Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Inuyasha series or characters or any other copy written stuff that I may have referred to or used in this story.
From Our Past
Chapter 15 End of Darkness
Naraku sat at his desk staring out the window at the ocean beyond. It really was a spectacular view but at this moment it meant nothing to him. All he could think about was the woman that he held captive in the lower levels of this building. She had been his world at one time and he had ruined it for the both of them. The greed he had inherited from his father was his undoing. All he had ever wanted was to get away from that weak excuse for a human and make an empire of his own just like his mother had taught him. But no he had inherited the her weakness for a human's touch and not just any human. No she turned out to be the mate of a very powerful and vicious tai youkai that he had pissed off just recently. His mind told him that he needed to just destroy her and leave it at that. The damage had been done. But his heart still yearned for her acceptance. He had that once and still had a hard time seeing how he had lost it. When had he lost control of her. Maybe he never really had it.
His thoughts were interrupted by an alarm that sounded out in the hall. That is when he felt the first shock wave shake the building. Without thought he sprang to his feet and headed for the elevators but found they didn't work. Cussing under his breath he turned to the stairs and began to run as fast as he could down them. When he reached the main floor he found that the glass of the front doors had been blown out. Debris littered the floor and he could hear gun fire from outside as a battle raged. This could only mean one thing, her mate was here to claim her back. In the back of his mind he knew it was only a matter of time before he found her. Mating bonds were very strong amongst the powerful demons.
He ran to the elevator that led down to her cell and pushed the button but nothing happened. 'What the hell?' He cursed to himself and slammed a fist against the steel doors. There was no other way down there. If the building collapsed then she would be lost. Didn't that damn dog know that? Of course not, how could he? Naraku turned at the sound of powerful wind. He recognized it all too well what it was from. There had been a reason why he recruited Kagura. He smiled to himself and bolted for the front doors as the building shook again from the explosions going off inside it. He was not ready for what he saw outside. A gigantic dog demon was attacking the building using it's powerful paws to smack large chunks out of the building. His men were pinned down by gun fire from surrounding buildings and were useless. He snorted. Let him be responsible for his mate's death then. I wash my hands of this mess. As if reading his mind Kagura landed in front of him on her feather which he quickly boarded. As they flew away he grimaced at the sight of the building as it began to crumble in on it's self. He watched as a few stragglers emerged from with in just before the front half fell completely. His heart lurched but he forced himself to turn his head and not watch.
"Go to the airport." He said in defeat. With a frown he closed his eyes and envisioned the face he would never see again. He carefully sealed it away in the recess of his black heart. She would forever be there as his true angel locked away in his memory.
Inuyasha, Kouga, and Miroku were trapped inside the elevator by gun fire from the guards down the hall. The men had used their desk as a blockade and shield so they could keep them at bay. The three men fired in alternating turns to save on ammunition. The whole situation seemed hopeless but they had to try. The building shook again from the explosions from above them. Each was nervous but unwilling to give up. A loud cracking noise startled all the gunmen and they all looked up at the same time. The guards screamed as a large piece of concrete smashed down right on top of them.
"Well shit. That sucks for them." Inuyasha said absentmindedly. Miroku smacked him on the back of the head. "What?" He rubbed the sore spot.
"Have you no respect for the dead? Beside that could have easily been us. I think we should leave now before we are unable to." The sound of twisting metal made them look around. "Sango?" Miroku spoke into his mike. "How is the system holding up?" The fuzzy sound coming from the ear piece led him to believe it may already be to late but then a faint female voice came through to him.
"Not g...better....now....too much...can't hear..." Was about all he got. The three looked at each other as the building shook again sending more pieced of masonry crashing down.
"We better go now. There is nothing we can do here." Miroku said deflated. Kouga looked longingly down the hall. Inuyasha hung his head feeling the weight of their failure on his shoulders more then the others. Sesshomaru would not be happy about this. They were so close. Kouga looked at his comrades then back down the hall.
"I won't leave with out trying. She deserves that much." He hissed. Inuyasha grabbed his arm just as he started to move down the hall.
"No! Sess said no one was to give their life like this. He would be furious." He said quickly.
"If I die then who will he be mad at. It's my decision." He turned to head down the hall again. The other two looked at each other and nodded in agreement. They jogged after him each grabbing an arm and started to hall him back to the elevator. To their surprise it crumpled right in front of them. They all stood their with mouths open and in shock. Kouga grinned. "See I just saved your lives. We could have been in there when that happened."
"I don't want to talk about it." Inuyasha hissed angrily. "How the hell are we getting out of here now?" Miroku was still in a bit of shock and couldn't think of anything either. Kouga looked at each of them and shook his head. How they got so far up in the business he would never know since it seemed like they had to have everything spelled out for them.
"You guys," he started to get their attention, "remember who we are here to get?" He asked earnestly. They looked confused at him. He rubbed bridge of his nose to stop the headache that was threatening to start. "Only the best assassin in history. She can get into and out of Fort Knox if she wanted to. Now come on let's get her and pray she is still alive." They followed him dumbfounded but were at a lose for what to do other wise. They crept down the hall carefully watching for any surprise attacks that might come but it looked like all the other people had either fled or perhaps the guards were the only other ones down here. They checked the doors as they went making sure not to miss anyone else that might be held captive here. There was no one.
Finally they came to a heavy metal door that was different from the rest. Kouga opened it slowly watching for any attack but was horrified when he saw the woman hanging like a slab of meat before him. Quickly he put his gun away and dashed over to her. She moaned as he lifted her injured body to relieve the weight on her arms making it easier for Miroku to pick the wrist bands on the chains. Inuyasha looked around the room with disgust.
"How could he do this to her?" He said out loud.
"Easy, he is a bastard." Natai croaked out hoarsely. Miroku helped Kouga lower her gently so she rested in Kouga's arms bridal style. Carefully Miroku checked her vitals for stability the amount of bruising and abrasions was astounding to him. He had never seen so much damage and the person still alive.
"Natai hon, you have to wake up." Kouga coaxed her with as soft a voice as he could manage. The building shook again causing a little stress in it but he said it clear enough for her. She opened her eyes and smiled at him sheepishly.
"Oh hey Kouga. What are you doing in my dream?" She whispered then looked around her with hooded eyes. Her grin became bigger. "Inuyasha and Miroku too? Damn I got three hot guys in my dream and I feel too shitty to have an orgy. Sorry guys but this girl is just going to go back to sleep and never wake up if I can help it." She giggled sleepily. Kouga shook her a little as she started to close her eyes.
"No! Natai I need you to stay awake hon. Come on we need you or we are all going to die. You need to help us get out of here." He smoothed the short hair back from her face. Her long beautiful hair was gone. Probably one of Naraku's ways of punishing her. She opened her eyes a crack and smiled at him again.
"What kind of spies are you if you can't get out of here? I had this all figured out before hand if I had a chance. Use the door." She giggled again and tried to relax. Inuyasha looked at her in disbelief.
"Natai? Please you have to wake up for me. We are trapped down here." Kouga pleaded.
"Nah the door is open I can see it from here. Geesh." She tried to point but her arms were too weak. She moaned in pain and lowered it back onto her stomach.
"Yes the door is open but the elevator is smashed and the building could fall at any minute. Come on you are good at this sort of thing." Again Kouga's voice was stressing a bit. She smiled at him.
"Ok so I have to escape from my dream. Big deal. Go to the control room behind the door where the guards are. But they shoot at you so be careful." She giggled back at him. "I could use some water if you have some." She slurred a bit as her tongue darted out to wet her dry lips. They all looked around the room quickly but found nothing. "Well shit can't even escape the thirst in my dream." She hissed then went limp in Kouga's arms.
"Damn, well maybe there will be water in the control room or a bathroom or something." Miroku put a hand on her sticky forehead. "She has a bit of a fever so water would be a good thing right now." He added to stress the urgency that she needed real medical assistance and soon. Carefully Kouga walked toward the door with Inuyasha in the lead checking for any more guards as they followed her instructions. They found the control room empty but weren't surprised. It seemed everyone had vacated earlier. Fortunately there was a bottled water dispenser in the room. Miroku tore off a piece of his shirt and got it wet so he could cool her face down while Inuyasha got a cup for Kouga to try and get her to drink.
He dribbled drops on her lips first to wet them then held her mouth open so he could do the same for her tongue. After a few minutes she seemed to begin to come around. Slowly she opened her eyes but didn't seem to be focused. Her tongue darted out to the moisture on her lips trying to get more. Kouga dribbled more water into her waiting mouth which she took eagerly. Inuyasha couldn't help but visualize the two as looking a lot like a mother bird feeding is young. He shook the thought from his head when an explosion from above reminded him of their danger. He placed a hand on Kouga's shoulder and squeezed to get his attention. The wolf demon turned and looked at him with worry in his eyes. He could smell it too. She was fading faster then they had hoped. She needed to get help soon or they would lose her and Sesshomaru would probably go insane from it. With a sigh he poured a bit more water down her throat then set the cup down.
"Natai, where is the way out? You can remember what you were talking about. How were you going to get out?" He asked while stroking her cheek gently with the back of his fingers. She sighed painfully and looked at him with unfocused eyes.
"T..the vents." She coughed a bit and grimaced in pain. With another cough she cleared her throat and tried again. "The vents lead....to...sewers." She smiled when she heard the vent cover being ripped to shreds. "S...slowly. Traps. Trigger bombs. Lasers will burn your ears off puppy." She giggled at the growl from Inuyasha then passed out again.
"How do we tell if Sango turned them off or not?" Kouga looked at them worried.
"No problem." Miroku went out of the for a moment but returned with his hands full of cement dust from the crumbling building. He went to the opening and blew the dust in. Sure enough there were little red lines here and there kriss-crossing the ventilation tubes. "Shit now what? I still can't reach Sango with the earpiece." He said sadly while looking down the tube. They sat in silence for a moment. The building shifted again making a horrible whining noise. They all looked at each other in despair.
Inuyasha leaned back on his haunches with his back against the wall. There were so many things he still wanted to do with his life. Especially now that he finally found a mate. Fate hated him, he was sure of it now. He finally got a little piece of heaven with Kagome and it was soon going to be taken from him leaving her to morn over his corpse. He looked around the room just to do something with his eyes so his thoughts might fade into something else. Miroku was kneeling not far away praying with his prayer beads clutched tightly in his right hand. Kouga held Natai close as he spoke to her in hushed tones trying to get her awake. He spotted a phone on one of the desks and thought how nice it would be to at least say goodbye to Kagome before he died.
With out even another thought he stood and walked over to it. He picked it up and was happy to hear a clear dial tone on the other side. He listened while her cell phone rang through hoping to the heavens she didn't turn it off or left it somewhere. After what seemed like an eternity she answered. Her voice was like an angel to his ears.
"Hello?" She said hesitantly. She didn't recognize the number but then she didn't give her number out to just anyone. It had to be someone who knew her.
"Hey babe." He smiled at her exasperated gasp.
"Inuyasha! Your alright. Oh god when the front of the building fell I thought for sure you were dead. Tell me are you hurt are you ok? Is Miroku ok? Sango is going nuts here. Did you find Natai? Come on just tell us where the hell you are...." She spit out so fast he didn't even have time to think.
"Slow down a minute would ya?" He managed to get out. "Well so far we are ok but there is a bit of a problem." He started. "I called because it looks like we may not make it out of here. I just wanted to say how much I love you and want you to go on." He had to hold back the tears.
"What? Where are you trapped?" She choked out through her own tears.
"In the lower part of the building. There aren't any stairs and the only elevator collapsed. We thought we could go through the vents but there are lasers there and they trigger bombs of some sort. Natai wasn't too clear on that." He sighed for a minute. "I don't know what else to do here and our only lead is unconscious at the moment."
"Wait a security system with lasers? That should be in the main frame. Hold on don't hang up." He could hear her talking to Sango about looking something up "Stop shaking and look damn it!" he heard her snap. "Inuyasha, Sango is looking so don't hang up ok?" Her voice was sweet and calming to his ears. "Everything will be ok." The building rumbled again and a large piece of concrete fell in the hall outside the door. "Oh god what was that noise? Are you guys alright?" She sounded stressed.
"It was in the other room we are ok so calm down. Did Sango find out anything yet?" He couldn't keep the hope from flowing out in his voice.
"She is looking just hang in there." Kagome was trying hard to keep the emotion from her voice but it was becoming increasingly hard.
"Not much else to do right now unless you wanna talk dirty to me on the phone." He chuckled at her gasp. He couldn't resist trying to lighten the mood a bit even if it did seem out of place.
"I never would do that!" She squeaked.
"Oh you are no fun at all, love." He had to smile. She was so innocent in so many ways. His sensitive ears caught a shriek from her end of the line. "What? What is it?" He asked excitedly. The other two men looked in his direction with surprised faces. They hadn't even noticed he was talking on the phone at all.
"Go now. She said it is clear. I'll talk to you when you get here." And she hung up. Inuyasha stared at the receiver for a moment then looked at the vent.
"What was that all about?" Miroku looked at him astonished. "Who were you talking to?"
"It was Kagome. I called to say..." He had a thoughtful look on his face for a moment then his eyes went wide. "Oh shit she said Sango got the thing off. Lets get the hell out of here." He stepped forward and took a deep breath before crawling into the vent. Nothing happened. He sighed out the breath he had been holding and started to crawl farther down. Kouga followed him with Natai draped over his back and Miroku taking up the rear to help keep her in place.
Kagome stepped out of the van and stared in horror as she watched the last of the building begin to tumble down into the pile of ruble where her mate was. A scream escaped her throat and she collapsed to her knees in the street. Tears flowed down her face in a stream. Sango fell next to her sobbing out her own agony of a lost love. Shippou stood behind them wiping tears from his eyes trying to be strong so he could be there for them but it was so hard.
Dust filled the air all around the area with a suffocating effect. Kagome looked up when a hand was placed on her shoulder and found Sesshomaru standing there back in his human form. He too had tears that ran down his face. Guilt and regret were clearly in his eyes. She stood up and flung herself into his arms They clung to each other for support as they let the emotions flow out of their bodies. Suddenly Sesshomaru stiffened and raised his head toward the main road leading to this warehouse district. Kagome looked up at him with concern in her eyes.
"Sirens." His emotionless face had returned. "They will be here soon you must leave before they involve you in this." He wiped her tears with the pad of his thumb.
"Well ain't this just a pretty picture." They both turned toward the rough voice. A dust covered shape emerged from the cloud coughing a bit. "I leave you alone with my mate for a few minutes and here you are trying to pick up on her. Geesh what a brother." He managed to get out before a spasm of coughing took a hold of him. They both stared in disbelief. Then two more figures appeared through the cloud and began to walk toward them. One looked to be carrying something in their arms.
"A little assistance here if we could please." Came Miroku's voice. Sango went ballistic and ran at the figures flinging herself at Miroku.
"Inu...yasha?" Kagome's voice shook with emotions as she reached forward and walked toward the figure of the man she had wanted to see so desperately. He was covered in so much dust you couldn't even tell the difference between hair or skin color let alone the color of his clothes.
"Hey babe. Miss me?" He choked out followed by a snort as he tried to clear his nose of dust. She squealed with glee and flung herself at him. He accepted her into his arms with a grunt from the impact. She didn't even care about the grit and grim that covered his face as she kissed it all over. He accepted them grateful just to be alive after everything they had went through. "God you feel so good." He closed his eyes wanting to cherish the moment forever.
Sesshomaru looked at the happy couples for a moment then turned his attention to the only figure that was left. He knew it was Kouga but what he wondered was if the body he held was Natai. The figure was covered in so much dust he could not make out the features or the scent. He could see where the bones were beginning to show a bit from starvation but other then that he had nothing but the hope that it was actually her and she was still living. Slowly he approached Kouga who was now kneeling but still held the unconscious woman in his arms. Carefully Sesshomaru reached forward for the woman to relieve the wolf demon of his burden. Kouga looked at him with a worried look clearly written all over his face as he handed over the body.
Sesshomaru gently wiped away some of the dust only to find the skin was discolored by scrapes, cuts and bruises. His stomach turned at the sickening smell that came from her abused flesh. It was clear that Naraku not only starved and beat her but he also tried to break her mentally by denying her pride in herself by staying clean. She smelled as if she had not bathed the whole time she was there. His blood boiled with the rage that was building. Swallowing hard he forced himself to sniff her closely to see if she lived. To his surprise she was but barely.
Relief washed over him but the urgency to get her medical assistance was over powering any other thought right now. He stood quickly but held her gently so as not to hurt her farther. Nuzzling her once more he turned toward Inuyasha and the others. "I must leave now. Take your women and get that van out of here before the authorities arrive. You have about ten minutes from the sounds of their sirens. She needs medical assistance immediately." After saying that he turned toward the waiting limo but stopped before entering. Without turning toward them he spoke again. "Thank you all for retrieving her. I will not forget this. I will contact you." No other words were spoken as he stepped in the car and closed the door. The limo sped off quickly. The others watched with silent prayers on their lips for the brave woman that was in that limo. If it were not for her the men surely would have parished in the destruction of the building.