I don't own these characters.
14: Things Fall Apart
Sesshomaru cracked knuckles as he strolled through the office. He went right to Naraku's office, only to find the hanyou was not there, again. When he caught up to that slimy bastard he would tear into him, gouge huge chunks from that half-breed's hide, but for the moment, he had other things on his mind.
The dog demon went to his office and thought about how he was going to destroy Kikyo. He figured Naraku sending him those photos of Kikyo with Inuyasha were a plot of some kind, but that did not stop his anger. A tornado of rage stormed through his stomach, twisting his guts. He was not going to let that bitch take advantage of him.
He knew Naraku sent him the photos because his rotten scent was all over them. It was too good for the hanyou when he learned that Sesshomaru was related to Inuyasha. For Naraku, that was such a great coincidence and seemed like the icing on the cake for his plans, especially when he made a few inquiries and learned Sesshomaru hated Inuyasha with a passion. He remembered seeing Inuyasha in some of Kikyo's personal photos, which was where he got the album pictures. The others were from a private investigator, as were the ones that went to Midoriko. Naraku was still patting himself on the back over these moves.
Sesshomaru fumed in his office and waited for noon or Naraku's return, whichever came first. Noon happened to be the one that came first. He quietly wondered where the hanyou was hiding out as he exited the office for his usual lunch date. It was not going to go as it usually did.
He moved like a ghost as he entered the museum, where he knew Kikyo would be waiting for him. She seemed to sense him, he noted, but she was not fast enough for him. As she turned, he was on her. He had his claws around her neck, which wrenched a gasp from her throat. Her eyes went wide and her body tensed.
"Sessho…" Kikyo said in a quiet, shocked tone. Why was he attacking her? What was going on?
"Do not call me that, woman. Now, do you think that you can make a fool of me?" he inquired in an emotionless tone, glaring down his nose at her.
Kikyo did her best to remain calm. She could not show fear, could not feel fear around a dog demon. She did not know what was going on, but she refused to give anyway, even Sesshomaru, the satisfaction in changing her demeanor. She would also not go down easy if this was indeed an attack.
"What do you mean?" she countered, eyes sharp. It seemed he was serious, not that she expected anything less. Why was he serious? Why did he want to hurt her?
"You're nothing more than a little whore, aren't you? You play hard to get and act so innocent, but you actually enjoy the attention. You want to be chased, don't you?" he asked, adding a little pressure to her neck. He could feel her pulse under his fingertips. There was a spike in her heart rate for a moment, but it settled to normal.
"Sessho…" Kikyo choked out the name, feeling a thousand needles pierce her chest and find a home in her heart. She could not believe his words or the pain they caused.
"Don't," he growled and tightened his grip on her.
"Why are you doing this?" she begged, unable to keep a quiver from her voice. How could he do this to her after everything she did for him, what she felt for him? Had she been wrong? The hand around her throat said yes. She was tempted to grab him and give him a shocking dose of spiritual power to get him off of her, but she did not want to hurt him. Yet.
"Do you think that you can toy with me, woman? Do you think I won't snap your neck for doing such foolishness?" he demanded, a snarl curling his top lip.
"What have I done?" she asked.
He growled down at her. "You'll continue to play so innocent? As if you have not been with other men, but you pretend your vows mean so much?" She had acted like it was such a big deal before, but obviously her vows were a joke and the pretense had to be some sick game she enjoyed.
How dare he! Her word had been all she had left and she tossed it aside for him, because of her damned feelings for him! "What are you talking about?" she demanded, fury cutting into her tone. She could not believe he questioned her virtue, made up some history about her to make her even less than what most thought of her already.
"I am no one's fool," he snarled.
Sesshomaru wanted tear her head off of her shoulder, but something held him back. Something inside of him refused to harm her. She was his angel, even now. But, he refused to listen to that voice and countered it with his own.
She was no angel, he reminded himself. She was a whore. She was someone who lied to him. She was like that disgusting husband of hers. She was nothing more than a distrustful wench and he should treat her like a whore.
"How does your bastard husband treat you, woman? Does he treat you just like this? Do you enjoy it?" Sesshomaru inquired in a low tone. It should have satisfied his inner demon to have his hand on her throat, to be one move away from destroying her, but he felt… he was not sure what he felt and he did not want to think about it.
"Stop acting like a beast," she stated, still calm, as if perfectly confident in herself or the fact that he would not hurt her. He wanted to prove her wrong, but his hand refused.
"Watch whom you address, woman. Do you think I have any qualms with tearing your throat out with my claws?"
"Do you think I would allow that, demon?" she countered.
Sesshomaru snarled. He wanted so badly to yank all of the meat out of her neck with his bare hand, let her blood ooze down his fingers, and watch her lifeless body fall to the floor. He had never been so infuriated in all of his life. He never despised anyone as thoroughly as he did with her. His grip tightened on her just as he thought about all of that and he thought about how much he actually had been beginning to feel for her.
And just as he believed he would be able to snap her neck, he found he could not. He stared down at her and some part of him still saw her as his angel. He growled in anger, showing off his fangs.
Kikyo did not show it in her face, but she was nervous. She was upset, of course, but she was nervous, too. If Sesshomaru did do what he threatened, could she react quick enough to avoid having her throat ripped out? Could she muster up the strength to shock him with her spiritual energy? A part of her told her of course she could, but another part of her believed she could not, would not hurt him, which she thought was ridiculous.
He was a demon threatening her life. Kikyo figured she should be able to reduce him to a pile of dust as easily as she could breathe the air, but he was not any demon. He was the demon who made her feel safe, relaxed, and special when he held her. He was the demon who she allowed to touch her in almost any manner he wished. He was the demon she broke her vows for, took a risk for. He was the demon who she felt strongly for, but refused to consider she loved him.
Sesshomaru could tell she was anxious, maybe even frightened. He could smell the change in her and feel it in the pulse that was right underneath his fingers. Part of him dared feel like pure scum for what he was doing to her, for how he was making her feel, but then again, she deserved it. She was the one trying to toy with him, after all.
"If I ever see you again, woman, I will kill you," the dog demon vowed and he turned on his heel, hair flowing with his body.
Sesshomaru walked away as if what had just happened was normal, even though he was conflicted on it. Part of him wanted nothing more than to render her limb from limb, but another part wanted to go back and embrace, hold her, breathe in her wonderful scent, and never let her go. Part of him believed none of it was true and that she was still his angel. In the end, all he could do was walk away because he would not come to a conclusion as to what to do with her.
Kikyo felt like her knees were too weak to support her as she watched Sesshomaru walk away, walk out of her life. She fell to the floor and something inside of her cracked, splintered all through her. She felt something she had not felt in a long time, she felt the urge to cry. She wanted to weep, to call after him, to beg him not to leave her, but she did not do any of that. She had her dignity.
Besides, how would it look for her to call after a demon who put his hands on her? She was not so desperate, even though her heart wailed against the injustice of it all. Did she attract these horrible demons? Why did she let them treat her this way? She took a deep breath. No, she did not let them treat her anyway.
She steeled herself after a few moments. She was stronger than what she displayed, she reminded herself. She was stronger than that and then she could sense something was wrong. She touched her cheek. As it turned out, she did do one thing that she wanted to do. She was actually crying.
"Why?" she asked the air. Why had Sesshomaru acted that way? Why would he not hear her out? Why would she cry over him?
She had never cried over a guy before. No man had ever been worth her tears. Sesshomaru was different. He meant so much to her and now he had just walked out of her life while thinking the worst of her and she did not even know why. She almost wished he had killed her to avoid feeling the agony that she was currently in. Better still, he should have talked to her, helped her understand why he was upset, and then she could have explained to him why he was wrong.
When had they ever had an actual conversation about feelings and emotions, though? Probably the first time she fell into bed with him. Other than that, it was all art theory and pretension. Their whole existence with each other was fluff and filler. Still, there felt like a hole in her heart, torn open by Sesshomaru's claws, poisoned her system, and she might never stop hurting.
"No, it will stop. Or at least fade into the background. It will be all right," she promised herself in an attempt to pull herself together.
She tried to force herself to stop crying as she exited the museum. She did not know where she was going, but she knew she had to get out of there. She wiped her eyes, but her tears continued to fall and her insides felt like they were being shredded bit by bit. She could not believe the pain she was in from a man. She knew she felt strongly for him, but she had not expected such excruciating pain with him leaving her.
Why had all of this happened? Why had Sesshomaru worked his way into her heart only to betray her and destroy her? What happened? She wished she had some answers and she doubted she could call him to get them, at least, not right now.
She was about to ask herself what she was going to do, but she knew the answer to that. She would go on. She would live. It was not the end of the world. If her parents dying had not been the end of the world, being dumped by her lover was not either. She would get through this. It would take time, but she would get through this.
"Day by day," she told herself as she kept moving.
-8-8-8-8-
Sesshomaru felt conflicted as he dropped onto his sofa, even though he did not feel like being home. She was all over his apartment, haunting him. He was bothered by not being able to tear Kikyo apart, but he was pleased he had not done. He could feel in his bones, it would have bothered him more to have seriously harmed Kikyo than it bothered him for his hand stilling.
He decided to put her out his head and she needed to consider herself lucky she was still alive, he figured. He had other things to keep him busy and not think about her. He also had a reason to get himself out of the apartment. He would focus on finding evidence Naraku was the one who framed him with embezzling the agency's money. He supposed he would also have to informed his father that the older demon was right in some way when he told Sesshomaru that he should leave Kikyo be.
The thought of talking to his father made Sesshomaru growl as he got into his car. He would loathe having that conversation. His father was a smug demon and would not let things go when someone had to admit he was right. He would go on about it until Sesshomaru wanted to rip the older demon's chest open, which, to be fair, would be right after Sesshomaru spoke with his father anyway. But, it would not stop after one conversation. Occasionally, his father would bring the subject up out of the blue for no reason, as if he only wanted to annoy Sesshomaru and prove the younger demon was not as wise as he pretended to be. It would be one way for his father to remind everyone who was the alpha demon of their household.
No, Sesshomaru shook his head. He was not going to stand for that. He would not let that demon talk down to him as if he was some little pup who did not know anything. To avoid all of the annoying banter his father would throw at him, he might as well not tell the older demon what happened. His father would find out eventually no matter what, but he would not be the one to tell him.
"It's none of his business, anyway," Sesshomaru decided. Of course, he already knew his father would dub him a coward for not being able to tell him, but Sesshomaru truly believed it was his life. None of this was his father's business, not the relationship before or how things fell apart.
Sesshomaru went back to work and wondered if that hanyou bastard was around. He sniffed around for him and caught the putrid scent of Naraku, but it was an old smell. It was almost as if the half-breed did not even go to work anymore, but other people claimed to see him around. It seemed Sesshomaru was the only one who had not seen the half-demon. It was for the best.
The golden-eyed male did not care that Naraku was not around anymore. He would get his proof on the hanyou other ways. He wanted to confront Naraku face to face because that was the kind of man he was. Then, he wanted to punish Naraku for interfering in his life and trying to disrupt his world.
-8-8-8-8-
Kikyo sat in a park, ignoring the chill around her. She did not want to go home and she did not know what to do. She finally managed to cease her tears, but that did not help much. She still felt like her insides had been through a shredder. She stared at her cell phone.
She had been trying so hard to call her older sister. She really needed a shoulder, but Midoriko still was not taking her calls. Being ignored by her big sister only killed her all the more. She wanted to curl up into a ball and melt, if only to stop feeling like her flesh was being peeled like string cheese. She needed something. She was not sure what she needed, but she was certain her sisters could provide it.
The raven-haired female picked herself up from the bench and started toward the nearest bus or subway. She was going to her sisters, even though the still functioning, rational part of her brain swore that was a mistake. She was not listening to that because she was in too much pain. She just wanted the ache to go away and she only knew one way to make that happen.
Kikyo took the train to her sisters' apartment. She dragged herself up to the apartment and knocked on the door, hoping they would let her in. She could hear someone come to the door, but she guessed it was Midoriko since the door did not open nor did the person inquire who was it.
"Big sister, please don't be this way anymore," Kikyo pled through the door. It was a whine, she knew. She could hear it in her voice, but she did not care. She should be able to whine to her older sister every now and then.
"Go away," Midoriko ordered.
"Please," the middle sister begged, resting her forehead against the door. "Please."
"We don't want anything to do with you anymore. Since you know everything, solve your own problems."
"I don't know everything," Kikyo replied, leaning against the door for support. Tears stung her eyes. This was the moment she lost everything, was it not? She never imagined she could feel like that twice in one lifetime.
"You pretend to. Go on your way."
"Big sister, please. I really would like to talk to you."
"Leave."
Kikyo let out a choked sob as she could hear her sister walking away from the door. "Sister!" she cried out, but she was ignored.
The usually strong woman felt so weak now. She felt so abandoned and she dropped to the floor. She cried there as if she was a little baby, rubbing her eyes, but not wiping away her tears. She just wanted her sisters back to her right now. Was that too much to ask?
Kikyo wondered why things were going so wrong. Why had the world imploded in on her? What had she done? She had broken her wedding vows, a voice in her head pointed out. That was the problem. She had broken her word and she had a distasteful affair with a demon. She had done the wrong thing, enjoyed doing the wrong thing. She was just getting what she deserved.
Once that thought entered her mind, Kikyo forced herself to stop crying. She did not have a reason to cry anymore in her opinion. It was all on her. She brought everything on herself. All right, she conceded. She might as well go home now.
Midoriko watched her sister walk away through the peephole in the door. She had heard Kikyo crying and the big sister in her made her return to the door. She had been tempted to open it and talk to Kikyo, even though she was disgusted with her sister in so many ways, but she loved her sister and would like to ease the horrible pain Kikyo had to be in. Before she got to open the door, the noise stopped and Kikyo was on the move.
Midoriko began to suspect she had done the wrong thing. After all, her sister had been in the hallway bawling, her usual dignity and pride thrown to the wind, lost in so many tears. The last time Kikyo had cried without physical pain being involved was when they lost their parents. Something completely terrible must have happened to Kikyo, but Midoriko let it go. Her sister needed the tough love.
She also let it go because Kikyo seemed to have her act together when she left. She had stopped crying and she walked strong as she exited the area. It was possible her little sister was going to go and fix whatever it was that tried to break her, which was good. Kikyo had put herself in her current mess, so she needed to get herself out of it.
"Once that is done, we can sit down and try to figure out how to get back on track," Midoriko decided, even though she was not sure she and Kikyo would ever be on the same page again. How could she trust Kikyo after all of this? How could she trust Kikyo, who tossed her words to the wind twice to gleefully make bad decisions, to set a poor example for Kaede?
-8-8-8-8-
Kikyo went to the apartment. She was stunned to find Naraku home. She scowled at him for being there, for existing. She was not in the mood to deal with him, especially since he was smirking deathly evil smirk of his. His eyes danced with wickedness directed right at her.
"What, no greeting for your darling husband?" he inquired, shifting on the sofa, as if making space for her.
"I don't feel like dealing with you at the moment, so I suggest you don't start with me," she warned him.
Naraku chuckled at her. The sound was dark and low, like it could infest her soul. She glared it away, which only made him snicker more. She was so fiery. He was going to thoroughly enjoy tearing that from her, dousing those flames, and showing her how truly weak she really was. He would love watching her crumble as everything she ever had was gone and she was ready to rebuilt in his image.
"You should be a more loving wife, Kikyo, dearest," Naraku commented as he climbed off the sofa and he took a step toward her.
Kikyo stepped back. There was something different about her husband. She could feel it and it made her stomach churn. She could practically see the evil flowing off of him. She stood her ground, though. She did not fear the man before her. She would never fear the man before her, but she was on guard.
"You seem rather cautious, my dear. What's wrong? Why do you back away? Is it because you want to leave now? Do you want to run away from me like you have been doing for the past couple of months? Do you want to run from me and go to him? Do you want to go to him, so he can fuck you again?" Naraku inquired without changing his tone at all.
Kikyo's eyes almost went wide. How did he know? Instead, she gnashed her teeth. How dare he! It took her a moment to realize he knew what she had been doing. He knew whenever she left the apartment, she was going to meet Sesshomaru more than likely. She was not ashamed he was aware of her actions, but she doubted he was fond of the information and she expected him to do something rash. Her fingers twitched, ready to do something should he act.
Kikyo narrowed her gaze on him. "I would be careful of how I speak if I were you."
"No, if you were me, you wouldn't be cheating on your spouse, now would you?" he inquired. He wanted her to squirm, but she would not comply. She stood there as if nothing was wrong, except for the way she had her fists balled, which only indicated she might respond in a way that he did not want to. She might very well attack him.
"Is it you wish for me to admit?" she asked since he seemed to be pressing the issue. He could be fishing, but at this point she did not care.
He snorted. "I don't need you to admit anything. I have photographic proof of what you were doing. Perhaps I should go see your aunt and share the news with her."
"You wouldn't dare," Kikyo growled.
"Perhaps, I already did," he offered with a frightening smile.
Kikyo frowned. She would not put it past the sick bastard that was her husband to go and show her aunt lewd photos of her behaving rather wantonly with Sesshomaru. That was provided he had the evidence he spoke of. There was always the great chance that he was bluffing.
"You did no such thing," she stated.
"How can you be so sure?" he asked.
She only frowned deeper. She could not be sure, especially considering how he behaved. He might have had pictures of her doing any number of things with Sesshomaru. She was not sure how her aunt would react, but she doubted it would be good. Her aunt would more than likely cut her off, just like her own sisters. She would be completely alone in the world except for her damned husband. No, she refused to even consider that.
"You don't have any photos," she called his bluff.
"Don't I? Why don't you call your sister and ask her about them," he suggested.
"My sister?" Kikyo echoed and then she gasped under her breath. He must have shown the pictures to her sisters. That would explain Midoriko not even opening the door for her, why she had been turned away even when she was begging, and why her sister did not want anything to do with her anymore. He actually showed them photos of her with Sesshomaru.
"I made sure that the first one they would see was the worst because I figured the bitch would turn the kid's head away once they caught sight of exactly what was going on. Should I describe the picture to you?" he inquired.
"No," she replied while making tighter fists. She was so angry right now it did not even register to her mind her nails cut into her palms, blood seeping through her broken skin. She was not even furious with her husband. She was angry with herself for carrying on with that damn dog demon in such a way. After all, where had that gotten her? Nowhere, except branded as a whore by the golden-eyed prick.
"Are you sure? You look like you're having so much fun in the picture, though. I mean, the way you're riding him—" he started, but she cut him off.
"Shut up!" she ordered harshly, voice actually rising.
Naraku chuckled. He had gotten to her. He was under her skin. He had cut through the calm and found the emotional center. This was the start of it all. "What's the matter, Kikyo? Why don't you go run to him now? Why don't you go ride him?"
"Shut up," she said again, in a more menacing and low voice.
"And if I don't? What will you do? Are you going to leave to your lover's arms or are you going to turn me into a pile of ashes as you always claim you'll do?" he asked. His wicked smirk cemented on his face.
"The latter sounds appropriate," she replied. After all, that filth had taken her sisters from her. They were the most important people in her life. They were the most precious things in all the world to her and he stole them with sneaky pictures. Although, she had to admit she was to blame for putting herself in that situation, but that did not give him the right to tear her away from her family.
"And what will you tell the police?" he inquired to mock her.
"Why should I have to tell them anything? All I need do is sweep you out of the door when I'm done. If anyone asks, you went on a business trip and never returned. It was not like we had a happy marriage, anyway," she answered.
It would seem she had thought out his murder more than he would have imagined. He did not let that faze him. He was in the lead right now. "I see and once I'm gone, you'll be with your lover?"
Kikyo glanced away for just a moment, but Naraku noticed. The look told him all he needed to know. It would seem his pictures and letter hit their mark. Sesshomaru had deserted Kikyo the moment he thought she was a whore. Stupid mutt, he thought. Of course, he never thought Sesshomaru was too smart in the first place.
"Is that the plan, Kikyo? You're to murder me and then be with him?" Naraku pressed only to be annoying now that he knew Sesshomaru left her. He bet she would shatter right in front of him and all he wanted to do was kick her while she was down like a cowering puppy.
"I'll destroy you and then have peace of mind if nothing else," she stated.
It was so tempting to go grab him and never stop filling him with spiritual energy. If she hit him with enough of her power, she would be able to vacuum up his remains later and empty him out into any trashcan of her choosing, which was still a better burial than she believed he deserved. It was not likely the police would ever be able to come up with any trace evidence to even think there had been foul play.
"I doubt you'll ever have peace of mind again. After all, your sisters know you're nothing more than a demon's whore and without them, what do you have, Kikyo? Hmm, just what do you have without your bitchy sisters?" he demanded, growling at her because how dare she have such a thorough plan to kill him? She was not supposed to be like that. Someone changed her. Probably that damn dog.
Kikyo was dumbstruck and the expression on her face made it seem like she had just been shot with a shotgun. He was so right. What did she have without her sisters? She did not have anything without them. Life without them was meaningless. She was nothing more than a waste of air without people to care about her.
Naraku smirked wider when he saw the haunted, fallen look in her chocolate eyes. Since the eyes were the windows to the soul, they gave Naraku a front row seat to watching her break. He witnessed the very essence of Kikyo crack and shatter in that instance as she realized she nothing left in life. He had taken it all and he was not done yet. No, he was not done by far.
Naraku continued to watch in sick satisfaction as Kikyo's reaction steadily grew worse now she knew her sisters had abandoned her and why they had. She began trembling like a cornered mouse. Her jaw tightened in frustration to the point where it seemed like she would fracture her whole skull from the tension. Her eyes misted over, but she dared not cry in front of Naraku.
And now, the hanyou thought he would spring the next part of his trap. He was, after all, looking to break Kikyo completely, take everything possible from her. Now, he had broken her, but she was not outright devastated as he wished her to be.
"Kikyo, I want a divorce," Naraku announced. She would truly have nothing and she would be right where he wanted her.
-8-8-8-8-
Next time: what is Naraku's plan with this move? How will Kikyo react to the sudden announcement?