Chapter 11: Kagome
"This is impossible," grumbled Inuyasha. "How are we supposed to ever find the poison that Kagome took?" They had searched until mid afternoon, and hadn't found anything. Heading back to Kaede's hut, Inuyasha saw Sango and Kaede reaching there too.
"Found anything?" asked Kaede in a voice that told them that she had found nothing either.
"No," said Shippo, who looked on the verge of tears.
Kaede sighed. "Come in for a drink first, then." She led the way into the hut.
"Oh my god," murmured Sango. The room was empty. "Damn it I knew we shouldn't left Miroku behind..."
"No." Inuyasha glanced furtively around. "It was Sesshoumaru."
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"Are you tired? If you are, I could take over," offered Miroku.
Sesshoumaru gave him a glare he normally reserved for Jaken. "I do not need any help." He had been carrying Kagome for the past few hours and was still walking ahead of the monk.
Miroku sighed. His feet were sore but he wasn't about to complain and receive another famous glare. Sesshoumaru already thought humans weak – Miroku wasn't eager to prove it to him. Besides, Sesshoumaru's human ward was keeping pace next to Miroku perfectly well. If a little girl could do it, Miroku could damn well do it too.
Above him, a white snake-like thing flew quickly. In its tiny claws it held a glowing ball of light.
Souls, Miroku noted, in somewhat disgust. He respected Kikyo for her powers and what she died for, but feeding off the souls of dead girls to allow herself to live seemed a tad too selfish.
He was so engrossed in his thoughts he nearly bumped into Sesshoumaru when the taiyoukai stopped walking. Miroku heaved a small sigh of relief. He didn't imagine Sesshoumaru liked his person to be touched.
"Do you have a plan?" It took Miroku awhile to notice that Sesshoumaru was talking to him.
"Not really," admitted Miroku.
"A plan for what?" asked a cool voice from in front of them. Miroku looked at where the voice came from, and came face-to-face with an arrow pointed at them.
"Explain this." It wasn't really a statement or a question – when Sesshoumaru was in his icy-mode everything sounded like commands or demands.
Kikyo's eyes traveled from taiyoukai to Kagome to monk to little girl, then back to Kagome again. "What about her?"
"You met with her, didn't you?" accused Miroku.
"So what if I did? I didn't do anything to her, if you must ask," said Kikyo with a hint of defiance.
"Tell me what both of you did." Again, it was another command from the youkai lord, which nobody liked to disobey.
"I said I would return to her the 'essence' that was stolen from her, on a few conditions. She agreed, so we made a deal. Then she went back."
"What conditions?" asked Sesshoumaru sharply.
Kikyo's pale complexion flushed a tiny bit. "I asked her to give me Inuyasha..."
Miroku rolled his eyes. Rin shifted her weight from foot to foot occasionally. Sesshoumaru glared at Kikyo.
"What else?" he snapped. Miroku arched an eyebrow. He'd thought that was all.
"Nothing!" No way in hell would she admit she had asked for Sesshoumaru too...
"What?" asked Sango incredulously. "You're saying Sesshoumaru came here? To do what?"
"I don't know," said Kaede. "But I do know that Kagome's missing."
"Well, we'll go find her!" said Inuyasha like it was the easiest thing in the world.
Sango glared at the empty room. "I knew we never should have let Miroku stay back alone with her."
Kaede frowned. "Miroku may have trouble with his hands and where they land, but I don't think he would do anything of that sort."
"So you're saying this all has something to do with Sesshoumaru?" asked Sango. "But what would he want with Kagome? I mean, all she did was stay with him for a little while."
"You two, stop making speculations," interrupted Inuyasha. "I mean, it's obvious. Sesshoumaru kidnapped Kagome. We'll go find him, get Kagome back, and kill that bastard. It's simple."
"Then how do you account for Miroku's disappearance?" raised Sango.
"I don't know, probably being used as a slave or somewhat by Sesshoumaru. Can we start looking for them now?" Saying so, Inuyasha swung around and stomped out the door.
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"So, you've always been in love with Sesshoumaru, but realized you could never get him and settled for his brother instead?" asked Miroku incredulously. Kikyo's confession startled him, though it had taken several tries for them to pry the information out of her.
"In a way, you could say." Now, it was Kikyo and Miroku carrying on the conversation. Sesshoumaru, Miroku assumed, was silent from surprise though he wore a scornful expression; Kagome was still unconscious.
"That's hilarious," chortled Miroku. "But why didn't you pick someone else? Why Inuyasha? Why not me?"
"It was the same silver hair and golden eyes..." began Kikyo dreamily. Then she stopped abruptly. "What the hell," she snapped. "Stop imagining things. Of course, it was only a mere girlish fancy I had, nothing substantial."
"You two stop it," commanded Sesshoumaru sharply. "Let us get back on to our original intentions." He glared at Kikyo. "You will heal Kagome."
"Or else? Killing me won't ever bring her back."
"How aptly put, miko. But killing Inuyasha..."
Kikyo's eyes seemed to widen in fear. Then she narrowed them softly, eyelashes falling over her eyes.
"I didn't do anything to her, I swear," she said softly. "But maybe my grandmother did."
Sesshoumaru searched her carefully. She was telling the truth.
"Bring me to your grandmother."
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"Miroku was definitely with them," pronounced Inuyasha as he sniffed the ground tentatively. "They stopped here. Then... Kikyo?" he sounded as confused as he looked.
"What was she doing here?" wondered Kaede.
"Maybe they found something out and went to investigate," suggested Sango.
Inuyasha snorted. "Unlikely. Kikyo would never have anything to with Kagome's poisoning."
A large boomerang fell from the air and connected with Inuyasha's head. "Don't rule out the possibility. In the meanwhile, we will follow their trail."
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"You have guests," said Kikyo as she entered a fair-sized house.
A wrinkled old woman, not unlike the one Kagome had seen in her memory, appeared from behind a curtain.
"Who?" she rasped before settling her gaze on the rest of the group.
"What did you do to Kagome? I told you not to meddle with the bottle," fumed Kikyo. "Now I've got angry people looking for me, saying I did something to their precious Kagome."
"Now, now," her grandmother croaked. "I only wanted the best for you. You know that with her alive she'll always have the hearts of the men you want."
"That isn't true," shot back Kikyo. "Are you saying I'm incapable of keeping the men I love by my side?"
"Yes. It's no question – Onigumo, who was in love with you, turned into the hanyou Naraku, who later killed you after he tossed out Onigumo's heart. Your love story with Inuyasha ended up killing you. God, Kikyo, how many times do you want to die before you stop deluding yourself that you're the smartest?"
"Can you heal Kagome?" inquired Miroku. "I love it when women 'fight it out' verbally, but we are here for a purpose."
"Really, houshi," admonished the witch, "how impatient you are! Of course she can be healed. Every potion has an antidote."
"Heal her or he'll kill you," said Miroku, gesturing towards Sesshoumaru.
"I have no fear for my life. No simple demon can lay a finger on me. It's not to say many haven't tried."
"Then I'll kill your granddaughter," said Sesshoumaru coolly.
She glared at Sesshoumaru. "Wait here, I'll gather what I need. Whatever you do, do not leave the house. This antidote requires a complex spell that cannot be interrupted."
"Make it quick," snapped Miroku.
"I will," she wheezed, and shuffled out the door.
Outside, the witch closed her eyes, and chanted a prayer.
The house glowed white.
She smiled. Her plan was going perfectly.
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Kagome shifted. It was really, really dark in the room.
Wait. It was because her eyes were closed.
Fluttering her eyes open, Kagome had a familiar fleeting vision of twin golden stars floating above her,
Sesshoumaru. She tried sitting up, to reach for him, but the futon only grabbed her harder and refused to let go.
Someone was speaking now. Miroku...
"Kagome. Stop struggling. You'll fall and hit your head. Hey! Listen to me!"
She fully opened her eyes, but saw nothing. Then, a hand landed on her rear.
Finally, she could see. The damned lecher was grinning, glad that he had awoken Kagome. A fleck of orange in the corner of the room revealed Rin. A silky material wrapped around her protectively...
Sesshoumaru was holding her. In surprise, Kagome sat up sharply, knocking her head on his jaw. He barely flinched at the contact – she crumpled back into his arms.
"God, for such a feminine chin, you have hard bones," complained Kagome as Sesshoumaru set her on the floor. Miroku raised an eyebrow. That way of speaking was more than just disrespectful. But Sesshoumaru didn't seem very angered by it. "What happened?"
"I was going to drop Rin off with you, seeing as the Eastern Lord's men were not sounding very cooperative and a war could start. Then, I came across this monk with you, unconscious."
"You were poisoned," declared Miroku with a tone of authority.
Kagome looked dubiously at him. "How come I'm alright now? And where's the rest of the group?"
"They went off to search for any possible poisons that could have poisoned you, in hope of looking for an antidote. I offered to stay behind and look after you," Miroku grinned.
"Are you hoping to be congratulated?" Kagome muttered, instinctively wrapping her hands around her chest.
"I don't know why you're better now, though the witch did say she would do something about it," said Sesshoumaru.
"Witch? Like the one from the flashback in the garden?"
"That's my grandmother you're talking about, please use some respect. If that is possible," said Kikyo snobbishly.
"How come she's here?" asked Kagome in surprise.
"Long story, I'll tell you sometime," said Miroku. "Right now, we've got bigger problems."
He jerked his finger out the window. A silver light surrounding the house with a ten meter radius glowed ominously.
"Now what?" groaned Kagome as she headed out the door, followed closely by the rest.
"My grandmother said not to leave the house! You might interrupt the spell work," yelled Kikyo indignantly.
"Spell work? More like, voodoo," scoffed Miroku. "That old cow locked us in."
"Can you break it?" Kagome breathed anxiously.
"No. It's too strong for magic scrolls, and my kazaana won't have any effect on such a large barrier."
"Acid whip or sword blasts?" Kagome turned to Sesshoumaru.
"Acid won't work. Regular killing swords won't, not unless it's the Tetsusaiga. Tensaiga might... but there's nothing to heal." Saying so, he flew a few feet off the ground and swiftly unsheathed a gleaming Tensaiga. Slicing a neat cut in the barrier five meters across, he landed gracefully just as the barrier closed.
"It can cut through, but the barrier won't stay open long enough for us to get through," Sesshoumaru said, surveying it.
"Could the kazaana keep it open?" asked Kikyo.
"Who gave you permission to speak?" growled Sesshoumaru, but went ahead and cut the barrier again just the same.
Kagome watched the barrier just as Miroku unwrapped his rosary beads.
"Doesn't work, it closed even faster," Miroku said before clenching his fist and wrapping his prayer beads around it.
"We'll get out, won't we?" asked Rin, inching towards Kagome.
"Sure, we will," Kagome said, sounding much more confident than she was.
From behind the white of the barrier, a small shadow could be seen. Before anyone could do anything, the witch walked through it, grinning in a pleased way.
"My trap was ingenious, don't you think?" she smiled, showing missing teeth. "Just think... you all walked right through into it."
She must have noticed all the blank faces, for the witch launched on, her face twisting into an ugly picture of anger and malice. "You. The one they all call Kagome. I could've lived forever, always beautiful. Instead, your incarnate destroyed it all. And no," she said, noticing their looks of surprise, "you're not the reincarnation of my granddaughter, though many fools have presumed so. Instead, you're the reincarnation of that fool miko bitch that spoiled all my plans. I was so close to becoming an immortal, living forever. But no, she created that damned magical ball, and used it against me and made me lose all my powers."
"The Shikon no Tama?" asked Kagome, looking confused.
"Yes! Contrary to legend, Midoriko did not create it. She played a big plart in the creation of it, but actually, it was her sister, Yuriko, who created it. Yuriko was a great miko, of noble birth. When she took my powers away with the Shikon no Tama, the effort killed her. It wasn't a good enough end for her, though," said the witch bitterly. "I will kill you, Kagome. If I cannot live my life forever, I will spend it killing everyone with a connection to Yuriko."
"Crazy," whispered Kikyo. "You're crazy. Everyone knows Midoriko created the Shikon no Tama."
"Nonsense, girl," snapped the older woman. "How long have you lived? Who are you to say what it fact and legend?" Her eyes glowered fiercely. "I have killed all her family, and her family's descendants. Now, I but have to finish off her reincarnation."
"Why kill the innocent?" shot Kagome angrily, drawing Rin towards her. "If it's between you and me, why involve all the others?"
The witch's face twisted sourly. "I would've gone in and killed you once you were drugged – yes, drugged, not poisoned. The drug is specially created to make it seem like a poison. Well, that interfering houshi insisted on staying behind, spoiling my plan. And the taiyoukai had to show up too, and involve my granddaughter.
"But your argument holds merit, Kagome. You are truly the reincarnate of Yuriko. She would've wasting her last living moments worrying about others. I will let all those who are not involved, leave this barrier." With a wave of her hand, a small gap appeared in the barrier.
Kikyo scurried out quickly. Sesshoumaru pushed Rin out right after her.
"Miroku, go," said Kagome.
"Absolutely not," yelled the witch. "That houshi foiled my earlier plans to kill you. He can stay here with you!" She shot a spark in Miroku's direction, freezing him in his spot. "What about the taiyoukai? Die with your lover, or flee for your life?"
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A part of Kagome wanted him to stay. But she was being selfish, she knew. Thousands of people depended on Sesshoumaru. Rin needed him, his lands needed him. She couldn't detain him to die with her, especially when she knew there was no way out.
Tears rolled out of her eyes, but for once, they weren't filled with compassion or love. Anger sparked at her heart, and it hurt.
She didn't always have to be the caring one, sacrificing everything for everyone. If she liked, she could have quit and left Sengoku Jidai for good. Let the ancient people fight it out. If she wanted, she could shoot an arrow into Inuyasha and stop having to hear his insults. She could... she could stop being so damn passive, and start standing up for what she wanted.
And she wanted Sesshoumaru to stay. A frozen Miroku would bring her no comfort. Kagome sat on the ground at Miroku's feet, and sobbed. Fuck it, she had the right to cry. She wasn't going to hold back her tears for fear of causing pain to others anymore.
Quickly, Kagome swallowed her tears. She would ask Sesshoumaru to stay. Surely he would, even without her having to ask.
Swallowing, she looked up at Sesshoumaru. "You would... die... with me, right?"
A long pause that was so silent it deafened Kagome, pervaded the area around them.
Then, he looked at her with a blank expression.
Bowing her head, Kagome felt the tears well up again. She never wanted to look up. When she did, she knew he would be gone.
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"Kagome, you know he probably had his reasons..." soothed Miroku, though he knew there was nothing really to say.
After Sesshoumaru had left, and the barrier had been closed again, the witch had unfroze Miroku and disappeared herself. Probably to prepare a death spell of some sort, Miroku mused.
An uncomfortable silence grew between them. Miroku cleared his throat, and smiled wanly. "I always wanted to die with a beautiful woman by my side, crying her heart out, dreading my departure." Though I suppose you're not crying for me, added Miroku silently.
"Would that woman be Sango?" asked Kagome finally. If she was going to die, she wasn't going to do it all depressed and teary.
"Maybe. But with kids." Miroku took on a dreamy expression.
"Boy or girl?" It seemed like the only reasonable thing to say.
"Both; twins, a boy and a girl. You know, somehow I imagine the wife looking like Sango, the daughter looking like you and the son looking like me. With little Inuyasha ears."
"How do the ears come in?" Kagome raised an eyebrow. "I thought that youkai blood would be needed."
"I don't know. It's just a thought of mine, probably untrue."
"Actually, Sango fancies you quite a bit, she told me," said Kagome. She was going to die anyways – Sango could dig up her bones and kill her again later.
"Oh, I always knew that," said Miroku, though his expression betrayed him. He looked half delighted and half worried, as though having Sango in love with him would infringe on him going out with women. But nothing showed his feelings more than a small lecherous smile, playing on his lips.
"So... we wait?" asked Kagome in a small voice.
"We wait," said Miroku grimly, and started playing with his rosary beads.
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I am SO SO SO sorry I kept you guys so long. The day after I posted I was climbing trees, fell off, and broke my arm. So I can tell you, typing with one hand is not easy. I finished two chapters, though, while I was in the hospital. I've got 3 chapters done for Love in the Corporate Ladder readers, and I will update tomorrow.
Thank you all for your reviews, I had fun reading them. I'm sorry I can't answer reviews right now, but I will next chapter.
Enjoy!