All work and no play makes Gary something something.
Random reviewer: G-go crazy??
DON'T MIND IF I DO!!!!!!!!!! YEARGHABIBBLE!!!!!!!!!!!
Honestly, I could kill myself lately. The combination of a horrible writer's block and upcoming final exams have left me a nervous wreck. Not to mention the endless band practices for the big trip we're taking at the end of the year. (We're going to Washington D.C. for the big WWII Memorial Dedication Parade, and we're representing our home state! Woot!!!)
Anyway, sorry for the long wait, but this is a largish chapter, at slightly over eight pages. I hope that makes up for it.
Every reviewer, in unison: IT DOESN'T!!!
Well, deal with it. Unless you can crawl through the Internet and hold a gun to my head, until the school year ends I likely won't be updating with tremendous speed. It'll pick up during summer when I have nothing to do, but recently is not a good time.
But, enough about my personal life, nobody cares anyway. Revie...
Wait, wait, before I start reviews, one quick thing. When you review...a quick word or two outside the story is fine and dandy, especially if I invite it; but, you know, reviews are supposed to be used for REVIEWING. I'm not complaining (much) but among other things, I don't want the fine folks at FF.Net to delete this story and accuse me of running a chat or message board with my reviews. Just to let you know.
Also, even if it's your first review and you haven't gotten a response, or you normally skip everyone's review response except your own, kindly glance through this batch. There are two large announcements in bold which pertain to everyone.
That's enough of that. REVIEWS!!!!!!!!!
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Kai19: Mysteriously absent again. I'll bet my bottom dollar that finals are wreaking as much havoc with your spare time as they are with mine. Eh, review when you can, I'm in no particular hurry. (Oh PLEEEEEEEASE REVIEW!! I'LL GIVE YOU A MILLION DOLLARS...)
Valdimarian: Put your mind in the storm drain if you like, but it'll get all soggy. And that isn't exactly "brainstorming". Inuyasha is quite adept at kicking the asses of those who would harm Kagome. Even when said person is much, much stronger than he is. Okay, I'm confused. I always thought that the Kaze no Kizu was when he sliced into the wind scar, a manifestation of a DEMON'S energy that he located by scent. Am I wrong? Consider yourself lucky. YOU HAVE A DAMN MUSE. Mine seems to be in New Jersey or somewhere where I am not. I just pulled the name Yumi out of a hat. Don't look too far into it. It does, does it? Well...I wouldn't be one to say anything about THAT. Sesshomaru can move faster than people anticipate, but the General is a master of military strategy. Heck, look at his title. I'll not deal with paradoxes. Let's just say it all works out in the end and deal with it from there. Rest assured, I DO have a plan for maintaining continuity.
Ryguy5387: Can't it, Ryguy? Can't it? I would like to remind you that I and I alone have the power. It MIGHT be Sesshomaru, but it just MIGHT be someone else. I'll tell you this much: Whoever it was, we've seen before in this story. There will. Tetsusaiga in particular. Read on to find out more. (But not a whole lot more.)
Thief of Baghdad: While I always appreciate interesting comments, I appreciate it more when people review and actually, you know, say something ABOUT THE STORY. Just a heads-up for the future.
japanime-01: You wonder? I KNOW! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Queen of Roses: People aren't generally courteous after someone says all their friends will die. I've been meaning to get to that, and I swear I will. I still don't get it, but meh.
Kegger007: He was riding high for quite a bit, but he's not invincible. Just really, really tough. He COULD hit Sesshomaru's army, assuming of course that he wasn't otherwise occupied. A signed review. How scrumdiddlyumptious!
Mechant Guy: ducks and covers IF YOU KILL ME, I CAN'T FINISH THE STORY!
AkuReiX: A hypocrite about what? I've already forgotten. It's a moderately long review. For long reviews, check out Kai19, Queen of Roses, and Valdimarian. THOSE are bloody long reviews.
The Foxen: It's not about the –kun or –chan, you can add those if you want; it's the fact that you keep spelling my name Gray! It isn't Gray, it's Gary! My name is Kagome! KA-GO-...wait, that's not right. What pleadings were those? slinks away Copy-written? It's a thought...but I have another idea. See below...
Ahem. We interrupt this review response to bring you a special bulletin.
TOBIAS, AS THE OC, IS MINE. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO USE HIM, YOU CAN ASK VERY NICELY. YOU STEAL, I KILL.
That is all.
KillaBri: He isn't all-powerful, he's just damn tough. Inuyasha always wins, eh? Eh? smiles evilly I'm in Pre-Calculus and I still don't understand that theorem. But, meh.
Silver Warrior: That it is. But moving and changing in which direction? I'll leave that for you to answer...
Mitsuki-kun: I wish someone would draw this story for me. I have some writing skills, but my artistic talents are limited to stickmen, so I'm not much of a drawer. But I just thought of something...
Ahem. We interrupt this review response AGAIN to bring you ANOTHER special bulletin.
If anyone's interested in drawing pictures of Tobias or the General, based on the descriptions I've given, they are more than welcome to do so. Just email 'em over to me, and I'll stick 'em on the Internet for all to see. I might offer incentives for doing so...
That is all.
RK? You mean Rurouni Kenshin? I'm not familiar with Hiko...and the General is most definitely NOT a cyborg. Threats are like promises, but they're always kept. Unfortunately for me. hides
Jeanne-chan56: YOU'RE GOING CRAAAAAAAAAAAAZY!!!!! Take me with you!!! Wait, wait, wait. Are you suggesting in that brief summary that the General kills Tobias and the Inuyasha gang isn't involved? Well...I can say with all authority that the second half is completely UNTRUE.
Chi Master: It's hell. But I have just three more weeks, and then GLORIOUS FREEDOM...
hersheykiss1012: It may come true. It may not. You'll just have to wait and see. draws axes Let them come! There is one dwarf yet in Moria who still draws breath! Err, I mean I'll deal with them. That's why I'm typing this from a secret underground bunker miles under the surface of the earth. I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU CATCH ME HERE!!!
Celestra: Few people enjoy ice to the extent that the General does. Except for those odd people who chop holes in iced-over lakes and swim in them. They're just nuts. I thought it'd be a bit interesting to have an awesome Seer who's like a bouncy teenager. Is it real? IS IT? You'll have to wait and see. Changing time? NOOOOOOOOOOO... I can't deal with that level of complexity! Changing time adds several new dimensions to a story that I'm not prepared to explore. Yes. Yes, I do.
Yume no Yami: I'll do my best. Kits is Kitsune, I take it?
Angel-of –Love69: I hope you don't get lost. I wouldn't like my readers stumbling around my story in a daze, haphazardly selecting random chapters... She might...well, she probably is. But have they really thought about such a thing? Geez, I can't live up to EVERYONE'S expectations. Next thing you know, they'll be asking me to write the sixth Harry Potter book. But seriously, I will try to do my best in the future. Yeah, I put a lot of effort into those. I'm glad people appreciate them.
C-C-C-C-COMBO BREAK – STORY!!!!! (An inside joke. Don't ask.)
(Story begins. It won't let me do the row of asterisks, so this is it. Story begins.)
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Chapter 58: The General's Cruelty
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That night, the group made camp well outside the city. Kagome wanted nothing more to do with that place, and she refused to explain why that was or what the Seer had told her.
She was afraid. Afraid that if she told Tobias, he would lose what little hope he had. Afraid that if she told Inuyasha, he'd run off to fight the General himself to "prove that stupid girl wrong." Afraid that if she told nobody, then it would inevitably prove to be true.
So Kagome sat, and stared into the fire, and held Inuyasha close to her. Inuyasha didn't know what to make of this, as Kagome wouldn't tell him anything, so he just held her close and comforted her and assured her that everything would turn out all right.
Unfortunately, this turned out to be exactly the wrong thing to say. Kagome burst into floods of tears and wailed, huddling into a ball near the fire. Inuyasha moved closer to her, shooting a look at Tobias that clearly said, What the fuck am I supposed to do??
Tobias's returning look just as clearly read, How the hell should I know? Figure something out!
Inuyasha, feeling let down, gathered Kagome into his arms and stood up. He started to walk away.
"Umm...where are you going?" said Tobias. Inuyasha turned around and leveled him with a piercing gaze.
"To take care of my mate," he said bluntly. And with that, he leaped into the trees and was gone.
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The General sat up. He was in a bit of a bad mood – which, for him, meant he had a slight edge to his voice – from sleeping so long. He felt that this was wasted time, sleeping.
At least my stomach wound is healed, he thought, glancing down at his torso. His armor had renewed itself – as it always did after taking damage – and the hole through his abdomen was gone, with but a faint scar where it had once been.
His other wound, however, had not healed so perfectly. The blood flow had ceased, but the General was now without a right arm. This annoyed him tremendously. Had it not been for his ambidexterity, he would have been severely hampered.
Yes, Inuyasha shall pay for this indignity...but other things are more important. Healing and vengeance will come later. The General picked up a small bell on his bedside table. He rang it once.
In five seconds, a demon appeared at his door and saluted.
"Yes, General?"
"At ease, Sergeant. Any news on the goings-on of the boy and his group?"
"Indeed, sir. Earlier today, one of our scouts spotted them heading into a large town about four hundred sixty miles southwest of here. He tracked them until they entered a building that was later identified as the dwelling of a famous Seer. It appears that the Seer within revealed to them information, but exactly what is as yet unknown. The girl, however, seemed quite upset as she left."
"Interesting..." The General stood up. "I will visit this Seer at once."
"Sir?" The General paused and looked at the demon, who backed up several steps. "I-It's just that...with your wound, and...well, sir, it might not-"
"It is an inconvenience, Sergeant, and nothing more," said the General shortly. "I shall simply have to do without until a substitute can be found." And without another word, the General swept out of the room, leaving the demon behind.
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Inuyasha had taken Kagome to the top of a very, very tall tree. He had removed their clothes, which hung from one of the other branches.
They had just held each other, making love sometimes, but mostly just drawing comfort from each other's embrace and the feeling of skin on skin. Kagome still cried, clinging to Inuyasha like he was her only solace, her life raft in a dark storm.
Inuyasha's idea, however, had worked. It took most of the night, but Kagome finally began to calm down; and when the sun rose on the two mates, her eyes were red from crying but dry.
The morning finally came. They dressed, and Inuyasha took Kagome back to their camp. Tobias glanced at the two of them as they walked in, but knew better than to ask anything.
They had started making breakfast. Kagome sat, no longer looking so upset but merely deep in thought.
"It won't happen," she murmured to herself. She looked up at the rest of the group. "Fate...isn't something you can read like a book. We all have the power to make our own destiny. It's our choices that will determine whether we live or die." Kagome stood up.
"I'm not worried about it," she said confidently. The others looked at her, a bit puzzled but glad.
"Good for you," came an eerily familiar voice. Kagome turned around slowly to see the General standing behind all of them, in the woods.
"General," she said flatly. The General's eyebrow arched.
"Not afraid of me, Kagome?" Kagome shot a defiant look at him in response. I can fix that, he thought grimly. The General leaped over Kagome's head into the center of the group.
"I request an audience," he said quietly. "I must speak with you...Kagome."
"Like hell," snarled Inuyasha, drawing Tetsusaiga. The General sighed.
"Despite your previous...accomplishments, Inuyasha, do not think that you can stop me from doing as I will." He turned to Inuyasha and fixed him with an even gaze. "You cut off my arm, but you did not kill me, and you shall not." He drew his sword.
The General heard another sword drawn, behind him. He did not turn around as he spoke.
"So, boy, you choose to fight? And here I was thinking that you had lost all hope."
"Feh. It's about damn time you got some balls," Inuyasha said angrily.
"I am not here for a fight, Inuyasha," said the General calmly. "However, if you force me..." He took one step towards Inuyasha. "Kagome," he said. "Would you be willing to hear me out?"
"If you can say it in front of me, you can say it in front of everyone, General," Kagome said, with more courage than she felt.
The General arched an eyebrow. "Not under these circumstances. So I shall have to do it the hard way." He leaped towards Kagome, but Inuyasha was already there. The General raised his arm to knock away Inuyasha, but realized too late that he no longer had that arm.
Inuyasha swung upwards to strike the General, and might have cleaved him in half if the General had not twisted in midair, turning the edge of Tetsusaiga so Inuyasha hit with the flat of his blade. Nevertheless, it sent the General flying away. He did a reverse somersault in midair and landed on top of a tree.
Tobias ran up and cut the tree down in one stroke. As it fell, the General jumped clear, deflecting Tobias's sword on the way down. Inuyasha rushed on him as he landed, but the General gave a savage kick to the side, and Inuyasha stumbled past.
Tobias and the General exchanged blows, to no real effect, when the General suddenly moved in and struck. The blade sunk into Tobias's side, and he groaned in pain as he staggered back. The General attempted to leap clear, but Inuyasha was upon him. Their swords connected with a clang that resounded through the woods.
And with that clang came a mysterious pulse of energy that the three swordsmen all sensed.
The General froze. He withdrew his sword and backed off a step, Inuyasha doing likewise. Tobias just stood, puzzled by this new turn of events.
The sword... thought the General. It has to be that sword of Inuyasha's... Suddenly, he dashed at Inuyasha, ramming into him with a speed Inuyasha couldn't compensate for. With his arm, he flung Inuyasha away, then turned and grabbed Kagome.
She shrieked at this sudden uprooting. Both Inuyasha and Tobias ran at the General, but the older man was now forgoing combat in favor of running. The General moved incredibly fast, outpacing Tobias and Inuyasha within seconds. He took a mighty leap and landed on the other side of a large hill, panting slightly.
"I cannot teleport and hold Kagome at the same time," he murmured. "Damn him. If it had not been for Inuyasha..." The General resumed running for several more minutes, pausing only when they had reached a dark cave.
The General put Kagome down and started to concentrate. His body glowed blue. Kagome got up and ran for it, hoping she could evade him until he fully teleported. But she was just a human, and too slow. The General's arm caught her in a tight embrace just as the two of them flashed out of sight.
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They reappeared in front of the General's sanctum. The General put Kagome down again and took a deep breath.
"As I said before," he began, "I request an audience. Kagome, there are some things I must talk with you about."
"Like what?" Kagome was determined not to let her fear show in her voice. Sure, she was confident and all, but the General could still kill her with a snap of his fingers.
"Walk with me." The General sheathed his sword and motioned for Kagome to follow him. She tentatively followed him, as he began a slow walk around the perimeter of his citadel.
They were silent for some time. Kagome was making mental notes of the surrounding scenery; the mountains, the trees, what the place looked like. She wanted to know where, exactly, they were, so she could find the place later. The General either didn't notice or didn't care.
The sun was just rising. Rays of light stabbed out over the domed top of the General's citadel. The entire sky was orange-red in color, and the land seemed to be bathed in red light. It was, in fact, quite pretty; but Kagome had other things to think about.
She looked up at his face. His features seemed chiseled in stone, completely immovable and unchangeable. No trace of emotion flickered behind his eyes, and no frown or smile graced his face. He might as well have been an automaton.
"Kagome," said the General suddenly, making her start and turn towards him. "There are several things I must speak with you about. One of those being your visit to the Seer."
Kagome stared at him. "How did you know...?"
"I saw her myself," the General said quietly. "She told me something of great importance. What did the Seer tell you?" Kagome turned away, casting her eyes downwards.
The General stopped and looked at her. His brow arched. "Kagome, nothing will be changed by telling me. Think about it logically." She looked at him, a bit puzzled. "If the prophecy was true, then it will happen regardless of whether you tell me or not. If it was false, then nothing will be changed."
He looked straight into her eyes, at an odd angle considering he was easily a foot taller than her. "Kagome..." he spoke again. He lowered his voice. "What did she tell you?"
Images, images that she had seen yesterday, flashed through her mind; and tears came to her eyes at the thought. But she blinked them back, and her voice shook only slightly when she spoke.
"She said...that all my friends, Tobias, Miroku, Sango...Inuyasha...that they would all fight you, and they would all..." The breath caught in her throat, but she swallowed it and pressed on. "...die."
The General blinked. He did not change his countenance, but Kagome could almost see him thinking. He seemed to ponder this for a while, creasing his eyebrows with thought.
"That..." he said finally, "...is very strange." He looked into the distance. "She told me that I would suffer a great defeat, at the hands of..." He paused.
At the hands of my greatest fear, she said... he thought. But I fear nothing and nobody...what could this mean? "She said that I would be defeated," he finished. "So there appears to be a bit of discrepancy between our respective prophecies."
"What does that mean?" Kagome whispered.
"As nearly as I can tell," said the General slowly, "it means she was either lying or insane." He turned back to Kagome. "Either way, neither prophecy can be taken as the truth. This relieves no small amount of tension for the both of us, I would imagine." He began walking again, and Kagome followed a second later.
The General was silent again for some minutes more, and Kagome did nothing but keep up with him. Her thoughts were a whirlwind: of relief of its falseness, of puzzlement over her willing acceptance, of fear that it may yet be true, of anger at the Seer for misleading her.
"There was one thing..." she said hesitantly, and the General turned his head to look. "What is your name? Your real name?"
The General did not answer. He looked into the sunrise, which was by now straight in front of them. He closed his eyes and bowed his head slightly, as if deep in thought.
"I cannot say," he said eventually. "If you were to know my name, you would know far too much about me. The basis of many peoples' power over the years has stemmed from anonymity. While mine does not work exactly that way...it would just be best if you did not know my name." He picked up the pace just a little bit.
"There was another subject I must broach, but it is not exactly a question," said the General. "It has come to my attention, from how zealously you guarded the Jewel from me, that you have no clue what I actually intend to use it for."
"Th-that's right..." said Kagome unsteadily. "So...what are you going to use it for?"
The General looked down at Kagome again, but continued walking. "I had originally meant to use it to aid me in a great summoning spell I have been crafting for some months now, but when you stole the shards away from me I had no choice but to find an alternative. Luckily for me, I was successful, and the project continues unabated.
"But this does not truly answer your question. While doing research on the properties of the Jewel, I discovered that not only can it amplify any magical effects – empowering a great spell, in my example, or converting a half-demon to a full-demon – it has the ability to grant a wish to he who possesses it.
"So what purpose, may you ask, would I put it to? Increasing my power is a likely candidate, but I am sufficiently confident in my power –" here he tapped the hilt of his sword lightly – "to not desire any more. There is a fine line between the desire for strength and megalomania."
Here the General stopped walking and turned fully to face Kagome. "Kagome, of all the demons and beasts and horrid creatures that walk this earth, I am absolutely sure in telling you that I am the strongest there is. No human, demon, or otherwise has ever been able to match me in power; not even the boy or Inuyasha. Inuyasha may gain temporary strength from his protectiveness of you, but he cannot hope to equal me.
"There was...is one thing that I desire, more than anything else. I have been searching all my life for such a device as the Jewel, and you continually snatch it from my grasp. The last shard still eludes me, despite all my efforts to find it. I am convinced that you and your ilk have something to do with that, but I cannot focus on that now.
"I am emotionless, Kagome. Nothing can rouse any feelings in me, be it anger or fear or hatred or joy. It is simply the way I am. Nothing can do it...nothing...except..." The General closed his eyes again. "Nothing except for one thing, one fragment of my memory that dredged itself to the surface the day you emerged from the well. Nothing except..." He broke off.
"Maria," said Kagome quietly.
"Yes." The General took a long, deep breath. "I would use the Jewel to bring her back from her long sleep of death, so that I may once again feel her hand in mine, her body against me, her lips..." The General raised his hand to his mouth, as though he could still feel the kiss given to him millennia ago.
"However," the General began again, after a brief pause, "I dare not resurrect Maria while the boy lives."
"Why?" Kagome said, puzzled. "What would Tobias do?"
The General's eye twitched. "As you know, as the boy has undoubtedly told you repeatedly, it has been a bit of a purpose in my life to cause him pain, wherever he goes. This is why he is crippled with self-doubt, because he believes that whenever he grows close to someone, I will kill him or her. Most of the time, this has been true.
"If the boy, however, were given a chance to reciprocate, I have no doubt in my mind that he would take it. Were I to raise Maria while the boy was still alive, he would kill her himself, possibly torturing her as well, in an attempt to coax some anger, some weakness from me."
Kagome gasped. The General arched an eyebrow. "Do not look so surprised. The boy may basically be a good person, but you have seen firsthand that he is willing to kill to accomplish his aims. If that scenario as I described were to play out, I would kill him for his insolence..." The General took another deep breath. "But then the Jewel would be consumed, and Maria would be lost to me...forever."
He fell silent, and did not move. Kagome looked at him. The way he carried his body and face clearly showed no emotion, but this time, his eyes betrayed him. She could see the sadness he still felt over her death, and the anger he felt towards Tobias for being associated with her murderer.
This, then, was the reason the General so tormented Tobias over the centuries. Tobias was Marcus's brother. Marcus had killed Maria in cold blood. The General hated Marcus for taking his only love away from him, and had come to associate Tobias with Marcus after the older man's death. The General had irrationally blamed Tobias for Maria's death, and pursued him ruthlessly to make him pay for it. Probably the only irrational move the General ever made.
"Maria is lost to me now," said the General quietly. "I have come to accept that fact, and have concealed all emotion about it; so successfully that even my sword cannot detect it. She is dead. But..." He turned his head towards Kagome.
"Inuyasha, under normal circumstances, would not have been able to wound me so seriously. But my emotions had risen to the surface and left me weak. Those emotions were stirred by my memories...or something more than memories..." The General began to slowly advance on Kagome.
"You are the greatest resemblance, both in body and in mind, to Maria that I have ever seen. Every time I look at you now, I am reminded of her. And this causes more emotion to break my seal on it, which I simply cannot have." The General was right in front of Kagome. He lowered his head to look at her, face to face.
"There is only one way to stop this madness," he breathed. "I must...indulge myself, if you will. Give in once to temptation, and it will leave me for long enough to retrieve the genuine article."
Kagome began to fully grasp what the General meant, and it terrified her beyond words. She began backing away in a blind horror, but the General was far too fast. His hand reached behind her neck and gripped her in a 'sleeper' hold. Kagome struggled feebly, but fell unconscious.
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Kagome came to and wished she hadn't.
For one thing, every article of clothing she wore was now gone. She was in a room she did not recognize, with glowing runes covering the walls; and she was lying on top of a bed.
Kagome tried to get up, but realized with horror that she couldn't. Her wrists and ankles were bound securely with rope to the bedposts. She couldn't move so much as an inch in any direction.
Her pulse increased, and her breathing became rapid as she panicked. As if on cue, the General walked into her line of sight. He was wearing nothing but a light robe.
"Why?" Kagome whispered, knowing what was to come.
"I already explained it to you. You bring out the weakness in me, Kagome, and that is something I cannot have." He paced around the bed, to near her head. "The ropes will not break, trying will only result in you dislocating something.
"This is a chamber of negative energy, where all abilities and supernatural powers – my sword, your miko abilities, a demon's unnatural strength and speed – are all suppressed. It is also sealed from the outside, with an enchantment of tremendous strength. Nobody may come inside unless I allow it, and I will not."
Silent tears slid down Kagome's face as the General removed his robe and tossed it aside. She couldn't escape, and nobody could come to rescue her. She realized, with an awful sense of finality, that all she could do was close her eyes...
...and wait for it to end.
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(Story ends. It won't let me do the row of asterisks, so this is it. Story ends.)
Hides in bulletproof, bombproof, fangirlproof bunker Raises white flag and extends loudspeaker IF YOU KILL ME, I CAN'T FINISH THE STORY!!! Review.