The Hunter and the Prey
Chapter 5: Alliances and Unhappy Awakenings
Author: Gryphnwng
Rating: er…PG-13?
Authors notes: Hi, yes, I am back. This time with more sleep. J I've found out that sleep is a good thing, and lets a person work better. SO, here is another chapter, yeah! Thank you for all the lovely reviews, I never expected so many! And so many returning reviewers too! Ah… and as a favor to my friend Kit, for her wonderful ideas. On to the story notes. Ok, I don't know if anyone noticed, but I flubbed on the title of the last chapter, lol. I should be going back to fix that soon. Does anyone know of a beta, or is a beta? 'Cause I need one very badly! My grammar and spelling leaves something to be desired. Oh well. Enjoy the chapter, and as always, R&R!
NOTE: This is the 2nd attempt to upload this- apparently only the review responses got uploaded last time…*grumbles* Not happy 'bout that…grrrr.. Oh well... try number two. Gonna try with reg word doc, so thoughts are now incased in ~…~ Sorry about that
NOTE number 2: After repeated tries to upload this very stubborn piece of work, I'm at wits end. Yes I know, to everyone who reviewed, that it hasn't worked yet. *growls* I'm getting quite aggravated at FF.net. OI!!! Oh well…one more try can't hurt I suppose.
Chapter 5: Alliances and Unhappy Awakenings
Last time~ Miroku, Sango, and Shippou were in site of Sesshoumaru's castle discussing how to get inside to retrieve Kagome when a mysterious figure jumped from the trees in front of Miroku. Another was still in the trees.~
Before Miroku could take another step, a mysterious figure had appeared in front of him, effectively blocking his path. Startled, he stumbled back a pace, his left hand reaching for the prayer beads wrapped around his right in a reflexive action. The figure was dressed head to toe in white, with a dark blue sash holding a sword at his side. A white mask was wrapped around the figures head, making it impossible to tell what its features were. Miroku's senses were screaming "Youkai!" at him. How could he have not sensed it before? Sango gasped and reached back for Hiraikotsu, ready to throw at the slightest movement. They made a frozen tableau, each waiting for the signal to move. Shippou huddled next to Kirara his tiny arms around her neck, blue eyes wide as saucers.
Without warning, a second figure leaped from the lower branches of the trees, landing behind Sango. Before the girl could move, Hiraikotsu was taken from her and thrown aside. The first figure used the chance to grab the startled monks right hand, preventing the use of the wind tunnel. Now disarmed, the group looked at each other, at the mercy of the two figures. Sango chanced a look back at the figure behind her, and gasped. The girl, for the figure stated female, was dressed in a familiar outfit, one like hers. The black and violet clad figure reached up, and took off the mask obscuring her face, and grinned. It was Kagome!
"What? Kagome…how, who?" Sango was almost speechless. How had Kagome escaped Sesshoumaru? And who was that with her?
Kagome smiled again, giving a nod to the figure that held Miroku's arm in its grasp. "I think what you are trying to say, Sango, is how did I get away, and who is that with me?" She grinned impudently, while Sango could only nod dumbly.
"I believe that would be correct, Lady Kagome." Miroku stated, finally finding his voice, absently massaging his wrist, getting the blood to flow through it again.
"Kagome!" A streak of orange hair and fur was all that gave Kagome warning before Shippou flung himself into her arms, sobbing into her shoulder. She staggered back a step, before gathering him in and cuddling his shaking form. "I thought I'd never see you again! Why did you leave me? I'd have gone with you if Dog-Boy was being stupid again!" He buried his tear-streaked face into her shoulder and breathed deeply of her scent, he had missed it so much.
"Oh Shippou, I'm sorry I had to leave you, but I didn't want to. I didn't know where I was going for the time being, and you would have been safer with the others. I was going to come back and take you with me when my business was done." Cuddling him closer, she rubbed soothing circles on his back, rocking him slightly. "I'm here now, though, and I'll never leave you again." Shippou sniffled through his tears and smiled up at her.
A clearing of the throat from the other figure broke the happy scene. Kagome rolled her eyes, and addressed her friends. "Well, it seems my impatient friend would like me to answer your questions." She stuck her tongue out at the masked figured, who merely shook its head in consternation. "Well, it is a long story, which started before I left the group…" Sitting on the ground with Shippou on her lap, she recounted to the others how she had come to leave. Inuyasha's declaration of love, then finding him with Kikiyo later on at night, making love. How she had left the group to find a way to get revenge on Inuyasha. Finding Sesshoumaru late one night, and agreeing to help him get his brothers sword. Devising the plan to get the sword by ransoming her off. It took nearly an hour to finish reciting her story. Miroku, Sango, and Shippou all stared at her in surprise at her daring, staying silent for nearly a minute before Sango ventured to speak.
"So then, Sesshoumaru never kidnapped you at all? Where is he now?" She looked around, eyes wide. Miroku look over to the white-clad figure, having his suspicions as to whom it was. Casually leaning against a tree the whole time, he now moved, one clawed hand moving to take off the mask. Silver hair tumbled free of the bindings, cascading over his back. Amber eyes gleamed with amusement and disdain.
"He stands before you now, wench." Walking over to Kagome, he stood behind her, eyes never leaving the assembled humans. "Where is my brothers sword? I would have it now, if you please." Kagome nodded to Sango, letting her know it was all right to get it. With some slight trepidation, which she masked, Sango took the sword from Miroku and started to hand it to Sesshoumaru. Kagome intercepted it first. Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at that, silently asking her why. She answered verbally. "Well, would you like to be shocked again? As of now, only humans and Inuyasha can touch this sword. I need to fix that. It might take some time. In the meantime, why don't we go back to the castle? I'm sure my friends are tired and hungry, and would like some time to rest."
He growled, but nodded. He knew Kagome was the only way to get his fathers sword, so he had to humor her. He also didn't want to upset her for some odd reason. ~I value her opinion of me, wouldn't do to seem uncouth…~ Growling again, he tried to squash that thought, and led the group to his castle. ~If this keeps up, I'll never get the stink of human out of my home.~
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kagome sat in her darkened quarters, the only light shed being provided by a few stout candles set in the corners. The scent of sandalwood permeated the air, the sweat smoke coming from an incense burner. She had her eyes closed, hands resting upturned on her crossed legs, as she meditated. Tetsusaiga lay unsheathed before her. Surrounding both was a pale blue nimbus of light; Kagome's power. Reaching with her mind, she observed the flux of power held within the sword, searching out the threads that tied its power to only humans and Inuyasha. She needed to find one strand only, the one to Inuyasha, and change it, so that Sesshoumaru would be able to use it, and not his brother. Sweat beaded on her brow, the external sign of how this was straining her. She delved onward through the myriad power signatures, hunting after the one. Aha! There. With her mental 'hands' she caught it up, and studied it closely. ~Good, ~ she thought, ~I can do this. It will just take some time. Now…~ Her brow wrinkled in concentration, she began her work.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
All through that long day, the inhabitants of the castle waited with bated breath. It was a long wait, to see if Kagome would be successful in turning Tetsusaiga away from Inuyasha to Sesshoumaru. Sango and Miroku walked in the garden area and talked. Mostly on Kagome, and their speculations about Inuyasha. They would have to tell her soon, and see what she thought. Their talk also wandered on to other areas, Kaide, the state of the village, and on how well Rin and Shippou seemed to get along. "Like two pups from the same littler." Was Miroku's analogy. It seemed quite true. The two younglings had taken one look at each other and had hit it off. They both were off torturing Jaken now with the Gods only knew what.
Currently Shippou was helping Rin chase down Jaken so they could "play" some more. Shippou was having the time of his life. Just take away that fire-breathing stick of his, and Jaken was as tame as a kitten! So far, he and Rin had played tag, hide-and-seek, doctor (Jaken was the patient), and cat-and-mouse (Jaken was the mouse). Now he was hiding, nursing his wounds. Jaken had no wish to be subject to the worst of tortures again: Dress Up. Unfortunately, Rin and Shippou had other ideas. Using Shippou's keen sense of smell, they tracked down Jaken's hiding place. Dragging the imp, kicking and screaming, out from under the kitchen stove, they bundled him up to Rin's room to find a nice pretty kimono for him to wear.
Sesshoumaru paid no attention to what was going on in his castle. He spent his time waiting up on the stone parapets in thought. He didn't move a muscle as he stared off into the distance over his lands. His thoughts were on the miko who was at the moment in a deep meditation in his castle. One part of him was elated that he would finally have his father's sword, and humiliate his brother. Another part of him, though, buried deep, didn't want Kagome to succeed. If she did, she would probably leave him, never to be seen again. Her mission accomplished. Silently he brooded over these feelings. Why should he, the Lord of the Western Land, a powerful demon, not want to let a frail mortal female go? His thoughts shied away from the idea that perhaps, just maybe, he had grown fond of her.
He was startled out of his thoughts by the quiet sound of a footfall behind him. Turning, he found the human monk, Miroku, waiting behind him.
"She is finished, Lord Sesshoumaru." Sesshoumaru was startled. She had finished already? He was surprised to see that the sun was setting; while he had thought, many hours had gone by. Straightening, he walked passed Miroku and through an archway which led inside.
"Very well then. Follow me, human." He led the way inside, to an inner chamber where Kagome waited.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sighing softly, Kagome finally let go of the thread of power she held in her mental hands. ~That should do it. Now all that is left is to try it.~ Opening her eyes, she groaned as she shifted position on the cushions. She had been sitting there for hours, and she was sore all over. She slowly got to her feet, and stretched,
Tetsusaiga held in one hand. With faltering steps she made her way to her door and opened it. Outside was one of Sesshoumaru's servants, a neko youkai named Marya. She was Kagome's assigned body servant. Quietly, Kagome spoke.
"It is done, Marya. Please inform the others so. I will be in Lord Sesshoumaru's study awaiting their arrival."
Marya bowed her head. "Yes, Milady Kagome." She hurried off, the soft padding of her feet barely heard. With both hands clasped around the now sheathed Tetsusaiga Kagome made her way as swiftly as she could to the study. She was the first to arrive, and opened the sturdy oak doors. Inside was decorated in crimson and gold, with dark cherry wood furniture. Three sides of the large room were filled with bookcases, filled with books and scrolls on various subjects. The fourth wall housed a large hearth with a deep crimson rug in front of it and several deep cushions. A desk stood in one corner, cluttered with maps and scrolls. Sighing deeply, Kagome settled herself onto one of the thick cushions, Tetsusaiga in her lap. The doors opened again to admit Sesshoumaru, Miroku, and lastly, Sango. Sango went to sit beside Kagome, one hand resting on her shoulder. Miroku opted to remain standing by the side of the hearth. Sesshoumaru also remained standing, moving in front of where Kagome sat. With a tired smile, she handed over the sword. This was the moment of truth, had she accomplished what she had set out to do? He looked down on the sword, held out to him by the girl. He reached forward, and laid one hand on the sheath. A wash of warmth stole out over him, welcoming him. Amber eyes flew wide. Was this what Inuyasha felt when he held the sword? Bolder, her took the sword fully from Kagome, shifting his grip to unsheathe it. The sword fairly sang in his mind, its power wrapping about his own, mixing, joining with his until you couldn't separate them. For one of the few times in his life, Sesshoumaru allowed the mask he wore to slip away, showing his amazement, and his wonderment as he held the sword. He smiled. The others politely looked away, moved by this show of emotion the usually cold Youkai Lord displayed.
"Hmm, I see that it worked." Kagome smiled tiredly up at Sesshoumaru.
"It appears so." Sesshoumaru dropped his mask back into place, and sheathed Tetsusaiga again.
"Kagome, I know you must be tired, but we must talk. It concerns Inuyasha. I'm sure he will follow us here. After all, we did steal his sword." Sango spoke up from her place beside Kagome on the cushions.
Kagome nodded. "I'm sure he will, in fact, I am counting on it. But tell me, how did you get it away from him in the first place?"
Miroku smiled conspiratorially. "With a little help from some mushrooms, of course."
"Mushrooms?"
Sango nodded. "Yes, mushrooms. It was Miroku's idea. A few days before, Shippou had found some mushrooms in the forest and brought them back. He didn't know that they were of a type that sends one into a deep sleep. Miroku kept them just in case. When we decided to take Inuyasha's sword to ransom it for you, Miroku had the idea to use those mushrooms on Inuyasha and Kikiyo. That night while Inuyasha and Kikiyo were…ahem…gone…," Here Sango blushed. "We put them in the stew that we were making. We all had our share before the mushrooms were put in, and the rest was left to them when they got back."
Miroku picked up the thread of the story here. "When they returned, they were hungry, so ate the stew. Inuyasha, being the pig that he is, had quite a bit." Sesshoumaru snorted at the comment, and Kagome laughed. "The mushrooms were quite potent, and I'm afraid Inuyasha had enough to put an entire village asleep for a week. So it was quite easy to take the sword from him as they slept, and make our way here." Miroku finished reciting the tale, both hands clasped about his staff. "He should be waking up about now, or tomorrow. We expect that he and Kikiyo will track us to here in about 3 days or so. Depending on how well he can follow the trail we left."
Kagome nodded, face deep in thought. "What shall we do to him, then, when he gets here? I don't want to kill him but…" She trailed off, her expression troubled. Sesshoumaru lowered himself gracefully to a cushion next to hers. She leaned almost imperceptible closer to him, taking in the silent comfort he offered. Sango noted the little exchange with a raised eyebrow, and glanced at Miroku. He nodded. He, too, had caught that.
"We might not have to kill him, Kagome. That was something else we wanted to talk to you about." Kagome glanced over at Miroku, startled.
"What do you mean? He has been so cruel lately, and the humiliation that he had will just make him worse. When he gets here, he will be in a 'Kill or be killed' type of state."
"That's just it, Kagome. He only started being like that when Kikiyo came, right? Miroku came up with a theory about her. He had noticed several things about Inuyasha that were off. He would be behaving like normal, then Kikiyo would walk up to him, and he would change. Miroku thinks that she has been controlling him somehow." Miroku nodded, backing up Sango's words.
"Yes, it had seemed strange to me that he only started acting abnormally after Kikiyo had arrived. If anything, we need to find a way to end whatever influence she has over him."
Kagome nodded with a thoughtful expression. It did make sense, but she still felt hurt and betrayed. All thoughts went flying out the proverbial window though, when a giant yawn threatened to split her head open. "Perhaps. Let's think on this tomorrow though, please? I'm about ready to fall asleep."
The others agreed, and saying their various goodnights, headed off to their guestrooms. Shippou was already asleep in Kagome's a room, on a mat made up for him. Once the others had left, Sesshoumaru leaned over to help Kagome to her feet. One hand lingered over hers for a few moments longer as he simply said "Thank you." And then left. Kagome watched him go, her hand held to her lips, thinking, before she too went to her rooms for some much needed sleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Inuyasha raged. How could they have done this to him? They took his precious sword, and left Kikiyo and himself asleep in the woods! At least several days had passed while they were sleeping, and their trail was going cold. The amber eyes were bleeding red, and Inuyasha tore the clearing apart in an excess of rage. A tiny corner of his mind that could still think lucidly wondered at this, why was he acting so weird? It was soon quashed under the force of his rage.
Kikiyo watched this from a safe distance, a small smirk on her otherwise impassive face. This was turning out better then she had expected. All she had to do was keep fueling his rage, and he'd be sure to kill that worthless child when he found her, and her friends as well. Then she could release him. The grief alone would be enough to drive him mad. The perfect revenge. For now though, they had a trail to follow. She damped down his emotions enough through her link to him to let him think.
"Inuyasha, we must not delay. The trail will go colder if we tarry much longer." Glancing at Kikiyo, Inuyasha's eyes resumed a more normal appearance, though the red did not fully disappear.
"Y-Yeah, yer right. Get on my back, it's faster." She walked calmly over to Inuyasha, her hoisted her to his back, and he set off at a run, following the scent trail left by the other four members of the group.
To be continued…
Well, there we go. Chapter 5 ^_^ And now, to answer the lovely reviews I got!
Clow Angel: Yup, it sure is! There's just something about those two I just love! *grins*
Naptina: lol, glad you like the cookie ^_^ Oh, had a bit of Jaken/Rin goodness here, with a bit of Shippou thrown in as well!
Clytia: Glad you like it, hope you enjoyed this chapter too ^_^
Katzztar: Uh huh! Sure is. Some of my favorite books are written by Mercedes Lackey. Skandranon and FireSong are two of my favorite characters.
Kaimi: I hope the wait wasn't too long J Thanks for reading!
Yuko: I'm not THAT evil, now am I?
Kit: There we go again, people seem to think I'm evil today? Why is that? I would have told you I updated if you had been on….
Crystal: I hope this clears up a few mysteries! ^_^
Paper-Thin: No reviewer is pitiful! Hope you liked this chapter J
StDogbert: I have an affinity for birds of prey, and cats. So…I'm a gryphon person! They are my favorite mythical animals, so I based Gryphnwng on that. I just dropped a few vowels on the way…nasty thing, vowels…lol.
Ok, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Night night, time for bed for me!
~*~Gryphnwng~*~