"Higurashi" by Jezunya
Chapter 9
OK, ok… I don't know about the rest of you, but I didn't particularly like the last chapter, and not just because of the whole Inuyasha-getting-seduced-by-an-evil-Kagome-wanna-be. So, let's see if I can't get this thing back on track…
Oh yeah, can't forget the disclaimer..: I'm not Rumiko Takahashi, so therefore à I don't own Inuyasha!
** ** ** ** **
It was a palace. There was no other way to describe it. Huge pillars of shining black marble rose out of the mists, supporting a roof that gave it a look somewhere between a Japanese pagoda and an ancient Roman temple. Kagome felt like she'd been punched hard in the gut as she stared up at the huge building, seemingly floating on the river of dark fog, its expanses fading off into the distance as far as she could see.
Meisai continued on before her, wading through the mist gathered around their feet as she made her way to the courthouse-like stairs that led to the entrance of the building. Even as Kagome watched, she seemed to morph – a long, silky black tail sprouting from her rump, her ears pointing and elongating into a purely elvish look. She paused at the bottom of the stairs to glance back at Kagome, looking slightly irritated, "You coming?"
Kagome didn't even realize she'd been gaping at her until she tried to move her mouth to speak. "You're- You're a-"
"A kitsune?" Meisai made a face. "Sort of…" She turned away again and began slowly making her way up the stairs, not showing any recognition when Kagome hurried to follow her, not wanting to be left out in the sea of fog.
"What.. is this place?" Kagome asked, her voice awed as she stared up at the high, vaulted ceilings.
Meisai allowed herself the barest of smiles, not facing the other girl as she continued to stride in through the front hall. "This is my home… and yours." She kept her face blank, not looking back at the human girl.
Kagome looked surprised. "My..? What do you mean?" she asked, frowning.
Meisai sighed and finally stopped walking, though she did not turn to face the other girl. "I think," she said slowly, as if weighing her words carefully, "that you might find things here much more suitable for you."
She could hear Kagome slowly approaching behind her, her steps cautious, "What do you mean?"
Meisai closed her eyes, forcing herself to remain calm. She was the Child of Dusk, of Eternity. Of course she should stay here – it had nothing to do with anything Marudashi might have done. It was just a matter of principle, really. It had absolutely nothing to do with Marudashi's tendency to shatter the lives of those she came in contact with. No connection at all. No point even discussing it. "You'll.. you'll see," she finally said softly, and then once again began leading the way into the depths of the dark, marble palace.
***
And back in Kagome's own bedroom, on Kagome's own bed…
Inuyasha kissed and nuzzled along her jaw, loving every bit of her from her soft, ebony hair, right down to her small, oh-so-cute toes. Naturally, he smothered some of that love on her lips, neck, shoulders (etc), taking in her scent.. That scent that could brighten even the darkest of days because it just meant that she was near. That scent that told him all her little secrets, when she sad or happy or angry, when she was hurt or sick, or…
…Her scent…
He had to have imagined it, he told himself as he paused for barely an instant before going back to sucking on the side of her neck. But then, when he breathed in deeply once more, there it was again. Something didn't belong there, something taunting, hiding from his senses. It was buried beneath layer upon layer of the sweet, soft, and at the moment intoxicatingly heady scent that was Kagome. But there – he caught a whiff of it again!
He pulled back for a moment, supporting himself on his elbows and knees as he stared down at her. She blinked up at her, panting slightly, her pale face flushed, her soft, supple arms wound around his neck. After a moment she frowned, tugging on his shoulders to bring him back down to her, whining, "Inuyasha…"
He allowed himself to be pulled back down, his face nestled in the juncture of her neck and shoulder, but he didn't kiss her again, and his hands remained still by her head. He just closed his eyes and took in her scent.
She was heavily aroused, he could tell that much.. But hadn't her scent before been touched with fear and apprehension whenever he got overenthusiastic when they kissed? Now, she was being so aggressive, so.. so.. so un-Kagome!
It was like sifting through a mass of ever-shifting sands, trying to find the elusive secret hidden beneath it all. He would strip away one layer only to find another, just like it, beneath it. Two steps forward, one step back, the whole way. But he was making progress…
She was beginning to get agitated. He could smell it on her. It was giving her away. He could feel his body begin to cool as he simply laid over her, no longer kissing or touching her. Just a little more, and he'd know what the hell was wrong with her…
He could hear the frown in her voice as she began to unwind her arms from around his neck, "Inu-"
It suddenly hit like a slap in the face, the scent rushing through his senses, almost blinding him with its abruptness. It was like discovering the Cutting Wind all over again – one moment the scent wasn't there, and then- BAM! It was right in front of him. It seemed so obvious now, he wondered that he could have possibly missed it before:
The scent of fox.
Inuyasha's eyes suddenly slammed open, staring down at the woman below him, that realization tumbling through his head, and then finally sinking in.
The scent of fox!
She almost didn't know what hit her- One moment the dog was above her, and then she had been thrown roughly against the wall and he was all the way across the room, snarling and practically foaming at the mouth in rage.
"WHAT IN ALL THE BLOODY FUCKING HELLS-?!?!"
She sat up slowly, smiling languidly at him as she pushed her dress back down over her legs. "Aw, what's the matter, puppy dog? I too much for you?"
Inuyasha almost howled in frustration. "Bitch!! What the hell do you think you're doing?! Where's Kagome?!?!"
Her smile suddenly turned smug and conniving, her eyes narrowing on him. "Does it really matter where she is?" It was the strangest thing to see such a gleefully evil expression on Kagome's face.
"Bitch-!!" Inuyasha snarled, rearing up and pouncing, ready to slash her to pieces. And he would have, too, if she hadn't suddenly disappeared from right in front of him. As it was, he just roughed up the already-mussed blankets on Kagome's bed.
He spun around at the feminine voice tut-tutting that came from behind him. She was seated on the edge of Kagome's desk, one leg crossed over the other as she just shook her head at him. "Really, you don't have to react so violently just because we didn't get as far as we might have." Again with that damned smug grin!
Inuyasha bristled, his face flaming at the mention of what he's almost done with this bitch. "DIE!!" Again, he lunged at her, only to have her teleport somewhere else in the room, leaving him to crash into the furniture she had just been seated on. He swung around to find her now perched atop Kagome's tall bookshelf, noticing on some level that she was beginning to look less and less like his Kagome each time she teleported.
He readied himself for another pass, stopping abruptly when she suddenly threw her head back and laughed. He could only gape in shocked repulsion, feeling rather insulted, until she looked back down at him, her black eyes again narrowing to near slits as she smirked down at him. "Don't worry about your precious little Kagome.. She's in safe hands, I assure you. Not that a little hanyou like you could reach her, anyway," she sneered, laughing again.
"Biiiitch!!" Again, she disappeared before he even reached her, this time reappearing in the doorway of Kagome's room, standing with her arms folded over her chest and twittering again as she shook her head up at him. Inuyasha dropped down from the bookshelf, growling, when she grinned maliciously at him once again.
She didn't look anything like Kagome now. Instead, she had silky, shoulder-length black hair, the pointed ears of a youkai, and a long, fluffy black tail that thrashed around her legs, showing that she was indeed a kitsune. Marudashi smirked as the dog-demon again began to advance.
"This is rather pointless, you know," she said casually, leaning against the doorframe. "She's gone and there's nothing you can do about it." She smirked as Inuyasha's growling suddenly grew louder. "Even if you could reach her, do you really think she'd return to you?"
"Bitch! What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!" Inuyasha snarled, taking a swipe at her, which she easily dodged.
Marudashi smirked again, dancing around him. "Come on, dog-breath. After what she saw, do you really think she'll want anything to do with you?" Inuyasha froze, and the kitsune sent him one last smug grin before blipping out of sight once again. This time, she did not reappear.
Inuyasha's hands fell back to his sides as he let himself sag back against the wall behind him. Now that the fox-bitch was gone, the scents of the house were all returning to him. He closed his eyes, letting them wash over him.
Kagome had stood here, right where he was now, only a short time ago. He let his nose guide him, following the scent trail down the stairs, out the front door, onto the front porch.
What the hell..? He stopped, frowning down at the wood planks beneath his feet. The scent just ended here. Kagome should have been here, but for some reason she wasn't. His frown deepened, and he lifted his head to scent the wind. A small puff of a breeze carried a tendril of her smell from the direction of the well-house.
Still frowning at the absurdity of it, he followed it.
***
Kagome looked up at the soft chattering that seemed to coming toward them. Meisai stopped in front of her, frowning in the direction of the noise. Her face darkened when a group of young-looking fox-women appeared around the corner, whispering and twittering among themselves as they approached the other two.
"Well Meisai," one of them said when the group came to a stop a few feet from them, "I must say, I'm impressed. You actually managed to get something right for a change. Simply amazing!" The women laughed contemptuously, the sound like tinkling bells echoing through the marble halls.
"Or maybe you didn't," another chimed in as they began to circle around Kagome and Meisai, watching the human girl with mocking eyes. "I mean, can this really be her? How do we know you didn't just grab some dirty little human off the street somewhere?" The girls laughed again, several throwing in more catcalls and poking fun at them as they continued to circle.
But when one tried to grab at Kagome's arm to pull her out from behind Meisai, the fox-girl was there in a flash, slapping the woman's hands away, her face twisted in a purely animal snarl. Suddenly things were serious.
"Idiots! Worthless little mongrels!!" Meisai snarled, whirling on them. It was suddenly quite apparent how much taller Meisai was compared to the other kitsune as she bore down on them. "Have you no respect?! Has it been so long that you have forgotten your Mistress's face?! Or do you think you now owe all your loyalty to that usurper Marudashi?!"
"Shut up!!" their leader hissed, her hands balled into fists as the kitsune all seemed to cringe away as one. "It is you who have forgotten! Our goddess is dead, and that," she spat, jerking her head in Kagome's direction, "will never replace her!" With that, they turned and made their way back down the hallway, several sniffing indignantly as they passed.
Kagome looked over at Meisai once they had gone. The fox-girl had her hands fisted at her sides, her face reddening with rage barely held in check. After a moment, she closed her eyes, letting her chin fall to her chest and let out a long breath, her skin returning to its ordinary pale tone. "What was that about?" the human girl asked quietly after a moment.
Meisai shook her head, starting off down the corridor once more, an angry cloud hovering around her in the air. "Nothing. They just… They are bitter, and angry. Most of us are, because of what has happened to us." She studied the floor passing beneath her feet, aware of the human girl behind her and wondering how much she should tell her.
"What happened?" Kagome asked softly, after several moments of silence.
Meisai tilted her head back, letting a slow, wistful smile spread across her face. Maybe a little story would help to smooth the situation over. If anything, Kagome probably did need to know their history. She smiled to herself and resumed walking at a brisk pace, the human girl trailing quietly behind her.
"It all began a long, long time ago, when the world was still young. The earth was ruled by demons then, and the heavens by gods." Meisai paused to glance back at the human girl, "And not like the kami you see in the Sengoku Jidai now. Those are so watered down, with so many of the original bloodlines lost or diluted that they can only exist down in the earthly realms." She watched Kagome nod her understanding before continuing.
"There was a god or goddess over just about every aspect of life, from water to fire," she looked back at Kagome again, a small smile on her face as she gestured at the palace around them, "to time."
Kagome seemed to catch her drift, looking wide-eyed at the black marble walls around them before looking back at her kitsune guide. "You mean… This is where the.. Time God lives..?"
Meisai gave a wistful smile, not looking at the human girl. "Lived. Hitotoki-sama died a long time ago…"
"Oh…"
She shook her head, looking at the ground before continuing. "You ever read the story of Romeo and Juliet?" she asked suddenly, stopping to look back at Kagome.
The human stopped as well, unsure. It did sound familiar, although the names didn't sound Japanese or even Asian at all. "Eh… I don't think so…"
Meisai shook her head, half smiling, and started walking again. "I guess I'm not surprised. It's a European play by an Englishman named William Shakespeare. Basically, Romeo and Juliet are two young people from two different families. They meet at some party and fall in love. Only problem is, their families hate each other."
"That does tend to complicate things…"
Meisai smirked, nodding. "Yeah. So there's a ton of fighting between the families and a lot of people die… including Romeo and Juliet. And all because they fell in love with the one person they couldn't have."
Kagome looked over at her, "Oh.. That's.. that's terrible…"
"Yeah, well, that's what happened to our goddess," Meisai responded darkly. "She fell in love with the wrong person."
Kagome frowned slightly, watching the fox girl for several minutes as they walked. Something was bothering her… Finally, she got up the courage to ask her question. "Was he.. a demon?"
Meisai glanced at her. "What?"
"The person she fell in love with.. was he a demon?"
Meisai looked surprised for a moment before she looked away. When she spoke her voice was quiet, pensive. "Yes. He was.." She paused and glanced at Kagome out of the corner of her eye. "He was.. a dog-demon."
As expected, Kagome stopped and looked at her sharply. Meisai could only guess if the girl understood what she was implying, and she honestly didn't know if she wanted her to figure it out or not. In any case, she looked away a moment later, her brows drawn together in thought. "Why didn't things work out between them?" she finally asked softly.
Meisai sighed. "They were discovered by another god. He apparently had harbored feelings for Hitotoki-sama and was outraged that she had relations with an 'unholy demon.'" She gave Kagome a wry smile, "Of course no one mentioned then that we, her loyal servants, are practically youkai ourselves." She shook her head, rolling her eyes, and continued.
"Anyway, he called together the other gods and goddesses and told them of Hitotoki-sama's 'crime.' They all seemed to agree that she should not have relations with a demon, and so set out to separate them. When she refused to leave him, war broke out."
Kagome looked over at her. "They fought a war over a little personal matter like that?!"
Meisai shrugged, nodding. "That was Hitotoki's reaction. She couldn't believe they would attack her over this – she couldn't even understand how it was any of their business. So, unwilling to fight her fellow gods, she fled to the earth.
"Her lover tried to hide her among their people, but his brother found them out and revealed them to the rest of the demons. Just like the gods, the demons were outraged that such a powerful youkai as he would consort with a goddess. So in the end, both sides were against them. Most of the gods and demons were killed in the war, and those few that weren't have since disappeared, leaving only ever-weakening bloodlines in their stead." She looked down at the floor, watching her reflection in the marble as they walked. "But Hitotoki-sama left no descendants, and so we have been without a god or goddess to rule us. We are a god-less people." She caught Kagome's eye, holding her gaze steadily.
"And that, Kagome-sama, is where you come in."
***
Inuyasha sprang out of the well back in his own time and was immediately off and sprinting toward the village, foregoing the trails for the more direct route of dashing straight through the trees. He burst from the forest at the edge of the village, continuing at breakneck speed despite startling and nearly bowling over several villagers who passed too near him, not slowing until he had reached Kaede's hut.
"KAGOME!!" He burst through the doorway, roaring, startling the hut's inhabitants.
Kaede was the first to recover, and she climbed laboriously to her feet, frowning at the half-demon. "Inuyasha, what is this? Kagome has yet to return from her time."
"But- But she has to be here!" This is the only other place she goes when she's upset! If she's not back in her time, and she's not here, then WHERE IS SHE?! He looked around the hut frantically, wondering if perhaps Kagome was here, but had told Kaede not to let him know. He growled. Something else was missing…
"Where are Miroku and Sango?" he demanded, looking between Kaede and Shippou sitting by the fire pit.
Kaede traded a look with Shippou before returning her gaze to the distraught dog-demon. "They are in another village, exterminating a rogue youkai.. Inuyasha, has something happened? How is it that you and Kagome were separated?"
Inuyasha shook his head, beginning to pace the floor of the hut. "I don't know.. I…" He looked up, sniffing the air and frowning to himself.
There was the old, musty scent of Kaede, Sango and Miroku's, both about a day old now, and the smells of random humans who had come and gone, calling on their elderly priestess. The scent of fox hung heavily in the air as well, Shippou's most prominent, but the other one…
His brows drew together as he drew in a long breath, ignoring Kaede's questioning. This scent was masked, like that kitsune-bitch who'd tried to trick him. It smelled almost human, just barely off. Now where had he smelled this before..?
His gaze suddenly snapped up as it hit him. "That girl.. what's her name… who was staying here – Kagome said she just wandered into the village a little over a week ago – where is she?!" he demanded, whirling to face the old miko.
Kaede's frown deepened, her brows knitting in confusion and worry. "You mean Meisai-san. She was here this morning, but I have not seen her since the noon-day meal…"
"I saw her going out to the forest," Shippou put in, then added a little more quietly, "She was sorta heading toward the well.."
Inuyasha stared at him for an instant, before turning and bolting back the way he had come, Kaede's calls not even reaching his ears before he was gone.
He sprinted through the trees, running full-tilt back toward the well. It hit him when he was half way there that he honestly had no idea where to look for Kagome or this 'Meisai' bitch. If anything, he would probably find some clue around the well, as he had leapt out so quickly that he could have very well missed an obvious sign of where they had gone.
But what the hell do these kitsune want with Kagome?! he wondered, dodging around a thick clump of trees in the middle of his path. Probably just after the Jewel, he thought darkly, not for the first time cursing the little glass ball that Kagome still insisted on wearing everywhere. The damned thing had brought them so much trouble already, and they still hadn't thought up a good use for it, beyond making him human.
He glanced up when he felt himself nearing the well, his eyes going wide and his feet skidding on the ground as he brought himself to a screeching halt. He just stared at the figure before him.
Sesshoumaru turned when he heard him arrive, arching one slender eyebrow at the hanyou's bedraggled appearance. Inuyasha swallowed hard, unsure whether to drop into a defensive stance or not. Their relationship had been rather.. odd since Naraku's death. Sesshoumaru had played a key role in helping them defeat the shape-shifting youkai, and had since not shown any sort of malice for their motley little group beyond his usual cool disdain. Of course, he hadn't acted particularly friendly toward them either, which just left Inuyasha confused. Was he their ally or their enemy?
Sesshoumaru drew himself up to his full height, almost habitually looking down his nose at his younger half-brother. He could smell the confusion already pouring off him, and he cleared his throat to begin speaking…
** ** ** ** **
Whoohoo!!!! Finally finished it!!! I'm so happy!!! ^___^
Well, shorter than the last chapter (but then, just about anything's short compared to that monster…), but I hope y'all liked it ^_^ Just in case it wasn't clear enough, No, Inuyasha did not have sex with the Kagome-look-alike (aka Marudashi, the leader of the Kurotsune). Yeesh.. *shudders* So, now you have two cliff-hanger-ish things! 1- What could Meisai possibly mean about Kagome's part in this whole scheme? And 2- what the heck does Sess want?? Heh, stick around 'til next time to find out!! ^__^
And now.. Review Responses!! ^__^
Thank you to Elissa, Destiny, gatogirl, AnimeObsessionFantasy, child-of-the-goddess, salad, junbug950, obsession171, Crystal Twilight, Keidochan, RavenShadow, boobala's blood clot, and Cattykit for all the great comments!! It makes me so happy to know you guys enjoy my writing!! *beams*
Princess Sapphire, pruning shears, and Matte Inuyasha asked why Inuyasha (or Shippou, for that matter) couldn't detect Marudashi's or Meisai's scents. I tried to explain this in the fic, but in case it still wasn't clear enough, it's because the Kurotsune are like the master tricksters & disguisers, even to the point of masking their scents and aura (although aura is certainly harder than scent). The white dogs, being the most powerful of the canine demons, can detect their scent, although it usually takes them a little while. Plus, Inuyasha's only half dog-demon, so he's going to have an even harder time of it. However, after he finds it once, BOOM! He can find it all the time! Just like the Cutting Wind (Wound of the Wind, for all you Viz-aholics :P)
Tracey Claybon: Heh. I dunno.. Sess does know about their relationship, but he's pretty indifferent I guess *shrug* ^_^
Lady AA-Chan: Hehehe.. Sorry, didn't mean to scare you! ^__^ As for how she got in there, basically, they can teleport in a way, so locking the doors wouldn't have done any good to keep her out. More on that in upcoming chapters ^_~
Sesshoumaru13: *backs away from cursing reader* Um.. Okay… I hope you're just sayin' that cuz of the cliff-hanger at the end of the chapter.. or the nasty Inu x somebody-OTHER-than-Kag lime… Please don't hate me!! ;_;
Peapod: I dunno… I type everything in Microsoft word, in HTML format, then upload the whole thing… maybe you just need to switch programs *shrug*
Dark Rose: Glad you liked it, but there will be no lemon. Sorry..
Laura Petri: Hee hee ^_^ Your review was so long, I just had to reply to it! I'm glad you like the fic, even if it does make you angry! Believe me, I hate Marudashi (the Kagome-look-alike) as much as any of your readers. She's just so evil, and she's getting in the way of the Inu/Kag WAFF that I am oh so addicted to.. ;_; She's a big part of the plot tho (like the villain in this.. ehehe..) *sigh*
ShiroInu: Gah!! Multiple personalities!! *backs away* Eh.. Glad you're so into the fic, I think… No really, I just crack up every time I see your review! It's so funny! ^___^v
Glossary:
-sama – name suffix showing great respect (or a distant relationship, as in "houshi-sama")
-san – name suffix showing polite formality and respect
Hanyou – Half-demon
Kami – gods, usually associated with some natural thing or some aspect of every-day life (e.g. the thing they fought in the "Water God" story arc)
Kitsune – fox demon
Miko – Shinto priestess/shrine maiden
Youkai – demon
Please review!!!