Tainted Silver
-Chapter 15-
"If I've told you once, I've told you twice, you insufferable woman! You are not to leave this place!"
Kagome helplessly pounded her fists against his back knowing it was all in vain. The man was no longer
human and her hits were like mosquito bites, harmless but annoying.
"I've told you countless times that I must return to aid my aging grandfather!"
He quieted, refusing to speak with her anymore. He walked with her, slung over his shoulder, as he'd
caught her for the fifth time that day running fervently towards the gates of the premises.
"Sango!" she screeched, hoping against all hope that her friend would help her.
Her friend's head appeared in the wall separating the living room from the kitchen. Kagome frowned at the
strange picture it made and wasted valuable time. Sesshomaru shoved her into the basement.
"You aren't going to lock me up again, are you?" she questioned outraged.
"Do not be insane wench," he muttered before dragging her down the stairs.
He shoved her, none too gracefully, onto the floor in front of a cell. She looked up into the doe eyes of a
man she'd never seen before.
"Who's this?" she inquired curiously.
"Oh jolly, another lad for companionship!" he sang merrily.
"Oi, you're out of your bloody mind!" Kagome shouted. "I'm a girl!"
"Funny how all these lads come in here and claim they are of the opposite sex. Quite strange and
disturbing."
"Who is he?"
"Last night you ran out after Rin, did you not?"
Kagome nodded dumbly, "We ended up in a cave with Kirara who was unable to get us help because of the
rain."
"This man showed up while you lay sick and unable to defend yourself or Rin."
Kagome shuddered and looked away.
"This man was sent by Midoriko to take you back," he said, pausing at Kagome's happy smile, "but he had
plans to have his way first."
Her smile dropped and she stumbled back and away from the smiling man.
"Midoriko doesn't want you anywhere near us anymore, however, seeing as she failed..."
"Do you think she'll send somebody else?"
"Hai, you can break the spell and that-," he was interrupted by Sango's panting form at the top of the stairs.
"I remember locking the door," he growled.
"There's an old man outside, scared out of his wits. Says he's Kagome's-," she stopped as she realized
Kagome had opened the door behind her and was most probably with the old man. "Grandfather.""What do you mean her grandfather is gone!"
The whole village cringed as they heard the outraged miko's yell.
"W-We didn't think it would matter if he left," stuttered one of the village men.
"He stumbled away saying he was going to look for his granddaughter by himself," added another.
Midoriko trembled with barely suppressed rage. The incompetent fools, the lot of them! They let the old
man go! She looked at them all through narrowed eyes.
'As soon as they attack,' she thought angrily, 'they will turn into the abomination that they attack.'
Kohaku gasped as he was ripped away from his peaceful dreams by his vision. He remembered the woman
from somewhere, but he couldn't quite place her.
"Sango! Sango!"
Sango looked up wearily at the younger boy with a half-smile, letting herself slide down on one of the steps.
"Yeah?"
He looked at her eagerly, his eyes shifting nervously.
"They know Kagome's grandfather left and the bad lady wasn't happy," he said urgently.
Sango looked at him strangely.
"Have you had your nap yet?" she asked him, concerned.
He narrowed his eyes, "She's gonna attack us!"
"Now, Kohaku-."
"Premonition!" he screamed.
Sango sighed wearily and nodded.
"Now we get attacked by evil women," she muttered, shaking her head."Grandpa!"
"Oh my dear granddaughter," he wheezed through his heart wrenching sobs.
Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. Who was this decrepit old man to come and mess up his whole romancing up? He hit his head against the window, the glass cracking under the pressure. He ducked his head back in quickly and cursed.
'I'm talking to myself, I'm jealous of old people, and Kagome has no reason to leave now.'
However something still felt off about the whole fairy tale. He wasn't the normal ningen that a girl would bring home, how would her grandfather react to the abomination that doted on his sole granddaughter?
"Sesshomaru!"
"Sango."
"Midoriko's casting a curse on the village and they're coming to attack us in two days' time."
He marched away angrily. You'd think a guy could have his love problems without having to deal with other women. His eyes flashed crimson for a fleeting second before he turned into his office.
Sango stared at his retreating back almost sadly, knowing he was carrying the burden of protecting all of them, now adding an old man. She shook her head and Kohaku stood next to her.
"He'll be fine, he's more worried about getting Kagome to stay."
Sango smiled, "She'll stay."
Miroku walked by, a quick peck to Sango's cheek, and into Sesshomaru's office.
"So, what are you planning to do? Attack back?"
"Attacking them would be futile and unwise, when one rumor is unleashed we'll have all ningen upon us."
Miroku nodded quickly, "So we close up as much as we can, women and children unattainable?"
Sesshomaru nodded once, "This fight is against me. Midoriko knows what she created those years back and it is to her knowledge that she will die by my hands."
Miroku gave him a nervous smile and shuddered slightly.
"Our lives are complicated because of women, but would we be able to live without them you think?"
Sesshomaru smiled slightly at this and responded, "Of course not, how would we create more men?"Kagome lay on her bed, her grandfather long asleep in another room. The long trek had been harsh on his weary bones and he'd collapsed on the bed he'd been presented with. She gave a small weary smile at his weakness, but she felt content. However, now she didn't have him as an excuse to avoid confronting whatever feelings she might have for Sesshomaru. Her eyes narrowed, she didn't know whether he wanted her or just wanted to be able to leave the dreaded castle to go kill Midoriko.
"Kagome-chan?"
Kagome lifted her eyes to Sango's form half in and half out of her door.
"That's still strange," she said frowning. "But, what is it?"
Sango frowned lightly, scrunching up her nose in a sign that Kagome had come to recognize symbolized nervousness. Sango stepped her body translucent until she was past the wooden door.
"I-. Uh-. We're getting attacked by Midoriko soon and we think that you should uh-. God this is so hard!"
"She means that they think you should leave this place at once so that you may not be harmed," Rin said from the other side of the door.
Kagome pushed herself up on her right hand and looked at Sango with a questioning expression. Sango only looked away, subconsciously rubbing her left arm.
"Hn," Kagome said angrily. "At the first sign of trouble ya send me away."
She stood up and slammed the door on her way out muttering, "Assholes."
Sango sighed and glared at Sesshomaru's still figure at the door.
"You are worse than a pregnant woman with moodswings," she glared. "First you want her to stay and now you want her to leave!"
She threw her hands up and huffed, "Hah!"
Miroku ran a hand across his face and sighed, "Women."
Sango glared at him, "Excuse me?"
He chuckled nervously before shuffling off for his life. Sango turned her narrowed eyes to Sesshomaru.
"Well? What's with the sudden decision?"
After a few minutes of waiting met with silence Sango stood to go.
"If it comes to the point where I have to retaliate to defend you or the others..."
Sango looked down, "You don't want to be seen as a murderer."
"I don't want her to see me and see their blood on my hands."
Sango nodded slightly, "Yeah... Idiot."
She pushed past him, "Men are idiots I tell ya. Idiots."
Sesshomaru remained impassive, 'If she stays I won't be able to kill a soul, I wouldn't be able to live with that weighing on my concious.'The men stared at the open, vacant streets of their village. They were ready to go, their weapons at hand.
"What the hell are we waiting for?" moaned a young man to his father, impatient to get to killing monsters and what not.
"Don't know son," the man responded sharpening his arrow tips.
"I say we go," he said with a scowl.
"Amen to that," muttered another man across the street.
"The miko said we had to wait," Kouga growled impatiently.
"You're itching to fight too ain't ya?" asked InuYasha with a smile.
Kouga glared at him momentarily, "Of course, my woman's at stake."
"My woman, dimwit."
Kouga narrowed his eyes.
"Let's go anyways," InuYasha said, already walking down the road to where Kagome had last been.
Kouga scrambled up, not willing to be bested, and ran after him.
"Oi!" he screamed.
The villagers looked after them and then at each other. They all shrugged and groaned as they lifted themselves up from their sitting positions in front of their homes.
"About time they said something," the young man from before said excitedly. "About time."
"Now son," his father reprimanded, "we're going to save a girl, not just fight."
"Whatever," he said quickly, waving him off and running ahead.
"War-happy brats," the man huffed.
-A bit uneventful, but the fight's coming up. --