Loving Thru the Trials of Love
Hi gang! Other than once more proclaiming my undying love for Kachie's brilliant and divine intervention when I needed it most in this story, this isn't going to be a long author's note.
Kachie, you wonderful person, I am so happy that you were able to save this chappie...and the few chappies before it. You gave me a whole new plot bunny to use that didn't put a huge amount of the me and Sesshoumaru pairing in chappies where it didn't belong. Lol...I love it when you push my idea button...(Ha! She stomped on the button this time...)
Suaru...once more, you've won a song-fic. Lightning Assassin asked me to give it to you since your guess was closer. Be sure to tell him thanks. Also...give me a pairing from my story besides Kag/Inu this time...I wanna try something different! Is AU ok, or out of the question? Do you have a preferred song? Genre? Let me know chika!
Speaking of Lightning Assassin, he is currently having computer issues and won't be able to update for a while, he kindly requested that I tell you guys that because a few of you, (cough, coughSuaru and Kachiecough, cough) read his story besides me and he doesn't want anyone to think he's dropped the story.
Here's the Hekele/Sesshoumaru chapter!
Disclaimer If I owned Inuyasha, I'd be rich and living in Japan with a Sesshoumaru look-alike butler catering to my every desire...but, since I don't, this fan-fic will have to do...
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Disastrous Hellos, Destructive Good-byes, and Divine Interventions
Hekele and Kagome had come home after Sango and Miroku had been found. It wouldn't be a good idea to miss the first day that school was back in session, despite the fact that they wanted to make sure that Sango and Miroku were all right.
The crystal orb that had appeared, supposedly born of their combined powers, was quite the mystery as well. What was it really? Why did it appear? Does it have to do with them breaking the spell?
These questions and others kept the two awake that night for hours. Sometime in the early morning, Hekele fell asleep, but Kagome lingered in the realm of consciousness for a while longer. Her biggest question was also her biggest worry.
Who was next?
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Hekele walked through the streets of Tokyo, her mind constantly reminding her of the shadows that were following her. It was like a really bad horror movie, one where even the character knew better than to do something, and yet did it anyway, for literally no good reason at all. That's what Hekele felt like. She knew she was dreaming again, which was the oddest thing. She could never remember being in a dream and knowing it before.
She also knew that the shadows belonged to her father. In her dreams, what else could they be? It was too weird though. By this time in her dreams, she had usually seen him once or twice...but this time, she had seen nothing but shadows.
He was stalking her, that much she knew. She didn't know why though, and that bothered her. She could easily feel her paranoia rising, and in Hekele, that was never a good thing. Paranoia was to Hekele and a loaded pistol is to a victim's head; mind-numbing and in complete control. She never did think straight when she was paranoid...maybe that was why she walked right into a dead end alley, knowing that it led to a wall.
Her father appeared then, later than usual, but just as frightening. Hekele could feel her breathing become labored and heavy. She was beginning to hyperventilate. What the hell? She never hyperventilated anymore! Not in months! Why was she so weak in her dreams?
"It's time..." she heard him say as she steadily walked closer. Hekele backed herself against the wall and assumed a fighting stance, regaining control of her breathing as well.
'I'm not weak...this is MY dream...' she thought as she charged at him, fist raised. He charged at her as well, a knife in his hand. He side stepped her attack and grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her down to the cement.
"You can't even beat me in your sleep little girl...does that tell you anything about what will happen when we meet in person?" he said sardonically. Hekele's eyes widened in fear as he swung down at her, just barely grazing her arm.
And then she woke up.
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"Hekele! Hekele! Wake up, you're having another nightmare!" Kagome tried frantically to wake up her friend. Hekele was sweating and tossing and turning in her bed. She had cried out in her sleep, alerting Kagome out of her own light rest.
After shaking her for a minute or so, Kagome saw, to her horror, as a long thin cut made it's way across Hekele's arm. It was then that Hekele herself became completely still. Worried, Kagome shook her once more and to her relief, Hekele woke up.
She was breathing heavily, and Kagome held her frightened friend in support, "Shhh...it's ok...you're awake now...you're safe..." She stroked Hekele's back soothingly as the said teen tried to calm down. Her heart was pounding, and she couldn't shake the imaginary pain in her right arm...
Kagome pulled back after a few minutes and examined Hekele's arm, "I don't know what the hell happened in your dream...but tell me when I get back...I'm going to get some bandages for that cut..." Hekele looked down at her arm in morbid curiosity, and was shocked to find that her 'imaginary' wound wasn't so imaginary after all.
The wound itself was more like a really long scratch; it wasn't deep, and didn't bleed much either. The symbolism of the wound, however, rang loud and clear.
Her father was going to appear...and soon.
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Oyu smiled to herself; the spell had officially reached its greatest potency within Hekele and Sesshoumaru. Oyu wasn't certain what had happened, and so assumed that it had occurred in the future, where her power was not extended. All Oyu knew was that Sesshoumaru had suddenly awoken out of a seemingly sound sleep with quite the start. Had he sensed something? It was quite possible, he had woken up as soon as Oyu felt their end of the spell reach it's maximum.
He no doubt felt something, not being under a second spell as Miroku had been allowed Sesshoumaru's senses to be a bit more keen to this sort of thing. However, not knowing what he was sensing, Sesshoumaru only sat against the wall of the newly built hut that he was sleeping in with his sword to his side. He wouldn't rest for the duration of the night.
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Hekele wore bags under her eyes as she descended the stairs. She wore her school uniform already, not wanting 'her mother' to worry about her. She had already made Kagome promise not to tell anyone until after school, then the two were going to go to the Feudal Era and talk to Kaede about the incident, and since Hekele knew that there was no way in hell that she could avoid it she would inform Sesshoumaru as well. He wouldn't be too happy about her keeping something like this from him...
"Hekele dear...you look like you haven't slept a wink...are you all right?" Ms. Higurashi asked as the girl walked into the kitchen. Hekele put on her cheeriest smile.
"...I had a bit of trouble getting to sleep...but I'm ok...I woke up once or twice..." she said. It was time to put 'Hekele's Three Laws of Good Lie Telling' into effect. First, when trying to lie, always offer a little bit of the truth to bait your interrogator with...
"...Hm...are you sure that was all? You look really tired..." Ms. Higurashi prodded.
Second, when the bait has been set and taken, admit to a little bit more of the truth, "Well...I stayed up for a while to start with...I was worried about Sango and Miroku...well...we told you about that whole incident last night...and Sango was still a bit out of it when we came home..."
"...I suppose...well, promise me that if there's anything else, you'll let me know ok? I worry about you lately with all of those nightmares...you don't ever seem to get enough sleep..."
Finally, when you interrogator pulls out the guilt trip to hopefully snag the last of your lie, smile tiredly, nod, and agree to their terms, whether you intend to go through with them or not, "Sure Mom...I'd tell you if there was more to it...Promise..."
Congratulations, you've learned how to properly get away with a lie, now, when Hekele figures out how to do that when a demon with a sharp nose is her interrogator, she'll publish course number two...
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"That was lame Hekele..." Kagome said as the two walked to school. Hekele nodded.
"I'll tell her later...I just felt like going to school and being normal for a day...ok? I mean, if I don't tell, her, Kaede or Sesshoumaru definitely would, so what's the point in lying about it? I just needed to get away from uncontrollable insanity for a while..." she admitted, being completely honest. Kagome sighed.
"School is the devil's embodiment of insanity...what fantasy world are you living in?" she asked sardonically. Hekele chuckled lightly.
"Obviously a better one than I can dream up..." she replied. Kagome grew silent suddenly, and Hekele looked over at her.
"Hey...what's up? I was joking Kags..."
Kagome shook her head, "It's not that...I'm just wondering how Kachie's doing...Kotaro said that she was safe...and still in Japan...but do you think so? I know you're worried too..."
Hekele closed her eyes for a moment and sighed as she reopened them, "...I think Kotaro was being honest...Hey, while we're in study hall, why don't you look up info on Ariel? I'll go and explain Kachie's absence in the office...one of us has to...This way, we'll kill two birds with one stone...I'm sure the books in the library will have something...and if not, the Internet is bound to give us a couple of clues...look for sites devoted to angelology...sound good?" Kagome nodded.
"Sounds like a plan...now let's pick up the pace before we're late..."
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"Sesshoumaru-sama? How come you look upset?" Sesshoumaru turned his gaze from the window to Rin, who was staring at him with that concerned expression of hers. It had been in place too often in the past few weeks for Sesshoumaru's liking. A child shouldn't worry so often.
"It is nothing of your concern Rin...why don't you go and bother Shippo for a while..." he said nonchalantly, not wanting to concern her more by telling an outright lie. Rin seemed to understand and let him be in favor of finding her fox friend.
Sesshoumaru sighed for what he assumed must have been the tenth time that morning. He just couldn't get his mind off of what he had felt the previous night. It was odd, almost like an energy spike of some sort. And the strangest part was that he had felt it so vividly that it had awoken him, yet no one else seemed to have even had the slightest inclination that it had even taken place. This not only confused Sesshoumaru, but troubled him deeply as well.
"If ye are so worried about it, then ye should go and check it out," Kaede said as she returned to her makeshift hut from caring for one of the village children who had developed a cold.
Sesshoumaru looked at her strangely, "Do you mean to tell me that you felt that...abnormality last night as well?" Kaede nodded.
"Aye...I felt it; I was convinced that since no one else seemed to that I was finally going senile, but when I saw ye sulking about and pondering more than usual I figured that ye had as well."
Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes, "You are senile. The energy didn't seem to be coming from anywhere, so where would one go looking for its source?"
Kaede decided to let the insult go for a while, "Go visit the other era when the girls return from their 'school,' and see if either of them felt anything as well. Kagome is a miko as well you know, and Hekele is bound to you by the spell if nothing else, perhaps if you felt something, she may have as well."
Sesshoumaru nodded his consent to the idea and stood to leave the hut, "Thank you for your council." Kaede smiled lightly.
"Ye are very welcome."
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"Anything?"
"Nope...you?"
"Nope...I'm finding all these sites that list all the fallen angels, but none that go into depth about why any of them fell..."
Hekele sighed, why did the world curse them so much? "I'm finding the same thing in these books...and it's taking forever to look through them all..." she said. Kagome sighed.
"Not that I'm complaining, but aren't you supposed to be downstairs in the office explaining the absence of our dearly confined Kachie?" she asked. Hekele shook her head.
"They said they'd call me down when they had time...and that if they didn't call me by the end of this hour to just come down after school to explain what I needed to explain to them..." she replied, lazily looking through another book. "Kags, can't you just focus your miko powers into finding a book, I mean, I know it's not witchcraft where you can poof everything you need, but you should be able to use it for something like that, right?" she questioned. Kagome's eyes lit up suddenly.
"Hey, yeah! I could at least try it! Is there anyone around us?" she asked. Hekele looked around and shook her head. Kagome then closed her eyes and put her hands together in the praying position. She concentrated her energy on what she wanted to accomplish. A book about spiritual beings would have a sort of spiritual aura about them, and if a book went in depth about a spiritual being, then it would have a stronger aura.
Kagome focused on recalling Oyu's aura from what she had remembered from the crystal woman's. If she could find a book with a slightly larger quantity of that or a similar aura, then she could safely bet that it had more information than other books with lesser concentrations.
Kagome snapped open her eyes suddenly and pointed to one of the books in Hekele's surprisingly large pile. "Fourth one down from the top. It's that one or nothing..." she said confidently. Hekele grabbed the book and began flipping through it. She suddenly smiled evilly.
"The Complete Narration of the Fallen and Their Stories: as told by Archangel Michael. Well, I'm not sure about that last part, but hey, if the aura is the same, Ariel's story must be at least a little reliable!" she exclaimed. Kagome grinned.
"Let's hope so...that was a little too convenient if you ask me..." she said with a skeptic smile. Hekele shook her head.
"Beggars can't be choosers Kags...we'll take our victories no matter how cheesy or simple they are..."
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Not a block away from the school, hidden in the shadows, a tall figure loomed ominously. He had light brown hair and piercing blue eyes. The man looked a bit on the lanky side, with bags under his tell-tale orbs, but held formidable strength.
There was hate in his eyes, written there for the world to see. It was expressed in the way he stood and stared into the world. His body moved with a sort of slithering grace not present in anything but the most primal of hunters. It was silent, swift, and exact in every way; such movements are worthy of deep concern and observation.
A predator moving with such perfection has usually had a great deal of experience in his art, or is at least deeply confident in an easy kill. This man was such. His assurance in his victory was so potent that he cared not if his presence was known. Frightening his prey would be half the fun.
Beware the killer who does his deed to suspecting victims as opposed to the unaware.
He is far more challenging to survive.
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"So...they never called you down?" Kagome asked as she and Hekele walked to the front of the school. Hekele shook her head.
"Nope...I'll stay behind and let them know what's up, then when I get home we'll head to the Feudal Era...ok?" she suggested.
Kagome looked at her critically, "You sure? I can stay too..." Hekele shrugged.
"How many teenage girls does it take to deliver a message? Besides, you should start to look over that book for info on Ariel...it'll be a real bust if there's no useful info in there..." she said. Kagome sighed and nodded.
"Ok, I'll get to work on that...see you at home!" she called cheerfully as she ran out of the door and into the bright, snowy, freedom.
Hekele frowned slightly as she looked out into the snow; though it was supposedly the last major snow fall of the season, Hekele still thought that it was ridiculous to get three to four inches of snow in the middle of March. Not to mention that Hekele thought that the only thing snow was good for was wading it up into spheres and throwing them at people...she couldn't wait for Spring...
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"Well that took a ridiculously huge amount of time...I mean, I know there was a few people ahead of me and all, but sheesh...ten minutes? Kags is going to think I skipped out on her or something..." Hekele said to herself as she left the school building. Her backpack was full of work, and she just wanted to get this whole 'talk about dream and think of possible answers' session over with so that she could do her hours of homework in peace.
She began walking in a bored manner, not really wanting to hurry home but knowing that she needed to. Kags wasn't the only person liable to worry about her if she didn't get there relatively soon. Her mom, Ms. H., would as well. It was funny, Hekele didn't quite know when she had begun to call Ms. H. 'Mom' in her head, but she didn't mind; Mom was who she was to Hekele now...
And then she saw it; it was just a blurry image, but she saw it, staring at her from between two buildings.
...Dad?
No...it couldn't be, could it? There was no way in hell he could have gotten out of the States...not while being as wanted as he was. Out of the state maybe...but the country? Hekele looked around then, and after not seeing him again, breathed a sigh of relief and kept going.
I'm losing my mind...it has officially happened...I'm seeing things...that can't be a good sign... she thought as she picked up her pace. She couldn't help it. In her dream he had basically said that they would meet in person...and that cut on her arm...Kagome said that it had come out of nowhere, right in front of her...Hekele knew that he couldn't have done it himself...her dad couldn't do magic...but it would explain how he had gotten to Japan...
And then, as another, more clear visualization of him appeared in the crowd in front of her, Hekele understood. This was 'Oyu's' doing; it was her spell. The nightmares had been a sort of warm up for the real thing while the pieces were being put into place. That nightmare last night was her final clue...her final warning so to speak...
One sardonic thought went through her head as she turned tail to run away. Well, at least there's one less errand to run if I ever make it home alive...
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"Where is she? I swear...She should have been home by now..." Kagome said, pacing in the kitchen as her mother fixed dinner.
"...It's been thirty minutes longer than it should have...I think I'll call the school..." Ms. Higurashi said, equally worried. As she left the kitchen, Kagome was surprised to hear a knock at the back door.
She was equally surprised to see Sesshoumaru, dressed complete in modern clothing, on the other side, "Um...what're you doing here?" Ok, not the best thing to say to a guy while worried about his misplaced girlfriend, but it was something...
Sesshoumaru recognized the anxiety in her voice and narrowed his gaze a bit as he entered the house. "What are you hiding? I may not be able to smell it, but you've never been good at keeping things to yourself..." Kagome sighed and shook her head; he had her pegged anyway...it would do no good beating around the bush or lying about it...
"Hekele...stayed after school to talk to the principal about Kachie's situation...and she's late getting home...really late..." she explained, making sure to put a few feet of distance between Sesshoumaru and herself as she did so.
"...She left the school almost half an hour ago...the secretary saw her leave the building..." Ms. H. said, reappearing into the room. She wore a very worried expression on her face.
If Sesshoumaru were in his demonic form, it is safe to say that he would have blazing red eyes at that particular moment. "Where else could she be?" he ground out, not liking where this was going, especially given his reason for even coming to the present era...
Kagome slumped her shoulders and shook her head, "Nowhere that I know of...she said she was heading straight home...we were going to visit you guys in the other era...we had something to talk to you and Kaede about..."
Sesshoumaru took a collective breath, "What is it that you wished to convey to us...it may be important..." Kagome sighed.
"Hekele...had another nightmare last night...but it was different...don't look at me like that Mom...the only reason I didn't tell you this morning was because Hekele promised that she would later; she just felt like getting out of the house and away from problems she couldn't seem to solve...anyway...it was bad...I woke up when she cried out in her sleep and then tried to get her up as well. At first it didn't work...but then this cut formed on her arm out of nowhere...and everything stopped...I freaked a bit and tried to wake her up again...and then it worked. She was seriously scared...After she calmed down and I took care of her arm, she told me that, in her dream, right before she woke up, her father cut her there...and...I'm pretty sure she didn't get back to sleep after that..." she explained as simply as she could.
Sesshoumaru's eyes shone with a hint of worry, something Kagome had definitely not expected given his previously pissed-off demeanor. "I too had difficulty sleeping last night. I felt an energy spike; it was so potent that it awoke me, and as I later discovered, Kaede as well. No one else, however, seemed to have felt anything. Kaede advised that I ask both you and Hekele if you had felt something similar...I take it that you didn't however..." he said.
Kagome sighed and shook her head, before abruptly looking up with a look of horror on her face. "Oh my God the spell..." she said suddenly. Sesshoumaru's own eyes enlarged ever so slightly.
"You believe that it has reached its potency..." he said steadily. Kagome nodded.
"That could have been the energy spike you felt...It must have been..." she realized aloud. Her voice was soft and full of worry, an emotion mimicked in Sesshoumaru's expression.
After pondering for a moment Sesshoumaru looked at Ms. Higurashi, "I'm going to go find her; I recall where the school is and I will inquire about her possible whereabouts beginning around there." Ms. Higurashi bit her lip and nodded.
"That might be a good idea...here, I'll give you my cell phone. If we find out anything, we'll call...when you hear it ring, just push this-"
Sesshoumaru gently took the phone from her hand and gave her a reassuring look, "I've seen both Hekele and Kagome use your cell phone more times than I care to count; there's no need to demonstrate..." Ms. Higurashi offered him a stressed smile as she watched him turn the phone on and put it into his pocket.
"I'm sorry...I'm just worried about her..." she said honestly. Sesshoumaru nodded and turned to leave, but looked at Kagome.
"Is there anything else I should know?" he asked. Kagome bit her lip.
"We may have found info on Ariel...that was the other thing we were coming back to tell you and Kaede..." she said. Sesshoumaru gave a curt nod.
"Go do that, perhaps you will find something useful in there that we can build on..." he said. Kagome nodded and watched him go out the door. She took a deep breath and turned back to her mother.
"Ok, you man the phones and I'll bring that huge book to the other era...I don't know how much help I'll provide...but it's something..."
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Fuck...he was faster than she remembered.
Twice now he had almost gotten a hold of her, and yet Hekele had managed to dodge out of the way both times. Why was it that she was running for her life, and yet, no one on the streets of Tokyo seemed to notice? They probably thought it was some stupid teenage girl running from her dad because she was in trouble...
Ironically enough... she grumbled to herself. She saw a bridge heading to the other side of the city and ran towards it; if she was going to be running for her life, there was no way in hell she was going to run towards the shrine...she didn't want anyone to get caught in the crossfire...it would kill her if anyone else died because of him...
She was just to the side of the bridge, just about to cross the river, when she felt a hard impact to her side. She cried out in surprise as she went flying over the railing and rolling down the hill. When she reached the bottom she stood up as quickly as she could and started running again, discarding her backpack.
Should have done that sooner...less weight...damn, my leg... She had hit her left leg pretty hard on the impact with the ground, and it was bothering her now as she continued to run.
Come on adrenaline...don't fail me now... He was still behind her, and Hekele noticed a definite gain of ground on his part, either due to her leg or her tumble down the hill she didn't know, and frankly, as long as she wasn't caught off guard like she had been again, she didn't care; she just wanted to get away.
Why the hell haven't I run into a single cop! You'd think they'd be out protecting the city, but nooo... She continued running, occasionally looking back and dodging inanimate objects, as the snow continued to fall from above. She looked ahead of her and her stomach churned. She was headed towards the slums; the back side of the city full of the things in life she tried to stay away from.
Well...it's better than turning around and saying "Kill me!" but definitely as dangerous...if I'm lucky, he'll get shot by some drug lord and I can make a hasty getaway... she thought sarcastically as the sun began to set. She hated winter; she hated how it always got dark early. It was bad enough to be running for her life; it was ten times worse running for your life in the dark in the worst imaginable part of Tokyo.
Hekele cursed life and all its horrible humor and kept running; her father had gained on her once more.
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Sesshoumaru honestly couldn't remember the last time he had been so concerned. It was one thing for something like this to occur in the other era; but here...here he was human. His sense of smell was diminished to something rather dull and his hearing was just as bad, if not a little worse. He did not have his sword, the use of his demonic powers, strength, or speed.
He was just a normal man and that, given the fact that he could not find Hekele and that magic was no doubt involved with the current situation, scared him.
The people in the area had been a little help, however. One had seen a girl of Hekele's description running from a man heading towards the bridge. It took about three other people to get him that far, but he was glad to at least have a lead.
As he made his way to the bridge, he couldn't help but wonder about the man who was pursuing Hekele. Could he be her father? That would explain his appearances in her dreams...But then again, from what Sesshoumaru understood, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for him to leave his country and enter Japan. Also, how would he even know Hekele's location? It seemed rather unlikely, but Sesshoumaru wasn't one to rule out possibilities simply due to unlikeliness.
He arrived at the bridge and noticed two things. First, someone had been shoved over the railing, and when Sesshoumaru looked down at the hill, he saw a trail where the person had rolled to the bottom. That was when he noticed the second thing: Hekele's backpack.
Sesshoumaru jumped over the railing and rushed down the hill without even thinking twice. Once at the bottom, he picked up Hekele's pack and looked around. Then a small grin forced its way onto his features. Tracks. The snow on the ground was not trafficked upon like the sidewalks, so there were only two sets of tracks in the area.
Two sets; Hekele was pursued even after she 'fell' from the bridge. Sesshoumaru took off in the direction of the tracks without hesitation; he had a lot of time to make up for, and he hoped he wasn't already too far behind...
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Hekele's legs were burning as she ran through the city's ghetto. She looked behind her quickly and noticed that she appeared to have lost her father for the moment. Dumb luck. She spotted a relatively open alley and ducked inside it. After locating a dumpster and hiding a few feet behind it, Hekele sat down on the ground and rested. She had to have been running for a little over an hour, and she didn't know how much longer she could last.
She heard something from outside the alley and flattened herself against the wall as best she could. After hearing nothing else, she peeked around the dumpster and saw nothing. Sighing in relief, she began examining her surroundings. She was outside a store of some sort, apparently a convenient store. It was closed and boarded up. After thinking for a moment, Hekele resolved to try to break in; she would be safer inside, and she might even find a phone or something to defend herself with.
After listening to her surroundings once more, Hekele made her way over to a boarded up window and started trying to pull the wood off. After two minutes, she had an opening just large enough for her to squeeze through.
Once inside, she instantly started looking around for a phone. She found a decently sized shard of broken glass and picked it up; it would do for a weapon if push came to shove. After poking around the front of the store, Hekele looked around back. Bingo. She ran for the phone on the abandoned desk and tried it.
There was a god. It worked.
She knew just who to dial. After half a ring, Ms Higurashi picked up, "Hello? Who is this?"
Hekele managed a smile at the woman's stressed tone; she was worried... "Mom? It's Hekele..."
"Hekele! Where are you? Oh sweetie, we've been so worried...thank goodness you're safe..."
Hekele took a deep and shaky breath, "Mom...it's my...it's my dad; he's found me..." The other end of the phone suddenly got quiet. It took Ms. Higurashi a moment to find her voice.
"...Are you all right? Where are you dear; we'll come get you..." she responded.
Hekele felt tears coming to her eyes, with her energy and adrenaline gone, the fear was beginning to catch up with her, "I-I'm ok...I'm in the slums...in some closed off convenient store...but...I don't know where he is...I lost him just a bit ago, but I don't know where...please don't come...I don't want you guys getting hurt...I don't want anyone else getting hurt by him..."
Just then, there was a huge banging at the front of the store and Hekele knew who it was. She let out a surprised yell when she heard wood splitting, and almost didn't hear Ms. Higurashi over the phone.
"Sweetie, stay on the phone as long as you can; what store is it? Is there anything there to identify it? We're calling the police and we need to know where you are."
Hekele looked around frantically, the splitting of wood serenading her in the background. Finally, while looking through the desk, she found an old business card that had a logo on it, which matched a picture on the wall out front. "It's called 'Tsuki's Store.' I think I saw a road sign that read, 'Ogawa' nearby..." she said, trying to remember everything on her way to where she was. She heard her father yelling obscenities from the other room and began to sob. She was scared. She had no idea what to do anymore; she subconsciously gripped her make-shift weapon to reassure herself that she wasn't completely defenseless.
"Hekele...I'm going to hang up now...try to stay as near to that store as you can ok dear? Help will be there soon..." Ms. Higurashi commanded. Hekele felt herself nod and, realizing that Ms. Higurashi couldn't see it, vocalized it.
"...Ok..." It sounded weak, but at that point, with the last of the wood breaking away from the front door, Hekele could have cared less. She dropped the phone onto the receiver and ran towards a cupboard. Forcing it open and squeezing her way inside, Hekele prayed that she could control her breathing enough so that her father couldn't find her...
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Sesshoumaru himself was beginning to feel fatigue as well, and it did not bode well with him at all. He had received a call from Ms. Higurashi informing him that she had gotten a call from Hekele. Sesshoumaru had felt more relief than he had thought possible at the prospect that she was all right, but then had been informed of what had been happening. So he continued running through what he could only assume was the worst part of a city that Sesshoumaru already held a high level of disdain for.
He was looking for a convenient store that possibly had a sign reading 'Tsuki's Store' out front, and it was supposedly near or on a street called 'Ogawa'. Sesshoumaru cursed the darkness that was quickly falling; it would make things much more difficult with his human eyes if he didn't find Hekele very soon.
The snow was falling still, and that just decreased Sesshoumaru's visibility all the more. He was given a break, however, when he found Ogawa Street. Sesshoumaru picked up his pace and randomly headed down one end of the street, hoping he had selected the right way.
He had ran about twenty yards before hearing a feminine scream sound through the area, loud and clear. He pushed himself forward and swore that in his rage, for an instant...
He had actually seen red.
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Hekele's father yanked open the cabinet door and grabbed Hekele by her jacket, pulling her out as she tried to fight him off. She soon found herself sprawled out on the floor. Before she could react she felt him slug her hard in the face. That would definitely leave a mark.
Hekele used her concealed weapon to stab him in the leg when he kicked her. He yelled in pain and swung at her again, providing her with a bloody lip. Hekele saw him retrieve a knife from his coat and she quickly scurried to her feet in an attempt to put some distance between them. It proved futile when he caught the outside of her thigh with the weapon. Hekele screamed in agony as she fell to the ground.
"An eye for an eye bitch..." It was the first full sentence that he had said to her. And despite the pain in her leg and the blood she was losing, she continued to kick him and try to inch away. Meanwhile, she was also looking for something else that she could use as a weapon...
Hekele's father hit her injured leg with the hilt of the knife and she screamed once more in pain. In her momentary stupor, he grabbed her hands and held them above her head. Straddling her so that she couldn't kick him, he held the knife to her throat
Hekele stared, with both fear and defiance in her eyes, at the man on top of her. He pressed the knife into her neck slightly, causing a thin stream of blood to run down her neck. Hekele winced as tears came once more to her eyes, of both pain and fear. She held her defiant expression, however, not willing for him to see her fear. It was getting harder, however, seeing as he could kill her in an instant if he so pleased.
"How's that feel whore? You've made my life a living hell for the past few months...you and your fuckin' mother. Do you know how hard it is to live a normal life once you've killed someone? And all I wanted were my darling kids too...do you see what you've driven me to!" he yelled at her. Hekele struggled against him some more, not willing to quit.
I can't die here...I can't leave Rin and Sesshoumaru...or Mom...Souta, Kagome, Grandpa...anyone...I can't die on them... she resolved, still fighting. "Like hell all you wanted were your kids! You killed your own son! He was eleven asshole!" It was then that her father put down his knife, shocking Hekele; in all honesty, she had expected him to slice through her throat for that remark...What shocked her more, however, was the handgun he pulled out of his coat pocket.
"I can use this any time bitch...and I promise you, at this range, you will die...but where would the satisfaction in that be?"
Hekele just stared at him, suddenly silent and unmoving. Her eyes were wide and fearful, knowing that he was right. She could barely move with him weighing her down, let alone dodge a bullet six inches from her skull.
"Why didn't you just shoot me if you had the damn gun?" she asked, finding her voice. It quivered, however, her words losing their edge as soon as they rolled off her tongue. Her vision was slowly beginning to blur from the loss of blood in her leg and the fatigue of her body. She was slowly losing it...Her father grinned.
"Like I said, where would the satisfaction be? I want you to suffer like I did. But, since you seem so eager to die..."
He leveled the gun down to her head and cocked it.
Hekele wiggled a bit, fighting to try to stay alive, or to at least make it harder for him to shoot her. It was futile, she knew, but she still, despite her fear, wouldn't quit.
"Anything you want to say to your father before you pay what's due?" he asked icily. Hekele never got to respond, however, when from out of nowhere came a fist that hit the side of her father's face so hard that he fell off of Hekele, dropping his gun and having it skid a few feet away.
Hekele blinked a few times before she could make out the tall blur that had suddenly entered her line of vision. "Sesshoumaru...?" He looked down at her then and bent down next to her, looking her over critically.
"Are you all right?" Hekele noted that his breathing was a little uneven as he questioned her. She nodded weakly in response, indicating that she held no wounds that he couldn't already see. Watching her father's movements out of the corner of his eye, Sesshoumaru carefully picked Hekele up, being mindful of her bleeding leg, and carried her behind the store counter.
Still watching her father, Sesshoumaru carefully set Hekele down on the floor and gave her hand a quick affectionate squeeze. "Stay here..." he whispered firmly. Hekele only nodded once more as he stood and left her in the safety of her counter barrier.
Hekele shrugged off her coat and wrapped it like a bandage around her leg. It was soaked, like her, from the snow, but it was better than nothing. She listened carefully to what was happening on the other side of her makeshift barrier; hoping that Sesshoumaru would be all right.
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Sesshoumaru glared daggers at Hekele's father as he picked himself off the floor. He kept a healthy distance between himself and the counter, giving himself room to maneuver without further endangering Hekele.
The man stared at him oddly as he wiped the blood off his lip and reclaimed his knife, which was closer than his gun. "Who the fuck are you?" he interrogated. Sesshoumaru said nothing as he studied the man's movements in case he was preparing to strike.
Not liking the silent answer, Hekele's father charged at Sesshoumaru with his knife. Sesshoumaru easily dodged the angry strike but grabbed the man by his arm and yanked him back to prevent him from getting closer to Hekele. Growling, Hekele's father swung his knife back at Sesshoumaru, who barely managed to dodge it due to their close proximity. He countered with a blow to the man's abdomen, causing him to double over. Sesshoumaru was about to give him another blow when he was suddenly tripped by the man's leg when he suddenly swiped it under his legs. Sesshoumaru fell but rolled to the side to dodge a thrust of the knife.
He kicked the man's hand, causing him to drop his weapon and Sesshoumaru stood up again panting. Being in a human body was beginning to take it's toll on his stamina. One would think that, after everything, Hekele's father too would be so exhausted, but he wasn't. Sesshoumaru surmised that it must be a side effect of the spell; a rather difficult one for him to work with at that.
Seeing Hekele's father make a break for his gun, and knowing full well what a gun did, Sesshoumaru ran to it as well, grabbing the man by his shoulder and turning him enough to punch him in the face once more. The gun was kicked in the scuffle and went skidding towards the counter unceremoniously and the fight went on.
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Hekele closed her eyes and tried not to imagine who was beating who worse. She was worried about Sesshoumaru; he had been visibly exhausted when she had seen him, and her father didn't seem to be weakening at all. It was the spell, she assumed, but if anything, that made her even more anxious.
She saw the gun as it skidded within view of her 'shelter'. She hated guns; despised them with every fiber of her being. Guns were for cowards who were too weak and scared to fight their own battles fairly. Swords and hand-to-hand combat was much more honorable in her opinion.
But then again... she thought as she continued to eye the gun, when push comes to shove...
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Sesshoumaru snarled when Hekele's father made move to once more retrieve his gun. He chased after the man and knocked him out of the way.
Hekele's father hissed at him, "What the hell do you care if I kill her anyway? She's just a worthless slut..." Sesshoumaru growled at him in anger and saw red once more fill his eyes.
It was only for a moment, but when his vision returned to normal, the distraction had already done it's damaged. Something hard hit him in the head and Sesshoumaru staggered backwards. He saw stars for a moment as he tried to regain his senses. The hit wasn't enough to knock him out, thankfully, but it did disorient him.
He heard the shot almost at the same instant that his eyes became focused. Alarmed, he spun around and saw Hekele's father fall towards him with a clouded look in his eyes. He was dead even before he hit the ground.
It was when he hit the ground that Sesshoumaru noticed that he had reclaimed his knife, (which Sesshoumaru guessed was what hit him,) and correctly inferred that he had intended to stab him while in his dazed state. Hekele's father glowed a dull black for an instant, but then the corpse returned to normal; the spell was broken. Sesshoumaru looked up once more at Hekele, who was shakily holding the gun.
Trembling, Hekele dropped the weapon, shocked at what she had done. She slumped back to the floor as the pain in her leg became too much to bear while standing on it. Sesshoumaru was at her side in an instant, catching her before she hit the ground and carefully lifting her back into his arms and away from the bloody scene. He set her gently onto the desk of the back room and wrapped his coat around her to keep her warm.
Hekele said nothing, her own eyes a bit dull as she stared at the floor. Concerned, Sesshoumaru sat next to her and pulled her into a firm embrace.
"You did well...do not feel regrets...you did what you needed to in order to survive..." he said carefully, correctly addressing the problem. Hekele began sobbing, the full weight of everything that had happened that day suddenly dragging down the last of her strong resolve. Sesshoumaru grimaced, deeply displeased by her tears, and began idly stroking her hair. He rocked her gently in an attempt to soothe her a bit.
Sirens were heard in the distance and Sesshoumaru mentally growled at the police's horrible timing. If they had arrived sooner, most likely things would have turned out differently. At the very least, Hekele wouldn't have had to be the one to pull the trigger...
Sesshoumaru looked down at Hekele for a moment and gave her a little squeeze. "After the officers are finished with us, I'll take you back to the other era...You'll recover faster and you'll be away from all this..." he promised quietly. Hekele nodded against his shoulder in acceptance and gratitude.
"Thank you..." she said quietly, not trusting herself to say anything more. Sesshoumaru understood and only held her tighter until the officers showed up; Ms. Higurashi, Kagome, Souta, and their Grandpa right behind.
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True to his word, as soon as the police officers were finished questioning them about what had occurred, and after Hekele's leg was stitched and bandaged and she was given prescription pain-killers, Sesshoumaru stole her away from the insanity and took her to the feudal era,
However, in between the stitching of the leg and the going to the feudal era, Ms. Higurashi insisted on Hekele's showering and getting into dry clothes, feeding both of them a nice hot dinner, calling the school and leaving a message indicating that neither Hekele nor Kagome would be in the next day, and finally asking Hekele about a million and ten times if she was all right.
Seeing as Hekele barely said two words during all of the above, she had sufficient grounds to do so.
Once in the other era, Hekele and Sesshoumaru were bombarded with endless questions about what had happened. Hekele only shrunk into Sesshoumaru as he growled lowly at the group for continuously pestering the upset girl.
Eventually, everyone went to sleep except for Hekele and Sesshoumaru. It was odd, but despite their evident fatigue, neither could seem to force themselves to try and sleep. The two were sitting outside of a make-shift hut, gazing at the stars. Hekele was sitting next to Sesshoumaru silently, wrapped in a blanket that he had given her for warmth, still not having said much of anything since the incident. It was worrying Sesshoumaru to see her so silent.
Seeing Hekele's eyes take on a faraway look, he gingerly picked her up and pulled her into his lap, being careful with her still injured leg.
She looked up at him oddly as he pulled her blanket tighter around her and wrapped his arms around her waist gently. "You have not been acting like yourself...and I do not care to see you so upset..." he said quietly. Hekele nodded in acceptance of his answer and laid her head on his shoulder.
It seemed like an hour that the two sat there in a comfortable silence, but it was only a few minutes before Sesshoumaru gave a slightly aggravated sigh.
"You are far too quiet Hekele...it is unlike you to be so void..." he tried. Hekele smiled softly, touched by his concern.
"Am I not allowed to be quiet once in a while," she asked. Sesshoumaru allowed himself to smile as well; she took his bait.
"Never, you are meant to speak constantly of odd and annoying things that have no relevance to anyone but yourself; silence from you is like darkness from the afternoon sun; it isn't natural..." he stated firmly. Hekele actually laughed lightly at his words and sat up fully, allowing her to face him.
"You enjoy randomly turning my mood around don't you?" she questioned teasingly. Sesshoumaru gave her a look of mock hurt.
"I do no such thing...I have a strategic method for cheering you up; randomness has nothing to do with it," he corrected. Hekele giggled a bit and shook her head.
Happy with the outcome of his attempt, Sesshoumaru pulled her back to him and lightly brushed his lips against hers, shocking the girl in his arms. Hekele timidly returned the kiss and when the two broke apart, Sesshoumaru saw the bright red staining her cheeks.
"There's the Hekele I know and love," he whispered to her as she laid her head once more upon his shoulder.
It was then, as Hekele was about to retort, that the two of them suddenly felt a surge of power. Sesshoumaru growled, pulling Hekele to him tightly, neither knowing what was happening. They felt an odd pulsing, at first light and slow, but gradually growing louder and stronger. It took them a moment to realize that it was coming from them.
Their bodies began to glow brilliantly. Hekele's aura shone about her in an aquatic color while Sesshoumaru's own was silvery. As the pulsating increased and their auras shined brighter, they began to dissipate and swirl into a small compacted form. After a final burst of light and power, all that was left was a jewel, like Miroku's and Sango's, floating before them majestically.
Hekele slowly reached out to the jewel and wrapped her fingers around it, bringing it towards Sesshoumaru and herself for a better look. And sure enough, within the jewel was a swirl of their joined auras.
Hekele looked at Sesshoumaru questioningly as the gang, awoken by the bursts of energy, ran up to them from the various areas they were sleeping in out of concern. "What in God's name are these?" she asked quietly, more to herself than him. Sesshoumaru shook his head, his eyes as wide with awe as her own.
"I haven't the slightest clue..." The group, now understanding what had happened, gazed at the mysterious orb as Miroku took out his and Sango's and compared it with Sesshoumaru's and Hekele's.
"How much are you willing to bet that our other coupled friends will have similar orbs?" he asked. Hekele shrugged a bit, still gazing at the jewel.
"I think they may...but the question is...what are they...and why do we have them?"
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Me- Suaru! Let me know what you want! I've got a hankering to write another one-shot soon!
Kachie- Wow...another chappie done...good job!
Me- Thanks! Now, to all of my reviewers...Merry Early Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, and have a wonderful holiday season. Whoever names the song and band that the following lyrics come from gets a song-fic one-shot...Whichever pairing from this story they wish, (except for Kag/Inu and whatever Suaru picks this time around) Implied pairings apply, (for instance, Kohaku/Kanna.)
Kachie- The lyrics are: 'And if you're in the eye of the storm, just think of the lonely dove; the experience of survival is the key, to the gravity of love...'
Me- I, in a beginning author note within the last six chapters, have mentioned this band, but not the song. There's your only clue. Happy hunting!
Kachie- And review!