Sorry about the long wait guys! I've been reading "The Days I Left Behind" by mewl-neko, and I just couldn't concentrate until I finished it! It's a wonderful read, if you haven't checked it out already, I advise you to!
Ok, for this chapter I'm going to use something that I used in a different fic of mine! It's called Complete the Jewel and is on a reposting but I haven't gotten to do much since I've been working on this one! XD enjoy
Chapter Six: The Shadows of Hell
Kagome stood still, sensing the cold horror wafting off of her silent companions in the room and intense heat building behind her, feeling her skin begin to burn. She turned around slowly, sightless eyes widening. Even though she cannot see physical forms, the evil behind her she could see perfectly. A being of pitch black darkness stared at her, glowing ruby red eyes piercing into her soul as it slowly approached her, dragging her soul out of her body. To the demons, however, they could only see an ever growing shadow, an aura of evil so concentrated it could only be found in one place…
"No…" Sesshoumaru whispered, standing up and rushing to Kagome with lightning speed. Kagome turned to him, silently screaming as she fell towards the floor, all life seeming to drain away. He caught her just before she landed, sinking down with her shaking his head, whispering in a strained voice, "No… no… not again… this cannot happen again…"
Taioset was a split second behind him, kneeling and watching the demon lord hold Kagome close. "What do you mean, 'not again'?" He asked, causing Sesshoumaru to jump.
He turned to look Taioset blankly in the face, his own twisted into a mask of madness with red tinged eyes. "I said that," he growled, eyes becoming redder by the moment, "Because my mother died this same way. I was young, and couldn't do anything about it, and for that my father distanced himself from me. I have to save her, if I don't I can never hope for redemption in my fathers eyes, even if he's gone from this world."
Taioset nodded, and then looked at him curiously when Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and took a deep breath, instantly calming down to a point where he could rationally think. "I will watch your bodies, my Lord."
Nodding, he replied, "Our lives are in your hands, Taioset." He then laid Kagome gently on the ground, and stretched out beside her. "Time to pay Hell a little visit. It won't be the same once I've finished with it." Expelling a large breath, he closed his eyes slowly as he felt his soul sink into the ground, through dirt and rock and into the molten center of the earth, to the place where the damned reside, Hell.
"I can't let this happen again… Not again…" He whispered, opening his eyes and feeling his hair crackle unpleasantly in the unbearable heat. Drawing in a deep breath through his nose, he looked around, dark shadows and molten fires surrounding him and threatening to engulf his entire being. He caught a whiff of that smell, that i all too familiar /i scent from the darkest days of his childhood. He took off, walking yet swimming in the direction Kagome was taken.
Then there she was, chained to a large rock in the middle of a river of pure fire. Shadows swarmed, teasing her with pinpricks of miasma as they slowly formed a tighter and tighter ring around her. She had her eyes closed, face twisting in pain and body writhing with every touch, chains cherry red around her, smoldering her flesh, screams of agony fighting against tightly closed lips.
Sesshoumaru stepped closer, not paying heed to a swirling cloud of sparkling smoke that wrapped around him. He was taken by surprise, however, when the smoke surged up with a malicious cackle to cover his face, forcing its way into his lungs and making his mind sluggish. With a last howl, his eyes forced themselves closed and his body gave a violent shudder.
Taioset watched the bodies of his companions with nervous apprehension. Wringing out a cloth of cool water over both of them, he tried vainly to bring their rising temperatures down. Sighing, he gazed helplessly at the heated writhing bodies of his companions and newfound friends.
Kagome fought tooth and nail to get through the darkness surrounding her, but it was for naught. The shadows would only constrict her form more, and she felt red hot iron wrapped around her skin. She tried to scream out, to find someone to help her, but she couldn't work her mouth open. She tried to break the chains around her, but her arms felt like they were weighed down by tons of lead. Kicking out at the beings around her proved to be useless as well, her legs restrained in the same way as her arms.
Just as she was about to give up hope, a piercing howl broke through the barrier surrounding her, and she opened her eyes. The vision in front of her startled her. 'What's Sesshoumaru doing here? Did he come to… save me?' She thought, brows furrowed. She was about to call his name when she saw him collapse.
"Sessho…"
Sesshoumaru opened his eyes groggily, finding himself back in his mansion.
"Sessho, get up!" A woman's voice rang through the halls.
He shook his head, rubbing his ears. 'I must be hearing things… I haven't been called by that name in-'
"Sessho! Get up right now young man!" The woman's voice had a threatening, yet playful tone to it. He could now smell the pleasant odor of sweet meat and fresh fruit floating down the hallway.
"I guess not…" He muttered, sitting up and looking around the room, his gaze coming to rest at a lump in the middle of the bed. 'no…' he thought, taking a closer look, then shaking his head violently, 'It can't be…'
There he was, a miniature version of himself, but one possessed by the gentle curiosity that was common in young children. He moved with the clumsy movements of a young boy, unlike the killing dance he had perfected at his current age. He was like a ghost, going unnoticed to his younger self as he stirred, smiling brightly at the sound of the woman's voice and the light flickering through his stained glass window.
"I'm coming mama!" He yelled while rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He hopped out of the bed, and sniffed the air. "Mmm! It sure smells good!" He said happily, skipping out of the room, ear length silver hair swaying with the young boy's movement.
Sesshoumaru was glued in place, his face ashen, a ball of sickened fear in the pit of his stomach. 'This can't be happening… Not again… I can't go through this again…" He howled, a force springing up behind him and forcing him onwards out of the door. His fine muscular form shook, trying to resist the invisible force, but to no avail, his feet picked themselves up and moved forwards towards the kitchen. He had his eyes closed, but as he entered the room, they flew open, not allowing him a second to blink.
And there she was, his mother, the one most missed from his youth. Slender, yet curvaceous, anyone could tell why she was chosen as his fathers mate. She had a kind face, with gorgeous purple eyes and smoky silver hair. She smiled at her young son, who was jumping up and down, eager for breakfast.
"It smells so good, mama!" He said, his high pitched voice ringing through the room and making the woman's smile all the more brighter.
"I'm so glad you think so Sessho!" She said, guiding him to his seat and setting a full plate of food in front of him. Petting his head affectionately, she added, "Eat up, I'll go find your father."
Sesshoumaru, both of them, turned to watch her exit the kitchen, only one unknowing what would happen to her. The younger one was sitting by the table, happily munching away at the fresh fruit that his mother had prepared for him, sticky juices running down his chin and falling unheeded on his nightshirt.
A piercing shriek shattered the calm in the room, causing Sesshoumaru's eyes to bleed red as his younger self dropped his food onto the plate with a clatter. Scrambling up from his seat, he yelled, "Mama? Mama!" And ran out of the door, only to see pitch black.
Sesshoumaru felt nauseous, knowing what would lay behind that cloak of darkness, and fearing it as well. "Don't go…" He whispered, trying to get himself to turn back and just forget, but he couldn't hear a thing.
"Mama, are you alright?" He asked, eyes wide at the sight that lay before him. His mother lay still on the floor, eyes wide in horror and mouth gaped wide, still silently screaming. Crimson blood began to pool around her head where it cracked against the floor. Sesshoumaru watched, senses numbed, as he shook his mother, screaming, tears running down puffy red cheeks. His mother neither raised a hand to comfort her precious son, nor soothed him with a calming word, blood continued to run red through the wooden floor as her body grew stiff.
Inutaisho smelled the blood of his mate, heard the heartbreaking wails of his only son and rushed to the scene, watching Sesshoumaru shake his mother as tears soaked her dress and spattered onto her face. He swiftly fell to his knees, pushing his son aside as he grasped his love in his arms.
"What's happened here, Sesshoumaru? What's happened to your mother?" He growled, vision turning red, clutching her to his chest.
Sesshoumaru scooted back, pressing his back to the wall as his father questioned him, blood rage rising to a dangerous level. "Father…" He whispered, voice breaking and filled with fear, "Father please… I don't know what happened to mama, she just screamed and fell down, there was darkness around her, but that's all. Papa… Please… Please don't hurt me…"
Howling, Inutaisho swiped long claws at his son, who ducked down, covering his silver head with his arms. Jagged cuts formed along them, blood oozing and dripping onto the floor to mix with his mothers. "You didn't i do /i anything… u NOTHING /u ! Nothing to save her, your i mother /i … You're no son of mine…" He said, standing up and carrying his mother with him. Without a glance back, he stepped swiftly down the hall and flew off to bury his beloved wife.
Sesshoumaru longed, truly i longed /i to comfort the little boy screaming in physical and emotional pain, but he couldn't bring himself to. He was just a ghost to this boy, after all, and wouldn't make any difference in his pain. The pain he went through before, and was going through again was as tangible as the blood causing his feet to stick to the floor. He found himself howling with his other self, crouched on the floor, back arched and his claws ripping out his hair.
With one last final, "MAMA!" all went dark…
Kagome could feel the pain that the demon lord was going through. She watched him thrash and lash out at the inner demons that were plaguing him. She wanted to reach out to him, to offer him what strength she could, to banish his fears. 'I hardly know him… But if he came down here for me, I have to do something to help him!' She thought, and renewed her struggles against the chains around her.
Giving her all into one last push, she shattered the chains around her, and forced the shadows back. She quickly glided to where Sesshoumaru was laying, deathly still in the magma around them. She reached out a hand, shaking like a leaf, and placed it on his cheek, his skin surprisingly cool compared to their surroundings.
His eyes snapped open, and he grasped her arm in a death grip. "…Kagome?" He asked, loosening his grasp when she nodded.
"Are you alright, Sesshoumaru?" She asked in a subdued voice, the shock of him being down here because of her still lagging her mind.
"Hai, I'll be fine." He said, nodding, though the look in his eyes at the moment told her that he would not.
Looking around her, Kagome watched as the shadow's took form, molding themselves into a mockery of the human figure, black skin cracking and showing the red hot evil beneath. "I think that we'll have to take care of these guys first before we can go anywhere…"
Sesshoumaru just nodded, and turned his back to her. Back to back, they both prepared for attack. Two of the demons surged forwards, changing their shapes, becoming something else.
"Sesshoumaru-sama! You wont hurt Rin will you?" The one in front of the demon lord said, grinning up at him.
He was at a loss, for though his mind knew that was in fact not Rin, his body couldn't move to harm it. Sesshoumaru growled in frustration as the dangerous being drew closer, but Kagome was having problems of her own.
"Mama!" Shippo's voice resounded through her entire body, shaking her to the core. "Mama, let's cuddle!" The shadow moved towards her slowly, swinging Shippo's tail and giving her the famous puppy eyes that cannot be ignored.
"Don't let them get to you!" Sesshoumaru spat out, reaching behind him to grip her hand in reassurance. "It's not really them…"
Nodding, Kagome said to the Shippo in front of her, "You're not my son; you're not to come any closer!"
Smiling, it took another step forward, holding out its arms, "But Mama, don't you like to cuddle?"
Tears struggled out of her eyes, only to evaporate instantly. Shaking her head violently, she said, "No… You're not to disgrace my son like this, not to make a mockery of him!"
An evil cackle resounded through the two of them, the miko and the youkai shuddering in response. "So be it. Our master shall be pleased when we're through with you."
All the shadow's surged forth at the moment, engulfing the companions. Kagome fought against the darkness, and spoke quickly to Sesshoumaru, who was having troubles of his own, "Hold on to me, ongai, don't let go!"
Not understanding, Sesshoumaru turned around and put his arms around her, shielding her back from the onslaught of evil. "Do whatever you need to do." Was all he said, and he shut his eyes.
The power was small at first, a flickering flame fighting against a hurricane. But soon it grew into a firestorm, sheltered by one of the most powerful forces on the planet. Kagome screamed, purifying energy spraying forth from her small frame, literally vaporizing the shadows around them, draining her completely.
Sesshoumaru found the energy to be refreshing, the slight tingling of her skin pleasant to the touch. He opened his eyes, surprised by the sudden lack of adversary's.
"Now," Kagome said, the light in her eyes fading, "It's up to you to get us home…"
The demon lord cradled her limp form in his arms, as he thought 'Home… Does she really have one? This small, delicate creature, of such immense power, has nothing… Once this is all over, I will have to thank her with a home of her own, it's the least I can do for her…' Thoughts such as these surprised him, though when it came down to it, they were a normal part of life, having been reawakened by Rin. Dealing with his newfound emotions was trying at the best of times, but it was necessary, since he wanted to show Rin just how much she meant to him, as a daughter. 'Rin, I'm coming, just hold on…'
End chapter
Some of you may be wondering, "Why can Kagome suddenly see?"
The answer is simple, she's not really in her body, and her physical form is the one that cannot see. It's actually her spirit, or soul, down in hell, and she can see perfectly with only that.
I know this is a little ooc for Sesshoumaru, but I think it's alright! Please tell me what you think!
Expect the next chapter out soon!
Albalannae
