DISCLAIMER: As always, I don't own the original story of the Inuyasha series nor do I own the characters and I don't own the Chinese fairytale that I'm basing this story on. But as far as I'm concerned I do own the idea of mixing these two things together :).
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
I'm so sorry for taking so long to update. It's the 10th day today and I'm glad
I made it in time :). Anyhow, I'm having some problems with my muses at the
moment. I will still try to update within 10 days as much as possible though.
Enjoy reading this chapter!
'...Italic...': thoughts
-- --: locations
"...": spoken words
-.-.-.-.-: time gap
=capslocked words=: noises
-by Kittymui-
Changing objectives
Previously:
Then he thought about what she said before. 'A disgrace for having her wings
torn off...' he summarized it in his mind.
"Jaken," he called after deciding something.
Within minutes, the green servant appeared at the doorway of the study. "Hai Sesshoumaru-sama?"
"Listen well," he ordered without turning to the servant.
His eyes never left the faint moon.
-.- the next morning -.-
Kagome stayed in her chamber and waited fully dressed for someone to tell her that she was allowed to have breakfast with Sesshoumaru again. Today, she was dressed in a simple white dress with a small V-shaped neckline and long sleeves.
'I wonder if he's angry at me now?' she mused after waiting a whole hour. 'Maybe I shouldn't have done that yesterday...' she regretted, remembering how cold the demon lord became after she tried to lean onto his chest.
'Even at dinner...'
[FLASHBACK]
Kagome arrived at the dining room shortly after being summoned, only to find herself standing alone in the huge area.
She looked at the empty plate and glass on the large table in front of the seat where Sesshoumaru sat that morning and knew she was about to have a very lonely dinner.
"Sesshoumaru-sama has already finished dinner and returned to his chamber," Rin's voice spoke from behind her. "He told me to serve your dinner properly, so please...show me where you will be seated."
Kagome's face dropped a little at hearing this and reluctantly made her way towards the seat from across Sesshoumaru's.
[END FLASHBACK]
Kagome's train of thoughts crashed when someone knocked at her door.
=KNOCK KNOCK=
She almost jumped up of shock. "Come in!"
Much to her disappointment, it was Rin holding a tray of food in her hands. Somehow, her way of dressing seemed kind of gloomy today, with her dark gray yukata.
"Good morning Rin," she greeted her, but received no reply.
Rin silently made her way to the nightstand and put down the tray. Just when she was about to leave, Kagome halted her.
"I-is Sesshoumaru-sama very busy?" she asked hesitatingly.
The girl stopped but didn't turn around. "Sesshoumaru-sama has already left the castle this morning."
Kagome widened her eyes. "He left?? Why?"
"I don't know." Was her cold reply.
Kagome was a bit taken aback by her cold attitude and dropped her gaze to her feet.
She lifted her gaze again when Rin suddenly spoke after a short silence.
"Jaken-sama might know more..." she said. "Though I doubt he would allow himself to tell you anything about Sesshoumaru-sama's whereabouts."
After she said that, she exited the chamber.
Kagome watched the door close. 'Jaken-sama huh?'
Her gaze traveled to the tray with food on her nightstand. 'I'll go ask him after I finished this...' she decided.
-.-.-.- somewhere in the Western Lands -.-.-.-
Sesshoumaru was walking around in the middle of a huge forest until a familiar scent caught his nose.
'Hm...saves me a lot of trouble searching for you...' he thought with an invisible smirk.
= LEAVES RUSTLE =
"Heh, you've got a lot of nerve trespassing our territory on your own," a voice spoke from behind the trees.
Within several seconds, Sesshoumaru found himself to be totally surrounded by a large group of wolves and wolf-men.
The wolves all had a brown fur and the wolf-men all wore armor around their torso and leg protectors made of brown fur.
Two of the men stood out and seemed to be the foremen of the tribe. One was almost bald except for the white straight upstanding hair on top of his head. He wore normal shoulder-protectors and brown-black armor that covered his entire torso. And a chain could be seen diagonally running from his left shoulder to the right side of his waist. The other one had short gray hair with a small black part in the middle. This one had shoulder-protectors and made of fur and black armor that only covered a small part of his chest, leaving his stomach unprotected.
Sesshoumaru recognized them to be the two wolf-men who always followed the leader of the tribe around. "Bring me to your leader," he demanded sternly.
One of the wolf-men stepped forward and stood up to the dog demon. "Hey! You're in no position to demand things, you realize that don't you?"
Sesshoumaru's eyes traveled from the impudent whelp to the two foremen. 'It's taking too long...I guess I'll have to use hard measures.' he decided inwardly.
It totally caught the wolf-boy off guard when Sesshoumaru shot out a clawed hand and grabbed his throat.
"Nggrrrr," the boy struggled in his grip.
"Bring me your leader...NOW!!!" Sesshoumaru growled.
Not long after he said that, a gush of wind blew through the trees and a small whirlwind suddenly appeared in the small open area.
When the whirlwind vanished, it revealed a young wolf prince.
It was a young man with long black hair tied in a ponytail and pale blue eyes. He wore a brown headband over his head and gray-black armor covering his torso. Brown protectors made of fur could be seen on both his shoulders and lower legs.
"I'm here, now let him go," the wolf demanded.
Sesshoumaru's eyes darted towards the wolf prince and he released the whelp.
The wolf-boy quickly hid himself behind the wolf prince and coughed while covering his throat. "K-Kouga-sama..."
Kouga looked at his subordinate out of the corner of his eyes with an ashamed expression on his face. "What brings you here?" he demanded with a frowned as his eyes slowly shifted back to the dog demon.
"I have come to retrieve the jewel shards that you are using in your body," Sesshoumaru replied bluntly.
Kouga raised an eyebrow. "That's something new. I thought the great lord of the Western Lands was already powerful enough and would never rely on something like the Shikon no Tama," he mocked as he folded his arms together.
But Sesshoumaru didn't listen and was already charging forward at the wolf with his clawed hand, which was enveloped by a pale green aura, stretched out.
"Whoa!" Kouga gasped, barely succeeded in avoiding the poisonous attack.
"Y-you're actually serious about this?!??" he cried wide-eyed.
His only reply was a cold gaze and the sound of a sword being pulled out of its sheath.
Kouga frowned. 'Even if he is serious, how the hell could he know where I've put the shards?'
That moment, the group of wolves suddenly lunged forward at Sesshoumaru in order to protect their leader.
'Foolish...' the demon lord thought and swung Tenseiga that he had unsheathed at the wolves.
Within seconds, the wolves were purified and vanished into thin air.
= PSSHHHHRRTT =
Suddenly, Sesshoumaru sensed a small pulse, but it wasn't Tenseiga.
= PULSE =
A faint purplish light caught the peripheral area of his eyes and he looked more carefully at the source.
'A Shikon shard huh?' he realized; his eyes locked on the shard-shaped object in the left arm of the wolf prince. Immediately after that, he found two more in the legs.
= PULSE =
He felt another pulse again and this time it turned out to be Tenseiga.
Sesshoumaru looked down at his sword and realized that it was glowing a faint purplish light, just like the Shikon shards in Kouga's body.
The truth was, the demon lord hadn't had the slightest idea why he was able to use purifying power with the sword that was meant to heal. Nor did he know why the Shikon shards that were buried deep down inside the wolf's limbs could be visible to his eyes.
Maybe some Goddess was helping him, he thought amused.
"You are quite pathetic for a youkai prince to use three of them in your limbs," he smirked.
Kouga widened his eyes. "You bastard! How did you " he cut himself off when he saw his henchmen readying themselves to launch a second attack.
"No!" he commanded. "This is my fight! You all are no match for him." He narrowed his eyes as he realized what was left over of his subordinates after most of them were purified. "Now stand back! This won't take too long."
'You got that right.' Sesshoumaru agreed inwardly.
"Although I have no idea how you were able to find out where I've put the shards but I'll make sure you will never get your hands on them as long as I'm alive!" the wolf growled, taking a fighting stance.
Without warning, the wolf launched a first attack by kicking himself off of the ground and sending himself flying towards the demon lord with his leg first.
To counter the incoming attack, Sesshoumaru quickly summoned his whip and sent it towards the wolf.
The end of the green whip caught Kouga's ankle, completely surprising the wolf. "Shit!" he cried.
Sesshoumaru flicked the whip almost immediately and sent the wolf flying towards the earth again, creating a small crater and a large dust cloud.
"Grrrrrr..." Kouga growled as he pushed himself off of the dirt.
But he didn't have the time to plan his next move as Sesshoumaru suddenly disappeared from his line of vision within a blink of an eye. 'What the!' he thought shocked at witnessing the high speed.
It took him several seconds to realize that the demon lord was already standing to his left within arm reach.
Sesshoumaru raised Tenseiga up into the air and slashed down at the wolf, expecting that he would try to block it out of reflex with his left arm.
= SLASH =
Within expectations, the wolf had indeed raised his left arm out of reflex.
"AACK!!" he cried in pain and quickly jumped away with his other hand covering the large gash on his arm.
Both demons locked their gazes on the small shard that had been freed from Kouga's flesh as it fell towards the grass with several graceful twists.
But it never touched the earth, for Sesshoumaru caught it with his clawed hand.
"Chikusho..." Kouga cursed, painfully realizing that he had lost the battle.
Sesshoumaru turned to him with his usual stoic expression. "Choose," he said with a low voice. "Give them to me or die."
A moment of silence passed and the pack of wolves and wolf-men watched terror how their leader dug out the two shards in his legs with his claws.
With a defeated expression on his face, Kouga threw the two remaining jewel shards towards the dog demon. "Now leave!" he snarled.
Sesshoumaru caught them nonchalantly with his free hand and turned to leave without sparing them a glance.
Just when he was about to disappear behind the trees, he stopped and turned aside to look at the wounded youkai prince, who was still kneeling down to the grass.
Without further thoughts, the demon lord slashed in the air and sent a white colored blade at him with Tenseiga.
"Kouga!!" the wolf-men cried as they saw their leader being engulfed by the strange white light.
As the light faded, Kouga and his men couldn't believe their eyes. All the wounds on his body had miraculously healed and no scratch could be found.
When the wolf prince raised his gaze to where the dog demon had paused his steps, he found that the demon lord was already gone. 'Did he just heal me??'he mused surprised, but concluded that he would never be able to find an answer from someone as unpredictable as Sesshoumaru.
-.-.-.-.-
Sesshoumaru looked at the three shards that were resting at the center of his palm as he traveled through the forest.
Why was he doing this?
Was it all for her sake? Surely, he didn't need something like the Shikon no Tama to become stronger.
Yes, the girl will leave him someday to go back to her homeland; there is no denying it. But he somehow wanted her to go back with that beautiful smile on her face than with those sorrowful tears flowing down her cheeks.
He closed his palm and put the shards away. 'There is not much time left...I must make haste...' he decided inwardly as he looked up at the azure sky.
-.-.- meanwhile, on the moon -.-.-
"This is ridiculous! I cannot wait any longer!!" Kronos cried in frustration as he pushed away his thick red mantle and stood up from his throne.
Moira got up from hers as well and put a hand on the king's shoulder. "I know darling, but we have to be patient for Kagome's sake," she reasoned.
Kronos turned to his wife. "For Kagome's sake?! We've been waiting long enough for her to be shred apart by some merciless youkai or human!!" he argued.
This time, Moira was at a loss for words. It still bothered her that her daughters couldn't sense the vibes of Kagome's presence when they went back to Earth a couple of weeks ago, even today. It didn't bode well.
But even so, they couldn't do anything rash. After hearing Kikyou's description of the demon lord that ruled over the Western lands, it was horrific to imagine what would happen if Kagome did fall into his hands and he were to be angered by their unwelcome trespassing again.
Her inner debating ended when Kronos suddenly spoke again.
"Summon all of my daughters," he said.
-.-.- later -.-.-
"What is it father? Why did you summon us?" Kikyou asked.
She and the rest of the princesses were standing neatly in line in front of the throne. All of them were wearing their standard Greeks outfit and brown sandals that reached just below their knees.
Kronos cleared his throat. "I have summoned all of you here because I have decided a change of plans. I am not going to sit here and wait until we are allowed to go back to the Earth to retrieve my youngest daughter."
"I know I might be asking a bit much of you, but since most of you have my fighting spirit running through your veins, your skills will be needed for this plan to succeed."
Kikyou widened her eyes. "Father! Y-you plan to send us back to Earth again?? But the agreement was one month and one month hasn't passed yet! If we do something this rash, that demon might"
"We cannot wait!" Kronos cut her off. "Kagome could be in danger at this very moment! Even if that demon has captured my daughter, I will have no other choice than to attack his kingdom and take my daughter back by force!!"
The queen walked to his side. "My dearest, are you sure you want to send all of our daughters to that planet?" she asked. "It could be dangerous..."
Kronos thought for a moment and his eyes shifted back to their eldest daughter. "Your wedding shall not be delayed anymore, you will remain on Celes for the preparations," he decided aloud.
Kikyou couldn't believe what she heard and opened her mouth to argue, but stopped when she saw the queen shook her head.
The king turned to the remaining daughters. "Each of you shall take an imperial guard with you to Earth. Do not use violence unless it's necessary. You are to find out about your sister's whereabouts first before you take any other actions."
A difficult expression could suddenly be seen on Kronos' face as he continued. "Like all of you, I'm worried about Kagome's safety too. I am angered that I'm not capable of saving her myself, that's why I have to depend on all of you and your skills that you have inherited from me and your mother."
All princesses except for Kikyou nodded understandingly.
Moira frowned and turned to the king again. "But dearest"
"I have no other option love," Kronos cut her off and turned to her. "You and Kikyou will take two more imperial guards to Earth and come back as soon as possible, do I make myself clear?" he ordered sternly.
The queen dropped her face. "I know you better than anybody else that you will not stray from what you have decided," she sighed.
Kronos smiled at her approvingly and turned to their daughters again. "This plan will be taken out within a week, so make all necessary preparations on time."
"Hai!" they acknowledged full of spirit with their heads bowed down.
All except for Moira and Kikyou
How did you like this one? A lot more action than the previous chapters right? There will be more in the next chapter so please look forward to it!!
Lots of greets,
Kittymui
Next chapter: The Shikon no tama
-.-.-.-.-
Sesshoumaru is going to arrive at Naraku's lair. There will definitely be a big fight! Will our handsome main character manage to complete the Shikon no tama before the arrival of the people from the moon? There are still the last remaining shards in Kikyou's (from Earth) possession...how will he be able to convince the miko to give them to him?
-.-.-.-.-
Vocabulary:
chikusho: shit/damn it
hai: yes
miko: priestess
-.-.-.-.-
REPLIES ON REVIEWS:
Nightmares and Fairy Tales: Thank you very much :). Fortunately I didn't get a headache of all this thinking about how to write the story hehehe.
drow goddess: Thanks! I hope you will continue to like this story to its end :).
robin's-hope: Thanks thanks! I guess it's hard for a girl to share a person who she's been living with for 15 years. And it's okay, reviews don't need to be long to be encouraging for me :).
DOS: Thank you, glad you understand hehe.
demonswty: Thanks!! Keep looking forward ne?
DarkAngelB: Hahaha thank you! I'm sorry to hear that but I guess you can learn something from it. Well, you buy the clothes for yourself to look pretty in it right? Unless everybody says it's not looking good on you, you shouldn't have to worry :). Yeah you got it right about Sesshoumaru's objective hehe, nice!
Dark Nadeshiko: Yup, it's a bit frustrating but there are indeed two Kikyou's. And Kikyou was supposed to be dead but she was revived by that miko in the series. Without Kagome, it was still possible for her to be revived because her soul lingered within her ashes. And Kouga is right here hahaha, but this will be the only chapter with him in it, hope you're not too disappointed with that. Thanks for reviewing!
migele: Torn wings cannot be attached to Kagome's back anymore, so the Shikon no tama is the only option left :). Or did I misunderstand what you tried to say in your review? Anyway thanks for reviewing!
Why?What?Shutup: Thanks! I like them too!
Sora the Taske: Thanks!
stoictimer: Hehe thanks! I'm glad you like it!
Inukamisashi: As long as I have my wonderful muses, I won't quit fanfictions :). Thanks for reviewing!
bad-girl4: Thanks for reviewing! I've added you to my mailinstlist :).
kawaiipnay: Hehe just be patient and you'll find out soon enough :). Thanks for reviewing!
Wake-Robin: Thank you very much! I'll try to update within 10 days!
Guardian-of-the-night: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it! Look forward to the coming chapters as well ne?
Posted: 18 August 2004
Last Edited: 18 August 2004
Spelling check: YES