Part 4
Blood was everywhere. The tents were sliced into shambles. Bodies were lane out before him as he took his first step out of the tent. The battle was still going on, the entire clearing nearly full. He expertly avoided the skirmishes, seeking the one man he needed to talk to.
He could see why the little girl was frightened at this grotesque scene. Bodies were every. The ground, soaked with blood, was soft beneath his feet. Entrails were every where. It really was a massacre. But....why did she scream? She should have witnessed many of these battles while traveling with Kagome. So....why?
His thoughts immediately fled when he spotted the man he was looking for. The man was clashing swords with another, engaging in battle. He did not have time for this. He needed as much men as possible to be sparred. With a flick of his wrist, Sesshomaru sliced the opponent to pieces, catching the other's attention.
The man bowed deeply as his eyes widened in recognition. "My Lord Sesshomaru, it isgood to see you in one piece. The plan was carried out accordingly. No mistakes."
"Very good, Kouga. See to it that this battle is over with....few casualties," Sesshomaru ordered, not even flinching when a splatter of blood splashed his face.
X
That scream! It could only be Rin's!
Kagome watched as Sesshomaru walked out of the tent, nearly gliding over the ground. Her eyes squinted in anger as she brutally sliced her current opponent. Without a second glance, she rushed to the tent as fast as possible, slicing down anyone who stood in her way, avoiding her own, of course. In but a few seconds she reached the tent. She ripped its flap aside ferociously and barged in.
Inuyasha and Miroku was no surprise to her as she found them unbound. She didn't even look at them, much less acknowledge their presence. Quietly, she kneeled down next to Rin. Slowly, she reached out to comfort Rin. The young girl flinched at her touch.
Rin turned her face to look at Kagome. She began to whimper, her eyes filling. Suddenly, she burst into tears and flung herself at Kagome. Kagome squeezed her in a comforting hug as Rin bawled in her clothes. Kagome heard Miroku and Inuyasha whispering about something, but she paid them no mind. She could only watch in sufferable silence as Rin broke down in tears.
She closed her eyes softly and began humming a tune into Rin's ear. Silently, the young girl fell asleep in her arms. Kagome smiled at the sleeping figure as she tucked her into bed. "Sleep now--"
Her voice died in her throat as the hilt of weapon slammed into the back of her neck, and she was consumed in darkness....
X
Inuyasha watched as the scene before him unfolded. She was quite a picture, so calm and surreal. But, he knew he needed to stop everything before it all got out of hand.
Miroku watched as Inuyasha's expression changed from sympathy to hard determination. "You know we need to bring her back alive and unharmed, right?"
Inuyasha nodded grimly. "I just wish we weren't the ones that had to do it," he replied.
Inuyasha quietly walked toward Kagome. He gripped the knife tighter in his hand. Every step made his journey all that much harder to continue.
Raising the knife, he slammed its hilt into the back of her neck. He momentarily saw her eyes widen in shock, then drift closed. He caught her limp body before it could hit the sleeping girl and threw it over his shoulders.
Sympathetically, he looked down. Rin was her name, wasn't it? "Miroku, carry Rin. I think she has a right to know what is going on, also. I know I'd want to."
Miroku walked over to the resting form and carefully picked her up, cradling her in his arms. Together, they exited the tent, hardly congratulating their success in the plan.
X
Sesshomaru watched as Miroku and Inuyasha left the tent. He couldn't help but see the two limp forms that were carried. He walked towards them, avoiding the bodies with ease.
Inuyasha's and Miroku's grim expressions greeted him as Inuyasha handed the lithe body to him. "We did what we needed to, Sessh. Can we just go home already?," Inuyasha asked, a glint of disgust in his voice. Sesshomaru took the body from Inuyasha and began to walk toward the direction of their awaiting carriage, followed closely by Miroku and Inuyasha.
A cry broke through the clashes of swords and pained screams.
X
Block. Slice. Duck. Parry. She took down the enemies one by one. The heavy scent of blood was all she could smell. Her vision all to clear of the slaughtered bodies. Wait! In the corner of her eye she saw the glint of steel. She whipped around ready to face her enemy, but paused as she saw that monk....Miroku! Sango could barely make out the small figure in his arms, but knew that it was Rin, for when she looked toward Sesshomaru she found Kagome hanging limply in his arms.
Rage consumed her then, as she chopped down all the soldiers that stood in front of her. Her path finally became cleared and she charged at the three figures. Their heads turned to her as she yelled, charging toward them. When they were in reach, she swung her katana down, only to meet the clash of steel.
She found herself staring into Inuyasha's eyes as he held the dagger, blocking her attack. Sango quickly withdrew her blade as Inuyasha slashed at her once again. She jumped back and nearly tripped over a body. Seeing his chance, Inuyasha gripped the hilt of a sword stuck in a fallen man's body and tugged. It came free with ease as he instantly swung at Sango.
Her block came up a second too late as it sliced her shoulder. She screamed in agony. But, before she could recover, the back of his sword slammed into her temple. She, also, slid into the darkness.
X
They were losing fast. He knew that they couldn't hold out much longer. The soldiers just kept on coming and he could see their numbers were slowly dwindling. He looked up in time to see Sango go down and Kagome being carried off, Rin not to far behind. Two of our best are gone. Our men are slowly dying. This battle was lost before it even began. Matsuru thought to himself.
He soon began to realize maybe this was part of Kagome's "game." Maybe this was supposed to happen. He dropped his katana. He remembered he still had Kagome's at his waist, but didn't bother to un-sheath it also, for swords surrounded him. Seeing this, the rest, however many their were left, dropped their weapons also. The sounds off battle stopped as silence fell over the blood-soaked camp.
This night had turned into something more, as the rest were chained and rallied like slaves. Matsuru, Rei, Shiru, and the rest of their men held themselves proudly. If Kagome was still alive there still was hope.
X
Darkness. All she could see was darkness. Her eyes fluttered open. Her vision cleared as the dark faded. The light of the moon shown through.... Bars? she thought, confused. She was about to attempt to stand, when she noticed her abdomen was manacled. Oh! Not this again! she moaned. It was bad enough to be in that hole-in-the- ground, but this place smelled even worse.
She could smell bile and stink as she deeply breathed. The back of her neck pained her un-haltingly. Her wrists had neatly healed before, but now she wasn't so sure. They hurt once again. The memories of before flashed through her head. One by one she remembered her family. Her panic kept rising until she thought of Rin. Then, it was replaced by fury. How dare he!!! He and his stupid father!! He better not have hurt her! He better not have touched her!!! I will make him suffer for itif he does!!
Kagome immediately began tugging at her chains. She would make them bend to her will. She would get out of this prison. After a few moments, she heared them start to give. Do they think me so weak? she thought, disgusted. To her, chains were like ripping hay to shreds. It was only a simple task if you know there its weaker spots are. At its joints.
The chains gave way and her hands were freed. But, before long, she heard footsteps approaching. Then, the clink of armor. There were about four or five of them when they arrived at her door. They stepped into the small cell, not worried in the least. "Your gonna wish you were dead when the master it through with you. He'll make you pay for what you did to his Lord's sons," one of them hissed in her ear.
A smile crawled across her features. "Well then....I'll just make sure to apologize." With that, she kicked the man nearest to her, sending him flying into the wall. "That was for Sango," she cried. She attacked the next guy in an instant. Disabling him, she kicked his knee caps. Kagome heard the resonating crack as he fell forward. "That was for Rin."
She grabbed the next one's arm, swung him around, locked his arm behind his back, and forced him into the wall. "That was for Shiru." The remaining soldiers were about to break for it, until she tugged them back. Menacingly, she whispered, "Oh, come now. The fun has only started." She slammed their heads together, and let them fall limply, in a heap, to the floor.
She walked out of the room triumphantly, non-hesitant if there were any more. Calmly she walked through the dungeon door, a sweat not even breaking her skin. Her calm facade broke when she heard more footsteps rushing toward her. There must have been another door down there. she concluded as she skipped the steps three-by-three.
Kagome had finally reached the hallway, but had no time to contemplate which direction to head. She immediately ran right, hoping to run into a door containing the Lord that she hated so much.
As she raced further, she saw different types of doors fly past. One was white, one was red, one was blue, one was green, and they continued on and on. She could see the end of the hall nearing too quickly, so she needed to decide on a door....fast! Which shall it be? Door number one? Door number two? Or Door number three? She thought as she raced past door after door. The end was beginning to draw nearer and nearer.
Kagome stole a quick look behind her. There were many guards chasing her, nearly filling the hall itself. She thought and planned until a glint of something caught the corner of her turned eye. Her head whipped around in time to see the form of a golden door vanish. That's not possible!! Doors don't appear then vanish! she thought. Then she realized she had seen it at the end of the hall on the supposedly "dead end" wall.
She slightly recalled a story about how highly trained wizards could conceal doors. How they could....bend the illusion of sight to their will. Kagome had been taught how it is done and how to undo it. With the help of Masturu, she had mastered it, but had never really tried to do it in real situations. No time to think now! Immediately, she chanted the counter-spell. It easily slid off her tongue in waves of energy. The energy seemed to clash with something as she drew nearer to the wall. A type of "barrier" that surrounded the now revealed door.
In an instant, the barrier vanished as she rushed through its haze. She extended her arm, reaching for the door. When she made contact, she pushed it open. There before her stood the King in all his glory, his wife and sons at his side. "What have you done?!," she demanded, fury rising. "You think that I'm some pawn in your twisted little game, Inutaisho? Well, do you?!"
Inutaisho looked at her, a calm expression on his face. He felt not in the least threatened by her angry presence. "Kagome is your name, am I correct?," was all he replied.
Kagome seethed her fury a little longer, but gave up hope in rippling his calm facade. She closed her eyes in mock defeat and heaved a sigh. "I would have just cooperated if you had asked me nicely. You didn't have to go and kill all of those men. My men."
"I guess I am correct in thinking such that your name is indeed 'Kagome.' Your abilities surpass even the greatest of my wizards. Well, Sesshomaru had told me you thought of this as a 'game.' Tell me. What do you think of it now? Is it still a game to you?," Inutaisho asked, cool, calculating eyes staring at her blank ones.
She thought her answer out. Turning it over in her head. Looking at it in different angles, but there was no other way to surpass it. "Yes. It is still a game to me. For years I have lived. And, for years, I have conquered. The kings of the past, your past, have kneeled before me in loyalty. What makes you any different? Why are you so confident about this?"
Inutaisho smiled a little. "I am so confident because the odds have slightly tipped in my favor." He snapped his fingers and Kagome could hear muffled voices behind her. Before her eyes, guards dragged out her "family," their mouths gagged, their hands bound. She could only stare in shock as weapons were threateningly placed to their throats.
Kagome tore her gaze away, closing her eyes tightly. Her fists were clenched, blood dribbling out. She finally decided. It was for the best. "Inutaisho....I...."