DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA NOR THE MANGA, NOR THE ANIME
SunMoon1285: Hello fellow readers! This is SunMoon1285 here… Sorry for not updating sooner… but I have a surprise for your patience (drum rolls) TWO CHAPTERS! And very long ones… think of it as an early Easter gift.
Sesshomaru: Foolish human
SunMoon1285: Oh… shove it Sessho! You're starting to tick me off…
Sesshomaru: I like it when you're angry… did anyone tell you that
SunMoon1285: I can be like freshman at college but I'll still look like a twelve year old kid. Maybe it's because I'm refusing to grow up…
Inuyasha: Maybe it's because you're still a vir-
(Sesshomaru slashes at him with his razor claws… Then looks innocently to the reasons and a gaping SunMoon1285)
Sesshomaru: It slipped… (changes to a more sensual tone) I'll make you grow into a beautiful flower… my dearest
SunMoon1285: YIPES! Please review and no flames… the more I get… the sooner I update! Enjoy!
Chapter 12: Dealings
"So… you're telling us that you were possessed by Naraku?" Miroku questioned the raven haired girl sitting across of him on the dining table.
Currently, Miroku, Sango, and Kagome were sitting at the table drinking coffee and explaining last night's ordeal. Inu had left the apartment a few minutes before to tell the others of Naraku's failed plot against Kagome. But while he was heading to the door, Miroku and Sango arrived gasping for breath. They both sensed an evil aura dissipate a few hours ago and left immediately to check if everyone was all right.
"Er… yes… he was giving me false illusions of the Demon Lord… but luckily Sessho let Sesshomaru out and took care of me… or so he said" Kagome replied.
(Flashback)
"We should help him get up…" Kagome advised Inu.
"Whatever…" Inu grumbled as he helped Kagome carry Sessho to his feet.
Inu and Kagome were hoisting the unconscious body of Sessho from the floor. They both took an arm and flung it over their shoulders to share his weight. Sessho moaned slightly and opened his eyes weakly to Kagome.
"Kagome… you're all right…" he whispered.
Kagome blushed crimson from his heated words. 'So much like Sesshomaru'
"Yes… Sesshomaru helped me recover… did you let him out?" Kagome asked.
"I had to… it was the only way for… you to come back. I hate that I can't do anything about the situation and always turning to my spirit" Sessho lied.
"Hey… we tried our best, Taishou" Inu interrupted grudgingly.
'Sessho… you're so kind and considerate… I'm really being unfair with you, you deserve something in return' Kagome thought.
(End of Flashback)
Kagome was still quite taken aback from the turn of events. She raised her hand to her pink lips that still held the Taiyoukai's warm touch. 'His kiss of revival' she mused. She was shaken from her stupor when Sango nudged her with her elbow teasingly.
"And how did you get that bruise on your right cheek, Kagome?" Sango asked.
"It was the only way Sessho could subdue me… after all I was unwillingly trying to kill myself…" Kagome explained but quickly changing the subject, "Oh! By the way, I just decided to change all my classes to online and prevent further confrontations with Naraku. Inu was kind enough to provide me that favor so I wouldn't enter campus again."
"We've been worried sick about you, Kagome… When Miroku and I sensed what went on, I-" Sango trailed off when she let out a choked sob.
Miroku quickly rose from his chair and went to his loved one. He took her into his comforting arms, refraining from doing anything perverse. He soothed her with gentle circular strokes on her back, until she relaxed again.
Kagome for an instant became jealous of the scene before her. She wanted Sesshomaru to do that just now… and not fade away. Her thoughts were cut off when a door clicked open.
Sessho entered the living room with a serene smile gracing his features.
"Sessho, my friend, how are you feeling?" Miroku asked his roommate, who only nodded in acknowledgement and greeting.
Kagome turned to face Sessho, the man who wielded her mate's soul. She searched for any differences on his face, neck, arms, hands… until she came to realize something missing.
"Sessho! Where's your bracelet?" Kagome inquired frantically.
"I do not longer require it… it seems my spirit has passed on" Sessho answered with a small smile on his face, "don't worry, Higurashi… I am fine"
Kagome couldn't focus at that precise moment.
No…
Her eyes began to water from her tears. The world around her swirled around in circles.
Sesshomaru…
Her breathing began to become spastic and uneven. Her heartbeat grew considerably from the shock of the news.
"Kagome… I can protect you" Sessho murmured as he made his way closer to her. Sango and Miroku were shocked beyond words at the young man's audacity and strange behavior.
I want to be protected by Sesshomaru…no one else
She struggled for words to say, but none came out. She gasped and muttered incoherently as she backed away from the nearing male. She closed her eyes wishing for this for to be a dream as she lost her balance. Finally, her world became dark as she fell into unconsciousness.
"Kagome!" Sango called out as Sessho quickly gathered Kagome, breaking her fall.
"I'll take her to my room…" Sessho said under his breath as he turned from the couple, "Miroku… our agreement is still on"
Miroku was about to reply but Sessho slammed the door of his room shut before another word was spoken.
"Miroku… what agreement is he talking about?" Sango asked quietly to her lover.
Miroku turned to her brown eyes and caressed tenderly her face.
"Sango… not here… now it isn't the time or the place," he whispered, "We need to gather everyone we can…"
"Answer me! What's wrong? Why won't you tell me right now?" Sango interrupted breaking away from his grasp, "What if it involves my friend?"
"Sessho is not behaving as before… we need a plan, all right? Let's go…" Miroku mumbled as he gently took her hand and left the apartment. 'Something is not right…' he noted.
Meanwhile, in Sessho's room
Sessho set Kagome carefully on his made bed. He stared at the ethereal sleeping beauty before him. She was the one that would soon be his… the one whom will belong to him. He brushed away her ebony hair that covered her face with his claws. 'Claws?' he thought, 'So he really is gone… and bestowed his powers upon me…'
He narrowed his eyes at that predicament. Sessho quickly turned to face his full length mirror to see any more changes on his body, expecting to see his reflection to stare back at him. But then, he gasped at the unholy sight. He was met by a reflection that was turning his back on him. 'What is this witchcraft?' he questioned himself.
He walked closer to the mirror, and to his distress, the reflection still kept his body turned away from him and didn't move a step. Sessho noticed his extremities were shaking against his will and summoned all his courage to face this dilemma.
After a while, he stood a foot away from the glass contraption. He was about to reach his hand to touch the surface when his reflection began to turn slowly to face him. Sessho instantly felt a shiver running down his spine. The echo that faced him began to change his appearance. His blond hair diminishing to a silver hue, his wrists and hips gaining colored stripes, and his ears protruding to sharp points; Sessho tried to look away but his body kept him rooted where he was.
The reflection turned completely to reveal the Taiyoukai's emotionless face. His magenta stripes and blue crescent moon adding an outwardly beauty to his features.
Sessho's eyes widened considerably. This was the first time he saw the demon lord personally in all his glory.
"W-w-what do you want?" he stammered, cursing himself for this cowardly behavior.
'Do NOT take what is mine, you fool… soon, I will be on this earth and you shall suffer the consequences…' the reflection replied in his mind.
"I'm gaining your powers demon! You can't beat me!" Sessho retorted with a smirk as he showed the reflections his newly formed claws.
The reflection's stoic face was far from having a reaction. He only gave an even deadlier smirk and tilted his head slightly to the side. His cold amber eyes narrowed as they turned crimson in rage, letting his eyes become the only thing that betrayed his stony face.
Suddenly, the mirror exploded making the host stagger back to the floor. The shards fell all around him, each still wielding the demon lord's menacing glare. Sessho crawled away as far as he could from the broken pieces, until his back rested upon the bed post.
'We'll see about that… ningen' the Taiyoukai replied from within before the remains turned back to normal.
Sessho remained quiet for a long time before gaining his composure, trying vainly to forget the demon's red hazy glare. Finally, he hoisted himself to his feet, putting on the first clothes he could find, and hastily leaving his apartment to have a conversation with someone.
At Inu's dorm room…
"Fuck, man! What is happening?" Koga cried out after Inu finished telling his story to the others.
They were met by the arrival of Sango and Miroku who were coming from Sessho's apartment. They sat around the living room while Miroku answered Koga's question.
"Naraku seems desperate… especially now after Kagome gained back her memories" Miroku explained.
"What about Taishou?" Shippo requested as he accommodated Rin closer on his lap.
"He is acting strange…" Sango added, "Miroku… please tell us"
"He's my friend… I don't know if it is exactly true. They're just thoughts. I'm sorry." Miroku neglected.
"You jackass… you know as well as I do that something is not right with that bastard" Inu yelled.
"How do you expect to fulfill our destinies if you are keeping information away from us?" Rin asked innocently.
Everyone agreed to Rin's statement, which finally managed Miroku to speak aloud his thoughts about his friend.
"All right… I have the suspicion that… Sessho might be meeting with Naraku" Miroku concluded.
"What?" everyone gasped in unison except for Inu.
Inu merely scoffed at that remark as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Inu… you knew this?" Miroku questioned the unfazed youth.
"I never did trust that bastard anyway..." Inu replied, "He's not letting out his spirit for us-"
"You haven't exactly cooperated either" Miroku commented, "You also have a spirit"
"Um… Miroku" Shippo tried to interject.
"Listen… I told you before that he's an unintelligible beast who only thinks his baser instincts…" Inu explained, "He won't be of any help"
"And we're supposed to trust you? If we do… then we must trust Sessho as well" Miroku acknowledged.
"Miroku… don't say more…" Kouga warned.
Inu began to breathe heavily causing Shippo to scoot Rin away from danger and place himself close to Koga in case something was to happen. Inu kept his face hidden as his hands fisted in anger.
"Maybe I'm wrong to say this… but you might be seeing Naraku as well" Miroku charged.
Inu slowly raised his head to reveal his crimson eyes and protruding fangs.
"Fuck…" Koga cursed under his breath.
"I'll do it…" Shippo said as he left the room quickly.
"I DESIRE NOTHING MORE THAN TO KILL NARAKU AND LICK HIS BLOOD CLEAN FROM MY CLAWS" Inuyasha replied darkly.
"Ah… Inuyasha, you finally reveal yourself… tell us what you know of this situation" Miroku said.
'Damn that Miroku… he's playing with fire here…' Koga thought worriedly.
Sango and Rin huddled close in fear on the couch. They were startled when Inuyasha began to growl.
Inuyasha's head tilted towards the women without breaking eye contact with the monk's reincarnation, "Where is Naraku? My bloodlust is with him…"
The group remained quiet but a little bit more relaxed by that remark. At least the beast wouldn't kill them at that instant. 'If we keep quiet until Shippo arrives then all is well' Koga thought. He growled in annoyance when Miroku spoke again.
"So… you know nothing of this…" Miroku inferred.
"Blood… Kill… Die…" Inuyasha murmured in a chant-like tune.
His smirk grew by each word that he said. His knuckles cracked as he prepared to strike at Miroku. Miroku's dark eyes widened at what was about to happen. But, before anyone could move, Shippo arrived and whacked the hannyou unconscious with an aluminum bat. The body reversed back to Inu's human form.
"Took you long enough…" Koga responded to the panting redhead.
"Inu's room is a pigsty! I couldn't find it right away…" Shippo cried.
"Does that answer your question, Miroku?" Sango asked.
"Quite…" Miroku answered nervously, "I know now one thing for sure…"
Everyone stood still, awaiting the words of the wise male.
"He's one tough spirit to deal with" Miroku concluded.
The entire group fell back in exasperation before hitting the monk's reincarnation to the brink of consciousness. Shippo glanced worriedly at Inu's still unconscious body.
"Koga…" Shippo called out.
"Yeah… I know… it's getting worse" Koga replied.
Their conversation was cut short when they were startled by Sango's question.
"How long?" Sango asked.
"He was always this way from the day we met him…" Shippo replied.
"But he never had been possessed so consecutively" Koga revealed, "Time is running out…"
"Should we tell Inu?" Rin asked as she made her way towards Shippo.
"I think he already knows… better leave him be" Shippo answered.
Meanwhile at Sessho's apartment…
The pieces of the mirror that were seemingly normal began to glow again, this time in tune with the bracelet that lay forgotten next to a pile of used clothing.
"Good… that will get the message through him…" Sesshomaru thought triumphantly of his display of power.
He got what he wanted, separation from his host, but didn't account for the ningen to copy most of his strengths. 'He will change partly to my humanoid form in due time' he sensed. But his situation was now worse; he had fallen into Naraku's trap.
Now he was spellbound within the bracelet, just like Naraku wanted. Fortunately, the human didn't give notice to bring the bracelet back to Naraku so he had some time. He needed a way to be able to reunite the rest of his soul. He noticed the presence of her beloved and the necklace.
'I could stay within the necklace for the time being… control her only when deemed necessary… but I would cease to exist' he meditated.
He then remembered Kaiyan's last advice when the orb was bestowed to him. To born again, you need the same soul and a new body. The orb was to create a new haven for the soul.
"For a body without a soul is dead, yet a soul without a body is the source of life and he gave me the item… but how do I use the orb?" he murmured before he caught the presence of his servant, Jaken.
Jaken went inside the room to check on the sleeping girl. He was about to leave when the bracelet began to glow weakly. Jaken's attention drew into the dimming light and hobbled close where the bracelet lay. He warily took the bracelet and tentatively slipped it on. Sesshomaru hoped for this plan to work as he tried to communicate with him.
"Jaken" Sesshomaru murmured.
"Lord Sesshomaru!" the toad cried aloud gleefully causing Kagome to toss and turn in her sleep.
"Quiet… You'll wake her" he reprimanded, "I can hear your thoughts…"
"Sorry my lord…" Jaken thought.
"Take me to the orb I gave you and I will diffuse my powers to it… I won't be able to communicate ever again until I am freed..." Sesshomaru explained.
"How will you join the powers?" Jaken asked.
"Take me to the orb or die, Jaken" Sesshomaru ordered, ignoring completely the question.
Jaken whimpered in fear before he ran to Kagome's room and found the pulsing orb. He carefully removed the bracelet and slipped it over the orb. Instantly a light permeated through the two artifacts that sent Jaken spiraling backwards. He stumbled closer to the orb and searched for any differences. The bracelet became completely transparent, losing whatever it had left of its pulsing light and the orb still gave off that eerie light.
Tentatively, he slipped it on again, but there was no answer. Jaken feared for the worst. He took off the bracelet and took the orb in his clammy hands.
"Oh no… he's dead!" Jaken cried before a vibration shook him to his limbs, "Or is he?"
Jaken murmured incoherently as he planned ulterior motives with his master's artifact. 'I'll make him come back' he thought happily, 'and he'll kill that whelp of reincarnation that threatened my life.'
Meanwhile, Kagome rose weakly from the bed. Instantly, she noticed she wasn't in her room. 'Where the heck am I?' she thought as she looked the room curiously, 'It smells like Sessho… Sessho? Sessho's room!'
She got off the bed to step on broken shards of glass. She yelped in pain as she jumped up and down grabbing her throbbing foot. 'What the hell? What's all this glass doing here?' she thought.
Tip-toeing carefully, she left the room and managed to bump against Jaken. He had Kagome's purse in his hands and quickly threw it back to the chair before she noticed.
"Hey, Jaken!" she greeted cheerfully, "Why was I in Sessho's room?"
"You fainted…" the toad demon said stoically, "He took you to his room"
"Oh…" she glanced around timidly recognizing immediately what happened that morning.
"This lowly servant of your mate wishes you to heed the man who smells like my lord… he is not what he seems" Jaken murmured.
"All right, Jaken" Kagome said warmly patting him kiddingly over his head.
"You're not listening! Don't trust him…regardless of who he looks like" Jaken cried harshly.
Kagome remained quiet from his outburst. She nodded stiffly before getting ready to take the online classes. Jaken merely scoffed at the unruly girl and hoped for his Master's plan to have worked.
At the university…
While Naraku made his way towards his office, a scowl marred his handsome face. His red eyes narrowed in annoyance at his failed attempt. Firstly, last night's plan went awry for reasons he did not know of. Secondly, he still hasn't gathered the powers that could make his desire come true. Finally, that wench transferred all her classes to online, preventing him from personal contact.
When he arrived at the office, he deftly opened the door and closed it immediately. He tried to flip the switch open to no avail. He sighed in exasperation at the loss of electricity. He noticed it was no mere coincidence and that someone was there.
"This is not a time for petty games" he called aloud as he made his way to the window.
A shadowed figure made his way towards Naraku, while he opened the dark drapes of his office. He was met by angry amber orbs that promised him death.
"Taishou, I presume… You're changing" Naraku admired, "It seems your part of the deal is true to your word"
"I could say the same to you, Naraku… but it isn't" Sessho replied as his eyes glittered in ire.
"I promised that I wouldn't kill her…" Naraku chided the youth before being pummeled to the bookshelf.
"No more deceits, Naraku!" Sessho growled at the professor before poison began to drip from his talons.
"Control your demon urges, Taishou…" Naraku sneered as he deftly got out of the other male's grasp, "Meet me on the night of the full moon at midnight… and bring the bracelet"
"Agreed," Sessho said icily before instantly disappearing in a white blur.
"I guess my plans… may need a little tweaking…" Naraku said to himself before settling himself for work.
