A/N: Ah, another chapter. Forgiveness for not updating sooner, but, well, okay I have no excuse. But anyway, I wanted to say a big ol' THANK YOU to everyone. I never expected to get the kind of response that I have. Yes, I am a feedback slut. Will dance for comentary. And while I look for my tap shoes, onwards we go!
Disclaimer: I find that it doesn't bother me all that much that, no, Inuyasha is not mine. Or the rest of Rumiko Takahashi's story. However, it really shives my hiney that I can't claim Sesshomaru either. Sigh...someday. (And yes, this goes for the last chapter as well where the disclaimer mysterious got up and walked away. Don't worry, my men are on the job tracking it down.)
Inuyasha stared up at the roof of the well house, taking just a moment to re-accustom himself to the smells around him. That was one thing he wasn't sure he'd ever get used to about Kagome's time, all the smells. They were everywhere and most of them weren't pleasant. He didn't know how she could stand it, even with her weaker sense of smell.
He had decided to wait until morning before he came for her, figuring that she had run behind and decided to stay overnight at her own home. It had happened before, and she had been royally pissed when he had called her on it. Frankly, he didn't feel like having the floor rearrange his face today. But when she didn't return by midmorning he had decided he'd had enough. Forget her 'schooling', she was supposed to be back and he didn't want to wait any longer.
No one had ever accused him of being patient.
Actually, he was rather proud of himself for waiting as long as he had. He'd really done well. After all, he'd waited not only the whole week she'd requested but another twelve hours. Perhaps he was growing.
A smirk on his lips at that thought, he leapt from the well and headed for the courtyard that would lead to her house. Even from here he could smell Mrs. Higurashi's cooking. Damn girl. She better not just be enjoying a leisurely breakfast. But before he could let that thought continue something flew at his head and instinct took over.
Inuyasha started down at the dead soccer ball for a moment and blinked.
"Inu-no-niichan!" Inuyasha turned to see Souta running up to him. "Inu-no-niichan! I'm so glad to see you! What are you…hey, what happened to my ball?"
"Umm…" Inuyasha rubbed the back of his neck and laughed nervously. Thankfully, before he had to explain about instincts and deadly sports equipment, he was saved by the codger.
"Ah, Inuyasha," Kagome's grandfather said, coming up behind him sounding like so much aged parchment. "Did Kagome forget something?"
Inuyasha blinked. Forget? Wait, that would mean…before he could ask any potentially worrying questions Grandfather wheezed on.
"I swear, if she hadn't been in such an all fire hurry to leave directly after her party maybe she wouldn't be forgetting things left and right all the time."
Inuyasha stared at the old man with a growing dread. Kagome was supposed to staying nearly two days after the party. He remembered that very clearly, especially considering how many 'sits' his line of argument had gotten him. So if she left right after the party…and he had waited patiently until midmorning the day after she was supposed to come back…she'd come back nearly three days ago.
Unbidden, Inuyasha felt his eyes grow to the size of saucers, completely ignoring the strange looks he was getting.
Oh shit…
"You're sure that's when she came back?" he asked urgently, interrupting the old man's long winded lecture about the values of mushrooms of all things. Something about how they kept one regular and thus relaxed. Inuyasha had been too busy having his own mental freak out to be paying attention.
"Huh? Oh, yes, yes. Insisted she wanted to go back. Something about spending the rest of her birthday with her second family. You know, she's awful fond of you lot. Ah, to be young again like that. Why I remember…"
But he was talking to air. Souta stared after the sudden streak of silver and red that retreated through the well house.
"Inu-no-niichan?" Souta's brow furrowed. Why had Inuyasha come here to get something for Kagome…when he didn't even seem to realize that she was back? Souta started to get a bad feeling and soon found himself in front of the well staring down into the darkness. Kagome…stay safe, sister.
Inuyasha only had one thought running through his mind as he had raced from Kagome's family to the well. Danger. Kagome had come back through the well, back to his time, but she hadn't come to the village. That could only mean one thing…she was in trouble.
This is what I get for being patient. Damn it!
As he came through the well on the other side, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara were all waiting for him. They blinked when he came up alone, and Shippo went over to the edge of the well to look down it for Kagome.
"Inuyasha!" he called, looking up at the rather upset hanyo. "I thought you were going to bring Kagome back! Where is she?"
Inuyasha gritted his teeth. "She wasn't there," he said, and told them what he had been told by her grandfather. He could see the concern building on the faces of his companions as all the possibilities hit them as well. He didn't wait for their responses, however, he dropped to his hands and knees, trying to pick up her scent on the ground.
"She came back early?" Miroku said, a little stunned.
Sango was biting her lip. "She mentioned something about wanting to spend her birthday with both her families before she left…" She said. At the time Sango had been touched that Kagome considered them like her own family. Now though…"But if she didn't come back to the village and she didn't return back through the well…"
"Oh no!" Shippo cried. "Something must have happened to her! Inuyasha, we've got to find her!"
"What the hell do you think I'm trying to do?" he growled up at the worried little kitsune. He continued working his way around the well while the others waited. Then he caught it, Kagome's scent, on the side of the well opposite to the direction of the village. He didn't like that, but there wasn't the scent of anything else in the area, and hers was about three days old. "Got it!" he yelled, and then he was off.
He could hear the others chasing after him, but he wasn't really paying attention to them. He may bitch about them from time to time but that was one thing he did like about his companions, they worked as a team and each one knew what to do when a situation occurred. They weren't going to waste time right now asking questions, they would just follow him and be ready for whatever was thrown their way. Even little Shippo would do his best, though mostly he was there for moral support and cheering from the sidelines. All Inuyasha was thinking about right now was Kagome.
Kagome…where are you?
He followed the scent for a little while, all the time going away from the village, until he reached a clearing. What he saw didn't make him feel any better. It had all the markings of a battleground, and he could smell the aftermath of two dead youkai. He could also smell the scent of Kagome and another human.
"It looks like there's been a fight here," Sango said as she and the others caught up to him.
Inuyasha bit back a comment about stating the obvious and simply nodded. "Kagome was here, so were two youkai, now dead, and another human."
"She must have sensed or heard the trouble directly when she returned," Miroku guessed, "and then gone to help the other human. There must not have been time to come and get the rest of us, so she decided to go alone. It's something she would do. But what happened to her then?"
Inuyasha nodded absently and then started examining the field for other evidence and scents, trying to see if he could tell what had happened after the fight. She had obviously killed the two youkai that were after the human, but what had happened then? He didn't smell any blood other than youkai, so she wasn't hurt, at least not here. It was in the center of the field that he caught it, a whiff of something that started to make him feel just a little dizzy. He pulled back quickly and covered his nose.
"What is it?" Sango asked and came over. She looked at the ground and touched it, bringing her finger up to her nose to smell the powder that was lingering there. Then her hand shot out arrow fast and she held it as far away from her as possible. "Paralyzing potion," she said and took out a cloth she used to wipe her hand very carefully. "It's old, but it's still pretty potent."
"Kagome's scent is mixed in with it," Inuyasha said darkly, and Sango turned to look at him, her eyes wide. She knew what it meant.
"This was a trap," she said, her expression also going dark, "one designed to lure Kagome here to protect the human and then to paralyze her and carry her away."
"There is only one we know who so loves such traps," Miroku said bleakly.
Inuyasha shook his head. "No, I don't think so. I don't smell Naraku anywhere, and that's a stench I don't miss. But there is something else…" There was, Inuyasha had just started to smell a third youkai, unlike any he had smelled before. It was very, very faint, like the ground itself didn't want to hold it. But one thing was for sure, this wasn't one of Naraku's monsters, they all smelled like him themselves. This was someone else, someone they didn't know, and for some reason he had taken Kagome. Inuyasha didn't know why, but he didn't really care because he knew it couldn't be good. He had to find her, had to save her from whatever trouble she was in.
Kagome…just hold on, hold on until I get there. Gods, please let me get there in time. If I don't…oh, Kagome!
It was a beautiful night, serene, calm. The moon hung full, benevolently casting a soft light upon the sleeping world while her children twinkled down with childish laughter. The trees of the ancient forest glowed a soft silver beneath her, dancing merrily with the gentle breeze that played through them, their leaves singing softly as they twirled. In the distance a brook could be heard chatting softly with the bank and the small, nocturnal creatures went peacefully about their nightly endeavors. It truly was a perfect night.
Too perfect.
Lord Sesshomaru walked down the silvered road ahead of his group, looking distrustingly at the world around him. Though one would never tell by his serene expression that seemed to blend in perfectly with the calm beauty of the night, Sesshomaru was wary of this perfect night. While he was an admitted admirer of beauty he had come to distrust things that were too perfect. As the old saying went, 'if something seemed too good to be true, it probably was'. It was a hard learned lesson, but one he never forgot.
While still considered fairly young, the Lord had learned much in his time, and his distrust of the too perfect had saved him a time or twelve. Yes, this night was something to watch with great care. Who knew just when the mask would drop and the truth would reveal itself?
While Sesshomaru was lost in thought his party plodded along behind him. Or rather, Ah-un plodded along. His human ward and faithful retainer had long since passed to the land of dreams and now laid sleeping peacefully on the dragon's back. Or snoring peacefully in Jaken's case. That was part of the reason he had strode up ahead, there was only so much of Jaken's snoring he could take before being overwhelmed with the need to childishly stuff his fingers in his ears. While there was really no one around to witness the lack of dignity he didn't want to suffer Ah-un's amused laughter.
The twined dragon was the closest thing Sesshomaru had to a childhood friend. The creature had found him long ago, when he was still but a pup, and decided to stay by his side ever since. His father had found it amusing. His mother had found it annoying. Sesshomaru, himself, had never really thought much on it. After all, dragons were strange creatures.
His mind shifted from the night around him to the strange group following along behind him. Not exactly a normal sight; a rare, nearly mythical two-headed dragon, a deposed kappa under-lord and obsessed servant, and a young human girl who had already died. Not for the first time he wondered at why he drew and kept such a strange assortment of creatures with him. Why had he never questioned Ah-un's presence in his life? Why had he allowed Jaken the place of trusted valet when he annoyed him more than anything? Why had saved and basically adopted a human child, no matter how much honor and shining innocence she showed?
Many possibilities floated through his mind, each examined and discarded as they failed to ring of complete truth. Yes, he had saved Jaken's life and thus it belonged to his dictation and care. But he had done so unintentionally and thus was under no true obligation to accept the life debt. Yes, Rin had shown remarkable traits rarely found in anyone these days, human or not, when she had cared for him in the forest without thought of reward or anything other than to help. But she was human and mortal and he had interrupted the flow of her own destiny, the writ time of her death, to save her. It was hardly something he had needed to do. And Ah-un…well, was Ah-un.
As always, the answer came down to one, solitary fact. Sesshomaru was lonely.
So many quest for power, so many quest to reside over all others. One wonders, would they do so if they knew that this was the final outcome? That to reside over all others means residing forever alone?
Perhaps he kept them with him because they were the closest things he could have to not being alone. And as close as they were to him his loneliness crept upon him at odd moments, never able to share himself with them completely. As Lord he did not have that luxury.
I knew this night was too perfect. He muttered within his own mind, pulling a mental grimace at the turn of his thoughts. He should know by now not to think on this. It never did any good.
Sesshomaru let out an uncharacteristic sigh, and only because he knew Ah-un would never speak of it…because to his best knowledge the twined dragon had never spoken. But as he exhaled, he paused. There had been something there as he had drawn in the breath necessary for the extravagant gesture. Something that tickled at the back of his mind. He stopped and stood still, somewhere in the back of his mind registering that Ah-un had stopped behind him some thirty feet. He closed his eyes and scented the air, searching for whatever it was that had made his mind skip.
Then, as though answering his call, the wind shifted and the scent hit him full force. Something deep within him twitched momentarily before completely clicking into place. This scent…this scent was…perfect.
Before he even realized he had shifted his weight, Sesshomaru found himself streaking through the night, following the scent to its origin. He had to know, had to find the cause. He wasn't sure why, but something deep inside him called to it, had to find it. It was an instinct, and urge, and he was not wont to fight it. After all, he had also learned long ago that his instincts existed for a reason and when they called this strongly it was generally best to listen to them.
Before they shouted you deaf.
Less than a quarter of an hour had passed before he found himself standing at the edge of a clearing, staring with wide eyes at the sight before him. He allowed himself the lapse in control without chastisement. He figured what he was seeing deserved it.
There, in the center of the clearing, glowing like an ethereal in the moonlight, was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. She was dressed in a perfectly fitting, elaborate kimono of white with lavender wisteria blossoms blowing delicately across it. The petals of the flowers complimented the delicate sapphire stripes that graced the perfect ivory skin her wrists and cheeks, framed ideally with a few wisps of silver hair that had escaped her quaff.
Slowly, he walked closer, his eyelids drifting to a lazy half-mast as her intoxicating scent filled his nose. It was, for lack of a better word, amazing. Complex, but not overwhelming. Strong, but not forceful. Subtle, but not conniving. Sweet, but not cloying. He lacked the words to truly describe it in that moment, he merely knew that it called to him like nothing before ever had. He merely knew that he had to get more of it, that he would never tire of it, that he would be stricken without it. Without her.
He reached her and gazed down at her perfect face. She was strongly, yet delicately formed. Her cheekbones were high, her face a delicate oval shape with an endearingly pointed chin. Her nose was pert but not childish, her lips full but not pouting, her eyelashes like sooty fans against her pale skin as she slept.
In a cage.
For the first time it truly struck him that this female was indeed in a cage, and a most uncomfortable looking one at that. The mere realization shook him out of his stupor as he took in details that he had previously missed. The cage was long enough for her to lay down fully, but not tall enough for her to even sit upright in. Why would anyone cage such a perfect creature?
He looked at her more closely, sniffing the air lightly to see if he could determine just how she had arrived here but found no other scent but her own beguiling one. And that was when it hit him, not only was she the most beautiful youkai female he had ever seen, she was of his Clan. She was Shiro-Inu…a White Dog. What in the world was one of his Clan doing here? They should be nowhere near this place. His unfamiliarity with her was enough to prove that while of his Clan she was not of his Pack, and even if it hadn't the disparity in the color of their marks proved they were not related.
And while he was nearly bespelled by her sheer beauty there was a part of him mind that registered that there was something uncannily familiar about her. Something in the sweep of her brow, the curve of her lip, the way she slept with one hand curled by her face…all of it was tantalizingly familiar but he couldn't put his finger on how.
And then her eyelids fluttered open and he ceased to care.
Sesshomaru found himself staring down into the most amazing, perfect pools of azure heaven and in that moment…he was lost.
Hidden by the trees and his own brand of magic, the ragged wizard watched as the oh so might Lord of the West fell beneath his spell. It was working…perfect, perfect…oh, indeed. He'd watched the ugly dog arrive, seen the heavy lidded countenance, watched the bewitched approach. His little pet was doing exactly as she had been designed to do, and she hadn't even done anything yet! Already his Beast was taken with her, instinct so deep he knew the Lord could not stop it. His plan was a success. Now it was only a matter of time before his vengeance was complete.
Foolish dog. Soon you will know the sting, oh yes, soon you will know the fall. And this Massoumo will be there to glory in your ending. Watch Hannoyo, watch your line, your precious dynasty crumble to nothing but dust! Revenge is mine!
A/N: Yes, I know, I'm evil. It's been mentioned before. Perhaps I should have warned people that in my fanfics for other stories (cough cough Janet Evanovich) I'm known as something of a cliff hanger queen. (Though it's rarely put that nicely.) Please, direct all death threats to my muse, I blame her entirely. But be warned, she's usually heavily armed and surrounded by goons. Big, musclely, pretty, goons...sorry, I went somewhere else for a moment...whipes drool
Review Response:
O2: (and friends...) I'm glad you've liked this...just no more choking your muses. Backs away slightly with hand drifting towards Glock... Or me. And while I too adore Kurama and fellows, they really won't be playing a huge part for a while yet. But they will be in there, fear not. I'll do my best not to make you gag when they show up.
JeanB: Yes, I always try to answer the questions that I leave behind me. The true question is whether those answers will be comprehensible. As for the rest...well, that'll start to show in the next chapter. (Oh, and I got it up so quick because it was already written. I've been posting it over on Single Spark too and came to the brilliant notion that not everyone reads both sites so I should post it here too...I just wanted to spread it out a bit. An no, I'm not too far behind here, so while evil I'm not totally maniacle. Yet.)
Erik and Fae: Well, you'll see how they all react pretty soon...but if I'm about anything, it's the set up. Don't worry, I'll get there...and Massumou will get his in the end!