Chapter Twenty-Five
Rescuing Kagome and Operation Save Dad
Disclaimer: How many times do I have to repeat myself? Geez … clean out your ears! I don't own InuYasha!
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Kasei and Ai finally reached Sesshomaru and what they saw made shivers run down their spines.
"Father?" Kasei began slowly, his brain telling him not to make any sudden movements. Sesshomaru's eyes had lost their golden color long ago and now were beginning to go blood red and his fangs had even seemed to lengthen.
"Lord Sesshomaru?" Ai called softly but to no avail, he seemed to be in some sort of enraged trance.
"Mom has been kidnapped." A male voice said from behind them, making the couple jump. They turned around to see Kasei's older brother, Shippo, decked out in armor.
"What? By who?" Ai questioned, almost panicking. She had heard the stories about the foolish that dared to mess with Sesshomaru and it wasn't pretty.
Kasei didn't say anything, he just thought long and hard. It was obviously someone who had it in for his entire family … Ai broke into his thoughts with a gasp.
"Sakimu." This easily caught Shippo's hearing and he turned to the couple.
"Who?"
"There is this some sort of demon and her name is Sakimu. She was controlling my body and … " She trailed off, shame filling her. Shippo frowned a little bit and footsteps caught his attention and he moved out of the way quickly as a powerful demon came up to them. Ai noticed the demons shoes and looked up into Sesshomaru's face.
"Tell me more about this demon." He demanded in a cool voice, making everyone within hearing distance shiver.
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Later, Ai had finished telling him everything she knew about Sakimu and how she had been kidnapped but managed to get away only to run into this wolf demon in which she had managed to escape from by him falling off a cliff. She told Sesshomaru about the castle and the little she could see and tell about the leader and he didn't say anything to her, just turned to his army and held up a sword, letting out a battle cry.
The army roared back and they took off, lead by Sesshomaru. They went up, over or through anything that was in their way and Sesshomaru stopped, Kagome's scent mingled with the smell of her blood tingled his sensitive nose. With a growl, he turned back to his army.
"We have found a trail." He announced and began following it, being followed by the massive army. Ai and Kasei just watched them leave the castle grounds before the healers ushered the couple into the surprisingly small medicine section of the castle.
The trail was easy enough to follow for Sesshomaru and they soon arrived at the castle, which loomed above them and resembled Sesshomaru's own castle but not nearly as nice. Sesshomaru had to yank himself back into control the second the castle came into sight and Shippo helped to calm him.
"This could be some sort of trap, using Kagome as bait." Sesshomaru nodded at the boy's statement. Indeed, it was most likely a trap.
"If you can wait out of sight, Sesshomaru, then a few of the men can cause a big enough distraction so I can go in and find Kagome." The great dog demon looked to the kitsune, slight surprise on his features.
"You will be caught much before you can ever reach Kagome." Shippo grinned and took out a leaf.
"Not if I'm invisible." With a slight poof, he had vanished and Sesshomaru was completely at a loss, since the boy's youki and scent has disappeared along with his physical form. Whether or not he liked it, the plan was not set into action so Sesshomaru slinked into the shadows of the trees.
Sakimu was watching from a window and she made her way to her master.
"Master, we have a very alarming amount of visitors." She informed him which caused him to move to a different window and frown. This was going to put a wrench into his plans. He had no idea that Sesshomaru would be enraged enough to form the biggest army he had ever seen. He was just expecting the great demon lord to come by himself and try to hopelessly rescue his human mate. He had many minions and the first wave of the army was eating up his own which didn't please him in the slightest.
Scanning over the massive and certainly alarming army, he realize that they would, indeed, come in waves but, no army was a real army without a leader so it could only mean that his target was somewhere nearby. With a chuckle, any fear that he had held had disappeared.
"What shall we do, Master?" Sakimu asked in her usual monotone voice.
"Let them come, Sakimu. Our target is somewhere near by." After issuing his orders, he walked out of the room, leaving Sakimu to herself and he headed up to the roof of the castle.
Shippo was weaving in and out of corridors, making his way to where he would find Kagome. He had picked up her scent and followed it about the castle for some time before finding one that was the strongest and followed it. He was in luck since it just kept getting stronger and stronger and he finally found Kagome sitting on a pile of straw in dark, damp and very unpleasant dungeon room. Looking around, he was slightly surprised to see that she wasn't being guarded in the least. He stopped and sniffed around, trying to pick up any other scents that would pose a threat to his plan of getting Kagome out of there.
Finding none, he moved to the door and slowly opened it, wincing and stopping as it creaked and groaned. He was still invisible but the sound of the door could have attracted some unwanted guests. Looking around and listening, he put his senses on high alert though; the other thing he could hear was Kagome's breathing and the sounds of battle outside of the walls.
Finally satisfied that they were alone, Shippo slipped into the room where Kagome was. "Kagome."
Kagome stirred a little and woke up, looking around and blinking. "H-hello?"
"Kagome." Shippo called again, watching as she turned her head to the sound but frowned in confusion. Raising a hand, he lifted the leaf up and he could be seen again. Kagome's eyes widened and she got up, launching herself at Shippo.
Shippo hugged his adopted mother back with a smile. "Are you hurt?" Kagome shook her head a little.
"Not really, I hit my head on a rock earlier but it's fine now. What are you doing here?"
"We've come to rescue you." Kagome blinked a little.
"We? As in Sesshomaru is here as well?" Shippo nodded and frowned a little when he didn't get the expected smile along with the expected happy and relieved response.
"Why? What's wrong?"
"It's a trap, Shippo. He wants to kill Sesshomaru because he believes that Sesshomaru killed InuYasha's mother in which he was in love with." Shippo blinked a little bit.
"Who? Him who?"
"Takimaru." Shippo's memory ran the name and came up with a faint memory.
"Takimaru of Setsuna? The guy who kidnapped you and Rin and got possessed by Sounga?" Kagome nodded and Shippo though for a minute.
"Sesshomaru is staying outside though, he's not coming into the castle." Kagome nodded again and then noticed the armor he was wearing.
"Shippo, why are you wearing armor?" Shippo grinned a little.
"You should see the army that's outside, Kagome. I know you're not particularly fond of fighting but as soon as Sesshomaru found out that you had been kidnapped, he assembled this massive army." He shook his head a little, remembering that his business here was to get Kagome out of the castle and to Sesshomaru safely and soundly.
"We have to get going. If we hang around too long, someone is bound to come and check on you." Kagome nodded and Shippo's keen hearing picked up footsteps coming towards them. Shippo put Kagome back on the straw and he instantly made himself invisible, covering up all his demonic abilities including his scent and youki.
Sakimu came down and noticed that Kagome was sleeping. Scanning the room quickly, she paused and looked to wear Shippo was standing, holding his breath Kagome fake stirred a little, drawing Sakimu's attention to her and away from Shippo. Scanning the room again, she decided that all was well and moved on.
A few minutes later, Shippo decided that it was safe to become visible again he let out the breath he had been holding and Kagome stood up, looking to Shippo who crouched down to let his adopted mother climb onto his back.
Kagome climbed on without a second thought and in and instant, they were both invisible and stealthily running down the corridors, trying to find an exit. Kagome leaned over to Shippo's ear, speaking very low and very quietly.
"I think there's a way out down here somewhere." Shippo nodded a little.
"Alright."
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By this time, the sun had lost the battle and the rain had come again and Takimaru was standing on the rooftop of the castle and a laugh of a mad man could be heard all the way to Sesshomaru's ears.
"Lord Sesshomaru, I never thought you to be a coward." He called out, eyes searching for any sign of the demon lord. Sesshomaru stood still though his blood cried out that he silence the voice that was calling him a coward but he told himself that he blew cover then Shippo's plan would be in vain and he might never get Kagome back alive.
"I know you're out there Lord Sesshomaru but, if you're not willing to blow your cover for your pride then maybe you'll be willing to for your mate." With a snap of his fingers, Sakimu found Shippo and Kagome and knocked them over, sending Kagome sprawling away from Shippo and becoming visible yet again.
Shippo groaned and lifted his head just in time to see Kagome being carted off by a very strange looking woman. Growling a little, he jumped to his feet and ran after them but he just couldn't keep up and he chased them until they found the roof. Kagome regained consciousness once the cold rain began hitting her face and she looked around, confused and then fear ran through her body when she saw her capturer and then Takimaru.
Shippo growled again and made a mad dash for Kagome but Sakimu just handed her to Takimaru and used her flute to draw up a barrier, preventing him from reaching her. Shippo slammed into the barrier just to be thrown backwards. Slowly getting up, he could only watch as Takimaru held Kagome in his outstretched hand so she was dangling in the air. Kagome looked down and gulped, hanging onto Takimaru's arm for dear life.
Sesshomaru watched the scene unfold and he felt his heart slam into him and his breath leave him. He didn't know what the hell to do! If he left his cover behind and tried to save Kagome, Takimaru could easily kill her though he knew that he could catch her if he dropped her. Takimaru chuckled and tightened his grip on Kagome's neck, slowly choking off her air supply. Kagome gasped and wriggled, trying anything to get him to loosen his grip.
The scene reached Sesshomaru's eyes and he growled deeply, causing a few of the soldiers that were close to him to step away and quickly. His eyes went red and the wind picked up around him and soon, a giant dog appeared through the red wind, drawing the attention of everyone around him. Kagome's eyes widened, she had only ever seen Sesshomaru transform and that was at the very beginning of her travels with InuYasha!
"Well, Lord Sesshomaru, how about we forget the girl and settle this one on one?" Takimaru's taunting voice reached his ears and he raised his hackles, a loud growl coming from him.
"No? Well then, say good bye to your precious mate!" He bellowed, letting go of Kagome completely, pleased with her terrified shriek. Sesshomaru only froze for a fraction of a second before he ran towards the castle, leaping and bounding over the troops and finally launching himself into the sky, aiming to catch Kagome but, on cue, Sakimu flew down and grabbed Kagome, bringing her back to Takimaru who put a long and very sharp sword to her throat.
A sick smirk came to his lips when he saw the great dog demon freeze.
"I have a proposition for you, Lord Sesshomaru. It's just a little trade. You turn yourself over to me in exchange for the girl's life." Kagome's eyes widened.
"No, Sesshomaru! Don't do it! It's a trap!"
"Shut up, wench!" Takimaru growled and backhanded Kagome so hard that she fell to the hard surface of the roof, unconscious. Drawing his sword again, he tilted Kagome's head up a little so the point of the sword was aimed to slice through without a moment's hesitation. He slowly lifted his gaze from Kagome's unconscious form to Sesshomaru who had transformed back to his regular self.
"Do we have a deal, Lord Sesshomaru?" Sesshomaru looked at Kagome and then at everyone else and slowly nodded.
"We have a deal, Takimaru." The sick smirk came back to his face and he looked to Sakimu, who let the barrier down, allowing Shippo access.
"Take your lady back where she belongs and don't try anything smart or I'll kill your lord right here and now." Shippo growled at them but slowly picked up Kagome's unconscious body, jumping form the roof and landing easily.
Slowly, the army walked away from the castle, returning back home to Sesshomaru's castle. Shippo carried Kagome easily but inwardly cursed himself for not being able to do anything other than just stand there. He could still faintly hear Takimaru's commands for Sesshomaru to rid himself of his armor and swords and he heard the distinctive clink of Sesshomaru doing exactly that.
Turning his attention back to the journey ahead of them, he couldn't help but feel as if he had failed Kagome yet again …
Everyone that had stayed behind, including Sango, Miroku and InuYasha, was waiting impatiently for them to return. InuYasha was pacing and Takara was standing on the outer walls that surrounded the castle and the earth around it.
When she saw the first of the troops, she gave a sharp whistle and the gates opened but no one could see a happy face and finally spotted Shippo, bringing up the rear, carrying her mother. Takara's heart pounded and she couldn't take it anymore. Jumping down from the wall, she sped over to her obviously adopted brother before demanding,
"What happened! Where is he!" Her orders woke Kagome up who was set down on her feet and Shippo only looked away from the two. Tears came to Kagome's eyes and she stepped towards Shippo, who still wouldn't look at her.
"He agreed, didn't he?" Shippo finally brought his sad eyes to hers and Takara growled.
"Agreed to what? WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!" Shippo slowly nodded before finally speaking.
"He didn't want to risk your life, Kagome, so he agreed to stay behind." The news hit Takara and Kagome full force and, unlike her mother who began sobbing, she just ran. She didn't know where she was running to but she didn't care. That bastard was putting her mother through hell again probably just because of his flipping honor! Growling, she leapt over trees and anything in her way, going faster than she had ever gone before and when she was roused from her thoughts, she found herself at the castle where her father was.
She climbed a tree to get a better view and she saw him in the courtyard, chained up and shirtless. His back was bleeding and there was a masked demon lashing at him with a whip. He didn't cry out though he outwardly flinched and Takara blinked a little bit, forcing herself to stay and watch the scene that played out in front of her eyes.
He didn't stay behind just because of his honor, she realized. He really does love her, she thought. Standing, she was filled with new determination; she was going to bust him out. He couldn't get anywhere without his armor or weapons or anything like that and he certainly wasn't going to be going anywhere while he was chained up like that.
Growling again, she took off with the speed of a full demon and reached her home in record time.
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Miroku lightly stroked his chin while he thought over the bit of information he'd received from Takara. Sango was equally deep in thought though she occasionally glanced at Shippo and the others. InuYasha was being as fidgety as ever, not liking the thought of saving his bastard brother but, Kagome's reaction had hit him hard. Though he wasn't in love with her anymore but, she was his first friend after Kikyo and she had stuck through everything with him.
Kasei looked to his twin sister. "Are you sure this is going to work?" Takara looked to him and nodded in confidence.
"I'm positive. They won't be expecting this and Uncle InuYasha, Sango, Miroku and Shippo have defeated this Takimaru guy before."
"Well of course we have." InuYasha put in, crossing his arms. Kasei just ignored his uncle and slowly nodded at his sister's words.
"But, are you sure that we are experienced enough to go up against something like this?" Takara looked down at the question. She looked at her hands and memories came flooding back to her. This was their chance to give something back to their mother who had literally given up half her life to them.
"We have to at least try." The group nodded and an unfamiliar voice spoke.
"It is good to finally meet you two." Everyone blinked and turned to InuYasha, who looked at his shoulder and picked up the familiar flea between his claws.
"Myoga? What are you doing here?" InuYasha queried, frowning a little, watching the flea as he crossed his arms and closed his eyes.
"I came as fast as I could when I heard about the kidnapping of Lady Kagome." He opened his eyes and looked to Kasei and Takara.
"You are Kagome's offspring are you not?" They nodded and the flea nodded.
"You have interesting qualities, especially you, Takara." Sango leaned in, a little confused.
"What do you mean, Myoga?" Myoga cleared his throat a little, looking to the twin half demons.
"Well, you both are, indeed, half demons but, you, Takara, have the priestess blood that is surprisingly living in perfect harmony with your demon blood. Master InuYasha, you know of Kagome's very powerful priestess powers since you four traveled with her so much." The four companions nodded and InuYasha cut in before Myoga could continue.
"Wait, you're saying that she can shoot sacred arrows?" The flea nodded.
"That is exactly what I'm saying." Miroku nodded a little bit.
"That makes sense and it would certainly help us to have a miko on our side." Takara grinned a little bit.
"A half demon miko." She corrected and stood up.
"Alright. Tomorrow morning, we set out with our plan. Operation Save Dad." After a round of agreements, Takara leaned down, grinning and looking at Myoga.
"And you, flea, are coming with us."
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Just before they were about to set out the next morning, the found Kagome standing in her old school uniform that still surprisingly fit her, with a bunch of arrows on her back, carrying a bow. Everyone blinked a little bit, just staring at Kagome. For the four old traveling companions, it was like seeing a ghost but for the twins, it was just plain weird. Kagome looked to everyone in turn and finally spoke.
"I'm coming with you." Takara looked at Kasei who looked back and then they both looked to everyone else, not really knowing what to say.
"This is one time where I'm not going to sit by. He is in this mess because of me and I'm not going to let them kill him." Her voice waived a little and tears came to her eyes but she stood strong. Finally, it was actually InuYasha that broke the silence.
"Well then, hop on, Kagome." He crouched down to let Kagome climb on his back just like old times, which made her smile. Sango looked to Kiara who hopped down and transformed, letting Sango and Miroku climb on. This time, though, Shippo was on foot since he was old enough. Kasei and Takara were also on foot and InuYasha actually had a little bit of trouble keeping up.
Finally, the reached the castle and Takara climbed a tree with ease and, in the cover of the branches, she spotted a very unsuspecting Sakimu out in the open. Notching an arrow, she aimed carefully and let it fly, the arrow flying soundlessly and hitting Sakimu before she could react.
Sango swung her mighty boomerang and took out all the demons in their way, enabling them to get to the gate. They paused when they reached the gate and Takara looked to them, nodding to everyone before going their separate ways, Sango, Miroku, InuYasha and Kagome going in one direction to find Takimaru while Takara, Kasei and Shippo went to locate Sesshomaru.
After running through corridors, they found him battered, bruised and beaten, left to die from his wounds in a dark, dank and damp dungeon cell.
Not bothering to pick the lock, Takara just sliced through the door and went to his side. She gently rolled him over to examine the extent of the damage and it woke him from his unconscious state, causing him to groan in response to being woken and moved. Slowly, though, he opened his eyes and was more than a little surprised.
"Takara?" He asked rather weakly. Takara looked to him and smiled a little.
"Hey dad, what's happening?" Sesshomaru managed to smile at the expression even though he didn't fully understand the use of it, he was actually rather touched. He moved his head a little bit and saw Kasei and Shippo there as well who both gave him smiles and his son gave him the thumbs up.
"Nothing much, really." He replied, attempting at some humor. Takara smiled a little bit and moved to make room for her brother who, with the help of Shippo and herself, managed to get Sesshomaru onto Kasei's back.
"Man, when we get out of this, you're going on a diet." Sesshomaru chuckled a little bit. He had heard Kagome talk about diets a few times so he had a bit of an idea of what his children were talking about. Takara looked to her brother and then to Shippo, earning nods from them both.
"Alright, let's go." They took off as fast as they could, cutting down a few in the way demons before making it outside just in time to see Takimaru trying to escape, using Kagome as a hostage to ensure his safe escape. InuYasha was following him, Tetsaiga drawn but not making any movements to attack know that if he did, he would hit Kagome and probably kill her in the process.
"You think you could defeat me that easily? I am Takimaru of Setsuna! I will not be defeated so easily. You may have saved your lord but I still have the girl. She'll make a fine bride if I do say so myself and she'll bear me fine children." InuYasha growled and Takara growled even more, sounding almost like Sesshomaru. No one even noticed that she slipped off and towards the castle again.
InuYasha glared at him. "I've taken you down once and I'll do it again!"
Takimaru chuckled a little, still keeping his arm around Kagome, holding a dagger to her throat. He was walking backwards to where a ride was waiting.
"Maybe so but do you really want to kill the girl just to kill me?" He smirked when InuYasha paused and continued. "I didn't think so. You're only a half-breed, a pathetic half-breed that even teamed up with your friends to rescue your brother, you still couldn't kill me. You're just like your father, too weak to stop me."
InuYasha growled, pointing Tetsaiga at him again. "Yeah? So what? You're not going to get me with that stupid bullshit again, Takimaru!" Takimaru only laughed, stopping just before climbing onto his ride. InuYasha saw who was behind him and blinked a little bit at the strange object she was holding. It didn't look very threatening though it smelled funny. His ears twitched when he heard a clicking noise making Kagome freeze and Takimaru turn around.
Kagome's eyes widened a little, looking at the metal object, which she knew as a gun. "Takara, where did you get that?" Takara looked to her mother, giving her an apologetic look.
"I'm sorry mom. I thought that we might need it since we were coming here." Takimaru looked at the object and then burst out laughing.
"You don't honestly think that a tiny little thing like that will hurt me will you?" Takara glared at him and lifted the gun to the sky, firing it, making InuYasha cover his hears along with everyone else except Takimaru. She brought it back down and readied it to be fired, pointing it at his skull.
"You deserve to die a horrible, painful death. You have disrupted my entire family and nearly killed at least two of my family members." Takimaru narrowed his eyes at the weapon, fear slowly creeping into him at the girl's voice. It was eerily calm and it didn't do anything to calm him as she spoke with it while holding the mysterious weapon at his face.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't blow your fucking face off." If it weren't for Takara's ears and her swift movements, Takimaru would have landed another dagger in her gut. Jumping out of the way, her finger squeezed the trigger and the bullet went soaring into his forehead, a little bit of blood seeping out of the wound before he fell dead onto the cold hard roof of the castle which began to crumble.
InuYasha sheathed Tetsaiga and grabbed Kagome, jumping off the roof with Takara following behind. Once they landed, Takara unloaded the gun and put the safety on, putting it back in its place at her side. The group watched her and Takara looked up at everyone.
"I thought I would need it." She told her mother again. Kagome just shook her head and threw her arms around her daughter and only pulled back when Takara did. Kasei gradually set his father down, bracing him against himself for a minute. Kagome's eyes rested on a very beaten up Sesshomaru and they watered. Sesshomaru smiled a little and Kagome launched herself at him, throwing her arms around his waist, tears running down her cheeks.
Sesshomaru breathed a sigh of relief that everyone was safe and alive still, especially his mate. Wrapping his own arms around her, he took in her scent that never failed to soothe him and closed his eyes. It felt so good to at last, have her in his arms. They stood there, like that, for a long time until someone cleared their throat, drawing their attention to the crumbling castle.
Once the castle was at the ground, a large cloud of dust rose up and everyone just stood there, waiting for it to fall and when it finally did, Takara turned to the group.
"I think it's time we all went home." Sesshomaru smiled and nodded.
"Lead the way." She grinned and nodded. Sesshomaru was lifted onto Kasei's back again and Kagome climbed onto InuYasha's with Shippo who also traveled on foot and Sango and Miroku who rode Kiara.
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A/N: BOOYAH! Another chapter down! I hope you guys liked this one :3 I made it extra long because you all have been just so awesome lately!
I have a correction on the date that I actually do leave town. Instead of August 20th, it's actually the 18th. I will try my hardest to update before then and get computer access during that time.
Now! A special thank you to my reviewers:
Merani chansassy girl31
Panny-Son-Briefs
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