(A/N) Hello again! A huge thank you to everyone who has read and/or reviewed this story. I am really and truly honored. Please, please review! I would like to get as much feedback as possible.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything that belongs to anyone else...
Chapter 3: The Traitor's Trail
"Wow," Kagome sighed, cradling her cup of tea and appraising her accommodations for the night. "This is what I call luxury."
"Yeah," Shippo chirped as he lounged in Kagome's lap.
"Feh," was Inuyasha's noncommittal response.
"Oh, I agree, Kagome-san," Miroku mumbled as he critically examined the ceramic cup in his hands. He leaned towards Sango who regarded him warily. "Tell me, Lady Sango, do you think this gilding around the edge is real gold?"
She cocked an eyebrow in his direction. "Why do you want to know, Lord Monk?"
"Healthy curiosity…" He held it out in front of him. "If you take a closer look, it appears to be genuine, but from a distance…"
Sango gave in and leaned closer to make a judgment. Miroku smirked lopsidedly as his free hand wandered somewhere inappropriate.
"Keep your hands where I can see them, if you please," she said icily.
The unsuccessful stray appendage zipped back to its owner who sighed wearily. "It wounds me that you put so little trust in a servant of Buddha."
"You're little tricks aren't working, monk," Inuyasha commented lazily, "Maybe you'll just have to become a real servant, eh?"
Kagome put her cup down a little too forcefully, startling her companions.
"Kagome! Don't do that!" Inuyasha griped, flinging his own spilled tea from his hands.
The schoolgirl smiled sheepishly. "Sorry… But I just felt a shard… somewhere close."
"Why didn't you say so in the first place?" Inuyasha scolded, leaping to his bare feet. "Where?"
Apprehensive silence settled in the room while the girl tried to pinpoint the feeling of the jewel fragment's aura. "I-it's fading…" Her expression was apologetic when she turned to her companions. "I can't tell where it is anymore."
"What do you mean?" Inuyasha demanded, "I thought you felt it close!"
She cringed. "Well, I did, but it was really small…"
The half-demon's eyebrow twitched. With a sigh, he flopped onto the floor, his back to the group.
"This does not bode well," the monk mused, "I have been picking up a feeling of danger and foreboding from this place since the moment we got here. All is not well in this palace."
"Keh! What do you expect with a woman masquerading as a lord?"
"Just what exactly do you mean by that, Inuyasha?" Kagome's voice was dangerous.
Before he could stick his foot any farther into his mouth, a scuffle in the corridor outside their room drew their attention. Inuyasha and Miroku were at the door in a second, with Sango close behind.
"What is going on?" the monk asked.
One soldier paused on his way long enough to tell them to get back inside and keep quiet. Of course, Inuyasha took offense. The next thing the unsuspecting warrior knew, he was two feet off the ground, in the clutches of a very angry hanyou. Growling ensued from both sides of the argument, until two feminine voices rang out.
"SIT!" commanded the half demon's keeper.
"Desist!" demanded the furious lord.
As the half demon plummeted, face-first, to the floor, the soldier prostrated himself in front of his master.
Tucking her hands into her billowing sleeves, Nanami glared down at her errant warrior. "What is the meaning of this?"
Sputtering was her only answer before the warrior recovered his senses. "Masao-sama," he plead, "Forgive me. I was heading to my post, when I was waylaid by this creature. He refused to return to his room and then attacked me."
"HEY!" Inuyasha bellowed, prying himself from the floorboards. "That's a lie!"
"Silence!" At the sound of the powerful command, all mouths clamped shut. "We do not have time for such petty squabbles. Get to your post and search for the prisoner."
The soldier scrambled away to do his lord's bidding. Inuyasha had managed to stand on his feet once more. Bowing slightly, Nanami turned her attention to the fuming hanyou.
"Inuyasha-san, I apologize for my warrior's rudeness," she said calmly, "A prisoner has somehow managed to escape from his cell. The circumstances are suspicious and I believe that our demon enemy may be involved somehow."
"If Naraku is involved, then that might explain why I felt a Shikon jewel shard," Kagome added.
The expression on Miroku's face was severe. "This may be more serious than you know, Nanami-sama."
Her chin was held high and her eyes conveyed no weakness, but inside, Nanami was unsettled. She had no idea what her enemy was capable of. This was a new and disturbing situation for the young lord. Without regret, she sought advice from those with more experience. "What do you suggest that I tell my men?"
"Tell them to stay out of my way," Inuyasha growled, drawing Tetsusaiga as he strode past the group.
Nanami fought to hold onto her frayed patience. She was not used to enduring such disrespect. Under other circumstances, she would have dealt with Inuyasha's insubordination swiftly and firmly, and he would never again have dared to act without reverence. Instead, she marched after him, her robes rustling along the tatami mats. "Surely, Inuyasha-san, trained warriors can be of some use to you. We agreed just a short while ago that a contingent of my finest scouts would accompany the party in our tracking expedition."
Without turning to face her, he pulled open the door and stepped out into the night. "This isn't the expedition," he said bluntly. "I already told you what your men can do, so you can go hide now."
"No," Nanami replied curtly. Inuyasha turned to snarl at her, but she cut him off. "Even if you have no need of my warriors, you may not dismiss me. This is my palace to protect and it is my prisoner to capture. I will tell my men to stay back and guard the palace, but I will not hide."
He glared at her for a moment, amber eyes blazing with anger. "Fine!" he said after she did not back down. "Do whatever you want, just don't complain to me when you get hurt. And don't get in my way."
"The same goes for you, Inuyasha-san," Nanami retorted with a smirk, drawing on years of experience dealing with three older brothers.
"Keh."
Trying desperately not to roll her eyes in exasperation, Nanami gave swift and specific orders to her generals. They departed with respectful bows. Inuyasha had already grown impatient. He was insisting that Kagome climb on his back so they could begin the pursuit. Sango had already shed her outer garments and strapped Hiraikotsu to her back. Kirara had transformed into her aggressive incarnation.
"But," Kagome stalled, "Shouldn't we wait for Nanami-sama?"
"No, damn it!" Inuyasha growled, "He's got enough of a lead already!"
Hikaru and Akiko arrived, out of breath for rushing. Without thought of modesty, Akiko hurriedly helped Nanami pull off the restrictive formal robes and change into her light kimono and hakama that fit her better. Hikaru was ready with Nanami's most mobile armor. She strapped on her father's sword, and was ready.
Nanami swung up onto the back of her roan horse. "Keep the watch on heightened alert all night," she instructed her general, "Have any suspicious happenings reported and investigated thoroughly. Send messengers to warn the nearby villages. Post the fastest riders in the watchtowers."
"Hai, Nanami-sama."
"Inform Seishiro that he is in charge until my return."
Hikaru bowed his assent.
"Let's go," Nanami said to her comrades in arms.
Inuyasha secured his hold on Kagome's legs. "Finally!" he barked before charging off.
"Wait! Inuyasha!" Nanami yelled after him.
He turned around with an expression of pure frustration. "What do you want now?" he snarled.
"The prisoner was last seen heading in that direction," Nanami explained calmly, pointing in the opposite direction from where Inuyasha had been running.
The half-demon's ears and eyebrows twitched rapidly as he turned around and began to charge off in the right direction. "Feh!" was all he uttered, turning a shade pinker while Kagome tried desperately to smother her giggles.
Nanami spurred her horse forward at a full gallop. Behind her, Sango, Shippo and Miroku swung onto Kirara's back and took to the sky.
OoOoO
"I can't smell it anymore!" Inuyasha roared, his sensitive nose hovering over the forest floor.
Kagome looked crestfallen. "We lost him?" she quavered, then yawned cavernously.
The enraged half-demon rounded on Nanami. "This is all your fault!" he bellowed, stomping over to where she crouched on the ground. "If you hadn't taken so long to get your tail moving, we wouldn't have lost his scent! If it wasn't for you, we would have caught him by now!"
Nanami met his fiery glare with one of icy composure. "If it weren't for me, you would be miles away in the wrong direction, having never picked up Sachio's scent at all."
After opening and closing his mouth several times, Inuyasha settled for a "Keh! Idiot cross-dresser!" before ending the discussion by leaping onto an overhanging tree branch. Nanami watched him cross his arms and close his eyes, apparently deciding to nap.
"It is useless to try and continue tonight," Nanami proposed carefully, "I suggest we make camp here."
The others in the group were more than ready to agree with her. The sun had set hours before and weariness had since settled into their bones. Inwardly mourning the loss of their promised night of luxury, the travelers broke camp in the forest clearing.
"Don't worry about Inuyasha," Kagome told the noblewoman as they arranged the twigs that Shippo brought. "He acts gruff and, well, uncouth, but he's a good person under all that bristling fur."
Nanami laughed lightly. "I admit that I was not sure what to make of him when we first met. It isn't every day that I meet such an interesting group. He is a half-demon?"
"Yes."
"He has had a hard life, then," she murmured, gazing at the small blaze they had started. "Part one thing, part another, unable to give up one piece and become whole…"
Kagome looked up at the dozing hanyou, her eyes full of compassion and something more. "That's why he wants the jewel so much," she whispered, "He wants to become a whole demon."
The older woman studied the girl's expression. "And he would give up his humanity for that?"
"He wants to be stronger," she said softly, still watching him, "His humanity is his weakness."
Nanami looked around at the odd assortment of allies. "I think it might be his greatest asset."
Kagome smiled, but said nothing as she finally turned her gaze away from Inuyasha.
OoOoO
It was nearly dawn when Inuyasha woke on his tree branch. He could smell something familiar. It took a moment before his sleepy mind realized that it was the same scent he had been tracking during the night. His mind cleared and he hopped down, slinking over to his sleeping shard-detector. For a moment, he contemplated waking the girl with a rough shove, but considering the punch he had received the last time he had attempted such an awakening, he decided against it. Besides, she looked so peaceful. Tentatively, Inuyasha touched Kagome's shoulder, barely breathing her name. She sighed sleepily and snuggled deeper into her sleeping bag. Frowning slightly, he hissed her name more loudly.
"Mmm… Jus' a few more minutes, Mama," the girl mumbled into her pillow. Cuddled beside her, Shippo snored gently.
"Feh! I am not your mother, wench," Inuyasha said plainly, "Now get up. We've got a shard to find."
Kagome drowsily blinked up at his hovering face. "Oh, Inuyasha…" She sighed. "I was having such a good dream, too…"
"Yeah? About what?" he pressed, still almost nose to nose with her.
The schoolgirl blushed terribly, avoiding his candid gaze and muttering, "Nothing really."
Inuyasha dropped the subject. "So, do you feel a shard?"
She pondered for a moment, then brightened. "Yes! It's small, but close!"
"Good!" her companion barked, standing up. "Then let's get moving!"
His exclamations roused the other members of their party. After the hanyou had explained the situation, the band of travelers launched into action. The camp was broken and packed in no time. Once more, the odd assortment of individuals found themselves chasing after the scent of a traitor.
Clinging to Inuyasha's back, Kagome focused on the aura they pursued. Suddenly, she pointed over his shoulder. "There!"
He swerved immediately. In the clearing she had indicated were two figures. One was an armored lower general. The other was all too familiar: a baboon pelted man.
"Naraku," Inuyasha growled, his voice like acid.
"Ah, if it isn't Inuyasha and his friends," the disguised enemy sneered.
Inuyasha deposited Kagome on the ground and drew his sword. With a furious roar, he charged Naraku at the same time that Sango and Miroku launched an attack of their own.
Nanami chose to focus her attention on her smug former vassal. She drew her father's katana. "Sachio… You are a traitor," she snarled, her voice as sharp as the blade of her sword.
Sachio met her indomitable brown eyes with uncharacteristic confidence. "You dare to call me a traitor when you are betraying your people by masquerading as a great lord when you are an inferior woman, Nanami?"
"Don't toy with me, Sachio," she snapped, "You know as well as I do that you have aligned yourself with my family's enemy. That can be nothing but a treacherous act, no matter how you attempt to twist it."
"And what are you going to do, woman?" he demanded, "Are you going to fight me?"
She tightened her grip on her weapon. "It is my duty to my father and brothers' memories to slay you."
He laughed, a cold and disgusting sound. "You always were a pompous fool!" he crowed, "Do you really think that you can defeat me all by yourself?"
"I have no doubt," she stated calmly, her gaze intensely boring through him.
He narrowed his beady eyes. "Your friends have abandoned you to chase after the diversion, just as I planned."
Nanami had not noticed that her companions had left, but she did not let the news trouble her. She was confident in her combat skills that she could defeat an opponent like Sachio. He was not a strong warrior.
"Then it is as it should be, Sachio," she nearly whispered, her mind focused solely on the traitor before her.
He smirked and Nanami knew that something was wrong. "Is it? You see, Nanami-san, you may be without allies, but I have many!" With that, he raised his hand into the air and shouted, "Come to me, demons!"
Like the howling wind of a typhoon, a massive horde of demons rose from the trees and descended on the clearing. They hovered just out of range while their master chuckled triumphantly.
"Now do you understand?" he asked condescendingly, "You can never beat me because I am a man and you are a woman. Are you afraid, my lord?"
Nanami looked up at the writhing mass of demons. She knew that she could kill a few at a time, but she would never be able to overcome the hundreds that swarmed above. If this was to be her end, she decided, she would die honorably, just as her father and brothers had.
"I am not afraid of death, Sachio," she said, her voice steady.
Her composure irked her opponent. He wanted her to squirm and cry and beg for his forgiveness and mercy. "You will not die, Nanami," he shouted over the collective roar of his army. "But you will wish you had! I will put you in your place. You will be my slave for the rest of your miserable existence. Every day I will demean you and command you and you will be helpless to stop it."
"Never!" She attacked, hoping against all odds that she would be able to land a blow on Sachio before the demons could descend on her.
It was impossible. No sooner had she surged forward than she was confronted by a wall of hideous beasts. She was prepared for this and began to hack at the army, slicing through one demon after another. As she fought beasts on every front, she could hear Sachio laughing. It drove her onward, giving her the anger she needed to fuel her endless battle. Carcasses piled around her as she defended her small circle of territory. Still more demons would replace the fallen. The fight was hopeless. She was human and her strength was waning.
Sachio's self-assured laugh had dissolved into desperate orders by the time a demon finally manage to immobilize Nanami's sword arm. After that, her defenses were shattered. More demons swarmed around her, rendering her incapacitated. When Sachio had determined that it was safe to approach, he strode to gloat over his captive.
"Well, Nanami-san," he cooed, whispering into her ear, "It seems that I will get to have you to myself after all." He trailed his fingers down her sweaty, bloody cheek.
OoOoO
The demon lord of the western lands was on his way to root out rumors of Naraku when he happened upon a revolting scene. At first, all he saw was a man confronting a twisting mass of demons amidst a field of corpses. At that he felt a fleeting pleasure. Shortly, there would be one less human in the world. Upon further scrutiny, he noticed a struggling woman held captive by the demons. The pathetic human man was attempting to kiss her, but she snarled and thrashed to avoid him. Sickened by the display of human weakness and transgression, Sesshomaru paused.
"Humans are such disgusting creatures," he mused.
His toad-like attendant sneered at their young charge who was picking flowers a ways behind the rest of the group. "Oh yes, Sesshomaru-sama," Jaken squawked, glaring at the little girl. "I agree entirely! They are a filthy, smelly, stupid, and vile species."
The demon lord remained impassive as the lesser demon walked obliviously into his legs. "Where are you looking, Jaken?"
Shaken, Jaken turned from scoffing at Rin to look at the scene before them, fumbling for a response. "Erm, oh…" was all he could muster.
"Stay with Rin," Sesshomaru commanded as he glided into the clearing to deal with the human filth.
Sachio froze when he noticed the powerful figure looming over his shoulder. Trembling and stuttering, he backed away, tripping over himself as he went.
"Die, human," the demon lord said coolly, arching his poisoned claws.
"N-no!" Sachio shrieked, somehow calling his demons off of Nanami to become a shield for himself. Encased in his horde of demons, Sachio fled for his life, leaving Nanami unsupported. With an anguished, weary groan, she collapsed onto her hands and knees at the feet of Lord Sesshomaru.
(A/N) Finally! Sesshomaru has entered into the story. What on earth is going to happen next? Many thanks to WaroftheRoses for editing this! If you would be so kind as to review, I would be eternally happy!