A/N: I will be placing this story on Animesprial in about 2 weeks. It will be the unedited version, so I will let you guys know once it is up. I am working as hard as I can on this and other stories, so please continue to be patient with me. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and please review. Thanks. By the way, there is some harsh language in this chapter, so you are warned.
To say he was angry was an understatement. He had passed angry an hour ago and was heading towards total outrage. Of course, he did not show it on the outside, but on the inside, he was already picturing Rin's abductor hanging from shackles in his torture room, their blood pooling around their feet as they begged him for mercy. Of course, he would show none, but then again, he was known to be the most sadistic bastard in the whole of Japan.
He had been in his study, looking over scrolls and was about to summon Jaken when the little toad scurried into his office, his kimono a mess. He was frantic and he kept bowing before his lord. So, Sesshomaru could only guess that Jaken had lost Rin. Again.
"My lord, forgive this humble Jaken. The girl is missing and we detected a foul stench in the area that she was playing in. The guards are searching for her, but they have come up empty handed." Jaken said, praying to every Kami he knew that his lord would make his kick count and render him unconscious.
Sesshomaru stared at his retainer before slowly getting out of his seat. He walked past Jaken, and went to the area where several of his guards were standing. Sure enough, Rin's doll that he had brought her from a neighboring lord lay on the ground, and it was covered in dirt. There was a definite struggle. He lifted his nose and took a sniff of the air before he narrowed his eyes. He knew that odor. It belonged to his half-brother's dead miko.
Without a word to his guards, Sesshomaru left his home and went in search of the bitch that dared take his precious ward. Even though he did not show it, he had come to look at Rin as his child. Of course, when he decided to mate, the pup from that union would be heir, but until then, she was his heir and to mess with his heir was to invite an early death.
Sesshomaru bolted through the trees, taking care not to touch anything as he moved and when the trail went cold, he stopped and snarled viciously. However, another scent caught his nose and he quickly took off again, this time, his target was his idiot brother.
Kouga awoke to the frantic sounds of his men yelling for the healer to come and help them. He got up and threw on his fur and armor. He did not see Kagome rise from the bed, but instead he made his way outside and found an elderly miko lying on the ground with her head in the slayer's lap.
Sango looked up at the wolf prince, her face pale from crying. "Kouga, this is Kaede. She is Kagome's mentor and the sister of the one who hurt Kagome. Kikyo attacked her to find out the name of her incarnation, and this is a result of Kikyo's visit." She said, her last word choking as a sob rose from her throat.
Kouga shook his head. Only a creature devoid of any moral fiber would attack their own flesh and blood in such a way. He motioned for the healer to step forward and watched as the healer examined the elder miko. He felt a soft hand upon his arm, and looked down at the worried face of his beloved mate. He wrapped his arms around her and said, "Don't worry, Kagome. She will be fine. We will take care of her."
Kagome nodded, and watched the healer work. The wounds were bad. It was clear from the look on the healer's face that there was not much that could be done. The only way Kaede would live was if she willed it and allowed her own body to heal. Kagome pulled away from Kouga and slowly approached her teacher. She knelt down and took the woman's wrinkled hand in hers.
"Kaede. It's me, Kagome. Please, Kaede. Please wake up. We need you to tell us what happened." Kagome said, her voice soft.
The elder miko seemed to respond to her student's voice, and she slowly began to awaken. When she was finally able to open her eyes, she focused on Kagome. She squeezed her hand, and whispered, "Kikyo has finally lost her good mind. Taking that child's soul will not give her back the life she desires. She will kill that child, and will probably come after you again when she realizes that her plan did not work. She may attempt to go after every single person that she believes holds her soul. Kikyo will become nothing more than a parasite, and by taking the souls of her reincarnations, she will grow in power, but that power will be corrupted, and soon, dealing with her will make dealing with Naraku look like child's play."
Kagome patted her hand. "Ok, so who is this reincarnation of hers? I mean, this child, as you call her, is my incarnate, right? So, who is it?" Kagome asked.
Kaede coughed, then grimaced when the pain from her ribs hit her. "The child that travels with Inu Yasha's elder brother, Sesshomaru." She replied softly.
Kagome's mouth dropped open. Sesshomaru was traveling with a child? A human child? When did pigs start to fly? Shaking her head, Kagome looked over at Sango. "Did you see Kikyo when you were at the village?" She asked.
Sango shook her head. "I did not see Kikyo, but I did see Inu Yasha. He was pissed beyond belief. He has gone after Kikyo and he intends to put an end to her. Kagome, I think that she has finally pushed him over the edge." She said.
Miroku cleared his throat. "I do believe that it is time to join up with Inu Yasha. He is going to need all of the help he can get, especially if there is a child involved. And, we all know how Inu Yasha acts when he gets around Kikyo." He said, looking over at Kagome.
Kagome nodded. "Yes. Let's go." She said, standing up. She went to walk towards her friends, but was stopped by Kouga's arm blocking her way.
"Sorry, love. But, you are not going. I will go, but you are going to stay here." He said, his tone firm.
Kagome stared at the wolf prince a moment before saying, "But, I will be fine. It isn't like I have not fought Kikyo before."
Kouga narrowed his eyes. "Kagome, you are not going and that is final. Do not make me repeat myself again. GINTA!" Kouga shouted.
When the wolf stood before him, Kouga glared at Kagome and said, "She is not to leave this den. In fact, escort her back to our den and make sure that she stays there. If she leaves, it will be your ass."
Ginta paled and then grabbed Kagome's arm. "Come, sister. Let's get you back to your den." He said, towing her away from the group. Kagome glared at Kouga, and then sighed as soon as she and Ginta walked into her den. He looked down at her and said, "Don't let Kouga upset you, sister. He is only concerned for your well-being. He loves you and doesn't want you to get hurt."
Kagome nodded, and sat upon the bed. Ginta smiled at her and then left the den, intent on getting himself something to eat. If he was to watch the miko, then he had better be ready for anything, so he had better get something to eat before she tried anything.
Kagome waited until Ginta left, then snuck to the entrance to the den. She looked both ways and then bolted towards the main den. She knew that there would be some men in there, but she would simply tell them that she forgot to tell her friends something and that she needed to hurry and catch them before they left. When she got to the den, she was happy to find that no one questioned her and she skipped out of the main den and into the warm sunlight. She looked around and then began to locate Kouga's shards. It took a few minutes, but she finally found the direction that they were going in and set off after them. Let Kouga get upset. She and Kikyo needed to have a talk.
Ginta walked back to Kouga and Kagome's den. When he went back to the bedroom, he expected Kagome to be sitting or lying on the bed, but when he did not see her, he called out her name. When no answer came, he rushed outside and quickly went into the main den. He asked the men if they had seen Kagome and sure enough, one of the men said that she went outside. Rushing past the concerned men, he stopped just outside and looked around. When he could not detect Kagome's scent, Ginta's head drooped and he muttered, "I am in deep shit."
Sesshomaru lunged at the hanyou, but Inu Yasha managed to dodge his blow. Both brothers continued to swing at each other and only stopped when Inu Yasha screamed at him that if he did not listen, Kikyo would harm his little human. That got Sesshomaru's attention.
"It is your wench that took my ward, half-breed. Why would I listen to anything you have to say." Sesshomaru growled, his claws glowing green with his poison.
"Because, you ass. Your little ward is Kikyo's reincarnation and is Kagome's incarnation. Did it ever occur to you that your ward and Kagome share a similar appearance?" Inu Yasha spat, wiping the blood off of his face.
Sesshomaru narrow his eyes. He thought about the human miko his brother traveled with and it was true. She and Rin did share some similar characteristics. He shook his head. "What are you trying to pull, half-breed? I was under the impression that the dead miko was your mate. Why betray her to help me?" He asked, doubt obvious in his voice.
"Because Kikyo attacked Kagome and left her to bleed to death in the forest. She was trying to extract the soul that she believes is hers, but when she could not do it, she set out to find her real reincarnation, and that reincarnation is your ward." Inu Yasha explained. He watched as his brother straightened up.
"Tell me where to find this bitch of yours and I will make her death quick." Sesshomaru said, his concern for his ward growing by the minute.
Inu Yasha shook his head. "I don't know where she is. I was hoping that you would help me find her. I don't want her to hurt anymore people than she already has. Believe me, I want to send her back to where she came from just as badly as you do, but right now, we need to work together to find them, and not fight each other." He said, sheathing his sword.
Sesshomaru nodded slowly. "You realize that this changes nothing between us. When I get Rin back, I will come after the sword again." He said, cocking his eyebrow in a silent challenge.
"I know, you giant ass. Now, where do we start?" Inu Yasha asked. He watched his brother shake his head in disgust. "Foolish hanyou, just follow your nose." Sesshomaru sneered.
Soon, both brothers were on their way and not one word was exchanged between them. They soon came upon another scent and Inu Yasha wrinkled his nose. "Yuck. I smell wolf." He said, knowing exactly who he was smelling.
Sesshomaru shook his head. He followed his brother and soon found himself in the company of the two humans that followed his brother and the lord of the eastern lands, Prince Kouga.
Sesshomaru and Kouga gave each other slight bows, acknowledging each other's station in youkai society. Inu Yasha made a rude noise with his throat, but managed to keep his mouth shut.
Kouga looked around. "So, where is this bitch that dared hurt my Kagome?" He asked, his eyes narrowed in concentration.
"I don't know. I lost her scent and am trying to pick it back up." Inu Yasha said, sniffing the air.
Sango and Miroku sighed. This was not going well at all. At this rate, Kikyo would have stolen that little girl's soul before they could even get to her.
As the two demons and hanyou argued, the two humans sat on the ground and tried to come up with a plan. It was clear that Kikyo had won this round.
"OUCH! Damn bush." Kagome muttered. She made her way through the dense forest and came to a stop by a tree. She had tried to follow Kouga's shards, but for some reason, she felt as though she were being pulled in a different direction.
She began walking and soon found herself in a small clearing, right behind the woman everyone was looking for. Before she could say one word, Kikyo said, "Good evening, Kagome. Did you come to join the party?"
Kagome took a step forward and glanced at the small child huddled against a tree. "Kikyo, this is madness. Do you not understand that your time has passed? Killing her will not bring you back. Do you honestly want the memory of Kikyo, the kind hearted miko to be destroyed by taking her life? What happens if it doesn't work? Then what?" Kagome asked, hoping to buy her friends and lover some time to get to her.
Kikyo laughed. "Don't pretend that you care about what happens to me, foolish girl. You just don't want me flesh and blood. You are afraid that I will take everything that you hold dear away from you, and you know what, I will." She said, smirking. Kikyo stood up and looked at Kagome.
Kagome's fists were clenched. "You can try to take what I have, but I seriously doubt that if you go through with what you are planning that anyone will have your sorry hide. I do not go around hurting other people just for the hell of it. She is a little girl, Kikyo. Is stealing her soul really worth the shame that you will place upon the name that you, in life, worked so hard to keep honorable?" Kagome cried, her anger finally getting the better of her.
Kikyo snickered. "Let me tell you about honor, my dear. Honor is not real. It is a concept created by weak-minded fools who wish to sit around and look down their noses at people who they believe to be below them. I used to think that honor was worth something, but when I died and came back, I realized that it was all an illusion. There is no such thing as honor and you would do well to remember that. Naraku had the right idea. He wanted to use the shikon jewel to gain power. Power is real, Kagome. Power can be felt, heard, even tasted. Given the choice between honor and power, well, I chose power. Now, stay back and be a good girl or else you will join this little one in oblivion." She said, turning back to Rin. Kikyo began to chant and then felt something crack against her skull.
Kagome had heard enough. If Kikyo chose power, then she would chose the opposite. She would chose honor. And her honor told her that she could not sit back and watch a little girl lose her life to some vindictive corpse who had obviously lost her mind.
Without a second thought, Kagome grabbed the little girl up and began to run, knowing that her blow did not do much damage to the corpse, but did, however, enrage her. As she ran, Kagome began to scream for Kouga, praying that he would hear her. The little girl sobbed against her shoulder and just as Kagome was about to exit the forest, she tripped and landed hard, the little girl falling from her back.
Kikyo had managed to catch up with them and grabbed a handful of Kagome's hair. She yanked Kagome around until they were face-to-face. "You little snot. How dare you. The soul belongs to me and now your life is forfeit. Are you ready to die, you little bitch?" Kikyo asked.
The little girl was slowly rocking back and forth with tears streaming down her face, but then looked up and screamed, "LORD SESSHOMARU!"
Kikyo looked up and found herself before the aristocratic assassin himself. Sesshomaru, Lord of the Western Lands.