A/N: wow!! Chapter eleven!!! I'm so proud of myself!!
Disclaimer: If I didn't own it last time, what makes you think my situation has changed any?
Well, thanks go to more than one person today!! Yay!!! ^____^
Thank you thank you thank you!'s- go to…:
I'll try to keep up my updates, but it's kind of hard, what with school and other nonsense.
Well… hey, question. Who, besides me, loves Kanna's voice? I mean, it's so cool!!! I like when she's talking to Kagome. She's all "Kagome. Look into my mirror. Give up your soul." I think it's so cool!!
*sniff* and that one episode, where Kagome goes home and wants to stay there, but comes back and apologizes to Inuyasha and says she wants to stay, that one made my cry. Je suis emotive. ^^
Ah, Kaylana! You hath beat Kitai Matsuru! And then… she beat everyone else! Yay!
Okay, that was crazy fun.
People like how I write! Yay!
***** * Okay, enough commenting time… question time! Just call me slow, cause then you'd be right, but does anyone know what the names of Naraku's incarnations are? I know Kagura, Kanna, and Goshinki, but what were the other two? J-something and K-something… right? I just want to know. Cause they ARE dead, right? And does anyone remember the name of Totosai's apprentice, the one who forged the sword from Goshinki's fang… the name of which has also escaped me? That I need to know… and am I spelling everything right?******
Well… on to part eleven!
Glass House
"Though it may be easier to run and hide…"
Inuyasha, Kagome, Koga, Kilala, and Sango stepped across the last hill to stand before the gates of Naraku's castle. Inuyasha looked vaguely hopeful, Sango looked furious, Koga's face was a mask of indifference, and Kagome's face was screwed up in a determined fashion. Kilala was looking, well, like herself, and her mouth was open slightly as she growled. The sound rumbled from deep within her throat and carried on currents of air, informing the ever-hidden Naraku that the cause of his death had arrived and they weren't here for talking. Rising with her angry sound was her telling Miroku he better be alive, because she was sick to death of seeing her mistress cry.
Inuyasha drew Tetsusaiga, Koga cracked his knuckles, Kagome notched a bow to her arrow and Sango touched Hiraikotsu with one hand. The gates slowly swung open before them, and they purposely walked forward into Naraku's permanent domain.
"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked after a moment, her fear evident in her voice. "If Naraku should decide to move his castle- have it vanish and reappear- while we're in it, would we be trapped within?"
Inuyasha stopped moving for a second.
"Never thought about that," he admitted grudgingly.
"Of course you didn't, mutt-boy, you never think," Koga noted arrogantly. Inuyasha gave Koga a Look that clearly said 'keep that up and sign your death wish', which Koga promptly ignored.
"Let's go!" Sango cried, irritated. "We have to go save Miroku!" Everyone turned to stare at her for a moment, then the followed her towards the castle.
The shadows were long and cloaked the high stone walls in shades of gray.
"This doesn't seem right," Kagome whispered.
She could sense the jewel shards beyond the walls.
"Something is wrong," Kagome murmured, her step faltering for a moment.
"Kagome?" Inuyasha asked.
"There's something wrong," her voices sounded weak and high. "We can't go on, wait, it's not right!" she cried, not recognizing her own voice.
"What do you mean, Kagome?" Koga asked, grasping Kagome's hand firmly in his. "What's wrong?"
"Something… there's something waiting, we can't… don't!" Kagome wailed helplessly, fighting her instinct to run away.
"What are you saying?" Inuyasha said, impatiently and oddly compassionately, for him, anyway.
"Sango's… gone," Kagome whispered, her eyes going slightly out of focus and a goofy smile appearing on her face. "Sango kept walking, and now Sango's gone."
Koga and Inuyasha looked at each other, looked at Kagome, looked towards the castle, then wildly began to search for the apparently missing tajiya.
"She is gone," Koga murmured.
"Into the castle," Inuyasha breathed. "Without us."
There was a long period of silence in which everyone tried to figure out who had led their friend to ditch them. Or rather, Inuyasha glared at Koga, Koga glared back, and Kagome smiled like a child.
Inside the castle, Sango stood, waiting for Naraku to start the games.
Behind her, the castle walls slowly began to flicker, like a candle about to go out…
…or like a castle attempting to vanish, leaving the grounds behind.
~*~
Soft singing awoke Sesshomaru from his light slumber. He glanced about, irked at being awakened and even more irritated that the voice wasn't louder, as it had a calming affect on his nerves.
"Hontouni taisetsuna…"
Sesshomaru blinked, rubbing sleep from his eyes, and walked towards the voice in the stupor of the morning.
"Mono igai subete sutete…"
Puzzled, Sesshomaru pushed back the reeds to wade in the water at the banks of the lake. Nori-chan was asleep, and with her the people she controlled. Controlled through his own power regarding the dead, of course, with some added help from the powers the girl already possessed.
"Shimaetara iinonine…"
Even if it was someone he knew, no, it couldn't be. The voice was foreign, yet something on the edge of his conscious mind told him he knew it already.
"Genjitsuwa tada zankokude…"
The words had an odd appeal, as they struck a bit to close to home for his own liking. Sesshomaru did not hate his brother, just disliked him, for many reasons, actually, but it wasn't hate. His father had taught him better. Yet, it was Inuyasha's father too… Damn, why couldn't that mutt learn any respect?
"Sonna toki itsudatte, mewo tojireba…"
"Who's there?" Sesshomaru called, an action so unlike him it was almost disconcerting.
"Warat-" the voice faltered.
"Who are you?" Sesshomaru demanded, now just irritated that he had to repeat himself.
"Just me," the voice in answer wasn't half as beautiful or mystical as the voice that had been singing, and Sesshomaru decided it would be irritating to hear that voice a lot.
"I'm not in the mood to play games," Sesshomaru answered, readying the poison claws he was so proud of to- well, we won't go there. As he came around the bend, he saw a very half-dressed, very odd looking woman standing about waist deep in the cold water. Now he knew he recognized her.
"Kikyou. The miko-wench," he snarled. "My little brother's dead lover."
"I appear very much alive, Sesshomaru," Kikyou answered placidly, clearly telling him whether or not he thought her alive didn't matter.
"You know you have no heart," Sesshomaru sneered.
"What you don't know," Kikyou answered, looking him right in the face. "is that soon I will have no soul."
The relative calm with which she stated this made Sesshomaru recoil slightly, as if in shock. He managed, at the last minute, to prevent himself from moving at all, but his shock was scribbled across his face.
"I want you to do me a favor," Kikyou said. "I want you to help me save your little brother, Inuyasha."
"Why would I do something like that?" Sesshomaru laughed.
"Because if you don't," Kikyou answered, irritated. "Nori and her sisters will kill you- suck the soul right out of you and make you Naraku's puppet."
"I don't believe you," Sesshomaru replied. "Nori has no family. I found Nori, rescued her, used some of her power to make her a strong ally, and I watched out for her."
"You don't know anything," Kikyou answered.
"What?" Sesshomaru asked, eyes narrowed. "I know that you're going to die, and if you take my brother with you, then that's ridding the world of several bad souls all at once."
"I know that once you fall, Naraku will rule this world."
"I won't fall, I don't care," Sesshomaru growled. "Now leave me!"
"Alright. I know you'll come anyway, Sesshomaru. Any chance to kick Naraku's fat monkey rear will bode that you attend." Kikyou dismissed his protests with a lofty wave of her hand. "If you don't come, it'll mean that you're scared of your brother, Naraku, and your own heart."
Kikyou's soul collectors bore her away from the confused youkai.
"…I'm not afraid," said youkai whispered to the air, looking almost fearfully behind him to Nori's sleeping place. "I'm not afraid."
His voice sounded so small and frail the wind carried it right back to him, almost feeling pleasure when the saw the all mighty youkai flinch.
To Be Continued…
Okay, ending notes:
Does Sesshomaru even sleep? Well, if he didn't he does now.
A very intuitive person may have noticed the lyrics are Inuyasha's ending theme for the third season, "Dearest". This is the translation (or a pretty close one, at that) to the lines I used:
It would be nice if we could throw away
Everything but what is most important
Reality is just cruel
But whenever
I close my eyes
You're there, smiling (actually I cut off halfway through this line)
If, for any reason, anyone wants the romaji version or the dubbed version of this song, I have the Japanese romaji (possibly the translation, too), and the dubbed version in both languages. Just say so in a review or send me an e-mail.
Japanese to English Dictionary! This is for new words from part 8 to now. For words before that, go to the end of part 4 and/or part 7. I was going to do one at 8 and 12… but I didn't. So there.
Kisama: you (disrespectful) (this was actually before, but I forgot to put it in)
Dame: bad, no good
Mamotte ageru: I will protect you
Fuku: uniform, like Kagome's school clothes
Yukata: simple cotton kimono
Otoko no ko: boy
Otoko: man, guy
Ohayo: good morning!
Konnichi wa: hello
Onegai?: please?
Bishounen: pretty boy (like Sesshomaru)
-onee-chan: what you'd call a sister (Kaede calls Kikyou "Kikyou-onee-chan")