First let me make one thing perfectly clear. No, this is NOT, I repeat, NOT a Sesshoumaru/Kagome fic. What I was trying to say was that I was gonna have brotherly Sesshoumaru junk, and romantic Kagome stuff....FOR INUYASHA.
Jeez, you think I'd let Inu-chan survive this long if I was gonna do a
Sess/Kag fic?! Good Heavens, no.
Anyway, yes, Sesshou-nii-chan will get his arm back. But it won't be until
towards the end of the fic when Inuyasha gets his sight back. Oh, and the
rating is for gore and language. Tell me if I should lower it.
Ja, here we are! The long-awaited chapter four! (Holy cow, 24 reviews for ONE chapter?! Dang...)
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Chapter Four
Kagome was abruptly drawn to the far side of the room as voices, roars,
and shouting emanated from the door.
That howl... Is that Sesshoumaru?
The miko motioned for Miroku and Sango to follow, Kilala at their heels. The alotted time had passed, and the group had gone into the mountain to find the demon lord as agreed.
The remains of the fire demons were still smoking; thankfully Sango had brought some extra breath masks. Kilala had carried them over what seemed to be dried lava, but the demon exerminator set them straight, having recognized the signs.
And smells.
The rooms had been very dark to them at first. It was hard adjusting to pitch black; Sesshoumaru hadn't had trouble because of his demon eyesight. They passed through the defeated caves slowly, cautiously, just to make sure there were no more monsters lurking around. The water demon's cave had been a puzzle, as there was no sign of any kind of combat, but when the group of humans passed up a pile of disintegrated stone, they knew they were still on the right track.
Now they were on their way up the long spiral staircase, heading toward the loud sounds that echoed towards them. The group exchanged glances, slowing as a conversation was finally made audible:
"--Brother? Brother?! --Please don't do this--"
"AAH--" The cry bounced from wall to wall, piercing.
"Inuyasha, come on, look at me--"
Kagome put a hand to her mouth. He found him. Thank God, he found him.
But--
"Inuyasha?" The humans quickened their ascent as another pained moan reverberated through the walls. The voice muttered something they couldn't make out.
Sesshoumaru's voice answered quickly. "Yes, that's right. Now please, brother, open your eyes?" His tone was tinged with something similar to despair. Kagome shuddered at the blood trickling down the stone, but continued upward. Sango and Miroku shared a meaningful look.
Finally they reached the opening the youkai had made into a red-lit room. Miroku stopped them from entering, putting a finger to his lips. "Let's wait a few moments and see what he'll do. We'll know for sure if Sesshoumaru is sincere by then."
Reluctantly Kagome nodded.
"...Shhhh, it's okay, I'm right here, little brother. It's me, it's Sesshou-nii chan, remember?" Kagome's heart was breaking as she listened. Tears welled in her eyes as she listened to Sesshoumaru's ever-quavering voice recount the times of their childhood.
"...and you'd always get scared of the dark and hide under my pillow, and we'd laugh, we laugh..." The youkai's deep voice broke. "Oh God I'm so sorry brother..."
Kagome looked at Miroku, who nodded for her to go in, his expression saying that he'd regretted ever doubting Inuyasha's sibling. Sango held the way for her until she slowly stepped inside. She saw the older demon hunched over a trembling figure in the middle of the room. There were chains trailing from his wrists. but that was all Kagome could see with Sesshoumaru's back to her.
Kagome cleared her throat. "Inuyasha? Sesshoumaru?"
The demon lord gasped and snapped his head around towards her.
"No!" he spat, tears staining his face. The miko jumped in surprise. Quickly but carefully Sesshoumaru moved his brother to the floor, stood up and began removing the shirt from his body. "No! Don't look at him!"
Kagome's voice caught. She froze. "Sesshoumaru, what did he do to Inuyasha?"
The youkai didn't answer, but continued in his undressing until his torso was left uncovered. A large, painful-looking bruise spanned his chest. As fast as he could Sesshoumaru wrapped his shirt around the hanyou's body, throwing his armor to the side with a loud clatter and lowering his tail from his shoulder.
"You--you can't see him like this," he managed huskily.
The youkai stood slowly and turned to face them, Inuyasha's bundle wrapped securely in his only arm. Sesshoumaru was shaking from the effort. All they could see were the hanyou's feet and the top of his head and eyes, which were closed.
Kagome took a deep breath. "Sesshoumaru. We have to take a look at him, or we can't help him. Please, I know how hard this is for you," and me, "but I need you to put him down."
"No," he shook his head violently, hugging him tighter. She could see he was abandoning reason.
"Please," Kagome begged, tugging lightly on his arm. "Please, Sesshoumaru. He could die if we don't help. You have to put him down." The miko switched tactics. "You can't hold him with just one arm; he'll fall."
The miko could see the demon lord's resolve waver. He nodded hesitantly. Gently Sesshoumaru laid Inuyasha down on the stone floor, eyes fixed on his face.
Again the half-demon started when he touched the floor. "Ah...AAH--"
It was no use. No matter which way he tried to lay him, the pike was in the way. And if they laid him on his side he'd be on top of a broken arm. Sesshoumaru retracted his earlier agreement.
"I can't put him down," he cried. "It'll hurt him..."
"Okay, Sango, I need your hiraikotsu. We can use it to prop him up." The demon exterminator complied, chewing her bottom lip. Carefully she helped put it into position.
Now the hard part. "Sesshoumaru, can you unwrap him for a minute?" In the beginning Kagome thought she had braced herself for anything. But the reality turned out to be much, much worse.
There was a moment of complete, horrified realization as the cover was lifted from Inuyasha's body.
First the pike jammed into his naked chest was made visible, then the daggers, then the burns, and finally the series of sharp spikes driven into his leg. There was blood everywhere.
Miroku's eyes were wide. "Oh my God."
"Inuyasha." Sango had both hands covering her mouth. Shippou was in hysterics atop Kilala.
"No," Kagome cried softly. She reached for his mangled body. "Inuyasha... Inuyasha, can you hear me?"
Two golden eyes fluttered open."..." She tried again.
"Inuyasha?"
"...Ka...k...Kago...me..." He moved his head, looking in vain for her from Sesshoumaru's arm. "Ka...go...me...... Wh...where...are you...?"
Sesshoumaru explained his sibling's situation to the others. "When I came in he called my name. I thought he recognized me, but he was looking for me," the youkai said softly. "He's blind."
Kagome could feel her chest tear in two. The tears came rolling. What did he do? She wondered disorientedly. How could Naraku hate him enough to do this?
"I want...Kagome," he murmured. "I--I want..." His eyes squeezed shut. "I want to go home..."
Sesshoumaru looked at Kagome. "Can we take him back to the village like this?"
"We have no choice," Miroku said grimly. "We don't have the means to take care of his injuries. We'll have to fly him back on Kilala."
Kilala nodded and gave a mew.
"No..." The group's attention was drawn back to Inuyasha. He was gripping Sesshoumaru's hand. "Ka...gome...Kagome's dying..."
The miko looked up from stroking his forehead, shocked. "What? Inuyasha -"
"No--Naraku--Kagome!"
"He's sending him visions," Miroku said tersely. "We have to get out of here. By now Naraku will know we're here." At those words the walls began to shake.
"He's moving the castle," Sango shouted, reaching for the half-demon. "Let's go!"
Sesshoumaru picked him up and set him on top of Kilala, then picked up Kagome, Miroku and Sango and sat them on behind the other. There was only time for a momentary blink as the seemingly solid rock walls began to cave in.
RRRRUMBLLL--BANG!
With a gigantic crack an enormous boulder fell from the sky right at the
demon's feet, forcing him to leap back to avoid being crushed. "Ah--"
Miroku held out a hand. "Come on!" Clutching his chest, the youkai jumped up and swung a leg over the huge firecat, dodging yet another cave-in in the process.
As soon as they were all aboard Kilala bounded away down the narrow stairwell. Time seemed to slow as they rushed back out through the doors and many caves, stone, stone, and more gray stone whizzing past them. The stability of their fortress was collapsing more with each passing second. One room, two rooms, a hallway--
Sango screamed suddenly, pointing behind them. "Hurry Kilala!"
Liquid rock was erupting from the middle of the mountain, run-off from demons. It was already singeing the cat's tails as she bounded down the path, taking leap after leap away from the scorching slag. She gave an earsplitting bellow as the fast-moving liquid touched her back paw, taking her speed up a good few notches.
Screams intermingled with the roar of a giant waterfall as lava sprayed from openings in the mountains. With an extra burst of speed Kilala shot from the mountain like a bullet just before the stream of fire followed from the mountainside. Kilala flew away into thick, white clouds just before the castle disappeared, and the black mountain crumbled beneath it.
"Whew, that was close," Miroku breathed. He looked around. "Who has Inuyasha?"
"Me," Kagome said softly. "Shippou's on my shoulder, he's alright. I think the shock cleared his head of the poison."
"Is Inuyasha gonna die?" sniffed the cub.
"No, Shippou, no if we can get him to Kaede."
"We'll have to hurry though," Miroku replied. "I think he's passed out again. Who knows what he--" Suddenly the monk's voice fell away.
Kagome looked behind them. "Miroku?"
"...Uh, Kagome? We may have to get there twice as fast."
"What? Why?!"
"Because now Kaede has two patients. Sesshoumaru just collapsed against my back. I think he's unconscious."
"WHAT?!" Kagome yelped. "Kilala, set us down!"
The giant cat complied, finding a forest clearing just a few dozen miles from the castle site. Kagome leaped off and ran to Kilala's back. Miroku was holding Sesshoumaru up as the great youkai leaned down lifelessly against him.
"Sesshoumaru? Sesshoumaru," she yelled, shaking him.
"Un..." The demon's hand was latched onto his chest involuntarily.
Kagome registered the time he had removed his shirt. "The bruise. He must have been hit hard, we need Kaede. Miroku, I need you to put him in front of you so we can monitor his condition. He could just stop breathing at anytime," she said desperately. The miko turned back to Sango. "Let's get back to village, and hurry!"
A single nod was the only acknowledgement of her request.
As they flew off, the group was so caught up in taking care of the two youkai's injuries that they didn't hear Sesshoumaru mumble under his breath. "Mother... Inuyasha... I'm sorry..."
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"Because she's--eeeeevil, yes she's--eeeeeevil..."
Em's theme song. Sung to the tune of the Ant and the rubber tree plant song. You know, "But he's got--hiiiiigh hopes, he's got...."
Ahem. Sorry.
I honestly don't think this chapter was very good, but...
Anyhoo, now we are going to head back to the village, where Sesshy-sama is going to make a very speedy recovery, and we find out the extent of Inuyasha's injuries, physical and mental... (I'm so evil. Really.)
Thank you, everyone, for the great reviews. 24 for ONE chapter. I'm still in shock. Where's a paper bag?? Breeethe Em. Breeeeeeeeethe--
Oh, and as I mentioned before, I've got school piling up, so I'm sorry this is so short. But the next update may take awhile for it to be good. Also I don't want to get banned from the computer or grounded or something stupid like that for ignoring school and ficcing.
Jaa, please review! I got in a lot of trouble for writing this chapter, and it's always nice to see if you're appreciated...or if you reely suck.
Mata!
^_^X