windbreaking, thank you. I try.
Thanks to all those that take a moment to read my fic and thanks to my reviewers!
The rain continued for several hours, long into the darkness and when it finally stopped the group voted to stay in the cave for a night, all the children asleep while Sango, Miroku, and Kagome lay near the fire resting as well. Inuyasha sat beside her, watching her even breathing as her body was curled into a fetal position. He wanted to touch here, to make sure that she was right there next to him because he feared that soon she would be leaving him. Yes, he knew that she had asked him, promising with his permission that she would stay by his side and while the fact of the matter was she had nowhere else to go since she couldn't go home, he feared that she would run off with her mate who identity was still unknown. Even Koga claimed that he could smell no male on her and that bugged him almost as much as it did the Hanyou. There was no telling who had marked the woman, though now because of his older brother he was certain it had not been the spider demon. His evil scent was too strong, but maybe he was at fault for the hiding of the other male's scent. It would only make sense if he wanted to play a trick on them, a farce that he was the father of her unborn pups. He noted that her stomach wasn't too far along, though it would all depend on how many pups she would have and that was something that not even his brother could tell. The power of the aura that resided in her stomach was too strong to be one, but maybe two or three. No more than that or she would surely have become much larger at a quicker rate.
Koga was watching him and her, he could feel those blue orbs drilling into his familiarity with the Miko. Inuyasha knew the other male still longed for her, he had said as much, but he knew the wolf was jealous of him and he knew that before this he would have laughed at it. Not now. No, he was jealous too. He was getting past the fact that she had been with another when he felt so strongly about her, but he also knew that she had no memory of that night so she didn't know who she had allowed to mark her. Now they knew it was a dog demon though and that made it worse for him because it was his own clan, his own people that had claimed her and for that he was immensely relieved. Now he needed to know if this person was still alive and with the news that whomever had impregnated her was very powerful he feared that he would not be able to destroy this rival. "I feel that we know this male that claimed her," Sesshomaru stated, his voice low as he eyed the intruder that lay near his ward. "I also fear that Naraku knows and has used whatever transpired that night to his advantage. He may have even set it up without thought of the aftereffects."
"You mean he tricked her?" Koga inquired, his eyes trailing over to the older demon. "Illusion?"
"No, I think that whatever happened that night was something that was bound to happen and with it Naraku lay his plans, using the pair to further taint the woman." Inuyasha was beginning to think that his brother also knew who had laid with the Miko and he wasn't happy with that revelations at all. If his brother were keeping it from him than that meant it was either really bad or really good or maybe he didn't really know and he was be- No, his brother wasn't the positive kind of person. No, he would only say what he thought and if it hurt the other person he could really give two shits about that. In some ways he was like their enemy. Cold and calculating when it came down to it and that wasn't always a bad thing. He had wanted that for himself at one point, wishing to be a full demon without all the emotions of a human to cloud his judgement. His blood was a good mixture, or so Kagome had always told him, loving his half breed status when Kikyo had longed for him to be human. All three of them held different views of who he should be and with as long as he had been with Kagome he knew she would accept him as any of them, but she would be most happy with his Hanyou form. She didn't judge him, nor did she ever run from him, save for in the beginning, but she had never held it against him. Hell, the small Miko had held no fear when his demon blood had taken over him completely and others had fled, even Sango and Miroku had stayed back... but not Kagome. She showed no fear for him, nor for his brother who had once tried to melt her with his poison. She was going to make a beautiful mother, showing her pups that love need not hold one back, that their blood meant nothing to those who truly cared about you while also being tough and ready to battle when need be. For her friends or for him.
She had been forgiving too, even to those who never liked her no matter what. She had shown that with Kikyo, even in the end refusing to strike the other woman down. He would have done it if Naraku hadn't taken her out. He would have killed the clay doll of Kikyo without remorse because he had come to the conclusion that she wasn't Kikyo, not really.
"So, she mated with a male that she liked enough to allow him to have se-" A growl came from the Hanyou sitting close to her. Koga shot him a look. "Anyway, mutt, she must have loved him in some way, her bond to him allowed the mark to stick. And yet, I do not know of anyone that matches that description save fo-" Another warning growl, but this one was from Sesshomaru. "Fuck! Between you two dog shits I can't ask a simple question!" A whimper came from the woman laying next to him, a soft sound as she shifted in her sleep drew all three males to look in her direction.
Kagome felt his touch, so soft and yet his claws left a mark down her skin, a touch that made her sigh as if she had been waiting for him to touch her like that and yet she couldn't make out his face as he smirked at her. He breathed her name, "Ka-go-me," like a sigh of satisfaction, of want as he continued to rub his palms along her body until they disappeared under the warm waters of the hot spring. The cool stone of the side was feeling cooler and cooler as her body grew warmer and warmer. It was heaven as he touched her in places that no one but maybe herself had touched before when alone in her room, but she couldn't see who was touching her as she was facing away from him.
"Pleeease," she whispered as he caressed her ass, his claws digging into her flesh as he squeezed her cheeks. She didn't know what she was begging for, but she knew that he was touching her as if she were the most beautiful creature in the world, as if her body were that of a goddess and he was worshiping it.
"Please," she whispered, sounding so pained as she strained to move toward the Hanyou who was now looking rather like a tomato, his nose and those of the other two demons tingling with the new scent and Inuyasha found himself moving her into his lap, golden eyes narrowing at them with a clear warning. Sesshomaru couldn't help but smirk while Koga grumbled under his breath before turning away. His claws tangled themselves in her hair, stroking her scalp in a soothing gesture with a hope that she would calm down with her movements and that scent that was slowly driving him crazy. He had smelt it a few times over the years, but had not known why, but it seems that whatever she was dreaming about was causing it to grow stronger than before. Was she dreaming about the male who had mated her? If that was the case he didn't want her to dream about that, but before he could do more another moan caught his attention as well as the other demons that were still standing by silently. This one wasn't from her this time and the scent that clung to the air was one of fear.
"It's the slayer," Koga stated, his voice coming out rough as he tried to dampen his anger. "She looks like she's in pain." The wolf demon moved closer to her, noting her knitted brow as she shoved her body away from the monk who was also looking a little upset in his own sleep. "What is wrong with them?" No one had an answer.
She could see her brother, standing over with his weapon that had blood already coating it from his slayings, but suddenly it was her standing over her brother in that scene from when she had first learned of Naraku...of when she first met Kagome and Inuyasha...when she had first met- Who else had she met? There was a man and he held her heart, but she could not recall his name, but in that moment she recalled that she had just slayed her whole village.
That's where she stood now, no longer on the castle grounds, but in her village with blood all over her slayer uniform. She was a monster! She had killed all of her own people and now she was hunting her brother down, wanting to find him dead or alive, but she was hunting him...
She was torn in between the facts and the fiction, her mind twisting to keep the two separate and her heart was trying to control the feelings that clenched the organ so tightly. Beside her Miroku thrust about, trying to get away from his friends, from the woman clinging to him as the sound of his wind tunnel filled the silent space.
Not even his lips produced sound that could be heard over his winds even though the tunnel was covered as it always was, but he could hear it as Kagome held tightly to Inuyasha who was keeping them from being sucked in by his sword being stuck in the earth. Sango was at his side, trying to get him to close it while crying out for the safety of their friends and yet he couldn't move. Couldn't do anything since his body had finally run out of time, the feeling of it clawing its way to his heart and piercing it. It was painful but the sound of the woman next to him whispering, "Are you trying to kill us?!" was even more painful, increasing the pain to such a tolerance that he wished he was dead already, wished that he could just dig a hold and wither away. He wanted to be free of that fear, but it was a real one. He could end up killing his friends with his curse, cursing them to the emptiness of his wind tunnel.
Hanging out near the cave, but hidden by the rain and quiet by the thunder this creature lurked, her body wet from the rain, but it didn't hamper her or frighten her as she sat by the entrance. Koe smirked as the water washed over her body, almost calming her raging heart as the pain of the occupants was being drawn into her, covering her like a warm blanket ant then there was the pleasure, her whole body rippling with the sensations of what Kagome was feeling coupled with the slayer's fear of being the culprit that killed her family, of being after her brother and not knowing if she wanted him to be dead so she wouldn't have to kill him or for him to be alive for the same reason.
Then the wind tunnel, that was a wonderful curse, one that would drag the person into oblivion and to think that she was sure he had gone thru all the stages, denial being that he wouldn't die for a long time and finding that you had no time. You wouldn't be with your loved one, you wouldn't be able to keep your friends safe, to being so weak that you killed those very people in your life. Dragging them into the afterlife with you. Looking to the skies she knew that they only need to have the storm going for just another hour for the other people to experience their own inner fears, inner demons so to speak. And yet she could hear someone talking in the cave, her white eyes widening before narrowing in anger. Who was awake?! They were all supposed to be asleep! The girl had failed, but no matter, once she found out who wasn't enjoying the torture of their nightmares would find themselves a part of that very nightmare.
She could see the wolves, hear them as they howled over the horizon, hunting her for an invitation to dinner, but she was the dinner and that frightened her. She had just escaped with her life from the other ones in the village. She looked up and saw Sesshomaru, his silver hair swirling in the winds, his golden eyes calling to her with a need to be beside him. He would protect her and yet this time he spat at her, telling her that she wasn't to follow him. He hated humans and would kill her if she came near him again. That wasn't a problem because she knew he wouldn't since he was her Lord, her protector, but when a growl sounded before her eyes as a male with long black hair conversed with him. But he wasn't conversing with him because there was a puddle of blood seeping out from under him and she could feel his pain as it came off of him in waves, like it had that first time she had seen him leaning against that tree.
He had looked like he was so lost, so dejected and so she had approached him with food and he snapped at her, a cold tone that bespoke of his malice...
That very demon was looking worried, his face remaining passive, but his eyes speaking volumes as he took his ward into his arms as she whimpered and cried. What was going on with all the humans? Why even the kitsune was having issues with a nightmare. He noted that the young girl, Minako, wasn't having a reaction at all, in fact she was sleeping like the dead and he wondered. Sniffing the air he couldn't smell it at first, but with a lean towards the girl he sniffed again only to snarl as he drew back. "She smells like death," he spat turning to his brother and the two other males.
"Death? But she's not dead," Koga asked, confused as he joined the other male to take a sniff of the air that did in fact seem stale with the scent of death, but there was the smell of life too. The girl smelled like real blood flowed thru her body, so why did she smell of death? There was no decision to be made, they needed to find out why this girl smelled so strange and it wasn't because she herself were dead or even a clay doll because while she smelled stale like death, her scent held no graveyard soil or bones. No, she smelled healthy but like a stale health. Inuyasha lay Kagome down and walked closer than the other two males, his finger going out to touch her skin only to step back with a shrug.
"She isn't cold," he stated, his brother tensing as he looked down at the girl in his arms and then back to Inuyasha and it struck the three at the same time. The kitsune held a cold touch, as did Rin because they weren't as close to the fire and that was what made them realize what was going on because the girl shouldn't be warm like she was with no touch of ice. With the weather outside chilly the cave would also be colder. Inuyasha snatched her up, his brother stepping back as they took her to the opening of the cave and thrusting her into the torrent rain while still remaining in his hand. The water woke her up and it was in that second that all three saw it flicker in her eyes as they turned white for no more than two seconds as the green they were appeared and darkened. She was under control! Bringing her back into the cave they just stood there trying to scent out what they had smelled earlier and yes, it was still there, that scent of death.
She now looked up at them as if she couldn't see them, but her mouth moved and words did come out, but her voice was different. "Why did you do that?" A smirk twisting on her tiny lips and Sesshomaru felt an intense heat come off of her. Her skin flushed as she asked him again, "Why would you do something like that to a human child? Are you such a monster that you would allow a child to become sick and die from your inconsiderate actions?"
"Don't listen to her," Sesshomaru snarled, but he didn't raise a hand to her, no he moved to place Rin by Kagome as he straightened to look into the girl's dark eyes, the green gone from them. "She isn't saying it, but whomever is controlling her is." Inuyasha growled, yeah, he got that, but it was the voice that she was using and it was so cold and so telling strangely enough. Like he could feel the disgust in the toneless voice and the way she played on his emotions with such a guilty set of words. He wanted to drop her and while he knew he couldn't hurt since she was real he waited for her to say more.
"Yes, the girl does have a village and all of the people are alive...for now," she said with a twisted smile. "Unless you want them to die or your little friends," she sneered. "to continue to experience this every night until they die, the pain that will keep them unable to sleep and relax as their dreams become your nightmares..." she paused, her eyes narrowing, "Then you will come to her village and give me the shard, well, portion of the Shikon no Tama. I give you until the next sunrise." And suddenly the rain stopped, no slowing down or letting up, but just stopped as the sun rose high over the trees and the girl went limp in his hand. The three were stuck there as the rest of their group began to stir, Rin shifting in the arms of her lord as she opened her eyes to peer up at him. He nearly growled at the look in her eyes. Fear. As he looked up at the group he could see it in all of their eyes, save for Koga and Inuyasha. There was fear, guilt, a wariness that filled the air with such a thick scent that he released his ward before heading out of the cave.
That was just the tip of the iceberg that was that day.
What was going on with the gang and why was it only a few that have become inflicted with it? Why is Sesshomaru mad? And will they be able to overcome whatever this person had thrown in their way? Stay safe!