XV: Escape and Loss
Author: Nefertili
Fandom: Inuyasha
Rating: PG13
Pairing(s): Sesshoumaru/Kikyou
Genre(s): Romance, Angst, AU, Action
Warning(s): More battle scenes, some violence, fluff... What more can I say?
Disclaimer: None of the characters, except perhaps some, are mine. They are owned by Rumiko Takahashi.
Summary: Two years after IMotC, Sess is challenged to surpass an enemy in recovering a mysterious relic left behind by his mother. But can he protect Kikyou, who now carries his child, at the same time?
A/N: Read on, read on! ;P
...o0o...
The attack began a little after noon, just as the combined forces of Sesshoumaru and Isamu managed to subdue the first attack of Karatake's minions, and the Lord of the Deer Demons had come hasting back to the Borderlands upon finding out the danger Kikyou and Umegae were in. But not even their unstopping gallops can enable them to reach the Fortress of the Deer Demons at the right time.
Many of the Western rivers which they had to cross in order to return to their realm were wild with the numerous gallons of water stampeding down the mountains, and there was no choice but to take the longer way around them. Isamu gnashed his teeth in desperation, knowing that every moment lost led his mate and daughter, along with Kikyou and Rin, closer to their doom. But even youkai are subject to the fury of nature; he and his charges could only surrender to the elements' will and make full use of what limited resources are given them.
Umegae had sensed something peculiar around noontime, and Kikyou had asked in a concerned tone what was wrong.
"The fauna are telling me of shadows," the Shikayoukai Queen had replied. She was looking out of the balcony of her wing, frowning slightly as she carefully observed their surroundings. "They say that 'many shadows' are coming, and the pines cry that 'a point had struck one of their kind.' I don't understand what they mean..."
"'Many shadows?'" Kikyou repeated, stepping beside Umegae with Yanagi bundled up in her arms. The Demon Lady had thoughtfully allowed Kikyou to carry and fondle the baby Yanagi to somehow ease her longing for Sesshoumaru. But even as she watched the former priestess and admired her talent with children, Umegae herself was worrying about her mate, Isamu. "A point striking a pine? Is this the first time they are like this?"
"I have a gift with the plants that my sister doesn't have," Umegae said, still frowning. "I can talk to them like I would talk to a person. I can hear their calls, but only if I asked. They never voluntarily cried out to me like this..."
Kikyou automatically thought that they were in trouble.
"Do you think they are warning us that we are about to go under siege?" Kikyou asked. Yanagi was playfully tugging at her raven locks; Kikyou gently eased the little fingers from their hold on her hair and looked at Umegae with a questioning glance.
"There is no way one can besiege the fortress," Umegae said softly, thinking deeply. "The moat is wide enough to render the palace itself out of the reach of arrows, and the rock face to which the fortress is built could not be scaled for a good distance...neither is it scalable in the other sides... Besides, there is an invisible barrier here that I alone maintain. The fortress cannot be penetrated...unless-"
The 'unless' had barely reached Kikyou's ears when Umegae suddenly reeled out and came between her and the door to the balcony. A few flecks of blood splashed on Kikyou's face, and she barely had the time to catch Umegae before a knife thrown at the air struck the young demoness on the shoulder.
...o0o...
"Asagao!" Umegae muttered, her deep green eyes wide with surprise, anger and pain. With surprising courage, she got hold of the handle of the knife embedded on her shoulder and pulled it out in a flow of blood that stained her robes. "How could you..."
Asagao was standing on the doorway with a crazed look in her eyes. She was holding Rin by the shoulder, but what really prevented the frightened little girl from screaming out or struggling was the knife point the demoness was pressing deliberately against her neck. Kikyou felt herself boiling with rage.
"Let her go!" Kikyou demanded, but she could do no further action as her arms were full of Yanagi and Umegae, who leaned against her as the force of the blow pushed her backwards. Asagao walked forward in deliberate steps, forcing them to retreat further backwards. Soon, Kikyou felt the railings of the balcony pressing against her back.
"Insignificant fools!" Asagao said, pulling Rin roughly by the air and making her cry out involuntarily. Kikyou felt her heart clench...she couldn't help but remember the time when Kikumo abducted Rin at Naraku's command. But even then, the Demon Princess was gentler with Rin than this demoness is...
"Wake up, Asagao," Umegae was saying, getting up with great effort. Kikyou felt worry building inside her. "You were never like this..."
Fury began to boil clearly in the other demoness' eyes.
"You were not even supposed to be in this throne," she answered back. "Your sister, Kikumo-hime, was a far better person than you are. You made a great mistake, Your Majesty. In sheltering Kikyou and this little brat, you have wrought the doom of the Royal Family and your daughter!"
With that, she raised her knife as though to stab Rin directly on her head, but Kikyou had had enough. Her miko powers burst out before even she can control them, and she barely had the time to stretch out one of her hands as blue flame emerged.
The flame caught Asagao neatly on the head. She let go of Rin and the knife she held in terror as she put her hands on her head to put out the flames. Rin ran crying to Kikyou. Yanagi, by this time, was beginning to be aware of the peril and began to cry.
Umegae then told Kikyou and Rin that they were to leave the fortress immediately. The wound on her shoulder was still bleeding as she led them past the screaming and writhing form of her lady-in-waiting and out the door. Kikyou stopped for a while and ordered Rin to retrieve her miko weapons where they lay around the corner, and once this was done, they began their frantic race to save themselves.
"This place is littered by a network of caves," Umegae said breathlessly as they ran down the corridors, "there is a secret way here that leads out, I believe no one but Isamu and I know of its existence..."
"Where is it?" Kikyou asked in the same breathless tone. She was clutching on to a still crying Yanagi, and she made an effort to ease her tears by rocking her gently and singing a little lullaby. Rin had Kikyou's quiver on her back, and she would have looked funny carrying a bow nearly twice her size if not their situation was very tense.
They stopped to catch their breath. By now, they were in the third level of the fortress.
But before Umegae can answer, a deafening bang was heard further below. They ran to a nearby window and pushed the blinds apart. Sprays of water and debris reached even their place in the third level, and when Kikyou looked down the window, her eyes widened to see that the explosion had opened up a hole in the moat, and the water was seeping out in torrents. Then she heard battle cries. Numerous undead began to emerge around the breach like mushrooms, and Kikyou wondered why she wasn't able to feel their presence earlier...
She heard Umegae whispering, "Kikyou...forgive me... I cannot hold up the barrier for longer... There is a portion of the moat that is weaker than the others, which could be opened to release any excess water that might flood the fortress. They had breached this, and in a few minutes they will be able to walk on dry land...right at us."
Kikyou glanced at Umegae and she was horrified to see that the bleeding on the young Queen's shoulder worsening. That knife must be poisoned...why else would a full youkai like Umegae surrender to a mere stab wound? They have to find a cure...quickly.
"Umegae-sama!" Rin ran up to the demoness and caressed her sweaty face. Umegae smiled weakly and her determination was renewed.
"We must go," she said, pulling herself up.
"We must at least staunch that wound with something," Kikyou contradicted, but Umegae shook her head firmly and led them into a passageway they had never before entered in their brief stay in the fortress. There were numerous bronze statues of fully armored soldiers pushed against the wall, their faces pulled in fearful expressions. Umegae pushed one of them out of the way, revealing a hidden corridor.
They entered this corridor and were just about to push the statue back on its place when they heard the doors of the fortress being forced open. Almost at once, the ground beneath them shuddered as many feet began to clamber up the floors. There was no time. They left the entrance uncovered and ran within, hoping against hope that they wouldn't be found out.
...o0o...
Asagao had managed to put out the flames on her hair, but it left her scalp and a part of her brow severely burned. That priestess will pay...but no matter, they would be dead sooner or later. She hurried down the corridors to anticipate the arrival of Karatake's minions. They found her before she found them.
"Where are they?" one of them interrogated in a raspy voice.
"They are still here," Asagao replied. "They can't have gotten far."
The minions glanced at each other, as though conferring on what to do. One of them nodded, and they all agreed. Something indeed has to be done first.
A dreadful scream left Asagao's mouth as a couple of the invaders dragged her to the wall. Her scream died as a spear was thrust through her throat, the same spear that delivered the message which opened the key to the besieging of the castle.
...o0o...
The floor of the dim corridor was of the sort that gave an echo off the narrow walls whenever someone steps on it. Neither of them would ever forget the haunting sound of footsteps as they ran in a single file towards the lone door at the end. Kikyou almost at once began forcing the door open, but it seemed to be part of the wall and wouldn't budge in any way. Umegae then said that force wasn't enough, and that only a member of the Royal Shikayoukai family can open it. She laid her hands flat against the door, but nothing seemed to happen.
Then they heard the dreaded sounds. Many footsteps...the smell of smoke...the minions are entering the palace and had set it on fire, as a lure to pull them out. Rin was close to screaming, and the sounds of footsteps were drawing closer. They must be many to be able to overrun the fortress at such a short moment...
Just when Kikyou thought that their enemies would emerge at the end of the long corridor, the door beneath Umegae's hands disappeared as though it had never been. Once they were all inside, the door materialized once more, leaving them in the darkness. A damp smell prevailed in every corner, and further down, they can hear the sound of rushing water.
"That's the Shiroitaki tunneling within the rock," Umegae whispered. Even then, her soft voice echoed off the ceilings and her words rang as though she had shouted them out. "From here we can find the way out."
Progress was agonizingly slow. The cave was pitch-black, and even with Umegae's help in guiding them along the slippery descent, the two humans can hardly pick a definite way through the blackness. Finally, not without a few scrapes and tumbles, they saw the daylight streaming through the wide opening where the White Waterfall tumbled down into the crags below.
Kikyou was about to go to the opening where the water fell, but Umegae put a restraining hand on her shoulder, saying, "It's a sheer drop there. We have to go this way." She motioned to another passageway snaking deeper into the network of caverns.
"Kikyou-sama, the water is stopping!" Rin exclaimed, pointing at the tumble of the Shiroitaki. The waters were beginning to slow, until finally it was but a trickle.
Umegae was alarmed. "Our enemies are trying to stop the fall of the Shiroitaki from above, presumably to see if they can catch us here," she said hastily, motioning them back into the cave. "Foolish of them to do; the waters are swollen and they cannot stop it for long..."
True enough, from where the water flowed there soon came the cries of the undead minions. They were following the path of the White Waterfall. Upon seeing the fleeing women, they immediately charged, their bamboo spears raised in attack.
Kikyou, by instinct, handed Yanagi over to her mother and grabbed her bow from Rin. Fishing out an arrow from her quiver, she shot a hamaya at the oncoming demons, decimating many with the mere attack. The minions drew back at the power of the former Priestess, and Kikyou drew another arrow to fire at them. The arrows of her quiver began to lessen and lessen in number as the masses of their enemies didn't seem to dissipate. Kikyou had a full quiver before the attack, but now she only had a handful of arrows. Their adversaries happened to understand the situation and they began to close in on them.
'Will there be no end to these numbers?' she cursed slightly to herself. She knew she mustn't empty her quiver now; they still have to flee and she needed weapons. She found herself calling out to her mother-in-law in her mind. 'Lady Hanazuki!'
Out of the blue, a flash of memory hit her. Hanazuki's knife. The one Sesshoumaru had given her. She wasn't sure how such a feeble-looking blade can save them now, but Kikyou immediately reached within her sleeve and pulled out the knife.
'Please help me...'
She had fully drawn the tsuki no kakera from its leather sheath when the demons nearest to her dropped to the ground motionless. They were dead. The others recoiled in fear, recognizing the aura of the knife. Kikyou was prepared to run into their ranks to destroy them without having to even touch them, but she didn't need to. A deep rumble began to shake the cave, frightening even the minions themselves.
"Grab on to something!" Umegae cried, clutching Yanagi close to her chest and holding on to a column of rock. No sooner had she said the command when the Shiroitaki came a-tumbling down with twice its normal force, furious at being held back.
The rushing current swept away the undead, but it also wrenched Rin from Kikyou's grasp. The little girl would have been lost if not for the quick instincts of Umegae, who immediately touched a nearby vine climbing the wall of the cave. At her touch, the plant grew to a great mass which sprang to intercept Rin from the current. Just a few seconds of delay, and Rin would have tumbled down to the foaming Greater Minorikawa without a hope of making it out alive.
But even as Kikyou and Umegae were able to pull Rin to safety, the wrath of the Shiroitaki wasn't quite finished yet. The roof of the caverns leading back to the Fortress and to the proposed escape route collapsed, effectively blocking the passages with crumbled rocks.
Kikyou cautiously walked towards the blocked passages, avoiding the banks of the Shiroitaki lest another surge of water carry her away. She surveyed them carefully, searching for a possible way out, but she knew it was hopeless. They had to find another way. And the only other unblocked opening was the mouth of the cave, where the White Waterfall tumbled down to the Greater Minorikawa great dragon-heights below.
The raven-haired woman made her way back to Rin and her other companions, and she despaired to see Umegae pale and in pain. The bleeding on her shoulder hadn't ceased. Gently, Kikyou pulled her robe away from the wound and was shocked to see the corners of the gash assuming a sickening color of purple and green. It was poison, no doubt. But what?
"Please hold Yanagi for a while, Rin-chan," Kikyou whispered to Rin, who immediately obeyed and began to cuddle the baby close, wrapping the blanket warmly about her. "Umegae, do you think these will help?" She had returned the sheathed knife back to her sleeve and had pulled out the packet of dried herbs which Umegae said can dull the pain of any wound.
Umegae managed to smile slightly. "Perhaps," she gasped. "I am glad you remembered what I said..."
Kikyou placed a finger over her lips to silence her and she began to staunch the wound with several of the leaves. They had no other alternative for now, but she hoped that as soon as they reach the forest they can run across some of the proper herbs.
After a few minutes, Umegae claimed that she felt a little bit better. She gratefully took her baby from Rin and they gazed out to the mouth of the cave. That was the only way out.
"It won't be long before our enemies send fortifications to capture us here," Umegae said. "We have no choice but to descend by the mouth of the Shiroitaki."
"But you said it's a sheer drop down there," Kikyou said.
"The plants will listen to me," Umegae said, walking further to the entrance of the cave. At the lip of the cliff were vines similar to the one she had touched earlier to retrieve Rin. She bent down and muttered a few incoherent words to the plants whilst gently touching them, and at her touch they began to grow. Their stalks thickened until they were about as thick as a human torso, and they lengthened and split until they formed a rough ladder leading to another ledge in the hill. From this ledge, they were free to descend the hill. That is, if they can avoid their enemy.
But at present, they had no better choice. Umegae tied the shawl on which she cradled Yanagi around her neck, leaving her daughter cradled securely on her chest. With it, she held on to the vines and began to descend to the ledge. Rin and Kikyou followed, no less scared.
It was hard not to pay attention to the swirling mist around them, or to the great many meters they have to drop should they lose their grip. There were several points in the descent when they thought they couldn't make it, but when finally they touched down on firm ground again, they couldn't help but breathe sighs of relief. Umegae loosened the grip of the vine on to the ledge, letting the tendrils dangle down the rock face so as to make sure they wouldn't be followed.
As she was doing this, Rin happened to look up. The ledge housing the fortress was about twenty meters above them, and from their view they saw thick smoke and heard the crackling of fire. It was not only the fortress that was on fire; Karatake's minions had also set fire to the forest. Now they had to flee from the flames too.
Kikyou could not help but be disappointed over the burning of the Fortress of the Shikayoukai. It had been her home for the past days, and as she thought of all the priceless relics turning to ash, she knew that it was a wonder lost to the world forever.
"It's only a building," Umegae said, placing a hand on Kikyou's shoulder. Her face was tired from their exertions, but she was still smiling. "We'll rebuild it once this war is over. The Spirit of the Deer doesn't need a palace to live. As long as there's a Deer Demon alive, there is hope..."
...o0o...
And so they fled, the little band of refugees from the besieged Fortress of the Shikayoukai. They barely spoke as they plodded their way through the muddy forest, driven on by the fear of their enemies pursuing them. It was already late in the afternoon by the time they had fully descended the slopes of the hill of the Shiroitaki, and by then it had been hours of dangerous trekking, and cruel rain.
It was to their despair that the rain, which had been holding itself back for the whole morning, fell down to earth just as they had started their descent of the hill. But they were not as drenched as Kikyou anticipated they would be. The thick forests provided enough shelter to keep the worst of the raindrops from hitting them.
They couldn't trek ceaselessly, of course. Umegae's strength was greatly depleted by the continued bleeding on her shoulder, and they had to stop to rest many times unless they want Kikyou to miscarry. Umegae was more worried for Kikyou than she was for herself. Nausea was taking its toll on Kikyou, and she had forced herself to hold up until they were free of the Shiroitaki hill, but now she slumped helplessly at the roots of a tree and began to vomit.
Umegae gently righted Kikyou's position and made her lean against the tree whilst Rin fanned fresh air to Kikyou's face with a makeshift fan out of several large leaves. Yanagi began to squirm, and Umegae had to temporarily leave Kikyou's assistance to attend to her own daughter. Kikyou, her head still spinning, asked what was wrong. The rain had stopped, leaving traces of wispy fog on the ground.
"Don't worry, Kikyou," was the answer. "She's just doing what babies do. Oh my, that's what I forgot to bring in our haste...a change of underwear for Yanagi..."
Rin and Kikyou managed to laugh at Umegae's little joke. How she managed to say a good joke at a time like this, they don't know. Umegae managed to salvage a piece of the blanket they used to wrap around her baby and use it to replace the soiled garment. Well, they couldn't really leave traces of their passing behind, so they buried the offending cloths beneath the ground.
But as for keeping her daughter warm Umegae could not quite find a better alternative to the damp shell-and-wave shawl she had. They were all wet from the rain, even a full youkai baby such as Yanagi will not last long if she was exposed to extreme cold for long. Finally, Kikyou asked Rin to hand over her quiver. To her relief, she was able to pull out an intact robe. The bellflower-patterned robe, her favorite, was not that damp from the rain because the feathers of her remaining arrows had acted like a rough umbrella.
"You have no idea how grateful I am," Umegae said to Kikyou as she wrapped the blue robe around her baby. "How can I ever repay you?"
"There is no need," Kikyou replied with a smile, equally thankful that she had chosen to bring the robe along tucked in her quiver.
They huddled close to one another to catch their breaths. Umegae had taken the time to breastfeed her child. Yanagi slept peacefully now, which was a blessing. They had a difficult time quieting her during their descent and it wouldn't do to attract the enemy's attention by a baby's cries.
"Is everyone all right?" Kikyou asked, looking closely at her companions.
"I'm as fine as I can be, Kikyou-sama!" Rin replied in an effort to cheer up her foster mother. But Kikyou knew better. The little girl was severely tired, but her fortitude was extraordinary. She spoke not a word of complained throughout their flight aside from whimpering slightly to herself. Kikyou would have carried her if not she already had a living load in her womb.
"We ought to check on your child," Umegae said softly. Looking up at Kikyou for permission, she carefully ran her healer's hands over Kikyou's belly. They breathed in relief to hear that Umegae can feel no breaks or suspicious bumps whatsoever. "The little one has a very good hold, I must say."
"I just hope he can hold on a little bit longer," Kikyou breathed, patting her womb affectionately. Though it was not normally enjoyable to feel one being kicked from within, Kikyou was grateful to feel the life within her belly still stirring and drawing breath even after the exhausting flight. She was terribly worried that she would lose her child.
"I presume hanyou children have a good strong grip on their mothers," Umegae replied with a wink. Kikyou looked at her, and she can see that amidst the smiling face her skin was flushed, and her breathing was shallower than usual.
"Hasn't the bleeding stopped yet?" Kikyou asked, worried. One of her hands gently inspected the Queen's wound, and she can hardly keep from flinching to feel that the blood was still fresh.
"Oh no, I am fine, really," Umegae said to somehow appease Kikyou's worried spirits. "I might just need another of the pain relieving herbs. Their effect is already wearing off, but otherwise I am all right." She looked up at the canopy of the towering tree above them. They sky was darkening, and the rumble of distant thunder could be heard. The spaces between the roots were wide to accommodate the great height, so wide that all four of them can fit on the space between two roots without effort.
"Others of my kind must have gone to search for us," Umegae muttered. "The burning on the hill of the Shiroitaki will have alarmed them."
"But our enemy's minions will not allow them to reach us first," Kikyou said. She didn't mean to be pessimistic, but her mind was already as foggy as their surroundings.
"If they don't, I am sure Isamu will."
It was the first time she spoke of Isamu that day. They were so hungry, tired and muddy from their trek that they barely had time to think of their respective mates. Kikyou can see that her companion's eyes were growing misty at the thought of her mate, and her heart reached out to Umegae. But are their hopes of being rescued high? Had the word of their trouble reached their husbands yet? It seems very unlikely. The thought itself was enough to make tears spring up to Kikyou's eyes.
Although Kikyou hardly dared to hope, she replied, "I am sure he will. Or Sesshoumaru, at least."
"They shall come for us, Kikyou-sama, Umegae-sama," Rin added, snuggling up between the two warm bodies of the older women. In a short time, they all fell asleep.
...o0o...
Isamu and the several soldiers he had taken with him reached the Fortress just in time to find it burned to ashes on the ground. It was already daybreak, and several other deer youkai had come to the scene, alarmed at the smoke that arose from the hill where the home of their Royal Family stood.
"We found the charred remains of a deer youkai among the rubble," one of them said to Isamu. "But we could find no other bodies."
Isamu was dreadfully afraid that the youkai body would be that of his wife, and though he felt rather sad to find out that it was Umegae's lady-in-waiting who was overcome by flames, he was certainly relieved that neither Umegae and Yanagi nor Kikyou and Rin perished in the fire. But as they surveyed the damage done, it was clear that the moat was breached first and the water caused to leak out to further guarantee the success of the flames. Apart from Isamu and Umegae, there was only one other person among the shikayoukai who knew of this weakness...
Could Asagao have done it? Isamu frowned. The deer demoness was dead. Even if she did, there was nothing they could do now. They have to find his mate and the humans, and not the least his daughter...
Numerous undead minions suddenly sprang up from the most unlikely places, taking the company of shikayoukai by surprise. Severely outnumbered, Isamu's men fought valiantly but they found themselves being torn apart by the very beings they were struggling hard to fight. Isamu soon found himself cornered to the lip of the cliff, with the roaring Shiroitaki meters beneath his feet.
'I won't let myself be killed by you!' Isamu thought to himself as his mind began to make hasty calculations. There was a very little chance that he would survive the fall down the thundering waterfall, but it was certainly more possible to survive there than in the hands of these crazed minions.
Isamu turned and leaped into the air with the grace of a deer. He was conscious of the cold spray of the Shiroitaki as he began to descend faster and faster. He was so anticipating the painful feel of his body plummeting on the water below and the possibility of being crushed against the rocks that when a flurry of feathers flew by and bore him up from the fall, he was in a daze.
"Well, Lord Isamu, I didn't know you had such suicidal thoughts locked in that mind of yours, but I am here to help you. I am sure your wife and Kikyou-sama are out there."
It was Mizutori.
...o0o...
They awoke very early the next morning. Or rather, they were woken awake. Kikyou had felt the nearing presence of the undead minions, and she wasted no time in rousing her companions. Her heart fell to see that Umegae's condition had worsened. The young demoness can hardly keep her eyes open, and her skin was already turning gray. Angry red lines were beginning to spread to her neck and arm from the wound. The poison was beginning to take effect.
"Leave me here," Umegae said, her words slurring. "Take Yanagi and leave. This is the end of the road for me...please take care of my daughter."
"Don't say that!" Kikyou said desperately. She had to do something fast; their pursuers were coming. She gently took Yanagi from Umegae and gave her to Rin. She also entrusted her bow and quiver to the little girl. Then, to the total risk of her own unborn child, Kikyou wrapped Umegae's weak arms around her shoulders and hoisted the Shikayoukai Queen on her back. Carrying Umegae by her legs, which were wrapped around the former miko's waist, Kikyou painfully began to half-walk, half-run through the slippery forest floor followed by Rin and Yanagi close behind.
Many times, she had to pause and recover her breath from carrying Umegae, but Kikyou set her jaw and went on. Thick drops of sweat covered her face, making clumps on her bangs. Rin was panting from her exertions. Yanagi was starting to wail in the earnest, and not even Rin's most caring caresses could make her quiet. Kikyou felt her temples throbbing; she felt as though the entire world was pulling her down, but she mustn't fail... They mustn't be captured.
Kikyou thought she had lost all sense of direction. She ran almost blindly, many times falling and bruising her cheeks on some tree root, but no matter how fast, or how far she and Rin ran, it seemed to them that their enemy was surrounding them. She felt so weak; her vision was blurring. She saw faces...many faces. Sesshoumaru... Lady Hanazuki... Kikumo...
Kikyou's knees gave way, and they found themselves at the banks of the roaring Minorikawa. Rin ran up to her, collapsing to her knees beside the former priestess. Kikyou's muddled-up mind can barely think up of a solution on how they were going to overcome this dead end. The Minorikawa's current was like a stampede of a hundred horses, and the river was wider than the height of the trees of the forest. But if they managed to cross it...it could offer them some brief respite from those following them.
Umegae stirred, and Kikyou's consciousness returned. Umegae wanted to get off her back, but Kikyou wouldn't hear of it.
"You are too weak..." Kikyou tried to say, but Umegae stubbornly shook her head. Her deer ears twitched at the clear sound of the minions' footfalls, and her mind was set. She would ferry them across the river in her deer form.
The water was like ice, but Umegae bravely entered the raging current once Kikyou, Rin and Yanagi were on her back. She managed to swim as such that she kept her charges' torsos out of the freezing water, but how long she can manage it, she doesn't know. Masses of undead began to emerge from the trees; many of them went in the water after her, but they were immediately carried downstream.
"You can do it, Umegae-sama!" Rin urged her on, carrying the still screaming Yanagi in her arms. Umegae let the child's statement fuel her will; the crying of her only daughter told her she must keep going. Kikyou was barely holding on; her eyes were beginning to go out of focus, but she struggled to stay awake. The current pushed against them violently; the winds screamed above them, as though entire nature had gone mad.
By now, they were halfway through the river. A broken log went splashing their way, and Umegae strained every muscle on her deer form to swim out of its way. At one point, the water had gone so deep the waters reached up to their shoulders, with Kikyou assisting Rin in holding Yanagi out of the water's way. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of crossing, Umegae's hooves touched the opposite bank of the river. Once Kikyou, Rin and Yanagi had climbed off her back, she resumed her human form and fell on the ground, out for the count.
Kikyou and Rin were beside the unconscious demoness at once, but in the blink of an eye, several youkai-possessed human corpses appeared around the water's edge. They were cornered.
Kikyou's hand was reaching into her sleeve for Hanazuki's knife, but she felt as though she hadn't the strength to do it. She was exhausted; her senses were even in more tumbled disarray than her hair. Was it the end for them?
"Kikyou-sama, Yanagi had stopped breathing!" Rin's frantic cry brought Kikyou to life once again. She hurriedly took the baby's bundle from Rin and she tried desperately to make the little child breathe again. Did she suffer from the cold? Did something clog at her throat? She mustn't die... Yanagi mustn't die... Umegae mustn't die...
They were so caught up with worry for the child; they hardly noticed that they were being surrounded by a white light, rapidly spinning. Their undead enemies screeched as they were cut to pieces by the thing in the light, and the faint bitter scent of chrysanthemums reached Kikyou's nose as the light cleared. To her utter surprise, just as the bright thing vanished, Yanagi's previously closed eyes shot open and a renewed cry came out of her mouth. She was alive! Kikyou cried out herself, of relief that the baby was alive, and hugged her close to her chest like she would her own child.
"Kikyou-sama!" Isamu's voice broke through their musings. Kikyou looked up and saw the great form of Mizutori descending from the sky, and Isamu jumping off her back to rush to them. A worried note of exclamation left his lips as he crouched beside his unconscious wife's form and embraced her close. Kikyou silently watched this touching scene, while at the same time reminiscing about the times when she faced similar situations and Sesshoumaru reacted just the same. Speaking of...where was he?
"I am very glad to see you alive, Kikyou-sama," Isamu told Kikyou as he carried Umegae in his arms. Noticing that Kikyou was clutching Yanagi close, his eyes softened and he bowed low to her. "I am forever grateful to you for taking care of my little daughter. Sesshoumaru-sama is still in battle, but you have my word that he's all right. He is extremely worried about you, and it is great news to find out that you and Rin-chan are safe!"
"We have to fly, Isamu!" Mizutori called out, noticing that their enemies are gathering. "Take them to my back and I will get you somewhere safe!"
Isamu nodded and led Kikyou and Rin to the bird demon. He sat at the very front, carrying Umegae close to him. Rin, carrying Yanagi, sat between him and Kikyou, who had slung her bow and quiver on her back. Mizutori took off, making the approaching minions scream and draw back in alarm. Once they were clear up in the sky, Isamu asked a question that puzzled Rin and Kikyou.
"Who was that other person with you?"
"Other person, Isamu-sama?" Rin had repeated quizzically. "It's only Kikyou-sama, Umegae-sama, Yanagi and Rin right there..."
Isamu appeared to be every bit as baffled. Shrugging, he said, "Mizutori heard a baby's cry. I was positive it was Yanagi, and we were able to see you just in time crossing the Minorikawa. I could not have been more proud and worried for my Umegae... But as we drew nearer, there was another person...standing between you and the undead... defending you from the incoming enemies."
"We had no other companions," Kikyou said softly. She recalled the light...the scent of the chrysanthemums...it couldn't be...
"The person looked female," Isamu continued. "I would have thought it was Umegae, if not for the fawn hair and the naginata. But once Mizutori touched down, she disappeared. I have a feeling I had seen that face, those emerald eyes somewhere, but I don't know..."
Isamu's words began to slur in Kikyou's ear, but she got the message. She unconsciously smiled. How it happened, she didn't know, but it could only be Kikumo. It could only be her.
Mizutori lurched suddenly, and Rin let out a scream. It was a flying demon, the shape of a large raven, cutting through their way. Mizutori snapped her sharp beak in defiance, but the raven demon wasn't intimidated. It blocked their path, the red eyes fixing a dangerous glare at them. No matter how hard Mizutori tried, she could not make their unwanted escort leave. Isamu readied his naginata.
"This is going to be a rough ride," Mizutori warned as she abruptly changed direction. The dark bird began to follow them, and Mizutori put on more speed. She had intended to take them back to her pond where they can be at least safe for the time being, but the raven had certainly gotten on the way. She has to throw it off, but where? Mizutori's eyes caught sight of the steady mist rising further north. It might confuse their attacker, but it was easy to get lost in the fog as well...
The raven approached far nearer, close enough for Isamu to lash out with his weapon and draw blood from the foot of the demon bird. Mizutori's mind was set at once. She flew straight at the mist.
The ruse of the fog worked at once, and the raven immediately was lost in the steady mass of grey. Now the only problem is how to get back...
"Kikyou-sama!" Rin screamed. Kikyou appeared to be loosening her hold on the little girl, and was starting to slip backwards. She had finally surrendered to the dizziness that had long been assailing her senses; she was blind and deaf to anything around her. She was falling...falling towards oblivion.
Rin tried to grab Kikyou's hand, but her arms carried Yanagi and were of no help. Isamu turned abruptly, but not quickly enough to be able to grab Kikyou safely. She had slipped too far to be in the reach of his fingers, and before Mizutori can react, Kikyou had fallen down to the grayness below, the mists hiding all traces the woman who had just passed through them.
...o0o...
Now that was LONG! O.O What do you think will happen to Kiky? Will our cute Tailwaggy couple see each other again? And do you think it's too much of a coincidence that Kikumo appears and Yanagi sort of 'passes away' and she 'returns to life' when Kikumo disappears? ;P
The East Wind Melts the Ice: Hehe, Asagao's dead. (YEAH MEN!) And by Kikumo being with Kiky, I think I meant it both. But the real answer is to come near the end of the fic.
Brit: Thank you! ;) I hope you liked this chapter!
Azn kawaii kikyo the devil: Aaaw, thank you so much.
Aya.Chaos: Honestly, I myself don't know much about hanyou/youkai birth or gestation. :P It's not exactly a thing you could Google or buy out of bookstores, so I had to rely much on my imagination. The babies in my stories retain the nine-month-long pregnancy of humans. (One of my readers even suggested that I make it ten months or longer. O.O)
Cold Kikyo: Ummm, not really the hair stick, but it COULD BE, come to thinkof it. That hair stick will be of great use to Kiky in the later chapters.
Gossamer Wind: Ummmmmmmm, it COULDalso be indirectly through Umegae, but that's not exactly what I was trying to say. ;P
astrea: Expect really more updates soon! ;P
