considering giving her reincarnation a chance at life. Maybe allow her to return to her own time unharmed. She had come to Kagome with compromise on her mind and mercy in her heart. I was going to let you go. So long as you agreed not to ever see Inuyasha again, I was willing to let you live… Kikyou stared hard at the proud set of Kagome's shoulders and her ramrod straight posture. I don't think that will be an option anymore. Grown so much in these short days… now you're a real danger to my existence. Say goodbye, Kagome, you've lost your last opportunity to lead a normal life.
The hatred that she had nurtured within her soul for Inuyasha burned brighter and extended to include Kagome within its growing circumference. Licking flames met with each last remnant of humanity Kikyou had. Seared it away. Leaving behind a core of steel. The murderous intent in the priestess' gray eyes was easy to read. There was hatred, and then there was hatred. What Kikyou was exuding through her aura was the deepest kind of enmity that one person could hold for another. If she focused on her senses, Kagome could see the flashing of tainted spiritual energy that surrounded Kikyou's body. She could almost taste the naked emotion. Bitter with a dash of something that Kagome didn't understand in spite of her empathetic nature.
**********
They sat in quiet contemplation after he told the entire tale of how their father had truly died, he on a large stone and Inuyasha on a tree branch. For him, it was a moment to gather his composure. For Inuyasha, he didn't know what the silence meant. His brother was usually such a physically active person that it was strange to see him sit still for even a short amount of time unless he was asleep. Sesshoumaru was so absorbed in his thoughts that he would have missed the change in the air currents had it not been for the tingle of energy that ran from his fingertips, up both arms, and straight into his heart. There was only one person he could think of who could cause that reaction in him.
Kagome!
Alarm bells rang in his ears and he leapt onto the branch above Inuyasha's to search the castle grounds from a better perspective. Almost simultaneously Inuyasha's ears perked up and he straightened, aiming unerringly towards the castle's east wing where Kagome would have come from had she been exiting it. They shared a glance rich with meaning. The discussion would continue after they were back home and free from Naraku's schemes. For the time being they would be allies for the sake of survival.
**********
Naraku smiled as he observed Kikyou and Kagome facing off and the brothers coming abreast of the two women. "This is almost too perfect. All of the players are taking their spots. I wonder who will stick true to their lines." Scanning the area, Naraku caught a flash of movement behind a tree. "But what is this? It seems that we have a wild card."
He watched the man duck back behind his tree when Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru appeared. Naraku couldn't make out his appearance, but the man looked familiar. Even if he had been a hapless bystander, Naraku would still have killed him. He didn't want another chance interruption like the last time. He would rather kill the interloper before risking the escape of his enemies yet again.
**********
Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru arrived at the scene of eminent battle.
Sesshoumaru recognized the priestess although they had never met before. Antipathy struck him at the mere sight of her, a natural hostility that stemmed not only from his perceptions through Kagome's memories, but also from the fact that the so-called priestess reeked of necromancy. She was supposed to be dead and buried six feet under, yet she was not. Instead she stood there, a marionette filled with earth and bone, a partial soul with only a fraction of her being left to cling to life. She consisted of insufficient scraps of emotion that could barely be distinguished as human in origin. The malevolence that draped Kikyou's shoulders like a much-cherished shroud was demonic. A hanyou by choice, her existence was abhorrent to Sesshoumaru. Youkai were youkai by birthright, be they full blood or hanyou like his brother. It was simply unheard of that a mere human be allowed to cross species by choice. Sesshoumaru considered the priestess to be no better than Naraku.
Inuyasha obviously felt differently. For while Sesshoumaru went to Kagome's side, radiating a calm to soothe her nerves and quietly inquiring about her well being, Inuyasha was torn as to whom to approach. Things were more complicated for the hanyou. Where his brother couldn't have cared less for the priestess, Inuyasha had years of love and hate to wade through. Intellectually he knew that Kikyou hated him; emotionally he could not deny that they had once been in love. The truth was he suspected that he was still very much in love with her.
On the other hand, his feelings for Kagome had grown over the evolution of their forced companionship until it was no longer out of necessity that Inuyasha sought her company. Now he and she were friends, almost best friends. Possibly more. Going into the Air Rip, Inuyasha had been intent on Kagome – until he saw Kikyou. Now he didn't know which woman to approach.
What was he to do? His heart tripped every time Kagome smiled. Worry for her had caused him to lose a couple of decades from his lifespan. Only the reassurance of Kagome's fresh scent and her obvious lack of injury soothed his foremost worries for her safety. Whenever he was with Kagome, and just her, he found himself staring down at the ground to avoid her pretty eyes more often than not. He was always at a complete loss for words when they weren't arguing. All of that had to count for something. Didn't it?
But then, what did it mean when he saw Kikyou? What did it mean when the world stopped turning, the sun stopped warming the earth, and everything that used to mean something fell away until there was only her at the center of his universe? Drawing an unstable breath, Inuyasha raised turbulent golden eyes. His inner conflict might as well have been written in the air between the four of them. It was so painfully obvious to everyone present that Inuyasha wasn't able to choose.
That pain echoed and reverberated in Kagome's being. Being a happy and optimistic person by nature, melancholy was not an emotion that she was accustomed experiencing. However, at the moment, sadness burrowed into her heart and made itself at home. Maybe she was unfair to think that Inuyasha should come to her just because they had shared a few tender moments. After all, he had been in love with Kikyou long before Naraku had tricked them into betraying each other. If Naraku hadn't interfered, Inuyasha and Kikyou might have lived happily ever after. Kagome might never have been born.
A fine tremor shook Kagome down to her bones. The only person close enough to notice was Sesshoumaru, who stood behind her with his hand splayed upon her lower back. Neither Inuyasha nor Kikyou could see that he was the only thing standing between Kagome and collapse, but she knew and was grateful for his support. Thank you. Sesshoumaru glanced down at the top of her glossy waves. His eyes were unreadable; he didn't care to have the others know about his spiritual connection with Kagome as of yet, if ever, and preferred that it remain a secret between the two of them for as long as feasible. Still, he couldn't help but answer. You're welcome.
Inuyasha finally broke out of his trance when the priestess shifted. In the brightness of day, she appeared angelic. He whispered, "Kikyou…"
Kagome stiffened and developed a new fascination for the little pebbles at her feet. Had she looked up, Kagome would have seen that Sesshoumaru's face lost all expression and his stare in Inuyasha's direction would have frozen Mt. Fuji during its peak of activity. All good will towards Inuyasha had apparently evaporated as spontaneously as it had appeared.
Icicles dripping from his fangs, the youkai lord said in mock sincerity, "This is really touching. But we have other worries at the moment, so can you put off your lovers' reunion with the walking corpse for another time, brother dear?"
Managing to keep a straight face with much effort, Kagome inwardly groaned nevertheless. Sesshoumaru-san! That was a cruel thing to say. It seemed wrong to rebuke him out loud, so that Inuyasha and Kikyou could hear, but that didn't stop her from berating him through a tight telepathic thread. She heard the youkai lord respond unsympathetically. What I say is true, is it not? She is less than a zombie, nothing more than a bag of bones if you want to get technical about it. This hedging is becoming tiresome. It appears that my brother is being his usual idiot self and needs someone to point out the facts to him since he lacks the common sense to realize that he's acting like a lovesick pup over a dead woman.
Kikyou glared over Kagome's head at Sesshoumaru's cold face. Kagome had the eerie sensation that Kikyou somehow heard Sesshoumaru's disparaging remarks. The priestess made it clear by her baleful expression that she did not care for his cutting sarcasm at her expense. Sesshoumaru made it equally clear by his unwavering disregard of her presence that he didn't give a damn if her feelings had been hurt; he was focused on Inuyasha's reaction to his words and no one else's. Out of view, Kikyou's hands fisted. For a second, just after Inuyasha said her name and before the youkai had spoken, she had felt elation. Now the elusive, alien feeling was gone and she had the youkai to thank for its disappearance.
"Sesshoumaru," Inuyasha's jaw ached from the force of his clenched teeth. "Show some respect."
"For the dead? Certainly." Sesshoumaru smiled condescendingly and tilted his head in the priestess' direction. "So long as they show some respect for the living and remain in hell where they belong instead of interfering in lives not their own."
That son of a bitch. He has no right to speak of Kikyou like that. Taking advantage of the truce to play games… I knew I shouldn't have trusted him. It took every ounce of willpower within him, but Inuyasha managed not to lash out and strike the smirk from Sesshoumaru's face. "You have no idea what the situation is, Sesshoumaru. I won't have you slandering people out of hand just to satisfy your sadistic streak."
Sesshoumaru had to admit, if only to himself, that he oftentimes derived a sort of sadistic pleasure from the pain of others. Usually said others were of the annoying variety and well deserving of their fates. "Assuming that you were right, Inuyasha, surely that cannot be any worse than being a masochist." What do you have to say to that, little brother? Just to irritate Inuyasha further, he decided to run a hand through Kagome's hair with his free hand. The one "borrowed" from a human, as the other still rested at the small of Kagome's back. He knew Kagome was blushing when she scolded him. Cut it out, Sesshoumaru! You're picking on him on purpose. Now is not the time.
Inuyasha snapped. "Who the hell are you calling a masochist, bastard!?" He finally noticed how close Sesshoumaru was standing to Kagome. "Take your hands off of Kagome, Sesshoumaru."
"Figure it out for yourself." In mutiny of Inuyasha's harsh command, the youkai lord deliberately leaned close to sniff Kagome's hair. Ignoring the fact that she was inconspicuously grinding the heel of her foot into his leather-clad toes, Sesshoumaru added, "You can't expect me to spell everything out for you for the rest of your life."
Inuyasha clenched his hands into white-knuckled fists. There was something intrinsically wrong about seeing Sesshoumaru acting so… so… so bloody affectionate towards anyone. He was the most coldhearted person that Inuyasha had ever known. That the object of his affection was Kagome did not ease Inuyasha's state of mind; in fact, it disturbed him. He said, "I wouldn't dream of depending on you."
While Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha were occupied trading death glares, Kagome looked about in hopes that her cheeks weren't flaming and everyone would forget her presence. Not used to being the center of attention, she would rather have been anywhere but where she was: quite literally standing between the feuding brothers. For reasons unknown, Sesshoumaru was putting her in the middle of their fight, the last place she wanted to be, and he was prodding Inuyasha into a fury with his verbal prodding.
And poor Inuyasha doesn't even know that Sesshoumaru is doing this just because he likes to be difficult. There's no real animosity there. Sesshoumaru is being Sesshoumaru. Making Inuyasha miserable is like an added bonus for him. Kagome sighed and clasped her hands together, trying with all of her might to ignore the volleys of antagonism passing back and forth overhead. Why aren't I saying anything to help him? He doesn't deserve this treatment… Or did he? Kagome had to wonder at her own continued silence. Was there a grain of resentment hidden somewhere in her heart, a result of the hurts Inuyasha had inadvertently caused her? Did she want Inuyasha to feel some of the pain and confusion, some of the uncertainty and self-doubt that he induced in her whenever he said Kikyou's name in a sighing whisper?
Was she that petty?
Kagome involuntarily met Kikyou's unblinking gaze. The priestess was so very still. Lifeless if not for the slight rise and fall of her chest visible beneath layers of cloth, the alertness in her solemn eyes. Kikyou was the cause of so many of the undercurrents flowing between all of them, yet she remained unmoved and apart as though none of it affected her. Kagome knew better. Kikyou was not indifferent. She was not passive; she was simply biding her time and waiting for the prime opportunity when she would be at the most advantage.
A chill ran through Kagome. She fervently hoped that she hadn't inherited any of Kikyou's darker aspects along with the Shikon no Tama and their obvious physical similarities. On the chance that she had, Kagome hoped that Kikyou had taken them all back in her rebirth into the world.
**********
From his hiding place, Kyosuke felt Naraku's nearness before the others. None of them had noticed yet because all of them were too wrapped up in their private struggles to hear the buzz of Saimyoushou as the insects gathered in the woods. Carrying his staff in his un-cursed hand, Kyosuke decided that it was high time for him to make his appearance. It looked as though Sesshoumaru and Kagome would need his help. Kyosuke didn't know who the priestess was, or the other dog-demon for that matter, but he felt obligated to help Kagome, if not Sesshoumaru.
Inuyasha paused halfway through a retort to one of his brother's taunts when he heard the familiar chime of metal rings. Miroku? A distance to the right of him, half hidden by trees, was a man who could have passed for Miroku. He was dressed in monk's robes and carrying a staff with golden rings on it. In his right hand were cherry-wood prayer beads wrapped many times around his palm and wrist. Inuyasha recognized his scent as the musky one that had journeyed with Sesshoumaru and Kagome through the wasteland. The monk must have been their guide.
"Naraku is heading this way," the monk said to Sesshoumaru. Or was that to Kagome? The only thing that Inuyasha knew for sure was that the stranger smelled very much like Miroku. He even sounds like Miroku… The hanyou's ears twitched. If the houshi made a move on Kagome, he would kill him, ally or not.
"Who are you?" Inuyasha asked. He momentarily pushed the argument with Sesshoumaru aside for a later date; there would be plenty of opportunities for them to fight.
The houshi turned and bowed politely. "I'm Kyosuke, pleased to meet you. And you are…"
"This is Inuyasha, Kyosuke-sama, Sesshoumaru's younger brother." Kagome added for Inuyasha's benefit, "Inuyasha, this is Miroku-sama's father."
"Miroku's father?!" Inuyasha looked at the houshi suspiciously. "Are you sure about that, Kagome? He looks too young to be the lecher's father."
Kyosuke rocked on the balls of his feet and hummed in agreement. "Yes, that would appear to be the case. This dimension seems to stall the aging process that normally occurs in our world. In actuality, I should be in my mid-forties by now, but I still look like a young man of twenty-four." He sighed wistfully. "It has been rather trying, keeping track of time in a timeless place."
Sympathetic and unsuspecting of the houshi's wiliness, Kagome said, "Life has been hard for you here. Hasn't it, Kyosuke-sama?"
"Yes, indeed."
Kyosuke moved fast for a human. In the blink of an eye he was past Inuyasha and Kikyou, and standing in front of the wide-eyed, too-kindhearted-for-her-own-good girl. Inuyasha looked at his brother in disbelief. Had he imagined it, or had the calm and collected Lord Sesshoumaru just… snarled?
"This humble monk has suffered greatly, Kagome-sama," the houshi was still speaking. "Missing out on my son's childhood was terrible. Now, from what you tell me, he is a man full grown and well on his way to avenging our family against Naraku. He will be remembered in legends for helping you in your noble quest of this Shikon no Tama, and songs will be written about him and spread throughout the land." Kyosuke grasped Kagome's small hands. "But this one cannot have the joy of fatherhood. Do you have it in your heart to allow me another chance at being a father?"
Seconds ticked by. Inuyasha winced in anticipation of the sympathy pains he was sure to feel once the houshi was put in his place. Kyosuke hadn't learned the lessons that Miroku had discovered the hard way: Kagome had a very big temper which didn't take long in revealing itself when she felt insulted by someone.
"You collect interesting friends, Inuyasha."
"Kikyou?" Inuyasha turned to her in question. The priestess face was emotionless as always. "What do you mean? And why are you here?" Inuyasha shook his head. "Thank you for your help, but you shouldn't be here." Kikyou felt a pang but it was gone in a flash before it could be examined too closely. Inuyasha wasn't finished speaking. "Naraku's dangerous. Even with your powers you can get hurt."
He's worried… for me?
"Go back, Kikyou." Inuyasha said. "You've done enough to help already."
"You cannot trust your brother, Inuyasha."
Her warning irritated Inuyasha. Crazy as it was, he didn't want to suspect Sesshoumaru of deceit. Their honor was supposed to set them above treachery. "I'll take care of Sesshoumaru."
"He does not have your best interest at heart."
A pounding pain began to beat behind his eyelids. He did not want to think about his complicated relationship with Sesshoumaru at the moment. Besides which it was something that should remain within family. "I know that." Inuyasha dropped his head until white bangs obscured his vision. "But he can be trusted when it comes to certain things."
Kikyou slanted Inuyasha a glance full of secrets. "Like Kagome?"
Inuyasha scowled and refused to answer. When he looked back up, Kikyou was gone.
**********
"Kyosuke-sama…" Kagome tried to reign in her exasperation. This is Kyosuke, Miroku-sama's father. He doesn't mean to insult me. He's just being… himself. They just can't help being lecherous. The trait probably runs in their blood… Kagome ran through a series of excuses for the monk before saying gently, "I'm sure that you'll find a nice lady to settle down with someday, but…"
Kyosuke opened his mouth. Sesshoumaru was displeased by the monk's persistence. He detested pushy people.
"Houshi."
Kyosuke didn't bat an eye, "Sesshoumaru."
"Move. Now."
Kyosuke upped the wattage of his magnetic smile. "Of course. Forgive me. It is difficult to resist Kagome-sama's charm and beauty."
"How did you do that? Miroku always tries to do something even when I tell him to back off."
Sesshoumaru gave Inuyasha "The Look". Inuyasha felt his hackles rise. He hated being condescended as a rule, but it was always worse coming from his brother.
"Sesshoumaru-san," Kagome said, "please be nice."
"Nice?" Sesshoumaru let the world roll off his tongue. He had never used it before. How strange.
"Yes," Kagome gritted her teeth. "Nice."
"He doesn't know the word, Kagome." Inuyasha glared at his brother. "The great Lord Sesshoumaru has never been nice to anyone in his entire life."
"You would prefer that I pretend to like you? Is that what being "nice" entails?"
The fingers of Inuyasha's right hand flew to his left hip out of habit. He missed the feel of Tetsusaiga's weight and regretted leaving it impaled in the Old God Tree in a fit of rage. Inuyasha bared his teeth in an eerily wolfish manner. Kagome was abruptly reminded of the fact that he wasn't quite human. A fact that was often forgotten as Inuyasha behaved more like an average, hot-tempered teenager, than a demon from noble lineage, if one discounted the obvious dog-ears, lethal claws and long canine teeth that sometimes poked over his lower lip on the rare occasions when he was tricked into a full smile. She then glanced over at Sesshoumaru who looked even less human than Inuyasha with his crescent moon and red markings, white skin and full tail.
She swallowed. Their dissimilarity with humans had never been so apparent to her before. As if Sesshoumaru heard her thoughts again, he trained amber eyes on her. Kagome blanched and stepped away from him. Humans didn't have amber eyes with slit-pupils and white hair that glowed beyond something as simple as healthy sheen. Her respirations shortened into little gasps and she felt her sympathetic reactions send adrenalin coursing through her veins.
Kagome? His calm voice should have pacified her nerves. Instead they heightened them and Kagome almost tripped as she backed away from him and Inuyasha, and straight into Kyosuke. Sesshoumaru tried again to reach her. Kagome!
She jumped about a foot into the air and gave a little scream, catching everyone else's attention. To them it looked as though the girl had no reason to be so vocal, to Sesshoumaru, her reaction was alarming. Sesshoumaru reached out and grabbed Kagome's bare arm. Instantly the connection between them intensified and Sesshoumaru was able to see the chaotic state that Kagome's mind was in. Kagome, calm down. When no coherent response was forthcoming, Sesshoumaru grabbed both of her upper arms and shook her. He ignored Inuyasha's outraged shout and Kyosuke's indignant voice telling him to stop. Calm down! Listen to me. Take a hold of yourself and snap out of it.
Breath shallow and rapid, skin pale and cold, pulse racing, Kagome was fast falling into shock – her body was shutting down to shield from its perceived danger, sending life sustaining blood straight to her most vital organs. The problem was that the danger was not he, but the person who was causing her to react the way that she was. Sesshoumaru finally gave a frustrated growl and ripped open the natural barrier between their minds that had always protected her deeper thoughts from him. Kagome cried out and grabbed her head between her hands.
Someone pulled Kagome away from his grasp and he was distantly aware that he was roughly thrown to the ground by clawed hands. He should have been angry that Inuyasha would dare to manhandle him, but couldn't dredge up any anger for his brother at the moment. In order to reach her fleeing spirit, Sesshoumaru had to focus on Kagome. He wasted no time in searching for her spiritual ego, their link not lessening despite the lack of physical touch. Finally he found Kagome in a dark corner of her mind curled up in a protective fetal position.
"Kagome…" She shivered and curled up tighter.
"Kagome, look at me," he said. When she made no move to comply, Sesshoumaru came closer. Immediately, Kagome skidded away on hands and knees. He bit back impatience and strove to soften his tone. "Kagome, I won't harm you. I'm trying to help."
"Help?"
Before Kagome could get her guard back up, Sesshoumaru lunged and tackled her to the ground. In the physical realm Kagome's scream pierced the air and her body jerked in Kyosuke's arms, making it hard for the monk to hold onto her. He cursed and hugged her tightly to keep her from hurting herself. Inuyasha had a hard time restraining Sesshoumaru who had somehow become as cataleptic as Kagome. The taller youkai was strong, and even unconscious was a handful almost too much to handle. Inuyasha was forced to transform into a full youkai in order to keep Sesshoumaru down. He was too absorbed in his task and worry over Kagome to see the brief shadow of a slender woman behind an old tree.
**********
"Naraku, what have you done?"
Naraku thought that Kikyou sounded very concerned for a woman who was only supposed to hate. He was aware of Kikyou's suspicion. He simply chose to ignore it. She was a useful person to have as an ally, but he wasn't about to divulge all of his plans or abilities to her. Kikyou was too smart, too cunning, had too many hidden motives. She was like himself in many regards. Since he wouldn't trust himself, he did not trust her.
"I haven't done anything. Yet." He tired of repeating the same foolishness with her time and again. Sometimes they were no better than kittens running in circles chasing their tails. "But rest assured that your mutt will remain unharmed, as per your wishes."
Naraku left her in solitude. It would have been nice, however, to have her input on what was happening in the woods. He had planned on using the Shikon no Tama to induce fear in Kagome much like he had manipulated Inuyasha's rage. It should have worked. Kagome should have become petrified of Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru. During that time when her natural shields were weakened, when she was unfocused by fear and unaware of him, Naraku had planned tapping into Kagome's latent powers and using them for his own machinations.
Events hadn't unfolded quite as he had planned. Where he had been able to delve into Inuyasha's mind, having only to reach past the natural resistance of a powerful demon mind to attack him at his weakest points, Naraku had not been able to penetrate Kagome's mind in the slightest. There was an odd, invisible barrier around her that always forced him away despite the Shikon no Tama's amplification of his powers. Somehow the girl was able to protect herself even while unconscious. Where he had merely wanted their deaths before, now Naraku seriously contemplated keeping Kagome alive to find out more about her powers.
He wanted to know how she created that shield. And he wanted to know why she collapsed into herself under his attack. She had begun to show a little fear, he could see that clearly enough, but only after a few moments of panic, Kagome had simply shut down. And he didn't know why. The only thing that he did know was that Sesshoumaru was somehow involved. The youkai lord had been watching Kagome the entire time that he had been manipulating her with the jewel. What Naraku didn't understand, and wanted to know, was how Sesshoumaru had been able to detect his actions.
**********
"Kagome-sama," Kyosuke called again in hopes that she would wake up.
The girl had relaxed in his arms and now lay limp and boneless, bundled in his outer robe that he had hastily wrapped about her in hopes of warming her chilled skin. He didn't know how the other dog-demon was faring with his brother, but he was thankful that the youkai seemed more concerned for Kagome than intent on harm. Naraku… You had a hand in this. Kyosuke felt anger stir to life. Old anger at the cruel curse placed upon his family; new anger at Kagome's hurt, for he had no doubts that Naraku was at fault; and an abiding anger for the years he spent in the gray dimension cursed in equal measures by his inability to attain revenge and inability to die.
Naraku chose that particular moment to make his grand entrance, baboon pelt and all.
"Inuyasha…"
Naraku's smooth tone put Inuyasha on edge. In his distraction with finding Kagome he had allowed his guard to slip. Now uneasiness prickled his skin and made the fine hairs on his arms stand up. Naraku was the known enemy; Sesshoumaru was an old and unpredictable foe given to his own whimsy; Kikyou was a possible enemy that he could not discount simply because she had disappeared again; and the monk was an unknown factor. Kagome was his only definite ally, and he didn't want her to get involved in a fight. Which left Inuyasha in a bind that made his youkai blood burn and scream to be released. Without Tetsusaiga, it was even more difficult to control his bloodthirsty demonic half.
He spoke in a harsh voice. "Naraku, somehow I knew you would appear when you were least wanted."
Naraku kept his hands folded in front of him, within the deep sleeves of his kimono. His eyes were trained on Inuyasha, but his attention was divided between two of the three people he had come to destroy. Gaze hooded and deep voice untouched by emotion, he said, "So that houshi was able to figure it out and send you here? It's a shame that your mind wasn't crushed in the void. So many others have that happening to them. It's surprising that a half-breed like you was able to come through unharmed."
"Naraku! What have you done, bastard?"
Kyosuke heard Inuyasha yell at Naraku. He looked the hanyou over and noticed the similarities and dissimilarities he had to Sesshoumaru. This was the half-human dog-demon who was supposed to have been cursed to spend eternity in a sleeping death by the priestess who protected the Shikon no Tama. What is he doing free? His youki is not that of a hanyou…
**********
Inuyasha waited for Naraku's answer, but nothing passed his enemy's lips. Not even the chilling laughter that Naraku was wont to utter – and that bothered Inuyasha. Wasn't Naraku supposed to be gloating by now? Instead Naraku looked like he was caught up in his own thoughts. An icy hand reached into his chest and grasped Inuyasha's heart.
Sesshoumaru stirred in his tight hold. Inuyasha looked down to meet a pair of lucid eyes and was transfixed by their purity of color. Relief relaxed the set of his shoulders and the tightness of his facial muscles eased. Inuyasha let go of his brother when Sesshoumaru began to sit up. Inuyasha let Sesshoumaru gather his bearings, understanding without words that Sesshoumaru would hate for him to ask if he was all right, instead he turned to Kagome and the monk who was still cradling her in his arms.
Not liking the sight of Kagome in anyone else's arms, he began growling beneath his breath without being aware of it. The youkai blood in him called for blood. If this had happened when he had first transformed into a full youkai, Inuyasha didn't know if he would have had the self-control to hold back his bloodlust. Now he was a little more accustomed to the effect his demonic blood had on his mindset, and he could consciously temper it with reason. Total control had not yet been reached, but he could restrain himself from killing in cold blood if he was not antagonized. So far the unidentified monk had not given him reason to kill him. So far.
"Give her to me," Inuyasha said.
**********
Kyosuke stared into the bloody eyes of a demon, and the only reason why he did as Inuyasha said was because Sesshoumaru was not objecting. Kyosuke had been around Sesshoumaru long enough to know that he was protective of Kagome. If Kagome were in danger from Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru would have killed him already, brother or not. Youkai were curiously unconcerned with familial bonds and sentimentality. Kyosuke carefully stood with Kagome and handed her limp form over to Inuyasha's waiting arms.
The affect was instantaneous as Inuyasha's crimson eyes faded until golden irises were once again surrounded by white. Elongated teeth and claws retracted. And when Kagome's eyes fluttered open, Inuyasha's expression softened. Kyosuke released a pent up breath. He faced Naraku… and felt apprehension pierce his heart when he saw the woman that stood apart from all of them, hidden within the shadow Naraku cast.
**********
Kagome did not remain in Inuyasha's arms for long. There, she felt warm and comforted, his solid presence a welcome familiarity after the past week's craziness. But it also felt wrong to be close to him when Kikyou was a few short meters away and they were the focus of one too many pair of avid eyes. So Kagome reluctantly disentangled herself and tried to avoid Inuyasha's silent question by spending an inordinate amount of time straightening her dress.
Darting her gaze elsewhere proved fruitless, for it caused her to clash with Sesshoumaru's – he too was watching – and she stumbled a little to put distance between herself and Inuyasha, not quite grasping why his opinion mattered, but understanding that it did. Regaining a little of her composure, Kagome remembered in vivid detail what had just happened: how she had just made a fool of herself in front of these people. Embarrassment made her duck her head. A blush spread across her cheeks. To those who did not know what had transpired, it seemed as though some private communication had passed between Kagome and Sesshoumaru.
Naraku chose that awkward moment to inject his personal brand of cruelty: the soft sound of his laughter drifted on a gentle breeze to reach both youkai and human ears. Kagome nearly jumped out of her skin. She had forgotten how sinister Naraku's voice could be when he chose to use it effectively. She wanted her weapons, but they had been removed from her sometime after her fainting spell. Now bow and quiver lay too far away for her to reach them without drawing undue attention.
"What the hell's so funny?" Inuyasha demanded.
If his tone was brusque he didn't apologize for it. The sting of Kagome's rejection was sharp and unexpected. True, she might not have said anything to indicate distrust or dislike of him, but the fact that she didn't want him touching her even in such a casual manner was evidence enough that things had changed between them. He just wasn't sure if "them" meant just him and Kagome, or if that had changed to include Sesshoumaru into the equation somehow. Suspicion made him irritable. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides as youki gathered under his skin, making him tingle from inside out.
"What's so funny?" Naraku started chuckling harder. He brought long-nailed fingertips to his lips as if the flesh and bone barrier would be sufficient to muffle sound. "I come here to kill you and find a drama of fools and lovers."
Inuyasha scowled and cracked his clawed fingers. Kagome decided that she would rather be armed and ready than a sitting duck. She began working her way towards where her bow and quiver of arrows lay. Kyosuke remained leery and alert, keeping his right hand free and his left hand on the beads, ready to tear them away in a moment's notice. He was stationed at the angle to all of them, far enough away that Naraku wouldn't be able to touch him before the Air Rip sucked him through, but not so far that he would capture his allies in the Air Rip as well. Sesshoumaru's face lost all expression.
Naraku stopped laughing and let a mask of boredom drop over his features. Kikyou came level with him, close enough for him to smell her scent. Were he to shrug, their shoulders would touch. Then Naraku called on his offspring, the old creature that he had created as an experiment, and then cast into this realm as an afterthought. Now it seemed that she had a use after all. With the hag, the numbers were more even. Three against four weren't bad odds. He doubted that the girl would pose a problem. She had the uncanny luck of a cat, and her power was potent, but she lacked the experience and knowledge necessary to harness that power consciously.
"You called, Master?" With her head down cast the Gray Witch easily hid a resentment filled glare. She had been observing everything from a safe distance before Naraku's summons, hoping that a chance would present itself for her to escape his bonds of slavery. If she played her cards right, and if she had gauged her new allies correctly, then soon she would be a free person.
"Obaba," Naraku said, "keep an eye on the girl and make sure she remains alive. If she tries to run, then stop her."
Author's Notes:
Yo. ^_^v
Yes, yes, I know you don't want to see it, but it's time for my drivel. *cough* This chapter started out pretty tamely, ne? Inuyasha's easy to write. After all, he isn't an idiot. ^^ I know, I know that Sesshoumaru often calls him one, but still, I don't think of Inuyasha as dumb or inferior to his brother in any way, shape, or form.
Sesshoumaru: Right. Who do you think you're fooling?
Shun'u: glare Play nice, Maru-chan, or you're gonna eat dirt in the next fight.
Sesshoumaru: … superior stare Not in your wildest, insanity-induced imaginings.
*sweatdrop* Ahem, so as I was saying… There was an itty-bitty line influenced by Marmalade Boy in this chapter. Kudos goes to anyone who knows which one it is.
I apologize that it took this chapter so long to come out. The move from the States to Japan has been taking up my time and… well… I've just been really busy absorbing the sights in Japan. It's wonderful here and there's so much to do that I find myself easily distracted. And on top of that there's the fact that I work full time and go to school part time, and have loads of extracurricular activities…^^; I promise to be better about writing.
And to make it easier for you to find out about updates, I've set up a mailing list for my works. If you would like to be notified whenever there is a new story or chapter, please go to the following link and join the list:
http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/shunu
I will post updates to new (both fanfiction and original fiction) material here, and I'll also let you know about the progress of my fanfiction if there is significant delay between chapters. Inuyasha material will continue to be posted on the sessandkagome mailing list as well so long as it contains that pairing; this new list is for all of my material – including that of other series. Please, no spamming, chain letters (Can't stand those things!), or rampant flaming allowed. C&C are much appreciated though.