Disclaimer – I do not own InuYasha or any of the original characters; they are the property of the brilliant Rumiko Takahashi. This story is an individual creation for personal and shared enjoyment of true InuYasha fans that I hope is up to the quality of the real series. Constructive criticism is always welcome.
To ShortPoet – Well, I can honestly say I've only read one Steven King novel; "The Eyes of the Dragon" ...the only one (that I know of) that isn't a horror story. It's more of a fairy tale and he wrote it because of his daughter. He came to the realization one day that none of his books were suitable for a little girl to read, so he wrote one for her. It's very good. You have also raised some very good questions, thank you. It actually gave me some ideas on how to fill in the blanks. And that little bit of history you wanted sounded like a good idea...so here ya go!
Author's Note – I apologize for the shortness of this chapter in advance. The next chapter will be the conclusion and I'm still wrestling it into shape. I did not realize how difficult it was going to be but I happen to be stubborn beyond all reason and I will win this struggle. . Forgive me for the he/she changes when referring to Kagome/Akunin. It has a lot to do with point of view and what felt right at the time. It was a bit tricky, but I feel good with it. It's supposed to be confusing (for them anyway)
Translation notes – Senrei means: vivid, gorgeous, resplendent, beauty & bright. Cool word, ne?
Chapter Six: Haunted
Sango stops in shock, "Kagome-chan?"
The pink-clad girl jumps back, startled and thinking furiously.
Sango looks from her to the prone man on the ground and takes a step, stopping when the sword tip swings up to point at her in an obvious threat. "Kagome-chan, what are you doing?" She glances back down at Miroku and then notices the motionless kitsune a few yards away. She gasps in alarm, "What happened?!"
Anger twists the girl's face, "How can you prefer this weakling?!" The sword slashes down to point at the unconscious Monk.
Sango stares in disbelief and her jaw drops, "What are you talking about?!" She moves closer with her hands reaching forward.
The tip of the sword moves swiftly to prick the Monk's neck, "One more step and he dies." Her voice is cold and deadly serious. Her face suddenly turns dark with fury, "Damn you!! You should have come with me!"
Sango shakes her head, totally confused, "Come with you where?"
The girl holding the weapon doesn't seem to hear as she continues to rant, "Twice!" He free hand slashes through the air, "Twice you've spurned me!" Her eyes turn wild, "It's bad enough that you associate with the likes of that," her head jerks in Shippo's direction. "But to find that you have chosen this-"her foot lashes out and kicks the limp form, "-over ME!"
The sheer bizarreness has Sango shaking her head, "Kago—"
"How could you Senrei?" The girl's dark eyes blaze with madness, "How could you lower yourself so?"
Sango gasps and her heart lurches, "Senrei??" The name brings back old memories...
— Flashback —
She is sitting on a small, grassy slope overlooking a meadow covered with wildflowers, watching them sway in the warm breeze.
"There you are," the deep voice is pleasantly amused and Sango turns to smile at the man. She quickly looks forward again to hide her blushing cheeks and stares at the dancing colors.
A beautiful flower appears before her eyes, its delicate petals fluttering like her heart. She takes it from the strong hand, smelling its sweet fragrance, "It's lovely."
"Not as lovely as you."
She lowers her eyes in happy embarrassment, "You flatter me."
"Can one flatter the Sun?" A tanned finger rests under her chin and raises her face until she can see his smile, "Senrei..."
She blinks and asks, "Senrei?"
He nods, taking the flower and tucking it behind her ear, "For you shine Brighter."
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Her father's raised voice has her shushing Kohaku and reaching for the door to slide it open so she can see.
"...were you thinking?! Four children are dead because of your actions...and no telling how many others that we don't know about!!" Her father stands with clenched fists as he addresses the man before him.
The man shrugs, "I got the job done; the rest will live."
Her father seems to swell with his anger, "But to deliberately use them as bait? Damn you! There is no excuse for your actions! Just how long have you been-?"
The man scowls and narrows his eyes, "What does it matter? They were unimportant—"
"NOT IMPORTANT?!!" Her father takes several deep breaths and says lowly, "This is the last time you will bring dishonor on us." He makes a brief gesture and two well-armed men come forward to stand on either side of the miscreant. Her father's voice grows heavy with command, "You are banished from this place. Your name will be stricken and never spoken of again. You are never to assume the trappings or duties of a Taijiya and if you ever dare to return; your life is forfeit." He straightens and turns away, "Remove him."
Sango silently closes the door and sits back to bury her face in her hands.
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The moonlight illuminates the narrow path under the blossoming trees where she walks, deep in thought over all that her father had related to her earlier this evening. A dark figure steps out of the shadows and Sango stops, taking a cautious step backwards before recognizing him. She hisses, "What are you doing here?"
"You have to ask?" He comes closer, halting when she steps back again. "I want you to come with me."
"With you?" Feeling deceived and humiliated, her hushed voice is filled with contempt, "You? I don't know who you are...I don't think I ever did!" She takes another step back, "The person I thought you were would never do those horrible things!"
He raises a hand towards her, "That doesn't matter." He moves closer, his tone becoming more insistent, "Come with me now and we'll start a new life—"
"New life?! What about the lives of those you so carelessly threw away? I cannot contemplate a life with someone so callous and underhanded!" She continues to back away from his advances and she can see his frown grow.
He continues, disregarding what she just said, "We can have everything we ever wanted—"
"Everything we wanted? I wanted love and happiness, a home to raise my children in and a man I could be proud of!" She stops retreating and stands straight, "That man is not YOU! All your words are as empty as the morning wind...and I cannot love the wind!"
His voice drops lower, "Senrei—"
"Don't!" She shakes her head angrily, "Don't ever call me that or speak to me again! There is nothing between us!" She turns her head away, unable to look at him anymore, "You are dead to me now!"
He grabs her shoulders to get her attention, his hands hard and growing painful, "Nothing between us?" He squeezes tighter, making her gasp, and shakes her roughly, "You are mine!"
She looks into his eyes, seeing his real self for the first time and feels the beginnings of fear, "Let me go!" His answer is to pull her closer and she struggles, panic fueling her determination to get away. She manages to shove her palm upward, slamming his chin up and forcing his head up. He reels backward, off-balance and releases her. With a low growl, he lunges at her with his arms spread wide and lifts her off her feet. She pushes against his hold on her and begins screaming, "Father!!"
He tries to silence her, dropping her to free his hands, but she fights like a wildcat, scratching and hitting. In a sudden move, she yanks his blade from its sheath and slashes upward with it in a desperate bid for freedom. The metal flashes in the moonlight and he staggers back, holding a hand to his face, dark blood streaming from between his fingers.
They stand there, staring at each other and breathing heavily until the sounds of shouts and running feet reach them. His eyes glare hatefully at her and she raises the sword. With torchlight weaving between the trees and getting closer, he makes one last frustrated snarl and runs off into the night.
-- End Flashback –
"Akunin..." Sango's hoarse whisper is filled with disbelief.
The girl facing her raises the sword at arm's length toward her, nothing of Kagome showing in her hate-filled eyes, "You are no better than those disgusting creatures now!" Her head tilts and she smiles crookedly, saying in an almost pleasant voice, "And you can die with them." Akunin leaps forward, swinging the sword in a lethal arc at Sango.
Sango jumps back, barely evading the sharp edge and uses the nearby tree as a shield, rushing around behind it and dodging another wild swing. She hears the sword thwack into the wood and dashes back to the clearing, diving forward to snatch the abandoned staff by somersaulting over it and twisting to land on her feet, barely blocking the next blow, the metal rings chiming crazily. Her arms shake from the force of the blow and she holds back the blade, staring deep into Kagome's insane eyes. 'What do I do?'
The clearing resounds with repetitive metallic clanging that amplifies the ringing in the groaning kitsune's ears and Shippo sits up, cradling his aching head in his hands.
"Kagome-chan!!"
He looks up at the Taijiya's shout, pain spearing across his skull and making him squint, to see the girl in pink holding a sword and expertly driving Sango back with each blow. His eyes widen and his mouth falls open, 'What the...'
Sango flinches back from another vicious strike and the staff vibrates in her grasp, jolting her hands. Desperate to reach her friend, between one hit and the next, she cries, "Kagome-chan! Can you hear me?"
The person inside the girl sneers with narrowed eyes, "She's no longer here."
Block and step back, "I don't believe you!!"
The sneer grows and Akunin gives a short laugh, "Believe what you like."
Shippo scrambles back as the combatants draw near, taking their struggle past him. He looks around quickly and sees Miroku lying prone across the way. 'No...' he glances back at the fight and watches with his heart in his throat as Sango is forced back again and again. 'I gotta do something!' He pushes up onto his feet but hesitates when he remembers the last time he had interfered in a fight like this and Sango had gone down under that rogue Taijiya's blade. 'Darn...' he grits his teeth, '...get help!!' Ignoring his own pain, he slips away.
With a brutal blow, the staff snaps in two and Sango continues to back away, using both halves to defend herself, crossing them over her head to catch the descending blade. Her opponent pulls back with a grin, draws a second slightly shorter blade and comes at her in a double-handed attack, taxing all of her skill to keep her head.
Sango can see Miroku at the edge of her vision as she continues to retreat before finally bumping into a tree trunk. Her back presses up hard against the rough bark as she parries each attack, gasping as one miscalculation draws blood. She spins to slip around the tree, hearing the swish of the blade slicing through the air and uses this chance to run, taking the fight further away from the helpless Monk.
Hearing Akunin's laugh in Kagome's voice is disconcerting, but when the girl flips over her head from behind to land in front of her with both swords up and ready to resume the fight, Sango stops and stares in shock at what should be an impossible feat for the young girl. She hastily brings up the pieces of staff up as the next round begins. 'How did she do that?!'
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InuYasha tears the door hanging half-off as he thrusts his way into Kaede's empty hut. "Damn!" He steps back outside, waking the dozing Kirara. He hesitates, scanning the area before he remembers, "Fishing!" He takes off at a run.
Kirara blinks her red eyes in curiosity and jumps up to follow.
He finds Shippo halfway to the stream, facedown on the ground, and crouches beside him, "Shippo?" Kirara catches up and 'mews' with her tails twitching in agitation.
The kitsune raises his head, blinking the spinning world back into focus. Relief at InuYasha's presence floods through him and he pushes himself up with the hanyou's surprisingly gentle help. "InuYasha..." he takes a shaky breath, "something is wrong with...Kagome. She's...fighting with Sango..." Tears blur his vision and he shakes his head, "...and Miroku's hurt...maybe even..."
InuYasha looks down at his bowed head and feels his insides knot, 'What the hell is going on?!' He picks up the worn out kit and stands, frowning as he tries to think past the conflicting images Shippo's words have created. He looks down and sees the dazed expression on his young face. The kitsune's voice grows faint, "...gotta...get he..lp..."
InuYasha suddenly turns to the cat staring up him, "Kirara! Take Shippo to find Kaede and bring her to us!" The cat blinks and transforms amid swirling flames, growing huge and waiting for the kitsune. He raises the youngster to look him in the eye, "Shippo, you have to tell Kaede to come. Can you do it?"
Shippo forces his eyes wide and nods with a gulp.
"Good," InuYasha plops him down unceremoniously on Kirara's back, where he clings like a burr, and the cat-youkai leaps into the air with a roar. InuYasha doesn't waste another second and shoots off towards the stream.
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