Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Inuyasha or any of the characters. This is a work of pure fiction and mostly a daydream of how I wished the anime went according to my ship. Here I shall let it sail.
New Beginnings Chapter 7:
"This is going too far. Pull back now." He hissed in his mate's ear. She was resting her back against his chest, sweat dripping from her brow.
"No. Not until every vision of him interfering ceases. Just two more. Two more visions and I can let go." She gritted. He was concerned at her sickly white parlor. It had been a week. Usually, she had no problems maintaining a barrier for however long she needed but the hanyou was proving difficult.
The said hanyou was also dripping with sweat. Cracks ran along the barrier in entirety. The sword he wielded was formidable. If his mate had been anyone else, he doubted they could've held out from the sword's ability. He smirked a little then. The Tessaiga was becoming quite legendary in it's own right. For his father to leave the whelp with that sword…foolhardy indeed.
"Better than Sesshomaru having it. Imagine the destruction." His mate commented. She had understood the direction of his thoughts as he decided neither should have been gifted such a weapon.
"Indeed, little mate. I've watched through the years. Sesshomaru has potential yet if he would just reach out and grasp it." He hummed dabbing the sweat from her brow with his kimono sleeve. "Regardless of potential, it would be foolhardy for him to possess such a weapon. His sire did well to leave him Tensaiga. The boy needs to learn restraint."
"Oh?" she questioned. Her breaths were ragged, and he rubbed a thumb up and down her arm to bring her comfort.
"Not everything in life requires power. Power he already wields. He only limits himself when he looks for more. What he needs is balance. Especially if you see a war with the South. He will know true power when he finds something to protect. The West is not a sufficient enough motivation."
"He is learning. He has that human child." She was glad to talk about anything than her task. Every swing of Inuyasha's sword sent a tremor through her powers. It was proving to be a good distraction. "Surely the West is of importance to him."
"What good will she do for him without proximity? He left the girl in a human village and the West in the care of that Goro. While not incompetent, he is no Sesshomaru. I have had my spies on him for some time. Loyal to the West, he should have alerted Sesshomaru to the situation much sooner." She grinned weakly at his tone. Ever the general, even in retirement.
"Sesshomaru knowing sooner would not have mattered in the end." she argued feebly patting his leg. He could not see as she sees, even with the mate bond binding them together as one. Some things were meant for those for which they were meant.
They both went silent. Inuyasha had taken rest again and she almost cried out in relief. Her mate had picked a great spot to scout from, projecting their aura from a different direction. They could see him clearly. In his defense only immensely powerful demons and half demons could project their auras in deception.
She could hardly fault him from his searching gaze, in the wrong direction. If the idiot had bothered to look up, he would see them. Who had taught him to believe only his senses? She supposed it didn't matter much, even if he saw them, the barrier kept most outside noises muffled in there. They could hear him clearly, but they knew he couldn't hear them the same.
"Let me lend you strength." He pleaded as her eyelids began to droop tiredly. "Do not keep fighting my help."
"Only a little." She allowed, her tone
promising retribution for more than "a little." Sleep finally consumed her as he pushed his aura into hers. He felt it swirl and felt hers drink his in. As it should be, for it was his right as her mate.
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Inuyasha slumped against the barrier, breathing ragged. His face was drenched in sweat, the Tessaiga rested across his crossed legs. He had dried blood on his haori. He had scratched until his fingers bled, claw tips broken and mangled. He tried everything. Punching, kicking, iron reaver, blades of blood, and every single transformation his blade had accumulated. He could see the fissure cracks in the barrier, but it had yet to yield to his sword.
That could only mean the barrier was created by the strongest demon he's come across since Naraku. The wench would die by his hand the moment her barrier fell. He couldn't believe when he walked right into it. He did not sense either of the demons as he grumbled right into their trap. A trap was a loose term. That would require effort on their part, which they did not need.
Every time he fell asleep, he would awaken to fresh water and cooked meat. Sometimes it was rabbit, sometimes deer meat. They clearly didn't wish for him to suffer, or fight for that matter, with no appearance from either. He even tried talking to them in the beginning when it was clear he wasn't under attack.
Who are you?
What do ya want with me?
Are ya even listening to me you bastards?
Talk or I'll run my claws through ya!
Are you planning to just stare at me all damn day?
At least come at me you fucking cowards instead of leaving me in this Kami forsaken barrier!
He unanswered questions fueled his rage even more. They weren't talking to him or fighting him which meant his only choice was escape. All the other demons were always so chatty with their grand plans of world domination. It didn't take much for them to blab their whole plan, boasting and crooning in delight.
He just…was trapped in this bubble, totally ignored. It was slowly falling but would it fall completely before whatever period with which they were working? After catching him, they dropped the concealment on their aura. A female and a male and they functioned as if he was insignificant the moment he were caught in the net. He wasn't, or they wouldn't have gone through the trouble. So, he tried to study them instead.
He couldn't quite get a read on the woman. Her smell was ever shifting. Sometimes she smelled like demon, like the male she was with, other times she smelled like…air. Or the way the earth smells after rain. Not the same smell of earth that came from humans. He had never come across another smell like it. While humans didn't smell horrible, they did have a faint smell of impending death. It wasn't an offensive smell, very subtle, but there, nonetheless.
The male was a different story. He locked on to his Inu heritage immediately after their auras broke free. He was incredibly old, very telling from the aura alone. You don't get that powerful without some life experience. Demons were not that different than humans in the sense that they had to develop their power. It wasn't like Sesshomaru had come from his mother's womb an all-powerful killing machine. True some were gifted much more than others, but if you couldn't wield it properly, it wouldn't do you much good. As a demon ages, the power only grows. This aura...this aura was formidable. He didn't believe Sesshomaru would even stand a chance against this Inu.
He also heard snippets of their conversation. They had been hanging on the branches of a tree not far away. Not close enough for a glimpse of his perpetrators but near enough for an occasional piece of information. They didn't view him as a threat to themselves but to someone else, needing him immobile.
Oh yeah just go ahead and talk amongst yourselves. Don't mind me. Keh. If you're not concerned with me hearing some of it why not just come down here and tell me what this is about?
He heard a several words. Mate. Oracle. West. Miko. Fate. Danger. Tessaiga. Sesshomaru. He couldn't hear anything profound enough to know exactly but he'd connected some dots. Clearly it was about Kagome. Why was it always Kagome? The girl just fell into trouble. He gripped the sword tighter a flare of anger surging up. Kagome was in danger, and he was here. Sesshomaru's name being dropped out of the tree like a sword in the gut. If that bastard hurts her…well he'd have to kill him for real and with the sword he coveted so much. He grinned at the thought of such beautiful retribution.
He also felt and saw their auras clearly. They were so overwhelmingly strong. And somehow fused. Like they were one being instead of two. He had also never seen that before either. Their auras would mingle, glide, and glisten. Normally he had to concentrate to see auras like that, it didn't come naturally to him as he was half human. Theirs might as well been a smoke signal to those around. How they hadn't attracted attention, he didn't know. It was like a beacon. Enticing someone come to challenge them didn't seem to bother them.
Keh. Cocky bastards.
He also resorted to his normal barrage of 'shit talking', as Kagome would say. He used every slur in the book, to no avail. The protectiveness the male had for the female was palpable and he'd tried to provoke the male for his perceived weakness. The male did not answer, not even a stir of anger directed at him through their swirling auras.
Fuck. I can't hold sleep off much longer.
He needed to get to Kagome. Now wasn't time for sleep. He kept pushing his body to the limits. He felt helplessness surge up and tried desperately to push it back down. What if she's hurt, or kidnapped, or dead? A week was a long time for a mortal with no protection against humans and demons alike. He quickly shook of the negative wandering. She was fine, she had to be. If she, wasn't he shuddered, I have failed yet again?
Why did he have to keep walking away? Why couldn't he just talk to her, to stay with her? He thought back on the other times she'd been in danger, and he was off being an ass. Why didn't he learn the lesson?
Panic started gripping at his heart. His eyelids were dropping of its own accord. He promised nothing would ever happen to her. Here he was, sleeping on the job.
I'm coming Kagome. I'm coming, he thought finally succumbing to the inevitable slumber.