Disclaimer: Don't own Inu-yasha or any of his fellow Feudal era comrades.
The Nisou and the Wolf
Chapter 7
They had been on Inu-yasha's trail for two days. They seemed to be about half a day behind him from the reports from villagers and the conditions of the corpses. Thankfully, he had killed only one human, and it had been by accident. Koga would scout ahead with his enhanced speed and Sango would search in the air with Kirara.
That night, Kagome waited for everyone to fall asleep and slipped out of the camp. If she could gain ground at night while Inu-yasha was hopefully sleeping, maybe she could end this madness. Kagome kept to the main road, only deviating if the Tetsusaiga sensed something. She was beginning to lose hope when the Tetsusaiga began to feel warm. Kagome dove into the underbrush and began looking for any signs of Inu-yasha. As she made her way through the dark forest, she heard growling. She picked up her pace and stopped short of a clearing. There was Inu-yasha and Sessho-maru, facing off. Kagome observed the two brothers dance around each other. Sessho-maru seemed a little nervous, not his usual calm and collected self. Inu-yasha looked as if he were playing a game. No, not a game. He was hunting! Kagome watched as Inu-yasha lunged for Sessho-maru, the brother dodging the attack, but having difficulty as Inu-yasha immediately followed it up with a second attack. Kagome tried to find an appropriate opening to interrupt the contest, but Inu-yasha was constantly attacking, continuously in motion.
Sessho-maru was now standing in front of Kagome and she couldn't see past his robes. Just as she was about to change places, Sessho-maru disappeared and Inu-yasha materialized. Kagome let a small gasp escape her lips. Inu-yasha's head turned toward the noise. His ears twitched, his nose sniffing, his red eyes searching. Kagome couldn't breathe. And just as she thought she was safe, Inu-yasha reached for her with lightening quick reflexes and pulled her out of the bushes by her throat. He held her up to his face, his red eyes showing no recognition of her.
Kagome tried to pry his claws from around her throat but it was of no use. She wouldn't be strong enough. "Well now, isn't this interesting. We were just talking about you Kagome. That is until my brother here went ballistic at the mere mention of your name. I take it from his current condition that he found out about you and your lover." Kagome couldn't see Sessho-maru, but his voice was far enough away to be safe from Inu-yasha. "Who was it, out of curiosity? Inu-yasha refuses to tell me and since it seems he's about to kill you…"
Kagome let her arms fall limp at her side. She met Inu-yasha's gaze and tried to speak, but he had too tight a grip on her throat. She tried not to panic and concentrated on looking into Inu-yasha's eyes while she carefully, slowly, reached for Tetsusaiga. Whether Sessho-maru noticed or not, he wasn't saying. Probably just wants to see how this plays out, thought Kagome bitterly. She was beginning to see stars, she had to act quickly. The Tetsusaiga was now within her grasp. With what little energy she could muster, she put all her spiritual energy into the blade and swung it at Inu-yasha. The red-eyed demon grabbed the blade of the sword and easily blocked the attack.
Kagome watched, waiting for some sign that her plan had worked. When she saw the red-eyes become slits, then open wide with pain, she knew it had succeeded. Inu-yasha dropped the sword and Kagome as he fell to his knees, smoke rising from the hand that held the sword. Kagome was trying to choke air into her lungs when Inu-yasha turned his gaze back to her. Hoping her voice was recovered enough, she screamed, "SIT BOY!" In a flash of white light Inu-yasha's face came crashing to the ground. Still coughing a bit, Kagome reached for the Tetsusaiga and forced Inu-yasha's hand around the hilt. The demon screamed and tried to thrash but Kagome's spell still held him to the ground. Finally he stopped yelling and then the struggle went out of him. Kagome looked at his face and saw two golden eyes staring at the sword.
"Inu-yasha? Is it you?"
It didn't quite sound like Inu-yasha when he spoke. The voice was subdued, hollow. "Get off of me."
Kagome wasn't sure if the demon was truly gone, then she heard Sessho-maru's voice, "It's alright Kagome. Inu-yasha is back to his normal neutered self."
In one swift move, Kagome had an arrow aimed at Sessho-maru's heart, her green eyes glinting at the inu demon. "Shut your mouth! I should have let Inu-yasha kill you first." Kagome backed off of Inu-yasha and started toward Sessho-maru. She stopped five feet from him and kept the arrow trained on him while she talked to Inu-yasha. "Inu-yasha? Are you ok?" She got no answer, so she backed up and looked over to where she had left him. He was still lying on the ground, looking at the sword with dead eyes. Kagome's voice wavered slightly, "Inu-yasha?" Still no answer.
Kagome went over and bent down as far as she could while keeping the arrow trained on Sessho-maru. "Inu-yasha? Please say something."
The same hollow voice answered her, "Go away. I can't look at you."
Kagome's eyes started welling up with tears, her chest hurt. She could hear Sessho-maru's chuckling. Kagome blinked back the tears and stood up, "Leave here now Sessho-maru."
Sessho-maru's chuckling subsided and he offered Kagome a sly smile, "I think you broke him Kagome." Kagome's grip on the bow tightened. "Poor Inu-yasha must have had his heart set on bedding you. And you, you just couldn't wait for him to get over Kikyo. So you went behind his back and slept with the first demon that would---" Kagome let the arrow fly and watched as Sessho-maru tried to avoid the spirit-charged arrow. It missed his heart, but buried itself in his shoulder. He looked at Kagome with seething, golden eyes. He advanced toward her slowly, and cried out as he pulled the arrow from his shoulder.
Kagome backed up a step, frightened by the glint in Sessho-maru's eyes. She aimed another arrow at Sessho-maru. "Don't come any closer!"
"You better not miss my heart this time Kagome. Because make no mistake, I am going to kill you."
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Hunger. Thirst. Blood. The smell of fear calling to him from the forest. He quickly finds the source: a deer caught in a snare. The demon approaches the helpless animal and slashes its throat, the blood dripping from his claws. He watches in fascination as the thick crimson liquid slowly makes its way down his hand and onto his arm, disappearing into the sleeve. The demon claws at the sleeve, ripping the robe and shirt from his upper body. He smells the air. So many scents mingling in the air he picks a direction and starts running. Hunger. Thirst. Blood.
The demon starts awake at the sound of a twig snapping. His ears and nose immediately determining the direction of the noise and the cause. He leaps into the trees and goes to stalk his next prey. He comes to a stop on a branch to observe a demon bent over his kill, eating. The feeding demon is unaware of the presence lurking in the tree above. He never sees the claws as they pierce his skull. Hunger. Thirst. Blood.
He runs swiftly through the waist high grass, sensing a familiar presence. He follows the scent into the woods and soon finds his next prey. It's a white-haired demon and a young human female. He senses the fear in the human, but the demon just stares at him with cold, golden eyes. He begins to circle around to the human and the white-haired demon puts itself between him and the human. He leaps into the trees, silently positioning himself for an attack. The white-haired demon gathers the human to him in a protective stance as he watches the trees. Red eyes and blood-stained claws fly out from above, reaching for the exposed neck of the demon. He avoids the attack and pulls his sword.
The white-haired demon gives the human some instructions and pushes her off into the woods. The red-eyed, blood-covered demon starts for the human, but her demon protects her, forcing him back with his sword. And then suddenly, the demon speaks. "Your fight is with me Inu-yasha. Not the girl."
Red eyes look at the opposing demon. Recognition of the scent and voice cause a name to appear in his mind. Sessho-maru. Hunger. Thirst. Blood. He had found his next prey.
Claws and sword clashed in the night. Sessho-maru was starting to have difficulty fending off Inu-yasha's continuous attacks. He had turned into a mindless killing machine. He had to slow him down, confuse him. What better way to confuse the mindless than with words? "Inu-yasha, what has happened to you? How long have you been free in your true demon form?"
Inu-yasha stands there seething, his eyes daggers in the night, aiming right for Sessho-maru. "I can't imagine what could have caused you to lose control like this." Inu-yasha stays perfectly still as his eyes follow every movement of the white-haired demon as he tries to maneuver into an advantageous position. He hears and understands the words, but he ignores them. They mean nothing to him. Only the kill. Hunger. Thirst. Blood.
Sessho-maru could see he really wasn't having any effect. He tried one last thing before stopping this tactic. "Where's Kagome? Did you two have a fight? Could it be that you found out your precious Kagome is not so innocent anymore?" Sessho-maru saw the reaction at Kagome's name. So that was it. Inu-yasha had found out about Kagome and somehow managed to release the demon within him. Poor bastard, he must really be in love with the girl.
Kagome….Your precious Kagome….Not so innocent. The words echoed in his mind, causing his head to hurt. He tried to shake the voices out of his head. Kagome….not so innocent. Inu-yasha felt the rage coursing through his veins. He listened to his heart pounding, he breathed deep the smell of blood. Hunger. Thirst. Blood. Red eyes glowing, Inu-yasha lunged for Sessho-maru.
Sessho-maru avoided the attack and turned, expecting to see Inu-yasha heading right at him again. Instead, he sees Inu-yasha intent on something in the bushes. Before he can determine what it is, Inu-yasha pulls a frightened Kagome out by her throat. Sessho-maru watches with mild amusement as Kagome tries to break free of her protector. "Well now, isn't this interesting. We were just talking about you Kagome. That is until my brother here went ballistic at the mere mention of your name. I take it from his current condition that he found out about you and your lover." Sessho-maru could see Kagome weakening. "Who was it, out of curiosity? Inu-yasha refuses to tell me, and since it seems he's about to kill you…"
Kagome's hands fell to her side. Sessho-maru chuckled to himself at the thought of Inu-yasha killing Kagome. The tragedy of it all! A small flicker of movement caught his eye, and he saw Kagome trying to reach for something. Tetsusaiga! Sessho-maru thought of warning Inu-yasha, but the truth of life is that the strong survive. If she can kill him before he kills her, well then, he deserves to die. Sessho-maru saw a flash of light as Kagome swung the charged blade at Inu-yasha. But the demon was too quick and she was too weak. He easily caught the blade in his hand.
Sessho-maru watched as did Kagome, waiting to see what Inu-yasha was going to do with her. Suddenly, Inu-yasha looked like he was in pain. He dropped the sword and Kagome as he fell to his knees. Sessho-maru saw Inu-yasha's smoldering hand. The Tetsusaiga must suppress Inu-yasha's true demon form. Sessho-maru pondered this new bit of information when Kagome suddenly screamed, "SIT BOY!" Sessho-maru wasn't sure what kind of spell she had used, but Kagome managed to pin Inu-yasha to the ground. Then Kagome reached for the Tetsusaiga and forced Inu-yasha's hand around the hilt. The demon screamed and tried to thrash, but in the end the Tetsusaiga won, banishing Inu-yasha's demon aspect.
Inu-yasha's head was in a daze. He didn't know where he was, or what Kagome was doing beside him. To add to his confusion, he sensed Sessho-maru nearby. And to his horror, Inu-yasha realized his hands were covered in blood. Thankfully it appeared to be all demon blood. What the hell was going on? The last thing he remembered was sending Koga away. Koga. He had taken Kagome away from him. They were lovers. Inu-yasha felt the knife go through his heart again. But he wasn't angry anymore. He was….empty. He heard Kagome talking to him, "Get off of me", was all he could think to say. He didn't even want to see her face. He just wanted to go away.
"It's alright Kagome. Inu-yasha is back to his normal neutered self." Inu-yasha wouldn't normally stand for such an insult, but perhaps right now, it was true. He could barely feel anything, except for the sharp pain in his chest.
Inu-yasha heard Kagome's raised voice, "Shut your mouth! I should have let Inu-yasha kill you first."
Had he been fighting Sessho-maru? Had Sessho-maru challenged him again in his demon aspect? Or had he attacked Sessho-maru? Oh well. He didn't care anymore. Inu-yasha heard Kagome calling to him again. He just stared at Tetsusaiga, the powerful blade that had saved his life and those of his friends many times over. It had never once betrayed him. Now it would be his only companion for awhile. He sensed Kagome moving closer to him, her voice sounding a bit worried. He couldn't be near her right now. "Go away. I can't look at you."
He heard Kagome's raised voice again, warning Sessho-maru, and he could hear the venom behind the words. Maybe that's what Sessho-maru said to Kagome that day. Maybe somehow he knew about Koga. But how? Inu-yasha heard his brother laughing and taunting Kagome. "I think you broke him Kagome. Poor Inu-yasha must have had his heart set on bedding you, and you, you just couldn't wait for him to get over Kikyo. So you went behind his back and slept with the first demon that would---"
Inu-yasha heard Sessho-maru's voice cut off. Then he thought he heard Sessho-maru yell out in pain. Did Kagome shoot him? Then he felt it. The demon aura of Sessho-maru blanketed the clearing, as his anger grew and grew. "Don't come any closer!" He could hear the fear in Kagome's voice and there was no mistaking Sessho-maru's intentions.
"You better not miss my heart this time Kagome. Because make no mistake, I am going to kill you."
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Kagome backed away from the advancing Sessho-maru. She stole a quick glance back at the immobile Inu-yasha. He still seemed indifferent to her and his surroundings. She thought about shooting the arrow but her hands were shaking from fear and as Sessho-maru pointed out, she couldn't afford to miss. "Inu-yasha! Please get up. I need your help. Please!" Kagome bumped into a tree and in her panic she released the arrow. Sessho-maru was so close he couldn't avoid it. Kagome's aim was off because of her nerves and from bumping into the tree, but the arrow imbedded itself in Sessho-maru's upper arm.
The shock of pain momentarily stopped Sessho-maru as he removed the arrow and threw it aside. "I told you not to miss Kagome."
Kagome was frozen against the tree. She looked down at Inu-yasha. "I know you can hear me Inu-yasha! Get up damn it!"
Sessho-maru was now within inches of Kagome. His cold smile sending shivers down her spine as he placed his clawed hand around her neck, letting one digit at a time lay across her throat. He didn't squeeze. He just held her in place. "You're wasting your breath. He won't help you anymore. You betrayed him. He just doesn't have the stomach to get rid of you himself. So as his big brother, that task falls to me. I used to think you were different Kagome. You could even say I liked you." Sessho-maru gently strokes Kagome's hair, admiring the fine raven tresses. "But then you proved yourself to be just another duplicitous human by betraying my family." Sessho-maru takes a handful of hair and yanks Kagome's head back, exposing her neck. "And I don't take kindly to being shot either." Sessho-maru's eyes turned red and he pulled his clawed hand back for a strike.
Kagome closed her eyes, unwilling to watch the razor-sharp claws coming for her neck. But the claws never came. She opened her eyes to see Inu-yasha holding back Sessho-maru's hand. His eyes still looked vacant, but at least he was back on his feet. "I didn't ask you to kill her."
Sessho-maru's eyes turned back to their golden color and he let the tension go in his hand so Inu-yasha released his wrist, but he still held Kagome by the neck against the tree. "She shot me twice."
"You can't kill her."
Sessho-maru lets Kagome go and turns on his brother, grabbing him by the shoulders and challenging him. "Why not? What reason could you possibly have for sparing her life?"
Inu-yasha hung his head, his long silver hair hiding his face. "I love her."
Kagome couldn't breathe. Her chest hurt and her legs felt weak. And all she could do was fix her stunned eyes on Inu-yasha.
Sessho-maru smiled. He let go of his brother's shoulders and chuckled. "Good boy. It's about time you admitted it. I really thought you were going to call my bluff. You had me worried there for a moment little brother." Sessho-maru turned to Kagome, his eyes warm and almost sad. "I'm sorry Kagome. It was the only way I knew to manipulate Inu-yasha into revealing his true feelings. You both had a right to know." He walked over to Kagome and kissed her on her forehead. She barely felt the lips on her skin as her eyes remained on Inu-yasha. Sessho-maru walks past Inu-yasha but stops at the sound of his brother's voice.
"Why did you do it?"
Sessho-maru sighs and lays a reassuring hand on his brother's shoulder. "So you can get over her and move on." Sessho-maru walks over to the far side of the clearing and disappears into the surrounding woods.
Kagome remains silent and stunned as tears begin running down her cheeks. She needs Inu-yasha to say something. Anything. But he just stands there, head down.
Finally, the sound of Inu-yasha's voice breaks Kagome from her stunned state. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize it myself until…."
Kagome's voice was barely a whisper, and it was strangled with emotion. "Please don't----"
"I have to go away for awhile. Sessho-maru was right. I need to move on."
Kagome went to Inu-yasha, she wanted him to look at her, wanted to feel his arms around her telling her it was going to be ok. That's what friends do. They help each other through things like this. But Inu-yasha steps away from Kagome's touch. "I can't. Not now. But please don't worry about me Kagome. I'm not going to lose control again. I just need some time. And you and…you need some time too."
"Inu-yasha, please don't go." He looks back at her tear-streaked face and almost gives in to her pleading eyes. But he can't be with her right now. He needed time to sort everything out. He knew he would return to her, knew they would always be friends. But even the best of friends needed a break from each other every now and again. He would take a break; maybe go see Toto-sai. And in time he would return to Kagome's side. Where he belonged.
"Please understand that I have to go for now. But don't worry. I will return to you."
To be continued….