Author's Notes: The plot thickens with Sesshoumaru and Rin's investigation along with Yamatsu's suspicious behavior. I'm using this chapter to familiarize everyone with the characters, now ten years older, but details to the plot are still included. Enjoy!
The Darkness Behind the BarrierRin followed close by her master, hands folded behind her. They had been traveling for so long she'd almost forgotten why.
Ten years ago, Naraku's son Yamatsu, enslaved hundreds of youkai in order to build his army. Kagome, a good friend of Rin's, had been able to purify them – as it was later explained to her, but at a terrible cost.
After not finding the perpetrator within the cavern, Rin and Sesshoumaru had come out to see Inuyasha already gone up Mount Fujiyama. That was the last time Rin ever saw either hanyou or priestess.
A couple of days ago, Sesshoumaru had sensed Kagome's return, as well as smelling his brother's recent scent passing through the forest. Although Rin was elated about all this, it seemed her master had more on his mind. "Sesshoumaru-sama? Why won't you tell me what's the matter?" She asked.
Sighing, the white haired demon turned to his long time friend and servant. "Do you remember that cave we came across right after Yamatsu's disappearance?"
Rin nodded. "It looked like a sacrificial chamber."
"Yamatsu's scent filled the entire area, but there was something else there I couldn't place." Sesshoumaru seemed frustrated with that fact. "With him in hiding, I'm surprised he's been able to make as many raids as he has."
Thinking back, Rin remembered the sad looks of the villagers in the towns Yamatsu had already passed through and the starving cries from those in the villages who'd barely missed his mighty blade by sacrificing their food shares to the conquering tyrant. Just the thought of him made her angry. If ever she came across him, she'd make him pay for not only hurting her, but for harming her master.
Over the years, Rin had made sure to familiarize herself with the rapier, similar to Sango's short sword, and was now quite versed with it.
"It didn't seem human nor youkai, but something I've never smelled before."
Rin blinked out of her thoughts and looked over at Sesshoumaru. She knew he had been trying so hard all these years for her. She'd seen the same fierce determination towards Naraku when he'd first kidnapped Rin – attempting to force Sesshoumaru into submission. "Sesshoumaru-sama, don't worry yourself. We'll find him." She assured him.
Walking over to her, Sesshoumaru gently picked up her hand and held it in his clawed one. "You don't understand. He almost took you away from me and I won't stop until he's gone." (A/N: OOC?? shrugs)
A deep blush tinted Rin's cheeks. Every now and then some of Sesshoumaru's stronger emotions showed through, but even after all this time, such moments caught the 26-year-old off guard. Looking away from his piercing golden gaze, Rin tried to change the subject. "So, do you think it was two different scents or just one?"
A small smile crossed Sesshoumaru's features and he slowly released her hand. One day, when Yamatsu was finally destroyed, he would tell her how he felt. Until then it would have to wait. "It smelled like two in some areas, yet one different smell in others."
"Like he ate something? Another youkai perhaps?" Rin asked.
Eyes going wide, the comment triggered something within the dog demon and it all made sense. "Yamatsu was gathering the celestial treasures in order to free Mikaboshi. In failing, the god of evil should've had him killed."
"But the sacrifice room we came across was full of dark magic, wasn't it?" Rin wondered.
"Yes, with the incantations I read on the wall, Yamatsu somehow figured out a way to connect with Mikaboshi." Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. But that wouldn't explain the smell change.
Rin rubbed her chin in thought. "Magic like that is usually performed by a black miko or houshi. But if Yamatsu did it, being a youkai – wouldn't the results be different?"
Sesshoumaru agreed, but it didn't answer his question.
"I got it!" Rin shouted, startling the contemplative youkai. "When Inuyasha used the Shikon no Tama to become full demon, didn't you say his youkai blood took over creating a new identity? That would explain the change in smell."
Sesshoumaru was beginning to catch on. "If the same happened with Yamatsu, then we're not dealing with a simple youkai anymore…"
Rin shook her head. "Nope! He's a god now!"
Thinking fast, the dog demon motioned for Rin to get behind him as he took of into the air. If that's true, then why make such a large army? His powers alone would be enough to wipe out everything in sight.
"Where are we going now, Sesshoumaru-sama?" Rin asked, holding on as tightly as she dared without blushing too much.
"Back to the castle. I need to go to the library and look something up." Sesshoumaru replied. One way or another, he was going to get to the bottom of this and maybe in the process, find out Yamatsu's weakness.
Shiori ducked into the hut where her mother was resting and found Sango and her son watching over the priestess. Obviously it was Miroku's turn to make the rounds. "How is she?"
Sango looked up. "Sleeping. Physically she's fine, she was just drained after using that pendant." The taijiya reported.
"And my father?"
This time it was Kohaku who answered. "He said he needed some air and went off into the forest to the East."
Shiori blinked at his tone. Something about the boy's demeanor told her, her hanyou father had been successful in taming the youth's wild spirit. "Okay." She said simply before going back outside.
It's strange… She thought to herself. I should be worried out of my mind for my brother, but for some reason, I know he's just fine. Yamatsu hasn't hurt him at all.
Taking a quick leap, Shiori landed on the treetops and leapt through the canopy, following her father's scent. She heard him before she could see him.
"Kazu no Kizu!"
In the distance, a section of the forest fell down, making an even bigger clearing around the hanyou. Landing on the edge of the clearing, Shiori saw piles upon piles of cut wood sitting next to the stack of fresh trees that had yet to be cut up.
Shiori watched as Inuyasha threw one of the trees into the air and heard him shout, "Sankon Tessou!" Two, three attacks more each made short work out of the rest.
Smirking, she walked over as he sheathed his sword and began piling up the pieces. "Planning on building a castle with all that?"
Having smelled her long ago, Inuyasha didn't start at the sound of her voice and merely shrugged as he continued to work. "A few of the refugees were running out of firewood and winter's just around the corner." He said casually. He would never admit it was because he was frustrated with the fact that he couldn't hunt down a foe he couldn't find and he was pretty much helpless at this point. This was just a way to vent his anger. Where was a youkai to fight when you really needed one?
Accepting his answer, Shiori began helping her father pile the wood. When it was all done, Inuyasha sighed and unsheathed Tetsusaiga, getting ready to slice down more trees.
"Allow me." She said with a wink. Taking out her two chakrams, Shiori jumped into the air and threw one, then the other.
Inuyasha watched in amazement as his daughter did what looked like a dance with her weapons. Alternating between catching them and throwing them back, Shiori showed great accuracy and concentration as she cut down another two, thinner trees in the same manner as Inuyasha had.
She really has grown up a lot since I've been gone. Now I know how Kagome felt last night. Last night. That was when Inuyasha had found out that Yamatsu had his son and was holding him for ransom. But how could Inuyasha pick between his son and his mate? He couldn't and Yamatsu knew that. If only Inuyasha had been here when his son needed him most.
Fists clenching in anger, Inuyasha couldn't help but growl deep in his throat.
"You know, just because Yamatsu took ten years away from us, doesn't change the fact that we're still family." Shiori's voice cut in.
Blinking, Inuyasha finally realized his daughter was done cutting and stacking the firewood. "Huh?"
"You know, if it makes you feel any better, he never once lost faith in you." Shiori smiled.
Inuyasha frowned. "Who?"
"Oniichan." She replied. "While we were at the temple with Miroku, as much as Uncle tried, even he lost hope in your return."
Upon hearing this, guilt set in and Inuyasha's ears drooped.
"But not oniichan. When he left, he didn't do it cause he was mad at you or thought you weren't ever coming back. In fact, he admitted he would've done the same if he knew how to save mother." When the wind blew, Inuyasha was surprised how much Shiori resembled Kagome.
"You know even when Yamatsu had you under his control, oniichan believed in you more than anyone else." Shiori giggled at the memory. "Especially after you gave him Tetsusaiga to hold onto – the wonderful family heirloom."
"But Yamatsu's probably gotten a whole lot stronger and there's no telling how long your brother will be able to last." Inuyasha replied in all seriousness.
"Oniichan's fine. I can sense it."
Inuyasha was about to question her, when the trees behind her shook and a large cyclops monkey demon came barreling through. Inuyasha pulled Tetsusaiga from its sheath and was about to shout a warning when Shiori jumped flipped into the air.
Twisting in midair, Shiori dodged the youkai's wild swipe and threw her chakrams. They flew and severed the youkai's arms before twirling back towards their mistress.
At the peak of her jump, Shiori pulled the bow and a single arrow from her back. Without taking any extra time to aim, Shiori let the arrow fly. Bursting with a pink light, Inuyasha gasped as the purity arrow struck the youkai square in the forehead.
The demon screamed as its body was ripped apart.
Landing softly, Shiori stood up and saw her father looking back at her with a lost expression. "What?"
"N-nothing." Inuyasha stuttered as he put his dog fang away. "Where'd you learn to fight like that?"
Shiori shrugged nervously. "Practice."
"How did you know it was a threat so quickly?"
Walking over to the remains, Shiori pointed at the forehead where a blackened symbol remained. "Yamatsu performs a ritual, infusing his loyal demons with the power of Mikaboshi. As a result, they get this symbol, just above the eyes." The black marking was Shi – the kanji symbol for death.
Inuyasha gasped. "If he's here then Yamatsu knows we're here too!"
Shiori nodded and put the bow back behind her shoulder. "We should warn the others."
Together they took off back towards camp.
At that same moment, Kouga and his kin were battling a large rock titan – another of Yamatsu's creatures. As Kouga ran in to take him down, the symbol on his forehead glowed and the titan smashed Kouga's body with a mean punch.
Thrown back into another rock wall, Kouga felt the air rush out of his lungs and he clutched his stomach in pain as he fell to the ground.
Acting instantly, his five remaining children – including two daughters, ran in to battle the rock demon with even more passion.
With a swing of his arms, the demon swatted the large wolf demons back and they slammed into ground unconscious.
This was clearly the strongest of Yamatsu's army Kouga and his kin had run into. Kouga forced himself to his feet and it was then he felt the fresh blood rushing down his neck from a wound in the back of his head. Dizziness and nausea overwhelmed him and he fell to the ground unconscious.
Hours later when Kouga opened his eyes, he was shocked to find his children were nowhere to be found. It was then he knew Yamatsu had them.
Gritting his teeth, Kouga turned in the direction of Sango's camp and took off as fast as he could manage. Surely the taijiya and monk had learned something by now. Hopefully they knew where Yamatsu's hideout was so Kouga could go there and murder the bastard.
The first thing Kagome felt before she even opened her eyes was the cool breeze and the smell of the sea. Her hair danced lightly on the wind and when she opened her eyes, the sight before her left her breathless. She was standing on a cliff overlooking the ocean.
Down below she could see everyone she cared about playing in the water near shore. Miroku held Sango bridal style, just above the water. Both were laughing as the taijiya held on for dear life, not wanting to be dunked in the cold waves. Kohaku was playing with a six-year-old Shaoran and Shiori. They looked just like she remembered.
But she noticed one key person was missing.
As if on cue, Inuyasha came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She giggled as he ran his nose into her neck and nuzzled to inhale her unique scent. She blushed when she also noticed she was in a two-piece bikini and he was in swimming trucks. All that fighting really paid off… (A/N: OMG! Can you imagine!?? Ahh!! So sexy!! Future fanart I'm telling ya!)
As she was enjoying the interaction, dark clouds began to appear in the sky and flashes of lightning could be seen. Frowning, she immediately felt an evil aura, though different from anything she'd felt before, and watched as a purple-black mist flew out over the waters.
In the blink of an eye, the blue-green waters turned to black bubbling masses of tar, and her friends and family struggled to stay above the surface.
She tried to call out to them, but it was no use – her voice wouldn't come out.
A quiet, low chuckling behind her made her whip around and she found herself face to face with Yamatsu. "I have you to thank, priestess. Were it not for you, none of this would be possible."
In her attempt to get as far away from him as possible, she took a step back and the cliff she was standing upon crumbled beneath her feet. As she fell she could hear the people below calling out to her…
"Kagome-sama!"
"Mom!" "Mommy!"
"Kagome-chan!"
But the last face she saw was the beaten body of Inuyasha, strapped to the cliff walls, crucifixion style – his golden eyes dulled and unresponsive. "INUYASHA!" She finally shouted before blackness consumed everything.
"Kagome-chan! Wake up!" Sango's voice bolted Kagome from her nightmare and she quickly sat up in bed.
"You were having a bad dream!" Kohaku looked at his aunt worriedly.
Instead of answering them, Kagome opened her senses and quickly found the same evil aura she sensed in her dream. "Why didn't I think about it before!?"
Shooting to her feet, Kagome ran out of the hut. "Kirara!" She called out, getting the little cat's attention.
Sango and Kohaku rushed to see what was going on as Kirara transformed and Kagome mounted her back.
Hearing the commotion, Inuyasha and Shiori landed at the front of the hut as well. "What the hell is going on?" Inuyasha asked pissed off.
"I'll tell you as soon as I'm sure myself!" Kagome replied, quickly before taking to the air.
"You ain't going nowhere without me!" Inuyasha shouted, following her on the ground. Shiori followed without a word.
Surveying the lands around the encampment, Kagome searched for the direction of the aura.
"What are you looking for?" Shiori asked.
Pointing to an area a few miles away, Kagome gasped. "That!" It was a large purple-black hued barrier taking up at least a couple of miles.
When both Shiori and Inuyasha jumped up, they frowned. "I don't see anything!" Inuyasha replied frustration.
Of course they wouldn't see it! Kagome reminded herself. "A barrier and a big one at that!"
"So close to the camp? How can that be?" Shiori asked.
"I don't know, but it's the reason no one can find out where Yamatsu's army is!" Coming down to the ground, Kagome dismounted Kirara.
"That doesn't make any sense!" Inuyasha exclaimed as he landed. "Why be so close and let the refugees gather?"
Kagome remained silent because quite honestly, she wasn't sure either.
"Well, shouldn't we go and get Shaoran out?" Shiori asked.
Both parents shook their heads.
"We need to figure this out first." Kagome said.
"And with Yamatsu sending his demons in our direction one at a time, without making an all out assault, I'm even more suspicious than ever." Inuyasha agreed. "Let's go back."
After much discussion, Inuyasha and the group decided that although Yamatsu didn't attack the refugee camp, they couldn't pass up the opportunity to dispense of him once and for all. Trap or no trap.
As they filed out of the tent, Inuyasha immediately saw the wounded wolf pack leader shooting daggers at him. He reeked of blood and Inuyasha could see the dried liquid just on the side of his neck.
Growling, Kouga rushed in and slashed at Inuyasha making the hanyou have to jump to the side.
"Kouga-kun! What are you doing!?" Kagome exclaimed.
Inuyasha went into defensive position and shouted. "Has the wimp wolf finally gone mad? Why they hell you attacking me for!?"
Running at him again, Kouga whipped out a leg to try and hit Inuyasha's chest, but it was blocked. "Where the hell have you been while everyone else has been fighting your war!?" Demanded the wolf youkai.
"My war!? Yamatsu's the one killing everyone!" Inuyasha threw a swing to make Kouga jumped back, but had yet to draw Tetsusaiga.
"If you had just killed him when you had the chance, none of this would've happened! Now my kin are prisoners and I blame you!"
"Kouga-kun!?" Kagome exclaimed. "What about Ayame-chan!?" Surely the dark lord hadn't gotten to her too.
Looking over at the priestess, Kouga crossed his arms. "I left her at the den. The rest of the pack still needs a leader."
Upon hearing this, Inuyasha smirked. "Seeing as you still have that rosary, I'm guessing you didn't want her around to "sit" you, eh?"
Kagome looked over upset. "Osuwari!"
SMACK!
"D…damn you…" Inuyasha muttered from ground level.
"Osuwari…"
SMACK!
Turning to Kouga, Kagome approached carefully. "Kouga-kun, we need to have that wound looked at."
Wincing, Kouga shook his head defiantly. "I'm fine! I want to know where that bastard is so I gut him…"His last words faded out when he fell to one knee suddenly weak.
"Kouga-kun!" Kagome rushed to his side and began examining his head.
Inuyasha was just brushing himself off when he said, "Figures he'd fall from such a little cut. Wimp."
"Osuwari!"
SMACK!
Wincing, Kohaku leaned in towards his mother. "You'd think he'd learn not to say such things around Kagome-sama."
Sango shrugged. "He never does."
"I heard that!" Inuyasha exclaimed angrily.
"OSUWARI!"
SMACK!
"How am I supposed to heal him with you making all that noise!?" Kagome asked as she brought up the pendant.
Everyone gasped. "But Kagome-chan!" Sango shouted in worry.
"I'll be fine." She assured. "This isn't nearly as bad of an injury as before." Without further adieu, she closed her eyes and began healing Kouga's head.
When the light died down, Kagome sighed. "I've got a bit of a headache, but the wound's all healed up."
"Thank you, Kagome." Kouga said sweetly.
"Kouga-kun!" Shiori came running over and knelt before the warrior. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Smiling, Kouga cupped her hands and was rewarded with a bright blush that tinted the hanyou's face. "Were you… worried about me?"
"He's almost as bad as you are." Sango commented flatly to her husband.
Miroku sweatdropped but said nothing.
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER!!" Inuyasha came storming over and rolled up his sleeved, balling his fists.
Kagome knowingly got back. "Inuyasha?"
Wincing, Inuyasha looked over worriedly. Please not again…
"Not too badly. I did just heal him."
Smiling, Inuyasha bent over and pulled Kouga up by the back of his shirt, throwing him away from Shiori.
"Daddy!" Shiori berated.
"He's like ten times your age!" Kagome exclaimed.
"Dad's just as old, and you two got together just fine!" Shiori countered.
"He's already got a mate!" Inuyasha said as he stood between her and Kouga.
Crossing her arms, Shiori went back with her aunt and uncle.
"You get that?" Inuyasha warned to the wolven leader, cracking his knuckles. "Touch her again and I'll make you regret it."
Kouga baulked at the threat and crossed his arms.
Trying to lighten the mood, Kagome said, "You said something about your children?"
"Yeah, the last time we went up against one of Yamatsu's rock titans, he overpowered us and took them all." Kouga exclaimed sadly.
"We know where he is, Kouga-kun. We were just about to go there ourselves. Why don't you join us?" Kagome suggested.
Not seeing anything wrong with the plan, Kouga nodded.
"Yes!" Shiori exclaimed, making Inuyasha growled.
Just to piss off Inuyasha more, Kouga winked seductively at the young hanyou, making her blush more.
Inuyasha balled his fists and took off after the fleeing wolf. "I saw that!"
Sango and Kagome got on Kirara, while Shiori and Miroku traveled on the ground. Kohaku rode on Kurai and together they took off.
"Don't worry, Kurai. We'll get your siblings back. I promise." Kohaku said to his friend.
Kurai snorted. When I find Yamatsu, I'm going to tear him apart…
Author's Notes: A very satisfying chapter I think. Lots of things that don't quite add up but if anyone can figure it out, it's Sesshoumaru! As for Kouga, the years have been good to him and he's right back to flirting with woman again. It's a miracle him and Miroku don't get along more than they go, huh? I really like the relationship that's building between Kurai and Kohaku, don't you? Okay, I obviously have a bloated ego, so I'll shut up now.