(AN) Sorry about the lateness of this update. I was sick and out of school for two weeks. And now that I'm back in school...I'm running around like a chicken with its head cut off just trying to get caught up. In fact, right now I'm supposed to be studying for a make-up exam I have to take today, but instead I'm finishing up this part. Damn. Well, maybe I'll get lucky and we'll have a blizzard! ^_^
Um, for those of you following ICE...The next chapter's going to be a little while. Maybe a week, I'm not sure. I've got part of it done, but there have been several traumatic events in my life right now, on top of being ill, that have just completely sucked the humour out of me. So I can't write anything cute and funny, and I don't feel as if I can give the next chapter of ICE the attention it deserves. I'm not giving up, no way, it's just going to take a little more time than previous updates.
As for 'Enemy of My Enemy', I should be updating that in a couple days. I have about 94% of the next part already written, so all I need to do is finish it and maybe do some editing. There are three parts left, including the one I'm working on now. I won't be posting any of the next two parts on ff.net, only the last. To read it all you'll have to go to www.adultfanfiction.net, or www.mediaminer.org.
Thanks to all reviewers! I truly appreciate all the kind and helpful things you have all said! ^_^
Juxtaposition
Chapter Nine:
The Treasure
Kagome walked the perimeter of the small room, Rin trailing devotedly behind her. Her small steps were quiet and steady on the floor; she clasped her hands before her and stared up at the miko curiously.
The girl had been an immense surprise, but not an unpleasant one. Kagome still couldn't fully believe that this was the 'treasure' that Sesshoumaru was seeking, but it seemed to be true. The girl did know quite a bit about the youkai lord, though Kagome wasn't too certain of some of the information. It was clear that Rin idolized her 'Sesshoumaru-sama'.
It feels right, though. I can't explain it, but somehow it makes sense. Kagome stopped and so did Rin, mirroring the miko. She lifted a hand, feeling along the barrier but not touching it. It was strong, but Nukata had underestimated her severely. It would be short-work to dispel the magic gathered, and free them from their prison. But she didn't do it. Once the barrier was down Nukata would be alerted, and so would the guard. She needed to have a plan of action ready if she truly wanted to make it out with the girl. She had to think of something else, something that wouldn't trade lives for lives.
How much time do I have? Sesshoumaru would come at dawn, no matter if she had Rin with her or not. He would come and he would rip the village apart...but they weren't in the village. All those lives wasted for no reason. I gotta think of something! She pushed back her sleeve and hit the button on the side of her watch.
Rin squealed as the watch face lit up, hopping up and down. "Can Rin see the pretty bracelet?"
Kagome smiled at the little girl, the worried and thoughtful lines of her face falling into an expression of warmth and affection. She undid the watch and slipped it from her wrist, laying it gently across Rin's palm. Rin immediately sat down on the shadowed floor and began exploring it, giggling as her tiny fingers found the light switch.
Kagome let her mind dwell on the child before her for a moment, allowing her thoughts to settle more calmly. She glanced at the shadow of the closed screen, feeling the presence of the barrier as it rippled across the door. Five hours and...
Something tugged insistently on the sleeve of her kimono. Rin stared up at Kagome with warm, thoughtful eyes. They were very dark and deep in the twighlight of the room. "Don't worry, Nee-chan, Sesshoumaru-sama will save us."
Kagome didn't feel it, but she smiled thankfully down at the little girl, combing her fingers through her soft ebony hair. "I know." That's what I'm trying to avoid, but she couldn't say it aloud. She couldn't say anything remotely negative about the inuyoukai, not while Rin looked up at her with such solid faith.
How peculiar. I thought Sesshoumaru hated all humans. And yet he was willing to go to such lengths to protect this little girl. Is that what Nukata thinks she's doing? Protecting this innocent little creature from the evil youkai? Kagome sighed, causing Rin to frown up at her in concern again. What a mess this was.
Less than two hours left. Kagome was becoming frantic with the thought of escape, though her body conveyed calmness. She sat against the wall farthest from the door, staring at it, knowing she could leave if she truly wanted, but unsure of what the outcome would be. Rin was breathing softly, curled up asleep in Kagome's lap with her hand fisted in the cloth of her kimono. Kagome's watch glinted loosely on her little wrist.
I don't want to hurt these people. They're not bad, just misguided. But I can't let any harm come to Rin-chan. And I can't waste any more hours, hoping the perfect plan will fall into my lap...If we're still here by dawn, all the people in the village will be dead. And for a war they didn't wage.
I don't know what Nukata hopes to gain with bringing Sesshoumaru's rage down upon the people she is sworn to protect, but I can't let this continue.
She shook Rin's shoulder gently. "Rin-chan, Rin-chan, wake up."
Big eyes instantly blinked open. She turned her head to look at Kagome, strands of her hair sticking up on one side. Her voice, when it came, was sleepy, but alert. "What's wrong, Nee-chan?"
Kagome helped her to her feet, straightening her clothes out, then climbed up herself. She took Rin's hand and knelt down beside her, peering into her wide eyes in hopes that she understood how grave their situation was, and that it could get worse. She didn't want to scare the child, but it was essential that the next few minutes be approached seriously.
Rin's mouth firmed into determination, and her whole presence suddenly glowed with an amazing amount of will. Something told Kagome that Rin was no stranger to the cold and darkness of the world. She wanted to ask what had happened to make her so knowledgeable, how she had come to be the 'treasure' of one of the most respected and feared youkai in existence, but there was no time.
"If I tell you to run, Rin, please run. Okay?"
Rin stared at her, then nodded once, sharply. "Hai."
I can't give her anymore details of what I'm about to do, or she might not go with it. There is a very real chance that I will get hurt...But Kagome knew they couldn't wait any longer, something had to be done now.
She suddenly drew the child into her arms, hugging her tightly to her breast. She wrapped her fingers loosely around a lock of her hair and said, "You will be with Sesshoumaru-sama soon, I promise. But...If you think you are in trouble, yell for him. He will find you."
She felt Rin nod against her shoulder.
Kagome nodded too, she rose to her feet and motioned for Rin to stand back. Rin moved obligingly, her countenance oddly serene for the situation they were in and facing.
Kagome closed her eyes and reached out to the screen, not with just her hand, but her power. The barrier rippled beneath her touch, fighting her, but she focused through her hand until it started to glow a faint pink. Brushing the tips of her fingers against the barrier, the thin mystical wall shattered, dissolving into the air.
Not waiting for her body to adjust to this new, but familiar sense of freedom, she thrust the panel open and...froze. Nukata smiled at her, an arrow notched and pointed.
"Impressive. But, as you can see, it won't be enough."
Rin moved into the line of Kagome's body, half-hiding behind her. Kagome placed a reassuring hand on the child's shoulder, but her eyes glared out at the miko blocking their path. "Let us go, and I can promise you, no harm will come to you and your people."
Nukata laughed. "You expect me to trust a girl who has betrayed her own kind to the youkai?"
The night around them wasn't quite so dark anymore. It wasn't dawn yet, but Kagome knew it was coming. She had very little time to convince the miko to let Rin go, or make an escape, or die trying.
"Rin."
Kagome stopped breathing, and so did Nukata. Their heads turned as one to Sesshoumaru.
TBC...
There are so many things I want to say, but I'm afraid I'll give away one of the major plot lines before it's ready to be revealed. *bites tongue and wonders how she can drop a few hints without saying too much* Um...a lot of things within this story may seem small or random, but some of that's just a veil. A few things that seem unimportant and odd now will turn up again later, with more force behind them. How's that for ambiguous? :-D I just want you to know I'm not writing blindly here, I have a definite plot mapped out.
Ah yes, I've been getting several complaints that my chapters are too short. Sorry, but that was my intent. My other chapter stories had a tendency to run 13-20 pages a chapter, typed. Each chapter practically exhausted me. I decided that I would try the other extreme within the Inuyasha fandom and make shorter chapters...This allows me to work on more than one story at a time, and keep my updates at a steady pace. I am also more likely to keep a story going that way. I could start posting longer chapter, but it would come at a price. I would probably pick one fic to focus on, and each update would likely be spaced two to three weeks apart. Life right now is just too demanding of my time for me to do anything else.
Well, anyway, tell me what you think of this chapter! ^_^ Am I doing Rin any justice? I think it's even more difficult to write Rin than it is to write Sesshoumaru...