NOTES: Okay, okay... things are still a little messy over here... so I'm still low on time, but I vow to work harder on these fics now! I think I've finally overcome my sudden video game obsession, so... my time is here. Yeah.... Ok.
DISCLAIMER: Rumiko Takahashi is the owner of Inu Yasha, etc... You know.
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Inu Yasha stood on the edge of the well. Kikyou and Kaede stood not far away, watching, and both eager for his success, even if for different reasons. Kaede hadn't lied. The well looked as good as ever. In fact, it looked brand-new. Still, something was different about it. It had nothing to do with the scent of fresh-cut wood, or how much more neatly the pieces fit now that it was new again. Something about this well was... lonely.
He took a deep breath and leaped in. He even closed his eyes, for whatever reason he could not decide. When he felt the earth beneath him, he dared to open his eyes again, and to look upwards. Leaning back against the walls of the well, he let out a contained sigh.
From above, he could hear the words he hadn't wanted to hear. Or maybe the words he had secretly hoped most to hear....
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They had managed to get past most of the servants and guards as they ran, seeing as most didn't know if they should be trying to stop the escape or avoiding the runaways. The few who did step in the way quickly found themselves eating dirt, compliments of Sango and Miroku. Kirara was carrying both Kagome and Shippou, as both had fallen behind immediately, lost in a daze while they ran.
Shippou couldn't stop thinking about what Rin would think of him, because he hadn't ever said good-bye. Sure, he had been planning on running away anyways, but he hadn't had a chance to figure out how he'd sneak out and manage to say his farewells at the same time. He'd grown somewhat fond of Rin. She was fun to be around once she got to trust you. That hadn't taken long for Shippou. He kept glancing backwards, wondering if he might spot her before they got out of sight.
As for Kagome, she wasn't glancing backwards, but something was itching in the back of her mind. Between the still-troublesome images from her dreams and the knowledge that the youkai in those dreams was nearby, she was at a loss for what to do. She had barely registered when she had quite walking and had started riding. She was afraid that Sesshoumaru would show up anytime now, and he would stop her from leaving. Then again... she was still mad at Inu Yasha. Part of her didn't want to leave yet. He hadn't even come along to rescue her, so maybe she shouldn't have left.
One look at Sango and Miroku reminded her of how lucky she was. Not everyone had friends that would risk entering Sesshoumaru's territory just to save her, especially without Inu Yasha's help. Still, something indescribable kept bugging her, in the back of her mind.
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Jaken had gone immediately to find Sesshoumaru, only to find him by the window of one of the main rooms. He had been hoping to stall Sesshoumaru long enough for the kitsune to gather his thoughts, and perhaps to tell that Kagome to leave, and when. However, one look at the taiyoukai's eyes had told him not to risk getting in the way. He had an odd look, perhaps between anger and curiosity. Jaken did not want the butt of either end of that, so he kept silent as he watched Sesshoumaru gazing out the window.
It only occurred to him too late to look at what was causing that look.
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Sesshoumaru had not planned to enter that room. He had been heading over to the breakfast room to check in on Rin and his... guests. Impulse had led him here, and one glance out the window had kept him. There she was, running away from him. His foolish guards were of no use. He had never minded before this, however. This palace of his meant nothing to him. It belonged to the family, and he abhorred the home that a human would be proud of. Youkai should not imitate the weaker species that humans were, and yet he kept up a family possession for the sake of the honor of whichever ancestor of his had enjoyed this human's necessity.
In fact, he hadn't been to this place in a long time. His guards and servants kept it clean, and were able to leave after they did their work. To be honest, it had only seemed appropriate to keep his new captives here, both for their sake and for his own. She could not slow down his travels if he wasn't traveling, and it would be easier to keep an eye on the woman as she was trapped between walls.
Trapped in a cage, completely at his mercy. Just like the other night, while bathing....
He didn't glace at Jaken as he had entered the room. Something was bothering his imp of a follower, but he had other things to worry about. He closed his eyes for a moment, deciding between stopping her now and following her to see what she was up to. He heard Jaken gasp and could sense his body starting to shake in fear. Sesshoumaru opened his eyes to look at his devotee, already guessing what had caused the reaction.
"You are shaking, Jaken. Did you have something to do with their escape?" He spoke as he always did. Control was the key. It brought fear, and respect. No weakness, no escape. Nowhere for Jaken to hide, and no way for Jaken to change the subject. Jaken turned a shade of purple over his usual green.
"N-n-n-n-no, Ses-s-sshoumaru-sama! This Jaken had nothing to do with it!" Jaken went over his defense in his mind. He hadn't had anything to do with it, after all. He had only suggested it, but for them to have called friends over and gotten out so quickly? This couldn't have anything to do with him. He calmed down a little with that reassurance, though it was difficult with that cold stare of Sesshoumaru's cast down upon him.
Sesshoumaru turned and leaped out the window to stop this escape. Something started should not be let escape so easily, and not back into the arms of Inu Yasha. If nothing else, his hanyou half-brother would get a lesson from this, through fighting.
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Kagome had closed her eyes. They had managed to get a little distance away now, so she wasn't afraid to speak anymore. One question was still on her mind, and so she asked it.
"Why didn't Inu Yasha come with you?"
Sango and Miroku shot each other a look, each daring the other to be the one to say it. Finally, Sango lost, and she turned to look Kagome in the eyes when she answered.
"Kikyou stopped us on our way, after Shippou left. Inu Yasha wanted to be alone with her, and refused to wait until after we found you."
Miroku added, "Don't worry, Kagome, he will be fine. We will probably meet him on the way back to the we--..." He stopped short at the word "well," remembering how Kagome had reacted to the destruction of it. Indeed, she looked a bit pale now, and he wondered if it was because of Inu Yasha or the well's tragedy, or perhaps both.
It was both, because Kagome couldn't help but be sick at the thought of never getting to return home, but the thought that they had just left Inu Yasha with Kikyou, knowing that she was more than likely to try to drag him to Hell... she was furious with them. Still... he had chosen to stay with Kikyou over even rescuing her. Couldn't Kikyou even wait for a rescue? Sesshoumaru could have killed her any time, at his leisure. Kikyou was already dead. She had an eternity to wait for him. Kagome felt sick at both her thoughts, and the fact that she was thinking them.
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Inu Yasha looked up from his place in the well to watch the face looking down at him.
"Did it work?" All Kikyou asked, and he couldn't answer. He hopped out of the well and shook his head. He couldn't get through.
"It is busted, then. That would explain why the well has been devoid of everything it once stood for. Kagome may, in fact, be trapped here for the rest of her life. I shall try to find out if there was a spell placed on the well when it was created. Perhaps it is only a matter of enchanting it again. It is our last shot." Kaede turned to leave, and neither the disappointed Kikyou or her hanyou made any move to stop her.
"You should go save my reincarnation. You said your brother had her, right? We can't send her back to her time if she is killed. I will wait here until she has tried the well. Perhaps it will still work for her, if not for you. It is to her time, after all." She turned and walked away while saying this, only stopping at the end to add one last thing. "I will not come to you again until she has tried to go through that well. You had better not let her avoid it, Inu Yasha, or I will not give you this chance again."
Inu Yasha opened his mouth several times to say something, but he was left speechless. She was right about one thing... he had to save Kagome. He didn't really trust Sango and Miroku to be able to handle a youkai like Sesshoumaru. "Besides," he told himself, "I've never backed down from him before. I'll beat him and get her back." With this, he took a leap into the air and started out back in the direction he had followed the first time, and he only glanced back once in hopes of seeing Kikyou once more before her hiding was complete.
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With Kagome and the team, things were looking up again. They had relocated Kagome's backpack, which Sango and Miroku had left in hiding a safe distance from Sesshoumaru's place, and were safely on their way. At least, until a blur ran past them and blocked their way.
"For my prisoner, priestess, perhaps I gave you too much freedom. You will return at once, if you wish to continue without being tied down." He said this while looking at Kagome, but it was her friends who responded first. Both raised their weapons, and Sesshoumaru made his threat by releasing the poison around his claws. Kagome slid off of Kirara's back, knowing in the back of her mind that her friends wouldn't win this without Inu Yasha.
So she pulled her bow and arrows from her pack, and readied herself for battle.
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NOTES: Yes, yes... I know this chapter is still not as long as you may or may not like it to be. But my ideas for the next chapter I'd like to write together, so I thought this would be the best place to stop it. Again, I promise to do more writing now, so updates should not be so far in between this time around. However, I AM working on two fics at once now, so please bear with me. And one more thing... I finally update and I only got two reviews this time? I'm going to cry! I guess I lost popularity... sob Oh well... maybe I can build back to it again. Until next time! (Oh, and thank you both who reviewed this time! It meant a lot to me! Really!)