Chapter VII – Mine –

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu Yasha, the characters, the plot, etc., but I own Koe.


Tears and blood came running down her face, as another strike hit her. Exhausted from all the attempts of running away, she curled up on the ground, trying to somehow ease the pain that went through her body. If only she would die right away… A small grin crept across his face, as he noticed her moves getting slower. "Hey, don't you dare dying before your sister comes here, you hear me?"

"Don't you dare fooling me like that, Kumori!" A familiar voice answered from one of the tunnels behind him. Still quaking from pain, she searched for his golden eyes and a sad smile covered her lips. "You've come here… Sesshomaru-sama…" Kumori's grin got even bigger. "As I thought." He turned around to his 'old friend', finally leaving her alone with her pain. "What does Sesshomaru, Lord of the Youkai of the Western Lands, have to do with one single, weak, human child? Tell me, Sesshomaru: Why do you care about this pathetic thing?"

"None of your business." Trying not to look at Rin, he drew Toukijin and prepared for an attack. There was no chance of escaping anymore, so why should he try? A quiet laughter came from Kumori's side. "What a shame, Sesshomaru… and what a pity. I actually thought of only killing Koe and her, but I guess I've got no choice…"

Like a veil of toxic Kumori's body seemed to merge with the fog around him. It actually was an old trick, but how do you want to kill something, that has no shape? Amused by the look of confusion and anger in Sesshomaru's eyes, he laughed again. "You know where I am, Sesshomaru?" A short scream went through the cave and his eyes widened. "Rin!"

Shivering, she tried to suppress the pain that came from the cut in her shoulder. Blood poured from it and coloured her kimono into a dark shade of red. When she opened her eyes again, fear crept across her face. "Sesshomaru-sama!" Again blades of fog ran through the air, hitting his right arm. He stared at the wound. If Rin stayed here, Kumori would cut them both into pieces. "Jaken! Get her out of here! Hurry!" He turned to look at the girl again and her gaze seemed to plunge right through his heart. He tried to avoid that reflection of fear and shock, but still the thoughts of leaving her somewhere else came back to his mind. He had to get her out of here. Out of this cave, out of his reach and hopefully out of his life. When Jaken had finally reached them through the walls of fog, Sesshomaru turned around to the tunnels again. "We meet outside this cave again."

Reluctantly and annoyed by Rin's attempts to stay, Jaken made his way to the tunnels, while his master still searched for Kumori. His smell and his laughter seemed to be everywhere, but there was not a single sign of where he had hidden now. A small voice rose behind him. "What are you looking for, old friend?" Cold as ice the blade ran across his back…

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"Sesshomaru-sama! Sesshomaru-sama!" Struggling against Jaken's firm grip, she tried to get back to the cave's centre. Again, a wave of pain went through her body, forcing her to give up. "He doesn't want you to die, Nee-chan."

Exhausted from all the struggling, but with a sad smile, she turned around to the other end of the tunnel. Her body was nothing more than a shadow in the fog, the shadow of a living dead. When she reached her little sister, her face got even paler. "Nee-chan, what…?" With a short glance at Jaken, Koe took off her coat and wrapped it around her sister's shoulder. "I told you to keep it, Rin. Believe me, you won't loose it twice." When she was done with Rin's wounds, her eyes focused on Jaken again. "Sesshomaru is still in there, fighting Kumori?" A short nodding came from Jaken, although his face looked definitely not like he'd agree with her. "For you it's still 'Sesshomaru-sama', foolish human woman."

"Whatever." Hugging her sister, she looked down to the katana on her belt. "It's time to end this. Rin, you've got to promise me to wait outside this cave, okay?" A reflection of fear and confusion appeared in the girl's eyes. "Wait! Nee-san! You're not going in there, too, are you?" Smiling sadly, Koe stood up again. She glanced at Jaken, then faced her sister, as he nodded again. "I have no choice, Nee-chan. I shouldn't be here anymore, you know that."

Small tears came running down her sister's face and merged with the blood on her shoulder. Her words had just felt like stabs inside her open wound. It hurt so much.

"Nee-san!" Again, despair crept up inside her. It couldn't be true. "Nee-san! Nee-san!" Held back by Jaken, she had to watch her sister's shadow dissolve within the fog. So this was the course of nature: To get everything and to loose it in the end… Slowly her knees gave up and her whole body collapsed. If only she had died… If only Kumori had killed her… If only Sesshomaru-sama hadn't brought her back to life on that one cursed day.

Her flow of tears had stopped. There was nothing more to cry out, nothing more to say, nothing more to fight for. No hand to keep her from falling down that abyss. "Sesshomaru-sama…"


A.N.: Angst! Angst! Angst! Okay, I guess now you all know what that will end like. Anyway, please read and review.