CHAPTER THIRTEEN
*
The storm still hadn't broken when Kagome arrived at the fang-shaped mountains. As she paused at the top of a hill, dark shapes flitted in the bushes on either side of the road. More of Koga's wolves. But at least they weren't trailing her openly, like they had been before. Maybe he told them to be a little more subtle, she thought.
She touched the Tetsusaiga, which she had stuffed into a gym bag. Well, here goes nothing, she thought.
Jaken was pacing impatiently in front of the hidden door. Kagome could see a few bruises on his green skin, apparently from when she had knocked him down the stairs. "Finally," he said crabbily. "Lord Sesshoumaru has been awaiting you all day. You should learn some punctuality."
Kagome ignored him. She looked up the cliff through the clouds, wondering just how Sesshoumaru was going to do this. She followed Jaken silently through the tunnels and stairs, until her knees felt like they were going to fall off. Her heart sank. Every step took her closer to something that would bring Inuyasha back to life, and might wreck hers as she knew it.
"Not that way, this way!" Jaken said, waving his staff.
Kagome hesitated. The stairway branched off in two directions, long stone stairs that spiralled up into the dark. "Which way is it?"
"This way!" Jaken repeated, pointing up the staircase to the right. He began walking up. Kagome followed more slowly, listening to the wind whistling outside the mountain.
It wasn't the airy room they had been in before, but a high, arched chamber carved out of the rock; it was the size of a school gym, and a balcony jutted out of one end. Sesshoumaru stood in the middle of it. His face was turned down toward something huge and dark and lumpy...
Kagome caught her breath. There was an enormous mound of dirt in front of Sesshoumaru. Grave dirt.
"Do you have the sword?" Sesshoumaru asked bluntly.
Kagome unzipped the gym bag and pulled Tetsusaiga half out of it. Her bow and quiver were also inside, but she felt uneasy showing Sesshoumaru that she was armed. No point in getting him nervy, after all, she thought.
His golden eyes narrowed slightly, and he nodded. "Very well. I shall commence." His one hand closed on the Tenseiga, one of the two swords at his belt.
"Where's that little girl, Rin?" Kagome asked hesitantly.
"Jaken escorted her to a hidden grove," Sesshoumaru said flatly. "She is too young to see what will happen here."
I don't like the sound of that, Kagome thought. She added another question, "Are you... able to do this for anyone?"
"No," Sesshoumaru said shortly. "Demons I cannot resurrect. And it is only because of the ties of blood that I am able to do so much for a halfbreed, this easily." He half drew the Tenseiga, then knelt beside the grave soil.
"Inuyasha has been dead for quite some while, far more time than those I have brought back before," Sesshoumaru added, almost to himself. "His body has the bones left in the grave, but not the flesh that clothes them. That has since rotted away."
If he keeps talking like that, I'm going to cry or throw up, or both, Kagome thought.
He held out his slim, clawed hand. A faint bluish glow seeped from his fingertips, seeping down and crackling like lightning. Something stirred deep inside the mound, cracking and shifting the grave soil. It crumbled and heaved, as if the dirt itself was coming alive. A deep groan rumbled from somewhere inside it, like thunder.
Sesshoumaru's long hair was blown back from his face. Suddenly the blue glow ceased, but he kept his hand over the mound. One of his forefingers flicked up.
And an arm shot out of the grave soil, grasping convulsively with clawed fingers. Then it fell to the floor.
Sesshoumaru waved his hand over the mound. A gentle wind seemed to blow in from the stormy sky, sending the grave dirt swirling across the floor. Kagome's breath caught as it seemed to seep into the smooth stones and fill dozens of cracks. The grave soil crept up the limp arm, revealing the outline of a body.
"It's happening," Kagome whispered. "It's really him..."
"Milord, you are truly astounding!" Jaken said loudly.
With a last flick of Sesshoumaru's clawed hand, the grave soil vanished completely.
It was Inuyasha. He was curled on the floor, with one arm stretched out toward her as if in supplication. He was lying on his side, with his long white hair tangled under him. Apparently the shroud had rotted away, because the only thing on his naked form was the rosary that Kaede had placed around his neck long ago. He looked peaceful, as if he were only asleep, like he had when she had first seen him.
But she knew that it was just a body. He was breathing, but his soul wasn't there.
Sesshoumaru studied his brother's body for a moment, then nudged Inuyasha's shoulder with one foot. The young half-demon fell on his back, still motionless.
"Perfect," Sesshoumaru murmured. "Every detail is perfect." His usual contempt had given way to the intent look of a sculptor examining a half-finished work. He studied Inuyasha's body and face, before stepping back.
The room seemed to grow darker as he stretched his hand over Inuyasha's body again. Kagome started to shiver as something dark and ominous seemed to open under her feet. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw wizened imps squeaking in indignation. But when she turned to look, there was only Jaken, mumbling to himself.
He's pulling Inuyasha's soul back from the underworld, she thought. Oh man, this is really creepy... really, really creepy... I just hope it works...
Sesshoumaru's face was taut with concentration. A pale golden light was starting to swirl around Inuyasha's body. As the demon lord curled his fingers, streams of golden light coalesced over Inuyasha's form.
Slowly, Sesshoumaru drew the Tenseiga -- and ran the blade through Inuyasha's body.
Kagome was too shocked to make a sound. Inuyasha's body suddenly tensed in agony and arched upward. A high shriek from the imps faded away to Inuyasha's own hoarse scream. His golden eyes opened, and one of his hands clutched at the Tenseiga's blade, which had run through his chest and into the stone floor. Then he stiffened, and collapsed back to the floor.
Sesshoumaru held the sword down for a moment, then pulled it out. "It is done," he said curtly. "He lives again."
Kagome raced to Inuyasha's side. "Inuyasha?" she whispered. "Can you hear me? Inuyasha?"
Inuyasha groaned.
"The sword," Sesshoumaru said. He looked more worn out than Kagome had ever seen him before.
"Oh yeah," Kagome said distractedly. She crawled over to her gym bag and pulled out the Tetsusaiga, and an arrow. This is it, the moment of truth, she thought. Let's see how powerful these sacred arrows can be...
She took a deep breath, and struck the sword with the arrowhead. There was a flash of blue light, and a shiver seemed to pass through the Tetsusaiga.
She held it up. "Here. Take it."
Sesshoumaru hesitated, then grasped the hilt. He held the sword up to the Tenseiga, as if admiring the matched pair. "Come, Jaken. Our work here is done." He glanced back at Kagome. "Remember this, girl. Should Inuyasha be killed once more, he shall remain dead. The Tetsusaiga was the only thing I desired." He walked to the stairway, with Jaken bobbing after him, but paused and looked back. His eyes narrowed at what he saw
Kagome was kneeling beside Inuyasha's limp body, whispering, "Inuyasha, can you hear me? Inuyasha, please wake up?"
The half-demon groaned and twitched, turned his head toward the sound of her voice. And his eyes slowly opened. "Kagome?" he whispered. "Is it really you... Kagome..."
Kagome could feel tears in her eyes. "Yes, it's me. Inuyasha..."
"I thought... you were gone... I kept calling for you..." Inuyasha was staring at her face with a sort of relief. "... I couldn't breathe and I couldn't see... I wanted you with me... after a battle with... Naraku..."
Kagome hugged him tightly. Right now, it didn't matter if he was stark naked on the floor of Sesshoumaru's mountain penthouse. It just mattered that he was back, he was alive, and safe.... "You're back. I brought you back... I'm not going to leave you ever again."
"Kagome... what happened to me? I remember..."
"It doesn't matter anymore. Just... it'll all be okay."
Sesshoumaru watched the two of them blandly. If it was necessary for Inuyasha to embrace that human girl, he could at least wait until he was clothed. Especially as the room he was in was not his own.
Suddenly Inuyasha grabbed Kagome's arms and sat up halfway. He was staring at Sesshoumaru. "Sesshoumaru!" he shouted. "What are you doing with the Tetsusaiga?"
"I intend to depart with it," Sesshoumaru said blandly. "And what do you plan to do about it, little brother?"
"You bastard," Inuyasha growled. "You don't have any right to that sword. I left it to..." He stopped short. "I left it to... Kagome."
Kagome quickly looked away. Inuyasha's eyes widened. "Kagome?" he said slowly. "You...?"
"I could kill you, Inuyasha, and return the sword to her," Sesshoumaru said. "Would you prefer that?"
Inuyasha glowered. His claws dug into Kagome's hand, but he was still too weak to get up by himself.
"I thought not." Sesshoumaru smiled slightly. "Feel flattered, brother. The girl evidently is so besotted with you that she was willing to gain your hate, in order to restore your life. For one such as you, that must be a rarity."
He turned and vanished down the staircase. Jaken stared at the two for a moment, then made a noise like "peh" and followed his master.
Inuyasha was still staring at Kagome in disbelief. And there was something else there too -- hurt, and betrayal. Something he had lost over time, and Kagome knew he had never expected from her. "Kagome... you gave the Tetsusaiga to him? To HIM? You?"
"I'm sorry," Kagome whispered. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha." I can't stand the way he's looking at me, she thought. I knew this was going to happen, but it hurts...
She stood up and walked out of the room, leaving Inuyasha crouched on the floor. He watched her go, with a strange mix of emotions in his eyes.
TO BE CONTINUED
*
The storm still hadn't broken when Kagome arrived at the fang-shaped mountains. As she paused at the top of a hill, dark shapes flitted in the bushes on either side of the road. More of Koga's wolves. But at least they weren't trailing her openly, like they had been before. Maybe he told them to be a little more subtle, she thought.
She touched the Tetsusaiga, which she had stuffed into a gym bag. Well, here goes nothing, she thought.
Jaken was pacing impatiently in front of the hidden door. Kagome could see a few bruises on his green skin, apparently from when she had knocked him down the stairs. "Finally," he said crabbily. "Lord Sesshoumaru has been awaiting you all day. You should learn some punctuality."
Kagome ignored him. She looked up the cliff through the clouds, wondering just how Sesshoumaru was going to do this. She followed Jaken silently through the tunnels and stairs, until her knees felt like they were going to fall off. Her heart sank. Every step took her closer to something that would bring Inuyasha back to life, and might wreck hers as she knew it.
"Not that way, this way!" Jaken said, waving his staff.
Kagome hesitated. The stairway branched off in two directions, long stone stairs that spiralled up into the dark. "Which way is it?"
"This way!" Jaken repeated, pointing up the staircase to the right. He began walking up. Kagome followed more slowly, listening to the wind whistling outside the mountain.
It wasn't the airy room they had been in before, but a high, arched chamber carved out of the rock; it was the size of a school gym, and a balcony jutted out of one end. Sesshoumaru stood in the middle of it. His face was turned down toward something huge and dark and lumpy...
Kagome caught her breath. There was an enormous mound of dirt in front of Sesshoumaru. Grave dirt.
"Do you have the sword?" Sesshoumaru asked bluntly.
Kagome unzipped the gym bag and pulled Tetsusaiga half out of it. Her bow and quiver were also inside, but she felt uneasy showing Sesshoumaru that she was armed. No point in getting him nervy, after all, she thought.
His golden eyes narrowed slightly, and he nodded. "Very well. I shall commence." His one hand closed on the Tenseiga, one of the two swords at his belt.
"Where's that little girl, Rin?" Kagome asked hesitantly.
"Jaken escorted her to a hidden grove," Sesshoumaru said flatly. "She is too young to see what will happen here."
I don't like the sound of that, Kagome thought. She added another question, "Are you... able to do this for anyone?"
"No," Sesshoumaru said shortly. "Demons I cannot resurrect. And it is only because of the ties of blood that I am able to do so much for a halfbreed, this easily." He half drew the Tenseiga, then knelt beside the grave soil.
"Inuyasha has been dead for quite some while, far more time than those I have brought back before," Sesshoumaru added, almost to himself. "His body has the bones left in the grave, but not the flesh that clothes them. That has since rotted away."
If he keeps talking like that, I'm going to cry or throw up, or both, Kagome thought.
He held out his slim, clawed hand. A faint bluish glow seeped from his fingertips, seeping down and crackling like lightning. Something stirred deep inside the mound, cracking and shifting the grave soil. It crumbled and heaved, as if the dirt itself was coming alive. A deep groan rumbled from somewhere inside it, like thunder.
Sesshoumaru's long hair was blown back from his face. Suddenly the blue glow ceased, but he kept his hand over the mound. One of his forefingers flicked up.
And an arm shot out of the grave soil, grasping convulsively with clawed fingers. Then it fell to the floor.
Sesshoumaru waved his hand over the mound. A gentle wind seemed to blow in from the stormy sky, sending the grave dirt swirling across the floor. Kagome's breath caught as it seemed to seep into the smooth stones and fill dozens of cracks. The grave soil crept up the limp arm, revealing the outline of a body.
"It's happening," Kagome whispered. "It's really him..."
"Milord, you are truly astounding!" Jaken said loudly.
With a last flick of Sesshoumaru's clawed hand, the grave soil vanished completely.
It was Inuyasha. He was curled on the floor, with one arm stretched out toward her as if in supplication. He was lying on his side, with his long white hair tangled under him. Apparently the shroud had rotted away, because the only thing on his naked form was the rosary that Kaede had placed around his neck long ago. He looked peaceful, as if he were only asleep, like he had when she had first seen him.
But she knew that it was just a body. He was breathing, but his soul wasn't there.
Sesshoumaru studied his brother's body for a moment, then nudged Inuyasha's shoulder with one foot. The young half-demon fell on his back, still motionless.
"Perfect," Sesshoumaru murmured. "Every detail is perfect." His usual contempt had given way to the intent look of a sculptor examining a half-finished work. He studied Inuyasha's body and face, before stepping back.
The room seemed to grow darker as he stretched his hand over Inuyasha's body again. Kagome started to shiver as something dark and ominous seemed to open under her feet. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw wizened imps squeaking in indignation. But when she turned to look, there was only Jaken, mumbling to himself.
He's pulling Inuyasha's soul back from the underworld, she thought. Oh man, this is really creepy... really, really creepy... I just hope it works...
Sesshoumaru's face was taut with concentration. A pale golden light was starting to swirl around Inuyasha's body. As the demon lord curled his fingers, streams of golden light coalesced over Inuyasha's form.
Slowly, Sesshoumaru drew the Tenseiga -- and ran the blade through Inuyasha's body.
Kagome was too shocked to make a sound. Inuyasha's body suddenly tensed in agony and arched upward. A high shriek from the imps faded away to Inuyasha's own hoarse scream. His golden eyes opened, and one of his hands clutched at the Tenseiga's blade, which had run through his chest and into the stone floor. Then he stiffened, and collapsed back to the floor.
Sesshoumaru held the sword down for a moment, then pulled it out. "It is done," he said curtly. "He lives again."
Kagome raced to Inuyasha's side. "Inuyasha?" she whispered. "Can you hear me? Inuyasha?"
Inuyasha groaned.
"The sword," Sesshoumaru said. He looked more worn out than Kagome had ever seen him before.
"Oh yeah," Kagome said distractedly. She crawled over to her gym bag and pulled out the Tetsusaiga, and an arrow. This is it, the moment of truth, she thought. Let's see how powerful these sacred arrows can be...
She took a deep breath, and struck the sword with the arrowhead. There was a flash of blue light, and a shiver seemed to pass through the Tetsusaiga.
She held it up. "Here. Take it."
Sesshoumaru hesitated, then grasped the hilt. He held the sword up to the Tenseiga, as if admiring the matched pair. "Come, Jaken. Our work here is done." He glanced back at Kagome. "Remember this, girl. Should Inuyasha be killed once more, he shall remain dead. The Tetsusaiga was the only thing I desired." He walked to the stairway, with Jaken bobbing after him, but paused and looked back. His eyes narrowed at what he saw
Kagome was kneeling beside Inuyasha's limp body, whispering, "Inuyasha, can you hear me? Inuyasha, please wake up?"
The half-demon groaned and twitched, turned his head toward the sound of her voice. And his eyes slowly opened. "Kagome?" he whispered. "Is it really you... Kagome..."
Kagome could feel tears in her eyes. "Yes, it's me. Inuyasha..."
"I thought... you were gone... I kept calling for you..." Inuyasha was staring at her face with a sort of relief. "... I couldn't breathe and I couldn't see... I wanted you with me... after a battle with... Naraku..."
Kagome hugged him tightly. Right now, it didn't matter if he was stark naked on the floor of Sesshoumaru's mountain penthouse. It just mattered that he was back, he was alive, and safe.... "You're back. I brought you back... I'm not going to leave you ever again."
"Kagome... what happened to me? I remember..."
"It doesn't matter anymore. Just... it'll all be okay."
Sesshoumaru watched the two of them blandly. If it was necessary for Inuyasha to embrace that human girl, he could at least wait until he was clothed. Especially as the room he was in was not his own.
Suddenly Inuyasha grabbed Kagome's arms and sat up halfway. He was staring at Sesshoumaru. "Sesshoumaru!" he shouted. "What are you doing with the Tetsusaiga?"
"I intend to depart with it," Sesshoumaru said blandly. "And what do you plan to do about it, little brother?"
"You bastard," Inuyasha growled. "You don't have any right to that sword. I left it to..." He stopped short. "I left it to... Kagome."
Kagome quickly looked away. Inuyasha's eyes widened. "Kagome?" he said slowly. "You...?"
"I could kill you, Inuyasha, and return the sword to her," Sesshoumaru said. "Would you prefer that?"
Inuyasha glowered. His claws dug into Kagome's hand, but he was still too weak to get up by himself.
"I thought not." Sesshoumaru smiled slightly. "Feel flattered, brother. The girl evidently is so besotted with you that she was willing to gain your hate, in order to restore your life. For one such as you, that must be a rarity."
He turned and vanished down the staircase. Jaken stared at the two for a moment, then made a noise like "peh" and followed his master.
Inuyasha was still staring at Kagome in disbelief. And there was something else there too -- hurt, and betrayal. Something he had lost over time, and Kagome knew he had never expected from her. "Kagome... you gave the Tetsusaiga to him? To HIM? You?"
"I'm sorry," Kagome whispered. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha." I can't stand the way he's looking at me, she thought. I knew this was going to happen, but it hurts...
She stood up and walked out of the room, leaving Inuyasha crouched on the floor. He watched her go, with a strange mix of emotions in his eyes.
TO BE CONTINUED