AN: This story has taken one hell of a turn hasn't it... Although I've kept you in suspense for two chapters, the story line isn't convoluted, so please don't beat down my door (or my pride for that matter) if it doesn't meet your expectations.
I want to give my everlasting thanks to Hieiluva, InuYasha Lover 813, Dieforinuyasha, mysterious, InuYashaSano, Anna Sohma, Twinkle, Inuaru, and Robine for all the encouragement. I was having my doubts about this one.
As Baki drove her steed forward along the narrow mountain side she grew increasingly furious with the situation entirely. She guaranteed Naraku a dead half demon and a just as dead human, executed in such a way that death was inevitable. Neither of them seemed capable of fighting back or escaping at the time, and she was by no means intimidated.
Now Naraku will doubt her.
It was only a few hours form sundown and she was just mere miles from the rendezvous point. A part of her, despite her prior confidence of the fact that she'd successfully killed them, felt uneasy.
Kagura would have frowned upon her. The seemingly heartless woman, primarily because of the literal fact that she wasn't in possession of her own heart, influenced her more than any person she'd ever known. From her she learned defiance, she learned to be her own person, and that the leverage of death was never a true reason to allow yourself to be manipulated.
All of those inspiring nuances were true. But Baki and Kagura were two different people living two different lives; one in the land of the living, succumbing to Naraku's bidding and the other in the land of the dead, finally being independent for once. It was an insult to Kagura's memory to follow in her foot steps and carry out the same fate she spent her life regretting: serving Naraku.
But it couldn't be helped; they were, in every way, different.
Baki was infatuated with Naraku to a degree she really couldn't explain. She felt an eerie satisfaction whenever she carried out something that seemed to please him, self-loathing when he was disappointment, and a blurred sense of right and wrong under his influences. For him it mattered not who she avenged, though she didn't know them. His gain was her gain, and his losses also hers. It wasn't love, and she hardly felt able to call it caring for him, but it made her risk her neck on his behalf. And she had no idea why. What was it about him?
And still the matter at hand remained.
As the ground flew beneath her, and the building anxiety to discover the unknown threatened to teem over the boundaries of her self control, she forced her mount further and faster yet. The place where judgment day was decided was rounding and her fate was teetering on a thin, unbalanced line.
Baki could see the sacrilege of her seemingly flawless plan up ahead, and dismounted her steed, as she could not maneuver it throughout the field. The whole place was untouched, a horrendous scene to picture from ground level but she pushed on; it would be ten times worse when she got to the bodies…they'd hardly look like the people they were meant to be. The more gruesome, the more dead they were.
As she reached the focal point, as the masses around her grew closer together, as the moon made itself known and the deadly tips of the weapons she'd left behind became visible, she felt the muscles of her face shift into an involuntary smile. She knew very well that it was triggered by Naraku's satisfaction.
The poignant smell of iron reached her nose, and then the dried trail of the once dark crimson liquid excited her insatiably, but she wouldn't be satisfied until she saw them. Closer and closer she got to center of it all, closer to the bodies…there, feet away…
…lay nothing at all.
Baki could merely stand her ground and stare in disbelief.
The bodies of the people who were supposed to be dead were no where to be found.
o.O.oO.o.O.o
I hadn't any idea how I became unconscious even with InuYasha shielding me, but it didn't matter, and I wasn't going to jinx my luck. I was alive…I had to be. Hell shouldn't be void like this….where was the fire? The eternal damnation? All I could see now was a once black canvas, speckling apart as my eyes seemed to open.
The very first sensation I felt when I opened my eyes was pain.
Sheer and tangible pain.
I saw the memories of my close demise flash before me, and what I was too shocked and horrified to say before flew out of me on impulse.
"Spears!" I screamed. I was sitting up now, in a cold sweat, my head drumming madly against the intruding thoughts of the morning's events. I was treating the entire ordeal like a dream; a dream so real it scared me, caused me physical pain, and nearly killed me, but a dream no less.
It flashed in sequences; moments I couldn't force out of my head…moments I'd never forget.
The clear blue sky was its bluest as InuYasha and I leaned upon the same tree, quiet…
Then the tension brought upon by the mention of my usefulness, still, the air was calm…
His face when he looked at the sky that first instant…when he looked back at me…
And finally the impenetrable horror of the sudden blanket of sharp pointed blades, raining down over us as I lie flat under InuYasha's vulnerable body.
"InuYasha" I whispered, looking around restlessly to find him, but he wasn't anywhere near me. In fact….he wasn't in this cabin at all. I finally took a moment to take notice of my surroundings. It was unfamiliar...barren and clearly abandoned, and I was alone.
I tried to get up and look around for some familiar faces, just to fall back down again: my head was still a little fuzzy. I was glad that physical pain was there to take my mind off the pain of having to think about InuYasha and his condition.
There was no way to convince myself that he wasn't hurt, no way to force my usually optimistic self to believe he was doing well and prospering.
No, he was experiencing some level of pain, of that I'm sure.
And all I want is to be with him.
I can't stand the fact that he's alone, somewhere where I couldn't find him, even if he's surrounded by people, he'll find a way to seclude himself. I wanted to force my company on him, make sure he knew I was there for him, in life and in death; that he would have to try his hardest to keep me away.
It was a confession I wasn't sure he'd reciprocate right now, with my question on that first night still unanswered and all (there's was no way to determine how long I'd been lying here indefinitely)… But I knew he wouldn't push me away, he'd let me indulge myself, I knew he wouldn't be that insensitive….because indeed, the near impossible, and the unforeseeable had just happened… I was lost and confused and needed the company just as much as I think he does,
I breathed heavily, my body and mind were tired from trying to keep myself alive. I flopped back down on the poorly made makeshift place mat and let drowsiness take hold.
"InuYasha, where are you?" I whispered before letting sleep become me.
o.O.o.O.o.O.o
"Damn you to hell Miroku, where is she? ",whispered InuYasha. Miroku leaned over him to better hear his words, growing more frustrated with each response.
"As I explained to you before, InuYasha –and stay with me this time- Kagome was conscious but still could not sustain the longer flight to Kaede's as your wounds were far more serious than her own. She's recuperating not far from here. It was impossible to bring you both. Forgive us for setting priorities." he informed. InuYasha returned his sarcasm with a forced glare. It was all he could manage.
"And as I said before: I don't give a damn." He seethed. Miroku sighed and shook his head as he rose to situate himself outside where the air was free of the hanyou's rage.
"Then you will lie there until you heal enough to travel." He left, ignoring InuYasha's growling.
The minute he gained his sanity and sense of mind he tried to go look for Kagome, much to the others' expectations. He had to admit; he hardly thought he'd be alive to see her face again. And now that he was, he couldn't be away from her, he had to know she was safe.
Yes, the pain was insurmountable, but he was covered from head to foot in foul smelling salves and miles of medical tape from Kagome's backpack. He would live. And despite Miroku's assurances he just needed to be certain that Kagome would too.
He'd done his best to protect her, to shield every obtruding body part from the storm of weapons. It was better that trying to out run them; she'd only be more vulnerable. He only had minutes to decide, but he had no doubts that he would certainly trade his life for hers. It was all he had to offer.
Of course he couldn't verbally express this to the over protective humans around him. He hoped that a simple demand from a half demon on his death bed would be enough but it wasn't. They would not let him go.
But he didn't intend on taking no for answer anyhow. With or without their consent he was determined to see her, even if it meant taking them all down in the process. The only problem was his strength…or lack thereof. He had to prop himself on a wall to take the weight off his legs; they were clearly unfit for standing. A spear had hit him behind the knees and near his Achilles, and the nerves were shot. The rest of him was throbbing from sore dull pain, but he felt himself healing every minute.
However…Kaede would not be denied.
She subdued him to his futon and to try and force it off, which he knew he would be capable of at optimum strength, was a feat he couldn't handle right now. Still the very prospect of lying around doing nothing did not sit well with him. He had to do something…however small it would be.
So he decided to take the time to evaluate the past few hours. All he could manage to think about was Kagome and case scenarios that could happen to possibly endanger her, which ultimately led to upsetting himself over his current immobility. He sighed and he watched the sun die down. He tried harder this time to put things into perspective.
Alright, her health first…her feelings next…he thought to himself.
Today's events perplexed him and he did not like being left in the dark; primarily the part where the head master's minions had been sent after them. 'Why' was an important question, though that one didn't need answering.
"Kagome…" he groaned. She always found convenient ways to inadvertently get herself into trouble. She was a danger magnet that never faulted, never ceased to point in the direction of the next and most dangerous situation. And this one surpassed them all.
He never imagined he could find himself in such a confounding predicament, and on such short notice… He often evaluated, when he watched her sleep, what it was about her that drew so much malice toward them all. What was it about the considerably normal girl from the future that drew them together?
He growled silently to himself and put his hands under his head, despite the pain.
Health first, feelings next… he thought more poignantly.
He thought back to earlier that morning, when Miroku was discussing with the inn keeper on boarding prices, which he was trying so hard to egg down, much to his amusement.
"And to your liking I suppose?" dictated the inn keeper. He and Miroku were talking figures as InuYasha leaned languidly against the nearest wall, waiting idly by.
"Oh we have no standards, anything you have to offer…" said Miroku graciously, keeping things light in the inn keeper's favor.
"We have rooms you see…but the price cannot be ignored. We've been too gracious over the past weeks, our profit is declining. We wouldn't be helping the matter at all if we let you slide. And here you are asking for two rooms…I wish I had better news for you." He said sadly. He seemed truly concerned if nothing else.
"Sir, I assure you, we won't be any trouble. With the time now, it'll only amount to a couple of hours, we have plans to leave by dawn. Your villagers spared us…we are in no condition to pay too. The women we travel with are exhausted form today's events. Try to understand…" The bald man sighed, obviously weighing his options. He sighed.
"You're with the demon I suppose?" he glanced in InuYasha's direction. InuYasha took offense to how lightly he tossed the word 'demon' around.
"My right hand man" Miroku gleamed. The inn keeper sighed again.
At that moment, two ladies had exited a room to the far side and laughed to themselves in secret understanding.
"Oh do not be modest monk. Please Ryo, get these men rooms for their wives and be done with it. A few hours will not clear our profits, you know that." One of them said.
"Yes headmistress." He impulsively uttered.
That if nothing else caught InuYasha's attention. He didn't know about Miroku and all his secret infidelities, but he sure as hell didn't have a wife. Actually…the idea of marriage was downright unnerving. Miroku of course did nothing at all to correct her mistake. If anything he seemed to forget her mishap altogether…he made his way over, and as expected, began flirting.
InuYasha was growing irritated. If he had to be a married man and act like one, then Miroku would too.
"Miroku, this is tiring. We have the damn rooms…shouldn't you be getting back to your wife?" he growled. He merely waved a hand over his shoulder and InuYasha wasn't going to wait around for him any longer. He returned to Kagome's room to settle in.
She was pensive. It was blatant on her face. She was thinking about something troubling, her eyes were too focused…more than they should have been. He smelled her tension. But Kagome never went without being this way for very long, so InuYasha ignored it…until she sighed.
It sounded like a cry for help, an open opportunity for someone to console her…a beckoning. He'd lately been more in tune with her actions, more concerned…for the simple fact that he strangely-and more often now than ever- began caring to an extreme.
"What?" he said smoothly.
…and the conversation riled on from there. He never thought she felt-
"Not now…" he sighed. Verbally reminding himself of his plan- to figure out what was going on, who was attacking, and then figure out what to say to Kagome.
He remembered being outside when he'd left her, the placid air of midnight was therapeutic to his thought process. He then recalled finding a tree to sit in until morning, anywhere that would shelter him from her overly expressive eyes.
And he stayed there until dawn, when they'd planned to leave, as they promised the innkeeper. Miroku was leaning outside of his room which was across the lawn from the one he shared with Kagome. He approached slowly, still tired, has he had not been able to sleep all night long.
"Is Sango ready?" he asked flatly, not really caring who was awake, but deliberately trying to negate hearing Kagome's name. Miroku smirked.
"I hadn't the heart to wake her…she is tired, there's no ignoring that." He explained. InuYasha nodded, not really wanting to wake Kagome either.
And together they stood side by side, watching the sun show itself completely over the eastern mountains. Both were engrossed in their own mental worlds, neither wanting to break the silence. In their little group, what with two loquacious women, and a giddy young fox demon, silence was hard to come by. Suddenly, Miroku yawned.
"I might as well seize the morning." He said, his unexpected voice ringing sharply in InuYasha's ears. Miroku turned and retreated back to his room. As he left, InuYasha made his way to the court yard, not able to focus well, just merely letting his feet take him there.
On his way, he saw a man in a plain shogun's uniform progressing steadily towards him. He effortlessly quickened his pace.
"InuYasha?" called the man. How in the world that man knew his name was beyond him, but nevertheless, he wasn't in the mood for conversation.
"InuYasha, slow down." The man commanded with an authoritative voice. InuYasha wheeled around impatiently.
"And who the hell are you?" he said, his voice covered in venom.
"Calm down, hadn't meant to startle you. I am the headmaster, I oversee this estate." He explains.
"Oh.", he replies, slackening his jaw. He wasn't going to apologize but then again he knew that treating the man with blatant disrespect was unmerited. "What do you want" he asks?"
"So eager to get to the point…please, tell me…our services met your needs did they not? I can't completely control whether or not business gets done around here as it should be, I always need to manag-"
"It was fine" he said flatly. He was most definitely not in the mood for inane chatter. The shogun cleared his throat. His hair was pulled into a high ponytail that slicked back every strand that would have been lagging otherwise, not the usual top knot that InuYasha would have expected. His gi was too plain, his skin was too pale. He was too lithe to be a shogun.
"My assistant hears the dilemmas that run through the business and addresses them to me…" he says.
"I don't have a dilemma." Said InuYasha plainly and turns face, but the headmaster would not be denied.
"But you do InuYasha! And I can help." He says with an all too gracious smile. InuYasha waits to hear what the frail looking man has to say. "I was told you hadn't the money to pay our regular fees…"
InuYasha growled.
"I thought we fixed this problem last night!" he yelled sharply.
"Yes, yes, to an extent, but come now InuYasha, we have profits to see to. Last year was not a good one, we're entitled to fill the gap." InuYasha grounded his teeth together noisily. "Hence…I have a proposition to make. A trade."
"I have nothing to give you" InuYasha says suddenly.
"Oh but you do." He smiles too wide again.
"What in hell do I have that you could possibly want?"
"I'd hate to address them as property, they are and will be so much more than that…let's think of them as gifts. Rewarded to me for my gracious pardon on the fees you otherwise would have been obligated to pay."
InuYasha eyed him suspiciously.
"…Who's 'they'?" he asked caustiously.
"I think we both know who 'they' are." His wide toothy grin was near permanent now. InuYasha caught his drift immediately and began stomping off, trying to deny what he'd just heard.
"I'm not asking InuYasha, ",the shogun half ran to catch up with the raging hanyou. "You can, and will, compensate for your lack of funds by giving me the priestess and the demon slayer."
InuYasha turned in blind rage.
"There's no way in hell you're getting anywhere near them." He seethed, trying his best not to lose control.
"I did not know your attachments were so strong…" InuYasha growled deep within himself once more.
"The trade is fair, two rooms, two women…they'd make fine additions, I swear they're in good hands."
InuYasha laughed menacingly.
"It's a bad idea not to take me seriously. If you want to live to see tomorrow then I suggest you leave them alone. I really don't want to have to kill you."
The skinny looking shogun shook his head in disappointment.
"I knew you'd be rather resistant to the idea…and for that I'm willing to settle for the strange priestess. That other dominatrix of a female would be an utter waste in your hands, but I'll take what I can get with at least force as necessary. She's much too valuable to be in your possession."
InuYasha had had it. The very prospect of Kagome traipsing behind this bastard's coattails, him having the freedom to have his way with her, being out of his protection was setting off violent spasms. Any longer and he'd let his body work of it's own accord.
"Who the hell do you think you are? What kind of innkeeper barters for women?" he knew he was wasting his time arguing with the pathetic human who thought he was infallible, but it was all the more necessary to control his rage.
"This inn broadens outward and doubles as my castle. Its only purpose is to bring in money, InuYasha, be reasonable…know that my proposal is as stands. I won't be denied." He informed
"Burn in hell" InuYasha annunciated each word with purpose before stalking away.
He first went to Miroku's room, ignoring what manners he managed to learn.
"Miroku, Sango…it's time to go now" The sound of InuYasha urgent voice woke them instantly, even Shippo woke without complaint. "Sango, wake Kagome for me and all of you take Kirara west until you can't see an inch of this place." InuYasha growled impatiently as they moved with little exigency. "Get moving!" he ordered. As Sango rushed past him to carry out his orders he grabs her arm.
"The headmaster's up to something, be on your guard especially okay?" he said, his voice low. Sango was a surprised by his potential doubt in her, and the implications of this little forewarning.
"I'll be okay InuYasha." She assured. He nodded and let her go.
And then there was the incident to contend with.
Had the headmaster been that serious in getting Kagome that he would resort to such lengths?
Impossible…he thought. No one could plan something so drastic in such short time. This had to be the work of someone else. Someone much more powerful, someone with a different grudge against them entirely.
This had to be a plan in the making. Someone must have been watching them all along, configuring the most precise moment to strike. There was no way to reasonably justify the timing. But that still didn't explain the conviction in the headmaster's voice.
"I won't be denied…" The sickly melodramatic voice echoed in InuYasha's ear. Had they gotten off easy, or had he something different entirely planned for them?
He was lost; unable to formulate a plan within rational logistics. He couldn't even come up with an alternative course of action. He couldn't ignore Naraku, nor the headmaster…it seemed the best, and the safest thing to do was hide.
But knowing all this and the fact that Kagome was out there, completely vulnerable made him very uneasy.
Kagome…
His feelings for her had, in fact, developed over the past year, had manifested into deep consideration. To be so hasty and call it love was utterly impossible to do at this point. Her timing was always awful. Their argument caught him off guard. He said too much and at the same time, he didn't…couldn't say enough to console her. He knew what she wanted to hear, but he wasn't sure if could force it out of himself.
He could barely answer her questions. He hardly knew what still drew him to Kikyo. Their past together was not regretted, he was hopeful…. Every time he'd run to her, he had been hopeful, trying his best to change her, to rekindle what was lost in all the anguish. But even though he tried, he knew it was useless long before Kagome addressed it. He knew even if Kikyo came around, it was best to let the dead stay dead…
At one point he'd mistaken the fact that she wanted to take him to hell with her as sign of the feelings she'd once had for him, but he knew better…she was eager for eternal damnation and felt that he was obligated to share it with her.
No one had ever been so blunt in professing their feelings toward him, no one had ever put him in that position. What was he supposed to say in response to her? Her eyes were so expressive. They let everything slip. She knew that last night wouldn't be the night she'd get what she wanted…she was hurting even as she said it. It was all evident, and clearly apparent in her eyes.
"You, InuYasha…"
He'd tried so many times to prove to her that she meant something to him and that one day…possibly…if he lived to see Naraku's death…she could mean so much more. But even as windows of opportunities opened, they closed just as quickly. And being sat left and right in her expense had the potential to negate his feelings for her all together.
He couldn't just forget about their talk and let it die…it would be an insult to her feelings. And he was furtively glad that it was he she cared about. He felt he had joint responsibility in keeping her safe and he would continue to do everything in his power to maintain her safe haven, hence it was that mere attachment, the impulsive defense; the strong for the weak… Maybe it was that that drew them together.
However rational that sounded in his head, he knew it was more than that, had to be more…what else would have made him kiss her. He would have, he was certain that he would have if the woman did not interrupt. It would have happened, and then what?
He was stupid…he should have thought things through. If he kissed her once, she'd expect more from him, and he couldn't promise more…didn't really know what more entailed, had no idea what more would mean for her.
His only plan, as tremulous as it seemed, was to take it in small doses…and hopefully…it would be enough to please her. That was all he was asking for.
AN/Thank you in advance for reviewing. Apologies all around for the long wait.