. : Muichimotsu : .
: . By Akikazu . :
. : Chapter Twenty Nine : .
Kagome spent a leisurely morning with Kurama. Needless to say, they were both surprised when Sesshomaru sent for them after lunch. The taiyoukai has been secluded in his study since the previous day, after he had killed Kosui.
As the couple made their way to the study quietly, Kagome noticed that Kurama was tense and she knew that he was thinking that Sesshomaru was angry that Kurama had spent the night in her room once more. She gave the kitsune (fox) comfort in the only way she could, by slipping her hand into his. He smiled down at her and squeezed her hand. Even without words she knew that he was thankful for the small comfort she had been able to provide.
A servant opened the door to the study for them before slipping back into obscurity. Sesshomaru was seated on the other side on the room studying a scroll placed on the traditionally low table before him. Kagome and Kurama took a seat on cushion across from the Demon Lord and wait for him to acknowledge them; they both knew that he was aware of their presence.
Finally he looked up from the ancient scroll on his desk and at the two before him. He nodded to Kurama and gave her a strange look that she didn't know how to interpret. His stoic mask in place, he addressed them.
"I have called you both here because there is a situation in which you are both involved, that must be dealt with without further delay." Sesshomaru looked at Kagome, "You are involved to this matter directly." He then glanced at Kurama, "And you are here in place of your friend the detective."
Kagome saw the knowing glint that sparked in Kurama's eye and her eyes grew wide as she processed what Sesshomaru was saying.
"It is something that has to do with Inu Yasha?" Kagome asked haltingly.
Sesshomaru nodded and tapped the scroll that he had been reading. "This scroll provides a way for us to send Inu Yasha's spirit to the Reikai. I have no doubts that Koenma will imprison him there without much prompting."
Kurama glanced at the scroll and Kagome watched as surprise blossomed on his face.
"Where did you get this?" Kurama questioned.
"I had a youkai called Epsilon retrieve it form the Rekai."
Kagome's hid her surprise. She had been so busy the past couple of days that she hadn't even noticed that Epsilon had disappeared. However she quickly turned back to the matter at hand.
"You have found a way to cast Inu Yasha from Urameshi-san's body then? How will you do it?"
"You will do it Kagome. You'll have to perform an exorcism of sorts." Sesshomaru frowned. "I would prefer to give you more time to prepare for this but due to other pressing matters I must insist that we deal with this immediately."
Kagome nodded and stood. "Alright. I must prepare and gather some equipment first but I should be ready in half an hour. I'll meet you two in Urasmeshi-san's room at that time."
Without waiting for a response, Kagome hurried from the room. Mentally she began to catalogue what she would need for this exorcism.
Another part of her brain hoped that the two youkai she had left behind got to know each other better while she was busy.
M . M . M . M . M . M . M . M . M . M .
Kurama watched as Kagome carefully warded Yusuke's room. The past thirty minutes had been spent sitting in the study with Sesshomaru, most of that time filled with an awkward silence.
"What are those papers?" Yusuke demanded. "They're making me feel…off."
Sesshomaru answered from his position next to Kurama, outside the room. "They're ofuda."
"A what?"
Kurama explained, "An ofuda, Yusuke. They're a talisman of sorts. No doubt these are to ensure that when Kagome exorcises Inu Yasha, he won't attempt to flee or possess someone else."
Yusuke snorted and bounded on his bed slightly. Kurama could tell that he was happy about the fact that he would soon be free of Inu Yasha. The spirit seemed to have taken it upon himself to haunt the detective's mind.
Kagome slapped the last rectangle of stick paper into place and moved to the middle of the room, where she crouched closer to the ground. Carefully she pulled a dagger from her pocket and touched the blade to the hardwood floor. The dagger blade glowed blue and Kagome moved her arm slowly. The glowing light from the dagger poured to the floor, outlining where Kagome drew. Kurama recognized the symbols she was shaping on the floor and concluded that she was creating a portal that would suck any spirit present into the Reikai.
Finally Kagome lifted the dagger and stood. The glowing trace marks she left on the ground glowed for a second before opening a black portal. Kagome turned to look at Yusuke who was watching her with wide eyes.
"Are you ready, Urameshi-san?" She asked.
Yusuke nodded and asked, "So, what do I have to do?"
"Nothing, just relax." Kagome frowned and nibbled on her lip before adding, "because of your youkai blood it might hurt a bit."
Yusuke face split into a confident smirk. "I can take any pain you throw at me," he bragged.
Kurama rolled his eyes, knowing that Yusuke had never experienced purification before. His attitude served to make Kagome feel better however for she moved even closer to Yusuke and hugged him. Yusuke's eyes got big and Kurama could feel a stir of violence rise within him.
Before anything else could happen Kagome began to glow, the light surrounded both her and Yusuke and Kurama could make out Yusuke arching away from Kagome, his face twisted in pain. A scream that belong to neither of people in the room split the air, and a dark aura that belonged to neither Kagome nor Yusuke began to pour from Yusuke's mouth.
The dark aura soon took on the form of a person, or rather a male inu hanyou (half dog demon) that Kurama correctly guessed to be Inu Yasha. The spirit completed its form and Kagome let her arms fall, freeing Yusuke who immediately toppled face first onto the bed. The spirit hovered over Yusuke for a moment before moving to float besides Kagome.
"Worthless bitch!" His voice echoed around abnormally.
Inu Yasha could not say anything further as the portal Kagome had created began to suck him in. Kurama watched in satisfaction as the spirit tried to grab onto something only to find that his desperate hands couldn't catch a hold of physical objects. With one last roar, Inu Yasha disappeared into the portal, which emitted a loud slurping noise before closing in upon itself.
Everyone was silent for a moment however the moment was broken when Yusuke stirred and looked up at Kagome.
"That hurt." His voice was tinged with accusation. "And not just a 'bit' as you said."
"I'm sorry," Kagome apologized. "You're much more youkai than I thought."
Kurama was the only one to see the exasperated gleam in Sesshomaru's eyes.
"Will you remove the ofuda now Kagome?" The demon lord inquired.
Kagome nodded and rose from the bed. She swayed slightly as she went to the original ofuda that she had placed in the doorway. The hand supported by her bandaged wrist came up and ripped the ofuda away while stripping it of her power. Kurama was barely close enough to catch her when she stumbled from exhaustion.
Kagome smiled up at him, attempting to put the worry she knew he was feeling to rest. Kurama's hand came up to cup her cheek and she nuzzled the side of her face into it.
"I'm fine Kurama. I just haven't built up the stamina to perform this kind of exorcism without tiring myself," she explained.
"Sesshomaru-sama!"
The four of them turned to look at the servant that was running in their direction. Said servant skidded to a halt in front of Sesshomaru and bowed deeply.
"Speak," Sesshomaru ordered.
"Sesshomaru-sama the palace is being attacked! Souji-sama told me to tell you that he must speak with you immediately," the servant reported.
A flood of unfamiliar and hostile youkai poured from the palace. Sesshomaru stepped forward and demolished the lot without a second thought. He stared at the palace for a second before looking back at Kurama, who was still holding Kagome.
"You will protect her," he said.
And he was gone.
M . M . M . M . M . M . M . M . M . M .
Sesshomaru stopped in front of Souji after killing a small horde that surrounded the spy. At the man's back stood Hijikata, and both men bowed after he rendered the attacking youkai dead.
"You wished to speak with me," Sesshomaru said, cutting straight to the point.
"Yes Sesshomaru-sama, Hijikata and I have found out the identity of the one whom is sending the youkai to attack the palace. The one that has preformed the resurrections and had Rin-chan's reincarnation killed."
Sesshomaru felt his stomach churn in anticipation. He knew that once he discovered his opponent's identity, it would only be a matter of time before his head was on a plate before him.
"Who?" He demanded.
A familiar scent drew near before Souji could answer. Sesshomaru felt a growl rush past his lips as the hated stench drew closer.
"Me of course," the voice filled him with rage.
His name came out in the form of a snarl from Sesshomaru, "Hakudoushi."
M . M . M . M . M . M . M . M . M . M .
Approximately Five Hundred Years Ago
Rin scrambled through the forest, barely managing to escape the destructive path of a raging boar youkai. The fourteen-year-old human was beginning to regret her decision to ignore her lord's command to stay inside.
There was a large crash and from the corner of her eye, Rin saw a large tree come tumbling down. Scratch that, she really regretted not listening to Sesshomaru-sama. Mentally she promised to never disobey her strict guardian again if she lived through this ordeal.
It never occurred to Rin that she should be watching where she was running. With a surprised squeal, Rin tripped over a protruding tree root. She moved to get back on her feet and noticed a pair of bare feet before her. Said feet were topped with legs that were clad in a garment that resembled those worn by Sesshomaru.
Hesitantly, Rin followed the legs up then past the torso and to the face of the boy, looking slightly older than her, in front of her. Or should she the demon in front of her, she altered, seeing the boy's pointed ear from beneath his white hair.
Brown eyes met purple for what seemed like an eternity.
"Who are you?" His voice was soft.
"Rin is Rin," she managed to say, slipping back into the third person as she frequently did when her nerves were unsettled.
The youkai boy smiled, his eyes taking on a gleam that captivated Rin. The crashing of the boar youkai through the forest interrupted their moment. The boy looked up and glared at the boar. The look on his face disturbed her slightly.
"Go away," he ordered. "Rid this word of your filth."
To Rin's amazement she saw the boar youkai turning away when she sat up and turned to look behind her. She looked at the boy that had saved her in awe.
"What's your name?" She asked.
He offered his hand out to her, "I'm called Hakudoushi."
Grinning, Rin placed her hand in his and allowed him to help her up.
M . M . M . M . M . M . M . M . M . M .
Two Years Later
Rin tackled Hakudoushi in her excitement to see him. Apparently he was glad to see her too because his arms wrapped around her and hugged her just as tightly as she was squeezing him.
"You won't believe what's happening, Hakudoushi-kun!" Rin said, nearly bursting with enthusiasm
Hakudoushi smiled at his beloved. Since the day she had come careening into his life, he had known that she would belong to him. The only problem was that she was the ward of the taiyoukai Sesshomaru. Hakudoushi knew for a fact that this particular youkai had a great hate for anyone who had been associated with Naraku.
"What's going on Rin-chan? I haven't seen you so excited for a while."
She grinned up at him, her brown eyes shinning.
"I'm finally of age Hakudoushi-kun! Several youkai have already gone to Sesshomaru-sama to ask for permission to court me, and he said yes to some!" Rin bounced a little in anticipation. "Isn't this great Hakudoushi-kun?"
Rin had been too wrapped up in her announcement to notice that Hakudoushi had gone stiff. In fact he was burning in rage wondering who exactly thought that they were good enough for his Rin. Then a horrifying though occurred to him.
"Rin do you know any of the youkai that will be courting you? Do you like any of them?" He demanded.
"Of course I know them, Hakudoushi-kun. Most of them were one of my guards at one point or another. And I like most of them too: all the guards have always been very kind to me. Usually they were the ones to play with me before I met you."
Hakudoushi shook his head, "Not like that, Rin-chan. I meant do you favor one over another."
Rin cocked her head and considered the question for a moment and her spreading blush told Hakudoushi the answer to that particular question. However he wanted to know the name of the bastard that had stolen his beloved's heart from right beneath his nose, and then Hakudoushi would like to rip the thief's beating heart clear out of his body.
"What's his name?" He ground out.
His beloved didn't notice his tone of voice, instead her eyes glazed over in a dreamy fashion.
"Kohaku. I've known him since forever and he's even more handsome now than he was before," she ended this announcement with a dreamy sigh.
His feeling of hate was only intensified as he recognized the name as the one of the slayer boy that Naraku had controlled. Rin continued to chatter, never one noticing that Hakudoushi's nails were cutting into his palm, so tightly was the youkai clenching his fist.
"…doushi-kun? Hakudoushi-kun? Are you alright?"
He shook his head and looked down into his beloved's concerned face. The look made him want to lock her away forever.
"I'm fine, Rin-chan."
Mentally he promised that no one would stand between him and his beloved.
M . M . M . M . M . M . M . M . M . M .
Several Months Later
He crashed their wedding.
It was the simplest of plans. Sneak in, take control of the groom, make the groom attempt to kill the Western Lord, and take away his beloved in the chaos. Hopefully Kohaku would get himself killed in the process.
He never expected for his plan to go so horribly wrong.
It had been fine at first. Most of the guards were already half drunk before the wedding and those that weren't were few and easily avoided. As it turned out, there was far less security than he had expected.
In no time at all he was in the shadows in the front of the room were the ceremony was to take place. As was tradition, only a few people were present, one being a miko though Hakudoushi could tell that she was all youkai and had no spiritual powers what so ever. When his beloved and the ningen she was marrying approached the altar, Hakudoushi began his work.
It took him only a moment to find the dark stain on the ningen's aura, it was rather large making it easier to take control of the boy.
"Kill the taiyoukai," Hakudoushi whispered.
Kohaku turned, never hearing Rin's concerned calls. Under Hakudoushi's influence the young man approached the taiyoukai and bowed before pulling a sickle out and attacking the man that would have been his father-in-law. The demon lord jumped back and everyone gasped.
Hakudoushi was so caught up in his possession of his rival that he didn't see his beloved moving towards the ningen. He made Kohaku attack the demon lord again and this time the attack buried itself deeply in a living chest.
However it was not Sesshomaru that was killed.
Rin stared up in the blank eyes of the man she had been set to marry. Shakily her hand rose and touched his check. The soft press of her palm to his check awakened Kohaku and he look in horror as he found his bride impaled on his own weapon.
"R-Rin?"
She opened her mouth and to both Kohaku and Hakudoushi's horror blood gushed out. Her eyes were dulling with every second that passed but she still stared Kohaku directly in the eye.
"I know…it wasn't you." She coughed, and more blood left her, staining her hands as she coughed into them. "I…love you…Kohaku."
And she went limp, her body sliding off the sickle with its dead weight. Kohaku stared down at the dead woman for a second before looking up at the raging crowd. His water filled eyes met those of the demon lord he had been attempting to kill.
"I'm sorry…" He whispered.
Turning his blade he thrust it through his own heart. Crying for the death of the woman he loved, he fell next to her and died.
The youkai miko's screams filled the room, as did the howls of other present youkai.
Arrangements to cremate their bodies were made immediately and Hakudoushi could only follow in the shadows as they took his beloved's body and that of her groom outside. They burnt the ningen boy's first.
But when they place Rin's body upon the pile of sticks and braches Hakudoushi couldn't bear to see her cease to exist in this fashion. When the smoke from the burning wood covered his path, he snuck over and grabbed her body before creeping off with it. He knew there were ways to bring a person back to life; all he had to do was to preserve her body till he was ready to perform such a deed.
"No matter how long it takes, I'll bring you back to me aijin (beloved)." He whispered into her silky hair.
M . M . M . M . M . M . M . M . M . M .
In The Present
Itsuki and Keiko had been exploring another expansive garden when the youkai attacked. Itsuki immediately flung Keiko to the ground and stood over her to defend her.
However, Itsuki's powers weren't well suited to fighting, although they did help to return at least half of the attackers to the Makai (demon realm). It wasn't enough for soon Keiko was peeled from the ground and one youkai held her as another prepared to take her life. Itsuki could only watch as the woman that he had sacrificed so much for was placed to die. Her sad brown eyes met his and Itsuki saw the flash of a blade as it swung down at her.
It never touched her.
Another body, tall and dark stood in front of Keiko's taking the blade into its gut. The portal that the person had come from closed in upon itself as dark eyes dulled. Balls of power emerged around the body and demolished the remaining hostile youkai. Both Keiko and Itsuki slid to the floor as they stared at the dying man.
"I am very…sorry…Itsuki."
The man fell forward and the blade pressed till it went straight through the man's corpse.
Finally Itsuki's throat began to work. "Shinobu!"
. : End Chapter : .
: . Author's Note . :
Now you all know who the creepy guy is! And you all know how he got to become obsessed with Rin.
This chapter has a main focus on Hakudoushi and Rin with a bit of Itsuki and Sensui, and Yusuke and Inu Yasha on the side. However, next chapter features Yukina and Yusuke, Narkau and Sango, and a bit of Itsuki.
The next chapter probably won't be up next weekend though because I won't be around, see my profile for details. Now I'll hand this chapter over to my wonderful Beta.
. : Beta's Note : .
Hey minna-san! Another great chapter by Akikazu. Wow, even I wasn't expecting that. Hakudoshi and Rin. That's new to me. More creativeness from the wonderful mind of Akikazu. Everyone thank Akikazu for writing this wonderful story!
I don't think there are any new words for me to do pronunciations for. Except Makai, but I'm not absolutely sure on that one. If there are any words you guys want to know, just put it in a review, and I'll try and get it. Be sure to send Akikazu a nice review!
AMV
. : Next Time : .
Grief
End
Pregnant
Reaction
Unexpected Love